Reflux baby update

[Rochelle Marsden]

Just spoken to mum who saw the paediatrician yesterday. Guess what - a milk intolerence was suggested and although mum mentioned Nanny's milk the doctor said he would prefer it if the baby went on a soy formula (No comment!!). However since he started on this yesterday he has had no screaming fits or discomfort. The doctor has arranged a scan - it will be in the next few days of his kidneys - which he wondered if they were a bit enlarged (could this be the terrible medication he was on?) and intestines. The doctor also said that the Gaviscon would have made things worse for a milk intolerant child. Mum is also going to go with my suggestion that she gives this hungry baby a bit of avocado and or banana. One of my children , because he was so hungry, had natural food very early and didn't suffer from it. With this child it maybe a case of less milk and more food as early as possible. Mum also raised the possiblility that the few Dioscora that he had may have helped him a lot as he was better after these.

Thanks for all your help and suggestions on this one.

Rochelle
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Original post
I saw the child and mum yesterday. Mum has stopped all the baby's allopathic medicine after telling her doctor that she intended to. The doctor did not try to stop her!!!

The baby was asleep for a while but when he woke he was a happy little soul for 5 mins. Then his face screwed up and he started to sob in pain. He was wriggling and arching his back. He was > for being on his stomach but amazingly what appeared to stop the pain was me lifting him up in the air and down again continually which was hard on the arm muscles!!! Mum had not discovered this before. He also constantly clawed with his hands and Mum said he will grip on clothes she is wearing. He had no fear being carried by me and also went to the student who was in the clinic observing.

He is a hungry baby and I really wonder if it might help if he was started on food rather than 3 hourly bottles. By food I mean mashed avocado, banana- natural foods.

Mum was on injections of Fragmin(heparin) throughout the pregnancy because blood clots were found when she had pain in the womb and then in the chest when she had an inflammation of the cartilage around her lungs at 20 weeks and she was found to have Factor 5 Leiman. This means the blood is thicker and more susceptible to clotting. She has found that this is inherited.

His birth weight was 8lbs 8ozs and he was full term. Mum had along labour which ended with her having a epidural and the baby was posterior presentation. He was very contented and settled for 3 .5 weeks before this all started. When it started he was put onto Omniomilk - a thick formula which is meant to be easily digestible but it brought him out in a bad eczema on his face and in 3 days he stopped feeding. At the children's hospital he was taken to palpitation revealed something on the left side and a surgeon was called. The surgeon said it was nothing and despite the doctor calling him back for another feel he said the same. Now I could feel a swelling below the ribs on the left side where I (not a doctor) would imagine the spleen was. Anyhow the hospital put him back on the Cow and Gate formula and his face cleared up and he started feeding again. He was sent home after being given antibiotics by drip in case of an infection and testing his blood which revealed nothing.

Mum says that when he is bad he doesn't seem to like being held and seems to scream for when picked up. He has a red face when screaming and although his forehand feels hot his hands feel cold. The intermittent screaming stops after the last bottle whether that is given at 6 or 7 pm. He sleeps well on his tummy but these days one is warned against putting a baby in that position so he is laid propped up to sleep in a sleeping bag. During the course of the night he continually draws his knees up and wriggles to the other end of the cot, round the wrong way . He is moved back about 3 times during the night but sleeps until 7 am and wakes up happy. After 15 mins or so he whinges to tell mum he is hungry and then the cycle begins although it can take an hour or so after that first bottle before the pain begins. Sometimes - and I didn't see this he gulps and his face screws up as if something (acid?) has come up and he screams. He does not choke. He has a little bit of a cough during his sleep every couple of nights. Stool is fine- but more formed since the Gaviscon in the bottle. This has now been stopped. He had a better day according to mum yesterday after the no medication and a few drop doses of Dioscora 30 as soon as the screams started.

Next report will probably be on Wednesday after a paediatrician sees the baby as dad now wants to know if it definitely reflux or if there is an obstruction.
www.rochellemarsden.co.uk

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