Is this normal for a young baby, or does my DD need some additional medication?

[juniper9]

My DD is 9 weeks old, and from birth she has suffered with really bad wind. She arches her back and wails in a high pitched scream. The only way it clears is when she poos, which is very windy and wet (and explosive). Most of her poos are frothy and we have a lot of leaks through clothes.

She isn't generally sick, although she will posset if she isn't held upright for about 20 - 30 minutes after eating. If she isn't burped properly she will be unsettled as she sleeps; writhing around and grunting until she manages to fart.

We've tried her on infacol and gripewater but it doesn't seem to make much difference.

I myself am lactose intolerant but still have some dairy and suffer the consequences as I'm also veggie and find that having no cheese limits my diet so much. I'm breastfeeding her, so I don't know if my lactose intolerance could mean that something is passing to her that shouldn't be. She has the occasional bottle of formula but doesn't seem any worse off for it, so I doubt she has a milk allergy.

I've always had problems with digestion but it was far worse in pregnancy and I was on ranitidine and gallons of gaviscon. I don't know if she might have digestive problems too, or if her wind problems are just normal baby things. Like I said, she's rarely sick- it's always just little bits of chunky milk she brings up, not a whole bleugh.

Any advice would be appreciated!

I would strongly suspect silent reflux and a reaction to dairy and possible soya too via your diet. Video her screaming and arching and get to the doctors ASAP.

Infacol and gripe water are not proven to help at all. Gripe water, I've read, can make it worse (both of mine had dairy intolerance and silent reflux).

Have you been diagnosed as lactose intolerant? Could it actually be intolerance to the cows milk protein in dairy? If you've got this then likely that your dd does too.

Please see someone and they can prescribe ranitidine (they'll probably start on infant gaviscon). Explain your intolerances.

With mine, I had to do an exclusion diet with bf and no formula either for them.

Sorry, I should explain - silent reflux is like heartburn and the acid comes up but theyre not sick.

Explained here

It took me a while to conclude that my first had it as was filled with self doubt. With my second I knew straight away and got straight to the GP.

sounds like reflux to me.
back to gp, there is medication for it.
also, I would try dairy free for a few days to see if it makes a difference.

The thing is, she's gaining weight and is following her curve's trajectory, so she is digesting my milk.

The gripe water seems to upset her just after she's had it, but not because she doesn't like it. She's very good at taking things from a syringe.

Dd is 3 now and still has reflux but has always put on weight etc.

My 12 week old DS is like this too and only now have the doctors accepted it looks like reflux, despite me suggesting it a month ago. The doctor said he was 'too chunky and happy to be a reflux baby'.

It looks like the acid was irritating his larynx too so has been wheezy and awful sounding, to the point we went to a&e. We were told 'viral infection' and croup countless times but I knew something else wasn't right.

My point is trust your instincts and don't let the doctors fob you off if you think something is wrong. My DS could have avoided this awful wheeze and cough if the first doctor i saw had considered reflux as an option - it is difficult to diagnose if they aren't vomiting a lot.

HTH and hope your LO improves soon.

My dd has silent reflux is 9 wks and sounds the same :(

GPs/hvs have previously said that if she's putting on weight then she's fine... I've had to fight for medication. Silent means that they aren't sick, or not much..but they get the pain of the burn.

We're on losec mups (after trying infant Gaviscon) which is working well, but based on weight so going through a bad patch at mo until dosage is reviewed.

Good luck

My eldest had silent reflux and was a porker. The chucking it all out reflux usually means weight loss. The silent reflux means ther they produce excess acid which comes up but goes back down again so yes she's digesting it but it's hurting. A bit like if you eat a reflux trigger food, you get heartburn but still digest the food.

Colief helps with lactose intolerance (lactose also being in breastmilk)- worth a try, I was at my wits end with dd1 and after 2 feeds it was like I had a different baby.

My DS has reflux, he's 22 months and still on ranitidine from a baby. He always put in weight despite projectile vomiting his feeds, so the weight issue is irrelevant if they're having symptoms and in pain.

Sounds like reflux to me and a possible milk allergy. You could try cutting out dairy and soya from your diet and see if its helps a bit meanwhile I would go to your GP. If they fob you off with the 'oh well she's putting on weight, she'll grow out of it ' line, well don't accept that.

Milk allergy sounds very possible - given you also have reaction to milk. Are you sure you have lactose intolerance and not CMPA? What's your ethnic background?

Thanks for your comments. I took her to the GP yesterday who prescribed gaviscon but said he'd rather hold off on ranitidine for the time being as it has more side effects.

She's had two doses and seems happier to lie down after a feed, but she still spent all of this morning screaming her head off until she managed to poo and pass all the wind. I don't know if this means the gaviscon isny working, or if I'm being too impatient.

Gaviscon although can be great for reflux can also make them constipated. My DS ended up on ranitidine as the gaviscon just bunged him up. We were using two sachets per feed mind, so see how it goes.

Update: just been to have her weighed, and she's not put any weight on in two weeks She hasn't been vomiting but she does poo a lot.

Her poos are very loose and explosive so I'm all for them getting a bit more formed! This morning's were both less runny than usual.

Reflux baby here..

Confused your doctor mentioned side effects with ranitidine ? Mine says ranitidine extremely well tolerated so we skipped infant gaviscon and went straight to it.

My ds much better almost overnight.

I would definitely try going dairy free - just try for a week and see what happens. Worked almost immediately for my bf baby with v similar symptoms and no weight loss

Ranitidine has known side effects, in adults and children alike. Among them are diarrhoea, abnormal heart rate and delirium. Of course, these are all very rare but ... they are known.

The reason doctors go straight to gaviscon is, I think, because it's not systemically absorbed readily (aside from mineral content) and therefore less likely to cause damage. Although actually it's quite high in sodium ...possibly it's also cheaper than ranitidine suspention , I'm not sure....

Having said this we soon ditched the gaviscon with DS and moved up through the medication categories rapidly!

OP, one other thing to consider if you've not already is breast milk oversupply and forceful letdown. This can mean that the baby is getting lots of lactose-rich milk at the beginning of the feed, which then ferments in the gut. Usually oversupply is associated with large weight gains but IIRC this can tail off as the baby's getting a proportionately smaller amount of fat (sugars instead).

I would really recommend that in tandem with the medical opinons, you seek out a qualified lactation consultant who might be able to give a view on whether this (oversupply) was possibly an issue. Wacky-sounding job title but they really know their stuff and have extensive training.

Gaviscon is notorious for causing the bungs, so keep an eye out for that - you don't want to go from one extreme to the other :)

My money's still firmly on the dairy allergy though. Would you consider cutting dairy completely out of your diet for a trial period? That means no milk, whey powder, caesin, cheese, yogurt etc (you have to be thorough!) It might just save you from going down the path of ranitidine, omeprazole etc....

I second too much fore milk as mentioned by Ragusa. This was definitely a problem with my dd- very very windy and uncomfortable. The answer is to feed until one boob is totally empty, even if it means putting them back on the emptier side next time too.