f/u to excessive spit up - and 4hr in the ER...

SanHawaii08

first off, I was relieved to hear the excessive spit-up was a common issue, and i was able to relax a little bit about it.  so thank you!  though, we were going through 2 burp cloths (gerber PF) per feeding - so a lot more than the 5/day Lori had mentioned! and we pretty much had to change him after every feeding, even though we were using a bib too.

then, I realized two things - 1. I used to think that E spit up less when BFing than bottle-feeding...I thought probably b/c he eats more at one sitting from a bottle - he eats so fast, doesn't realize he's full, and his tummy just can't handle it (the overflow that kshiz mentioned).  and 2. I had gone back to eating cereal in the morning.  cereal = milk.  so I stopped eating cereal and in the last 2 days, magically, E has stopped spitting up nearly as much!  it's what I would consider "normal" amounts now...so...who knows.  I'll continue to stay away from dairy for a bit, before trying again.  I've read that milk proteins take 2 weeks to completely leave your body, and i know there's hidden dairy everywhere (which I'm not paying attention to), but I guess if he does have a sensitivity, it's only to large amounts?  not that I drink *that* much milk with my cereal, but still. 

and we spent 4 hours at the hospital yesterday   he had a rash that turned into a perirectal abscess over the weekend.  the pedi took one look and sent us to the ER at children's.  one of the surgeons lanced it and we're hoping it's doesn't come back.  if it does, he'll need additional treatment (surgery?) to repair the underlying cause.  

i had really started to dislike feeding, b/c E was either eating, screaming when I was trying to burp him, or spitting up.  and now, virtually no more spitting up, and, no more screaming during burping - probably b/c he's no longer sitting on my arm, on a big abscess!  oops   ...i feel bad that I didn't realize how much it was bothering him before.  he didn't seem to complain more when it was touched or anything like tha

anyhow, so the combination of those 2 things makes feeding *so* much better again!  yay.

eta:  i'm taking probiotics, which I thought E would get through BM?  I will get some of the Udo's Choice though too, thanks for the rec!  The probiotics should help with the thrush too.

MrsNJSwimmer

what relief for you and E!  Poor little dude!  Sorry about the dairy issue - hopefully he will outgrow that. 

You said he's drinking from a bottle now - do you have ones that have different nipple sizes so you can control the flow?

SanHawaii08

MrsNJSwimmer:

what relief for you and E!  Poor little dude!  Sorry about the dairy issue - hopefully he will outgrow that. 

You said he's drinking from a bottle now - do you have ones that have different nipple sizes so you can control the flow?

he actually started out by drinking from a bottle (well, technically, he started by being fed by an IV, then a tube down this throat ), since he wasn't strong enough to BF.  We've only ever used dr brown's bottles, since that's what they gave him at the hospital - we were using preemie nipples at first, but moved to level 1's just before bringing him home 3 weeks ago.  I did briefly try going back to the preemies, but he had to suck really hard on those, so I decided that was too slow.  too bad there's not something in the middle.  maybe we should try a different brand?  he's only getting 1-2 bottles a day now though, since BFing is going better.  so we've just been using the level 1's and making sure to stop and try to burp him after every ounce or so. 

MrsNJSwimmer

SanHawaii08:

MrsNJSwimmer:

what relief for you and E!  Poor little dude!  Sorry about the dairy issue - hopefully he will outgrow that. 

You said he's drinking from a bottle now - do you have ones that have different nipple sizes so you can control the flow?

he actually started out by drinking from a bottle (well, technically, he started by being fed by an IV, then a tube down this throat ), since he wasn't strong enough to BF.  We've only ever used dr brown's bottles, since that's what they gave him at the hospital - we were using preemie nipples at first, but moved to level 1's just before bringing him home 3 weeks ago.  I did briefly try going back to the preemies, but he had to suck really hard on those, so I decided that was too slow.  too bad there's not something in the middle.  maybe we should try a different brand?  he's only getting 1-2 bottles a day now though, since BFing is going better.  so we've just been using the level 1's and making sure to stop and try to burp him after every ounce or so. 

shows what I (don't) know - I didn't even know there were preemie ones!  Maybe it was just the dairy then - hopefully everything goes back and stays back to normal!

MauiWedding08

SanHawaii08:

eta:  i'm taking probiotics, which I thought E would get through BM?  I will get some of the Udo's Choice though too, thanks for the rec!  The probiotics should help with the thrush too.

so glad things are going better, I'm sorry about the abcess issue but sounds like things are on the mend.  

re: probiotics.  Yeah, I took them too and I know some strains do pass through breastmilk but I also noticed positive differences (less gas, less spit ups, bright yellow poo) when Jack took them directly as well.  I'm sure the boosted direct dose of very specific strains probiotics helps.  Doc said there was no proof one way or the other but if it was working for us then by all means keep doing it.

inamra

I'm glad you found out how to cut down the spit up! I actually kept having dairy while BFing, so maybe that's why he spat up so much? I find it so hard to cut it out of my diet tho! But I'm glad you found the culprit and that he's doing much better!

Sorry to hear about the abscess--although, I'm glad you guys found out what it fairly timely. Hope it gets better soon!

lola808

Aw, how scary. I'm sorry that happened! I had to eliminate dairy from my diet many months ago after A had blood in his poop. And I'm not talking just a drop or a streak. After my dietary changes, it stopped and now I'm slowly adding it back. It's hard to completely cut it out -- milk products are in almost everything! Hope E is all better soon!

MrsNicole&Brian808

So glad to hear things are improving, even though it meant a visit to the ER.  At least things are looking up. 

I didn't think dairy would be a problem for us.  I suddenly become lactose intolerant while PG and thought I'd give it a try again after having Hank.  Bad idea.  He did spit up a lot and I had bad gas pains, although we seem to be okay with yogurt.

Have you tried a milk substitute so you don't have to give up your cereal?  I've gone back to almond milk.

jaysgirljulie

Oh my, you've really had it so hard lately! I'm glad it's getting better though, hang in there MaMa!

redshoegirl

Eeek! I'm sorry about the visit to the ER, but so glad things are going better now!

Married2MrWright

Wowee Sandra, that's rough! Glad you got it worked out. And glad the spit up issue is resolving...whew! Hang in their mama!