Overwhelmed trying to figure out what's wrong with my baby

[jzx]

I’m getting so worn out by the guessing game and just not knowing what’s going on with my baby. He was a bit early and he had a rocky start and was in high dependency for a week, but we came home and he was in good health. He stayed in the newborn stage for about 10 weeks, he did nothing but sleep and feed and was barely awake. When he was awake he was inconsolable and would cry a lot. He had reflux symptoms, eczema and loose stools so I cut out cows milk and soya on health visitors request. I thought I saw an improvement in his crying, but his skin was still sore and he was still having very loose (sometimes explosive) stools upwards of 10 times a day. I cut out eggs too, after a flare up almost immediately after eating them, and for a few days his skin looked a little bit better. This didn’t last, he became really unsettled again, his skin is still sore, he’s still having very runny brown/dark yellow stools. He has days where he is so unsettled and days where he seems happy. I’m now eating vegan, plus no soya. I’m starting to question everything. Is it wheat? If I cut that out too there’s barely anything left to eat. I’ve kept a food diary and it all seems so random, I can’t see any patterns apart from I probably do have wheat daily. I’m not convinced his symptoms have improved enough since cutting out dairy/soya that he is CMPA. He feeds relentlessly and I’m at the point I’d like him to have one or two formula feeds a day to give me a bit of a break but I’m too scared to introduce formula with all these potential and unconfirmed allergens. I’ve been referred to paediatrics and a dietitian but haven’t heard anything yet. I’m just feeling down with it all now and like I’m not getting anywhere. My GP disagreed with my health visitor and has told me I’ve cut out too much too quickly so now I don’t have a clue where I stand with it all. He’s now 3 months old. This is his skin, it’s all on his back, legs, arms and face too. I’m questioning everything. Does he have allergies? Which ones? Is it just eczema? Can he have formula? Which one do I trial him with? This is so stressful

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I can post a nappy pic too if it will help advise but I'm not sure if that is allowed or recommended. I'm just so fed up of not knowing whats going on

It's so tough. My advice, because you've already cut a lot, are to go on a Ted (join the TED Mamas Facebook group but be wary they are quite extreme!) I did a Ted and was able to get to baseline in 4 days And then start reintroducing. It was oat milk for us causing problems.

The skin could also be environmental so id suggest strip washing all his clothes in a long long hot wash with no power or softener and then only adding a tiny bit of powder from then on with lots and lots of rinses. This is also even if it's on his face, my DC was so sensitive to our washing powder their face would get eczema after just lying on a muslin for 10 mins.

Looks like excema.

Try rubbing sunflower oil on several times a day for at least a week. Midwives I know use it and it’s wonderful stuff. Just normal supermarket sunflower oil.

also I’d relax a little (literally I’m SUCH a worrier so this is said with no judgement) but babies are a complete mystery. They have horrible nappies, reflux, terrible sleep, cry for no reason, get weird spots….all sorts of annoying terror inducing crap. And then they grow out of it and a new worrying problem comes along.

try to enjoy your baby for the next hour without focusing on this. And then pick and set a hour later to not worry. Like just say to your brain, this is not worry time, every time it starts to worry. You’re gonna be missing so much good if all you do is look for possible (not at all likely) bad stuff.

I personally, genuinely, would decide my baby had all sorts of rare problems. Id search google and come up with a story about a baby who was born with a rash and then it turned out they had a one in a trillion skin flaking condition which meant they’d shed uncontrollably and need to be bandaged every day and I’d be sitting there like 😬😵‍💫😬😵‍💫 and then my husband would come home and shrug his shoulders and say Looks like nothing to me.

if your baby has an allergy it will become clear and you’re doing your best. Listen to the gp, take advice and be calm about enacting it. Of course if you feel your child is in imminent danger get them seen asap. Otherwise the doctors are likely not panicking because they are literally just not panicked.

sunflower oil 100%. If it doesn’t help it’s more likely an allergy thing.

His skin looks like he has eczema, but he obviously also has some digestive problems as well.
To make him more immediately comfortable, suggest use only hypoallergenic detergent on his clothes, and try a good eczema ointment on his skin at least twice a day.
His symptoms sound like my son's lactose intolerance. The advice on that would be, as I understand it, to try feeding him lactose-free formula for a few weeks to see if it helps. I guess you could try pumping and freezing breast milk in the meantime.
Good luck. My son's referral to pediatrics took 6 months, but he was older than yours. I tried cutting lactose in desperation in the meantime, and that sorted it.

