Baby gasping for air

kaitylin

Last week I took DD in because she had really green stools with a pretty significant amount of blood. The pedi was pretty sure it was a dairy allergy and had me go on a no dairy/soy diet. She also had me try Nutramigen to see if that cleared it up since the diary would take a little while get out of my system. It instantly seemed to do magic - no more green or bloody stools and DD's baby acne improved a lot. She did say that after a week on the diet I could breastfeed again (which is really important to me) and so today I breastfed twice. This morning there was a little bit of green poo after nursing but not too much and no blood, but then tonight while breastfeeding DD pulled away suddenly and started gasping for air like she could hardly breathe. It was very high pitched breathing, almost like the start of a bad hiccup but it wasn't a hiccup, she just kept gasping. I tried burping her but she was screaming a super sharp scream and gasping in for several minutes. It really really scared me. I've never seen this before. Could this be a reaction to dairy still in my system? I have been really good about the diet, even eliminating hidden dairies. It's only been a week that I've been on it (and I was giving her Nutramigen all week and pumping and dumping) so today was the first time breasfeeding again but I feel like symptoms should have gotten better not worse.

 I'm taking her to the pediatrician tomorrow but does anyone have any experience with this? Are there any other things it could be? Are there any tests I should ask to have done? I'm completely terrified to breastfeed my baby now and I don't even know what I should be talking to the pediatrician about or trying to have done. I really want to get to the bottom of this and make sure that this is in fact a dairy allergy and not something else.

magdusia

I'm sorry.. that must have been really scary!

i would try the elimination diet. Eliminate all top 8 allergens and see how she does and then slowly re-introduce them (not dairy).  You never know -it could be any of the top 8 allergens. 

Most doctors won't want to test her for allergies yet.. but i would talk to your pedi and ask her if it's a good idea to get in touch with an allergist. My allergist said she once tested a baby that was a few weeks old, so i know it's possible -but i know most doctors don't like to do it.

good luck and i hope the elimination diet works. 

Miller238

She could be reacting to something else in your diet like soy.  I was told 60% of kids allergic to dairy are allergic to soy.  I agree with PP to eliminate the top 8 allergens (dairy, soy, wheat, egg, peanut, tree nut, fish and shellfish) and then add them back in, one by one, to see if there are reactions.  I would also contact a pediatric allergist to see what they say.