Defeated :-(

[Anonymous]

Hi

I hope someone can help me or at least just offer some advice. This might be a long post but I need to give the whole background.

My baby girl was born via a c-section as she was frank breech from 30 weeks. I went into labor naturally two days before her scheduled c-section so she was full term. I had no complications during pregnancy and she weighed a healthy 3.5 kg. She was put on Aptamil comfort formula from day 1 as I had breat cancer last year so I am not able to breast feed. From about a week old she struggled with cramps. She would wake up every 30 min to hour and would pull her legs up and cry. She also screamed while passing stool. Doctors kept telling me she had colic. Eventually I took her to a Ped GI and he switched her to Similac Total comfort (at 3 weeks old) which is hypoallergenic 98% lactose free and its a milk based whey protein formula. She immediately stopped the cramping and crying when pooing but then started crying every night like clock work from 22:00 to 24:00 after which she will sleep until 5 or 6 the next morning.

Apart from the evening crying, she was good. She liked going out and she liked her stroller. She is not a great sleeper during the day. She sleeps very light and for short periods of about 15 to 20 min. I tried swaddling etc but it didn’t help much. Her night sleep is great but when she wakes in the morning and gets her first bottle and go back to sleep, she sleeps about 30 min and then starts doing something strange. She will start moving her arms around an grabbing or rubbing her face while breathing like someone with a blocked nose (weezing) and then straighten and also pull her legs up and frantically look or somethig to suck as comfort. This last for about 10 seconds and immediately she goes back to sleep. This continues in cycles for about an hour and sometimes she will start crying. She has done this every morning.

2 weeks on the new formula she started crying while sleeping or when waking up from sleeping. She seemed irritated often. This got worse. She would start screaming while eating, arch her back and neck, claw at the bottle, pull on the teat and then frantically suck again. She started vomiting and have wet burps. Her weight gain was fine. She also always through up when putting her flat to change and would hiccup a lot. I took her back to the GI and he said she has reflux. He gave me nexium sachets 10 mg and she gets half a packet in the morning and half at night. He didn’t give me any other info.

I then researched online about when and how to give nexium and also ensured her pillow is elevated and she is fed and kept upright. Within 24 hours she was a different baby. She was amazing. She seemed more sleepy but she was great. Fast forward one week later (which is a week ago), she started making th same wheezing noises at night and sleeping very restless. While making these noises she will rub her face and then pass gas. Very often, loudly and very smelly. Progressively she started with similar symptoms as before but it now seemed that she is crying during feeding due to gas. Se cramps and pushes and then brings up her formula. She gets irritated and seems to be crampy and gassy like crazy. Constantly passing gas and then stops crying when she has. She kept on waking up from cramps. When I massage we tummy, it seems to help. Past Friday it was very bad. She cried, passed gas, vomited and wet burped and instead of one dirty diaper a day, she had two to three which all looked different. I took her back to the GI yesterday and he now wants to do an upper GI contrast but hey can only help her in two day from now.

I live as an expat in UAE and have been to three doctors. No one listens or tells me anything. I made videos of what she does to show the doctors. Personally I am thinking hat the gas is due to nexium. I found a few posts online where people complained of that. After seeing the doc yesterday I decided to not give her her evening nexium, and although she was still a bit restless last night while sleeping, she did not cry from cramping but is still gassy. Today she hasn’t cried at all even though she is still gassy. I did give her her morning dose.

I have no idea where to go from here. Do I do the scan? Could it be the meds? Is her morning behavior perhaps normal? I really feel so helpless. All she has had is pain and discomfort.

Plse can someone help

[hellbennt]

yes! we can help! you’ve found the right place to research all you can for your baby- there’s a TON of info on this site to help you! it may seem overwhelming, but it TRULY will help!