Oh sorry also just re read your OP - if he’s always eating he may just be hungry baby so formula is a good idea. And like you say it’ll give you a break. Go for it asap. Call HV or doc and ask what stuff is best if you’re worried about intolerances.

Poor you and poor him, you both sound exhausted.

For his skin we were recommended to use rapeseed oil in Germany. Blot onto cotton wool and dab onto his skin.

Just wondering what you currently wash him with, and what if anything you put on his skin? Also what detergent and any other things like fabric softener that you use on his clothes? Are all his clothes cotton?

It may well be related to diet, especially if he is having digestive symptoms, but managing his skin needs to be done in addition to that until any food allergies can be identified and dealt with.

How often does he have a bath? Baths too often can also upset the skin. Ask the gp or health visitor for prescription formula to help

Hang on... it's all a long time ago for me and I worried a lot but...

Aren't runny dark yellow stools what you'd expect from a breastfed baby - sometimes you might have eight a day, watery stools? Not a problem, but the natural response to being fed breastmilk. Green stools are the ones to worry about.

'Feeding' is also what you'd expect from a breastfed baby - I'd expect a baby to be at the breast almost 24/7, maybe with up to 20 minutes off while sleeping. Suckling every 20 mins is the norm. Suckling for a breastfed baby is like breathing - you do it as often as necessary. It's not a 'feed' its 'living'. Also, putting the baby down to rest alone is not a thing - you wouldn't put a newborn down any more than you'd put down your arm or leg. That person was part of your body only recently.

I think you've been badly advised, OP. There's something wrong, something is causing your baby's rash. You've done exactly what I did and changed your diet (have you read 'Tracking Down Hidden Food Allergy' by William G Crook? Worked for me). But other things are ok, that have been interpreted as wrong, increasing your concern.

Your baby is three months and had a 'rocky start'. That's tiny. New. You're hardly underway.

I think the eczema cream twice daily is good advice. And you could gently continue adapting your diet - testing one food then another as you have been so far.

Have you tried applying breastmilk to the eczema? Sometimes it works.

Warning going to put a nappy pic in next comment!

His poos are almost all like this!

I was bathing him in Aveeno, only once a week on advice. Now I'm bathing him in just water a couple of times a week. I'm using cetraben on his eczema as I use this for mine.

I'd expect a baby to be at the breast almost 24/7, maybe with up to 20 minutes off while sleeping.

Not at 3 months I wouldn’t, for the first 6 weeks yes. But it sounds like the milk is shooting through him due to some kind of intolerance so he gets hungry again quickly and is struggling to metabolise it. How is his weight gain? He looks very pink and healthy to me apart from the rash, which is mild but yes definitely there. I would second trying sunflower oil.

DD’s nappies were permanently green and frothy (she was EBF), I couldn’t for the life of me work out why - much anguish over it for a few months then it stopped as soon as it started. Never found out why.

Sorry to disagree with a previous poster but do not rub sunflower oil on your baby! Babies with severe eczema are high risk for developing allergies and this often happens through exposure through the skin. You don't want to add a sunflower seed allergy into the mix. You need to manage the eczema. I would see an allergy consultant asap

Sorry I haven’t read all the posts… I think if he has skin and digestive issues it’s likely to be CMPA. What have you substituted his milk for ? We normally advise a hydrolysed formula ( as more palatable ) or an amino acid based formula ( if severe) which needs prescribing . Go to your Gp and ask for these… it takes 2 weeks of new formula to make a difference. Remember if you are also bf you need to cut dairy from your diet.

Sorry I just saw you are using Cetraben already. You might need a mild steroid to help clear it

I am breastfeeding and have cut dairy, soya and eggs out of my diet

Ps agree with above poster… no sunflower oil! Certraban good and steroids sometimes needed but need to identify trigger which is usually cows milk on this age group

My baby’s looked exactly the same. Zero allergies. Once she was about 4 months or so she started only going every 3-4 days.

We had slightly similar when DD was little. From 11 weeks old she had diarrhoea and was pooing up to 12 times a day, with horrible nappy rash.

I cut out dairy and it made next to no difference. I then cut out gluten which made a massive difference and she started pooing normally.

I appreciate it's difficult doing an elimination diet, but can you focus on meat, fish and vegetables and then see if any additional food you eat has an effect?

The skin and nappy stuff seems unrelated... It's normal for breastfed newborn babies to feed very often and their stools should be yellow and runny.

HVs are a nightmare with all sorts of outdated advice, did you speak to a midwife about your early concerns?

I’d be considering lactose intolerance. Sounds a lot like my niece was as a baby. Perhaps try a few bottles of lactose free formula and see how he goes.

What formul are you using?