A child of seven months who gags or chokes on solids needs more than a GI
specialist, seems to me.  And could the gassiness come from the diet of
breastmilk thickened with brown rice?  I don't know exactly what it means
that baby is aspirating thin liquids, is there some connection between the
esophagus and the trachea apart from the normal anatomic one?
The regurgitation and gassiness could also point to a suck/breathe/swallow
dysfunction and from the info given it is not possible to narrow it down any
more than that.
And what about baby's growth, which is not mentioned at all?

If this was a synopsis from the mother, meant for someone who was already
following her and therefore had all these seemingly missing pieces, it's
understandable.  For example, when I read the first part it was not clear to
me why all the elimination diet stuff would have been tried for a baby of 3
months who was waking every hour at night, so I assume that wasn't the first
thing they tried.  If baby was very regular with relatively infrequent feeds
the first couple of months (which we don't know from what mother writes), he
might just have needed to adjust mother's milk supply by 3 months, no?

Also, the mother writes: 'We have tried literally every possible sleep
solution imaginable, we have tried 4 or 5 different swaddlers, we have seen
numerous doctors and are now with a GI specialist.'   The baby is not yet
seven months old, so they can't have tried The No-Cry Sleep Solution, since
the author specifically refrains from labeling something a sleep problem
before six months and her method takes several weeks to implement.  But it
is clear that their nights are far from restful and the baby's bodily
position for sleep sounds like there is something really bothering him.
I'm not convinced that this is primarily a breastfeeding problem. Sounds
like a child with several severe problems that all have effects on the
breastfeeding, and therefore I would keep in mind the possibility that
changing something about the breastfeeding may not fix the problem - but if
the problem itself is found and addressed, the breastfeeding may well be
fixed in the process.  First step would be to find a doctor who understands
the role of breastfeeding in a child's life and does not start by
assuming breastfeeding is the cause of all the child's difficulties.  It is
impressive that his mother is still supplying milk for him.

The birth story may reveal something about the current situation too, of
course, though it's doubtful that there is much to be done about it this
late in the game.

I'll be interested to hear any updates on this child. I've got no ideas
about what it might be.

Rachel Myr
Kristiansand, Norway

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome