Is it normal that my son's back crunches?

[motherofthelittlescreamingone]

Just wondering whether it is normal that sometimes I can feel my son's back crunch. Doesn't seem to cause him pain at all, just a little pop when I pick him up sometimes - he is 18 months' old.

I guess that I am paranoid because he had a dairy intolerance when young, so I cut it out of my diet and then went on to dairy free formula for a while when I was struggling to breastfeed with him being very unsettled and I guess I am worried that maybe this did him some harm.

Bump!

I'm not sure is the honest answer, but anecdotally, my DD (2yrs) bones do this - pop/crunch/clicky feeling sometimes. Doesn't seem to cause her any pain and she doesn't notice.

Thanks for your answer!

I will ask my GP when I see her for something else, but obvs at the moment primary care is swamped.

I think it is likely to be my issue - my son definitely had bad reflux and a tongue tie, but I was never sure if he had a dairy allergy. I tried breastfeeding more often - more screaming plus hiccups or vomiting - feeding less often - disaster as I sort of dried up a bit, he got sleepy and he wasn't a good enough feeder to stimulate me to get enough. Then I used fenugreek to up my supply and that upset him too. Lots of mucus nappies and unsettled behaviour until we put him on neocate. I wonder if he was starving/bad feeder (dropped lots of centiles) or really milk intolerant. Hopefully now he has almost passed the milk ladder he will have lots of times to strengthen his bones to the maximum, but I guess it still causes me a bit of anxiety (esp as my eldest is really tall and he isn't, 25th centile).

I am probably over worrying and it is just hangover stress from a stressful period, but if anyone does have any expertise I would be very grateful to know!!

It sounds like a bit of hypermobility and that is common in young kids. They should grow out of it. If they don't (like my 5yo) then they will investigate further.

My oldests back crunches and pops when we give them a good cuddle. Never really questioned it to be honest.

Oh good - I'll stop worrying then! He was failing to thrive for a bit and I think I am still shaking that off!

Thank you!!

Both my sons are crunchy and clicky. They both have mild hypermobility although all children are hypermobile to an extent. I honestly don’t think what you’re describing is anything to do with the early difficulties. Try not to worry ❤️

Thank you!