Any ideas what could be going on with my toddler?

[ElmtreeMama]

DD is nearly 15months old

Had very bad reflux (we tried lots of different things, including me giving up dairy as she's ebf) nothing helped except time and omeprazole.

She has been referred to paediatrician- we are 6 months in to a 10month wait.

She still doesn't really want solid food, prefers puree, mash and mostly breastmilk.

She still breastfeeds as much as she ever did.... many times throughout the day.

She vomits most days.

Shes gaining weight and is on track as she has so much breastmilk.

She has now also started having diarrhoea ( previously one normal poo a day, now 3-5 runny/mushy poos a day, they smell vinegary)

GP hasn't seen her but has had several telephone appointments where they say as long as she's gaining weight and not listless then it's a case of waiting for paediatrician.

She also has started to develop eczema.

Any ideas what could be going on, should I be more worried? Any suggestions of things that may help?

Thanks if you manage to read all of this.

I would think maybe to much milk? I'd try and slowly wean her off and onto "real" foods if you can.
My ds was like this, to much milk as he'd have the runs and vomit, when he started eating proper food it calmed down and stopped.

But I'm not a doctor.

If she's vomiting a lot I imagine that might put her off solids. Let's hope if that sorts itself out she will gradually accept solids.
My DS had horrendous reflux and I was told it was the muscle at the bottom of the oesophagus isn't contracting enough/as developed as it needs to be. This usually spontaneously sorts itself out by 6 months- 3 years. If it hasn't resolved by 3 years it is likely to be lifelong as that indicates it is less just within the range of normal development and more likely the way their physiology is.
I was advised that exercise of the core muscles really helps so for a baby that's lots of tummy time, for an older child climbing frames, swimming etc. How physically active is your DD?

Her stools are no surprise given her milk/puree heavy diet. She needs fibre to improve her gut microbes as the vinegary smell suggests she's got the wrong flora going on in there (which would be expected on her diet). Maybe you could include more fibre in smoothies as a start, but her guts won't be right until her diet is more balanced... It's how you get there that's the tricky but if she's got strong preferences on what she eats.

Thanks @MeMyCatsAndMyBooks I absolutely agree she is having so much milk, its just feels impossible at the moment to reduce it as she still gets so much comfort and every time I try she gets so upset.

@SoCunningYouCanStickATailOnItAndCallItAFox thats interesting, she never sits still, but it's mostly pottering about with her toys and back and forth, I will look at climbing frames and take her swimming.

@SoCunningYouCanStickATailOnItAndCallItAFox

Yes you're right, it isn't the fruit purees, it's yoghurt, Mashed cauliflower and broccoli, some scrambled eggs, Porridge occasionally, she seems to regurgitate anything that's not a soft texture though

We also give a prebiotic but I will definitely look at how I can improve her diet.

Excema is a sign of allergy. Have you excluded soya from your diet too? Dairy allergies often combine with soya.

is she getting vit d supplements and a daily multivitamin?

I also think you need to start raising a fuss with the GP. Thats a crazy wait for a pediatrician appointment for a child who clearly isnt well.

This was my son. Severe persistent reflux and odd nappies. Gps fobbed off constantly because he was gaining weight and not bothered. It turns out it was multiple food allergies. He was reacting through my breastmilk. Dairy and soya exclusions never made a difference because I hadn't eliminated the other things.

I eventually took him to get private allergy testing at 8 months mostly just to rule it out and it all became clear. We both ended up off dairy, soya, egg and wheat and all symptoms went away within a week. Reintroduced wheat fine (it was never the issue) and now are slowly working our way through the ladders for the others. We are about 16 months into that process but it's going well

@SeaToSki apparently its not that bad a wait but I agree it seems crazy, my plan is to phone GP again and at least ask them to see her in person

Yes she takes vit D, iron, multivit and prebiotic each day.

Thanks @Sofarsogood123
How did you find a good allergy place? I've had a Google but all seem to be for older children or adults

Where are you based? I googled Paediatric allergy specialists and went from there. We are in London so might be more options.

I chose a consultant who leads the paediatric allergy service at a hospital I knew we could be referred to. So we started off private but they cross referred into the nhs. Now we have a mix of private and nhs care from the same consultant.

@Sofarsogood123

We are in the Midlands, I will expand the search, thank you for the suggestion

I'm happy to cut out food groups if it helps

She might be low on iron even though you are giving her a supplement. Too much milk can impair the absorption of iron and your breastmilk won't contain it. Definitely push hard for the gp to check her over in person.

Thanks @LegoGoldenDragon I will

A symptom of omeprazole can be runny stools

I would look up the paediatric allergy consultants in your local nhs hospitals and then see if any operate private clinics too.

Please do DM if you want any specific names or to chat. Happy to share

They also referred us to a paediatric dietitian who managed all the food exclusions for both me and my son to ensure we were getting what we need. It can be a giant puzzle and having a dietitian hold my hand through it was amazing. They also referred us to a feeding specialist to both manage the milk situation as my son was under 12 months and wouldn't take an amino acid formula and They also wanted to triple check that it wasn't a mechanical breastfeeding issue. I eventually stopped breastfeeding at 13 months (he was a very good eater though so he didn't need the milk so much and I appreciate that mightn't be the case in your situation) and things became infinitely easier once my diet wasn't in the mix.

I also have a friend who had similar with her baby and it turns out they had coeliacs disease so I would get the gp to open as many avenues of investigation as possible to keep the ball rolling.