EBF newborn and vinegar smelling poo

[MrsCremuel]

DS2, 3 weeks, has the most foul smelling vinegar poo. It’s like walking into the fish and chip shop, its nose stingingly strong - nothing like sweet smelling bf poo I’d expect and had with DS1.

He is very windy, obviously uncomfortable. I can hear the milk swishing about in his belly, lots of farts and hiccups. Poos are the right mustard colour though.

Any ideas?

It could be the symptom of an allergy such as CMPA.

If you are breastfeeding, try cutting it out of your diet (it takes at least 3 weeks to leave your system). If formula feeding, you would need a specialist one, possibly prescribed. It’s best not to make changes without consulting health visitor or GP as there may be other things going on but I’ve found that they are not all very allergy aware.

Mine had that with food intolerances. Is it always the same? If you have a day eating differently, does it change?

I'm just wondering if it's something you are eating. Perhaps keep a food record and see.

I wonder if baby probiotics are a thing, and if probiotics come in breast milk?

@Blueroses99 yes I feel like the GP could likely fob me off but may as well try (getting a appointment is another matter).

@picklemewalnuts I’m pretty much eat the same everyday and it’s been like this since day one so I’m wondering if it is something like cows milk, which I eat a lot of and which is quite a common allergy I think.

Cutting out dairy is my worst nightmare but then he is obviously very uncomfortable poor thing.

Or too much fore milk not enough hind

Reflux, which can be caused by cow's milk allergy.
Both mine had CMPA and reflux, and poos smelled of vinegar. There were other symptoms too.
Cutting out dairy is hard at first but you get used to it and there are lots of tasty dairy alternatives.
If you think it could be CMPA see dilanandme.com/confirm-cmpa/

@NameChange30 that’s a great link thanks. He is very congested which may be a sign on cmpa. I’ll get to the supermarket today to get replacement milk and butter and think of the good I’m doing my baby, the environment and my arteries .

Is it worth seeing the GP to get ‘diagnosed’?

Mine both had this, poos were also like mucous. They were both CMPI

It depends on the GP, some are better than others when it comes to allergies. It helps to go armed with the Allergy UK info on CMPA, and your own list of baby's symptoms.
www.allergyuk.org/about-allergy/allergy-in-childhood/cows-milk-allergy/

They won't actually diagnose CMPA though; the only way to diagnose it is to do a dairy-free trial and see if symptoms improve.

A good GP should refer you to a paediatric dietitician if allergy is strongly suspected.

Would you like some recommendations for dairy alternatives? I've been dairy-free on and off for 4 years now

Milk: Oatly Barista
Butter: Flora spreadable plant butter (not in every supermarket but I got it in Sainsbury's) or Flora Original spread. Not buttery as it contains milk.
Yoghurt: Nush almond yoghurt, various flavours.
Cheese: this one is tricky I'm afraid as vegan cheese is just not the same. However, I quite like Nush almond cream cheese, "Follow Your Heart" Parmesan alternative (sprinkled on pasta), and Mozzarisella on pizza. Apart from those things, I don't really have cheese .
Chocolate: Nomo, it's the closest to milk chocolate (and I've tried a LOT!)
Ice cream: lots of tasty ones, Oatly and Alpro are good brands to look at (nb not all Alpro are soya free).

Don't replace dairy with soya as some babies can react to that too. No need to cut out soya completely but don't increase your intake. If and when you confirm cow's milk allergy you can then challenge soya and include more of it in your diet if it's not an issue.

Oh and biscuits...
Jaffa Cakes (check ingredients, McVities contain milk but own brand usually don't)
Oreos
Hobnobs
Bourbon / custard cream (again check ingredients, I can't remember whether most/all are dairy free)

My favourite vegan cakes that you can buy in supermarkets are Bosh and Sainsbury's Plant Kitchen.

@NameChange30 amazing thank you!! I’ll contact the GP and prep beforehand and stock up the fridge.

How did everyone’s baby cope before you’d cut dairy? DS2 is chilled except for around feeds when he is obviously in pain and unsettled. Would fussy periods only really coincide with feeds or be more frequent? I’m imagined if it was CMPA he’d be unsettled most of the time.

Mine was mostly unsettled after feeds, not all the time. It can vary though.

"How did everyone’s baby cope before you’d cut dairy? DS2 is chilled except for around feeds when he is obviously in pain and unsettled. Would fussy periods only really coincide with feeds or be more frequent? I’m imagined if it was CMPA he’d be unsettled most of the time."

Not necessarily. With DC1 the signs weren't obvious (and being our first we didn't know what was normal and what wasn't). We didn't actually realise it was reflux and CMPA until we started giving him some formula and his reactions got much worse. Even then it was only really bad at night and he was ok during the day - he didn't nap well though! He disliked lying down, disliked being put down to sleep, nappy changes, lying on play mat - not all the time but often. With hindsight, I think a key symptom in the newborn days was the frequent, explosive, acidic poos that caused awful nappy rash. We took him to the GP about it but the possibility of allergy was never mentioned.

DC2 had similar symptoms and as I was on the lookout second time around, I realised straight away. She also grunted a LOT at night in the early days which might be normal newborn behaviour but can be a sign of reflux too.

It's worth investigating reflux, too.