I have a new computer so the links don’t always come through as links- please copy & paste them if they’re not ‘clickable!’

start by reading/scrolling trhough ‘Groupie INtro’

refer back to it

make note of Prevacid 101 (about all meds like prevacid, even nexium)

make note of MSPI links – this is milk/soy/ protein allergy/intolerance

make note of the differences/similarities of allergies & intolerances (to proteins)

I have a LOT to say and most of it’s here, in a link called ‘groupie intro.’

it’s looong but TRULY will help you- read through it, refer back to it, scroll through it/skim through it. You’ll find yourself coming back to it!

https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=853

you can do this!

please go to the top of this page, click on Settings and please then click on Edit Profile, then scroll down to

Signature & put:

baby (name if you want or nickname), age (can put month & yr of birth), meds, doses & forms of meds, breastfed or formula fed

thanks!

so glad you found us!

laura

[Anonymous]

I am SO sorry you and your little one have been struggling so much! (((HUG)))

My first 2 children were born by c-sections and I was not able to nurse them for very long. They both suffered severely from acid reflux and food intolerances mostly milk and soy protein. They were on reflux meds and special formulas with the proteins extensively broken down in it. I often felt desperate just like you. 🙁

In doing some research about c-sections, breastfeeding, and digestive problems, I found some interesting information…..

Whilst in your womb, your baby’s intestinal tract is sterile – and so its free from bacteria. From birth though, your baby begins the process of acquiring the friendly bacteria in the gut that play such a critical role in health and wellness.

How your child is born, strongly influences what kind of bacteria your child will acquire. Infants that are born vaginally begin accumulating beneficial bacteria including Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Escherichia coli (commonly abbreviated to E. coli) and Enterococcus in the birth canal with the very process of birth. These bacteria form the foundations of a healthy digestive flora and originate from healthy maternal vaginal and fecal flora.

Babies born via cesarean on the other hand, receive a different mix of bacteria at birth. This comes from the maternity hospital itself, notably from nursing staff and equipment and includes Clostridium and Streptococcus.

Following birth, the acquisition of digestive flora continues until your baby is around two to three months of age with most of this beneficial bacteria coming from the mother via touch, suckling and kissing.

The way in which you feed your baby also has a strong influence on his or her digestive flora. A breastfed baby tends to have greater numbers and types of beneficial bacteria than a formula fed infant, notably Bifidobacteria, Lactobacillus and Enterococcus. These bacteria, specifically those belonging to the Bifidobacteria clan (genera) thrive in the presence of breast milk proteins and constitute up to 90% of a breastfed infant’s micro flora. They help prevent harmful bacteria colonizing the infant’s intestine.

Newborns have an immature digestive system that has never processed food. The gastrointestinal system is literally just learning to function. Muscles that support digestion have not developed the proper rhythm for moving food efficiently through the digestive tract. Furthermore, newborns lack the benevolent bacterial flora (probiotics) that develop over time to aid digestion. This explains why a lot of infants outgrow colic within the first six months.

At ages 2 and 4 I started my boys on a probioitc and digestive enzyme supplement and they got WAY better!!! They started sleeping all night long, and in several months I started to let them eat dairy and soy and they have been eating it ever since! They still take 2 or 3 of the probotics and enzymes pills a day.

Some information on digestive enzymes and probiotics….

The pancreas is what makes digestive enzymes and puts them in our stomach to break down the food we eat. All foods have enzymes in them but anytime a food is cooked or processed it kills the enzymes. With our diets today of mostly cooked and processed foods it’s hard for our pancreas to be able to produce enough enzymes. Without enough enzymes in the stomach to break down the food the only thing our stomach knows to do is produce more acid to try to break it down. Too much acid in the stomach will cause heart burn, acid reflux, indigestion, irritable bowel syndrome, etc.

If a parent has a pancreas that isn’t producing enough enzymes then it is possible that their children can be born with a pancreas that doesn’t work well either. If the mother will take a supplement of enzymes and probiotics while pregnant she will pass these on to her baby and have a baby with a healthy digestive system.

Probiotics are the good, live bacteria that live in our body. One of the things they do is coat and protect our entire digestive tract (and also the ears and nose). When the stomach produces too much acid then it is forced up the esophagus and down the intestines and will kill probiotics. (Antibiotics also kill probiotics.) When the probiotics are depleted then the acid is traveling right up next to the , throat, esophagus and intestines with no protection. This can cause them to get raw, inflamed, and even bleed sometimes.

The company where I get the probiotics and enzymes from will ship to anywhere but I’m sure the shipping would be quite high. So if you are interested in trying to find a probiotic and/or enzyme supplement in your area then you can go to this page on my blog to learn more about what to look for…. http://help4acidreflux.wordpress.com/how-to-choose-the-right-probioticenzyme-supplement/

I wish you the best in finding help and answers for your little girl!

[Author]

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