I'm working with a mom right now whose baby has had a lot of GI issues since
birth. She recently saw a pediatric gastroenterologist who basically told
her that her baby's problems are because she's still exclusively breastfed
(baby is 7 months), and that baby just needs more fiber in her diet (despite
the fact that baby's poops are still soft, so she's not constipated). Mom
has given me permission to post her story in hopes that some of you might
have some suggestions. I'm thinking that baby is reacting to something in
mom's diet, and I've suggested to her that she should wait to start solids
at least until baby's allergy test results come back. Any thoughts or
suggestions are greatly appreciated. Below is the e-mail the mom sent me:

Baby had acid reflux symptoms as soon as she was born and she vomited
(projectile) starting very early (2nd week), and her symptoms of the painful
reflux subsided.  She has had all indications of being a 'happy spitter' in
which she regurgitated up to about 30 times a day  but showed no other real
signs that it was causing any damage:  very good weight gain, no screaming
in pain, very happy baby.  She suffered from mild colic in the first 2
months.  (no horrible pain screaming, but lots of discomfort and awake all
the time)
 
In the last two months (she is now 7 months old) she has shown increasing
signs of discomfort, seeming to cry for no reason, wanting to be in the
sling and against me almost all the time.  She has always had multiple poops
per day, and in the last month has begun to skip days between single poops,
which is very much out of the ordinary for her (consistency is still quite
fluid, but a bit darker than before).  No eczema or diaper rash.
 
She has been treated with naturopathy, chiropractic and craniosacral massage
therapy for the past three weeks, resulting in a slight improvement. Her
discomfort however seems to still be increasing, with more crying and
neediness.  My naturopath thinks that the colic might have disturbed the
usual top-down messages of the digestive system, and that the signals are
uncoordinated.
 
We saw a pediatric gastroenterologist on Friday, who told me that I was in
his office because I am still exclusively breastfeeding her.  He checked her
belly and told me that she has a LOT of air in there, and that the pressure
in her abdomen is most likely what is causing the regurgitation (it's easier
for the stomach contents to go up rather than down into the high-pressure
digestive tract).  He said he's seen this many times before, and that if I
continue to exclusively breastfeed her, that she'll have to go on stool
softeners in her second year because the constipation will get very severe
by then, and in fact that she might need softeners just the same, even if I
do all he tells me to.  This is all being caused by her 'lazy' digestive
tract, and that she needs more fibre in her diet.  He actually told me that
breastmilk is binding, and that kids with digestive systems like her's just
need more fibre to get things moving well, and keep them moving.  No
diagnostic tests for reflux have been done, and I'm loathe to do them anyhow
because they are so invasive.  The Dr. was just so positive that this is a
pressure issue rather than a reflux problem.
 
His suggestions:
1.  Get her eating oat and barley cereal ASAP.  5 days (mornings) of one,
then 5 days of the other, then 5 days of mixed, then switch between them
every day.
2.  Once 15 days of cereal have been given, start with 5 days each of
squash, beans, and peas at lunch.
3.  Get her drinking water from a bottle or cup ASAP
4.  Every diaper change, apply zincofax/desitin to her anus to help
stimulate bowel movements 
5.  Limit breastfeeding to 4-5 feeds per 24 hr day, and only 10 min. at a
time (this just seems crazy to me).
6.  ABSOLUTELY NO rice, sweet potato or carrots, as these are binding.  (I
had mentioned that I started my son on sweet potato at 11.5 months as his
first food).

I have tried eliminating dairy, soy, eggs, garlic and other spices from my
diet (I eat no shellfish or nuts either), with no apparent relief for baby
Our naturopath took some blood from her for allergy testing.  I've been
taking fish oil and flax seed oil to boost the fat content of my milk for
her, but haven't given her anything but breast milk directly.

Fleur Bickford RN, LLLL

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

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
Mail all commands to [log in to unmask]
To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or [log in to unmask])
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet or ([log in to unmask])
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]