Reflux? CMPA? Colic?

[Tiredmama98]

Feeling very hopeless with my 4 week old :( ever since she’s came out of hospital there’s pretty much been issue after issue. She is exclusively formula fed using Aldi’s mamia milk.

First issue being constipation from the get go, she had her meconium poo but after that she was only having hard nugget like ones where she was screaming in pain whilst trying to go, after a few days nagging the doctors she’s been on lactose which has helped massively.

Next issue is the constant crying in pain and I’m really not sure on the issue. The symptoms are during feeds she’ll choke and start gasping for air. After feeds she’ll hysterically cry to the point where her veins will pop out her head and she’ll loose breath. She brings her wind up with no problem so I don’t think it’s trapped wind. Whilst crying she’ll arch her back and the push the legs out. I’ve tried infacol and colief drops incase it’s colic. The doctors have said it’s reflux, even though she doesn’t be sick after feeds and she’s putting weight on so they’ve prescribed gaviscon but since being on that she’s back to having hard poo and being sick.

She also has a sore rash over her face, eyes, scalp, ears and neck. (Doctors said it’s just newborn rash). Her dad had cows milk protein allergy when he was a baby, could this be a possibility??

Would you consider changing the formula??

Any advise would be fantastic, feel like she’s on so much medication for her little stomach.

If you think it’s cmpa I would try nutramagen ( an some I’ve spelt that wrong) or neocate. They need prescribing so that might be the tricky part. The milk is foul, it stinks god knows what it tastes like but I’m not trying it.
Both mine had cmpa. My eldest was topped up with nutrimagen and my youngest is very sensitive so she has neocate. I am dairy free as breastfeeding. Cutting out dairy hasn’t stopped the reflux but has decreased it. Both mine are allergic to soya, ds was allergic to eggs and I think dd might be

I haven’t used anything for the reflux apart from carobel which is a natural thickener.
If she’s constipated she is going to be in pain I was told to give a little boiled cooked water and brown sugar for baby constipation.
I would try and sort the constipation and maybe try carobel first to thicken the milk and see if there’s still stomach ache after that. It might be worth trying a different milk I’ve heard good things about hipp milk and kendamil both supposed to be very natural.
Cmpa does run in families though, I had it and both mine have it.
It’s not easy

@sproutsnbacon thank you! If you don't mind me asking, what were the symptoms for your LO's cmpa and how did you go about getting it confirmed?

My doctor told me there's no such my LG will have it as she isn't showing signs of eczema

Child 1 waking up every 45 mins screaming, feeding for comfort i bf, knees up to stomach.
Child 2 born, feeding really well but pooing constantly and loosing weight.
It was very hard to be taken seriously for child 1. Child 2 they moved fast. Neither had eczema both had cradle cap.

DS1 had cmpa.
From day 1, he would scream. Day and night. ALL the time. He never slept, had an awful rash all over his face and neck, and had at least 10 dirty nappies a day which were incredibly explosive and stank of vinegar. We tried every ‘colic’ and reflux remedy they thrust at us, both the GP and HV made out we were neurotic first time parents who couldn’t handle a crying baby.
In the end we took videos of our baby screaming and showed the GP, it was only then he agreed something wasn’t right and referred us to the paediatrician. Also bollocks about the eczema, not all children have the exact same symptoms.
I was breastfeeding so can’t comment on formula, but I went totally dairy free off my own back and within 2 days I had a new baby. It was crazy!! I know some GP’s are reluctant to prescribe the dairy free formula because it’s so expensive. Take all the evidence you can and keep pushing them until they listen. Our HV actually apologised to us in the end as apparently she thought it was impossible for breast fed babies to have cmpa 🤔🤷🏼‍♀️
I’m glad to say though DS1 outgrew his intolerance by the time he was 1.
Reflux and ‘colic’ are not conditions in their own right, there will be an underlying cause.
Really hope you get the answers and help you need ❤️

@Mumofboys17 thank you!! ☺️ that has been a massive help x

@Tiredmama98 no problem at all! We suffered so much in DS1's early weeks, it's something I feel really passionate about helping others with 😌
There's an amazing support group on FB (it's also NICE guidelines approved so it's even recommended by some health professionals!) if you search for 'CMPA Support' they have categorised groups for weaning, breastfeeding etc and a big main group too xx

My DD (now 6 months) was similar but far less extreme. Constipation from a few days old, reflux, and just generally seemed uncomfortable all the time, straining and grimacing. We paid to see a private paediatrician as was getting nowhere with GP. He prescribed nutramigen and within a month all her symptoms were gone. She was (and is!) the happiest, most contented little baby since moving to nutramigen.

Also my DD had no exzma or skin issues at all, and the paediatrician diagnosed CMPA straight away.