Mucous and runny poos - any ideas what I could be missing?

[~Jen~]

Nappies getting worse again. 

Looking back at what I've been eating the food chemicals are high. While cutting out starches, I'm eating things like avocado and rasberries regularly which I believe are listed as very high. Given it is about 5 days cutting starches, I think time to focus on the food chemicals and see if it makes a differenc. Was really hoping it was as easy as a probiotic and starchy foods. But the nappy this morning was so runny and mucousy that there is most definitely something still irritating her.

[*Liz*]

Is she unwell though Jen??

Don't forget that bit otherwise it's a hard chase yk?!!

We have a lot of mucous here now, but clearly his milk is the same, and our overall trend is slowly upwards. He's much looser since starting omeprazole so maybe that is the reason??

I think C is on the same?? Just a thought  .

[~Jen~]

No definitely not unwell - super happy and smiley all day long (except when I try and get her to take a nap  )   

The only problem is the weight gain.  I probably wouldn't be too worried about the mucous given she is well and we had the same with Caitlyn and despite all my efforts to figure it out, I think it just cleared up with time.  But Caitlyn was gaining weight and that is the issue with Caia.  The Paed did this test of her stool which is telling us the degree of inflammation in her gut and apparently the latest results were "really bad".   The first test was bad and then tested 3 weeks later and the number doubled so that sent him into a flurry of concern.  He believes the inflammation is causing her not to absord food and so not gaining weight.  He also said there is a small chance there could be an internal problem but we won't know for sure unless he looks inside which would be last resort. 

She is on Omeprazole... interesting about T's mucous increasing on it.  Everything is a bit foggy but if I remember correctly her nappies started getting much more mucous around the time we started it.  I wonder if worth taking her off of it for a few days to see?? That definitely scares me though!   

[ZacsMumme]

Hugs hun, the inflammation test was probably calpractin or something like that. If going up exponentially then something is troubling the gut for sure.

How long has she been on the losec for? I'm sure my T got more mucusy before it went altogether that said we had to put him on neocate as dietary changes just wasn't enough, my milk just seemed to make him sick period.

I'm assuming before they do anything invasive they would trial neocate first...or not...

[~Jen~]

Yes exactly. It was a calprotectin test and it was something like 160 and then jumped up to 350.  So not great. Paed does want to do Neocate trial to see if it is my milk. If she improves, we know it is me /my diet. She doesn't take a bottle though even with EBM. So trying to get her to take Neocate by bottle is going to be tough. If she does start putting on weight Paed is willing to put off the trial and keep watching her.

[~Jen~]

On Losec for about 7 weeks now.

[deb]

Are the probiotics dairy-free?

[~Jen~]

Yes that is what I was told but will double check.

[*Liz*]

If they want a neocate trial are they prepared to admit her and sort the bottle issue for you?? Sometimes they will.

I have done 2 'hardcore/ cold turkey' breast to bottles  . I did it with DS1 at 5 months due to the exact same thing you are doing now - severe reflux and poor weight gain - and with DD at 8 months due to me needing to stop feeding on my medical grounds. Neither was necessarily my most shining parent moment - but I have done it if you end up needing support through it  .

[~Jen~]

Ugh, so gutted.... she hadn't poo'd in almost 2 days and I was so hopeful it would be a good one with all the diet changes.  And it was just filled with bright yellow runny liquid.      Feeling really unmotivated to keep going on such a strict diet without seeing improvement.  I just want to keep BFing her - why does it have to be so hard!?!? 

Thank you Liz.  It would be great to get your advice / BTDT when teh time comes.  Paed is away for another week so I have some time before the next weight check.  At last visit, he did say if she won't take the bottle/cup/or syringe then he will have to admit her and put in a feeding tube.     I can't even think about that right now. 

[deb]

Aw, so sorry.

If she won't take the Neocate any other way, could you try giving some to her in a syringe, like medicine?

Both mine became whizzes at drinking straws once they got the hang of them, but your DD might still be too young for it yet. (I regretted it with DD2, who was so happy to find that she could guzzle an entire feed in 30 seconds thru a straw that she quit nursing cold-turkey one night, AFTER I'd given my friend my breast pump! That was a long drive to her house and back! LOL)

Will keep mulling this over....

[*Liz*]

Thomas was tube fed on NICU for a week. He was on CPAP for a week with breathing issues after birth. So something else I have BTDT  .

I understand wanting to keep BFing. I felt that so strongly with both of mine, but once I stopped and the hormones settled I felt SO much more settled about it. It's a pure, basic, human nature driven thing. And I have also had the guilt over not feeding my third (I can't feed anymore due to breast cancer surgery - you might know that so sorry if repeating myself  ). It's all pretty rubbish  , but Thomas does love his stinky milk  , and Megan did love that bottle that she only took at 8 months  . She was 2.5 before she gave up that bedtime bottle  . Jacob never loved it, but he fought it less than he fought me.

How much does she weigh?? Poor thing does need to gain doesn't she  ?

[ZacsMumme]

Oh hun its so hard, reading your post takes me back to T. Not that he was as poorly but the feeding struggles and pain is just the pits.

I understand wanting to keep BFing. I felt that so strongly with both of mine, but once I stopped and the hormones settled I felt SO much more settled about it. It's a pure, basic, human nature driven thing.

I do too, I luckily BF Z for 18 months but T was cold turkey to Neocate at about 10 weeks. Thing is through all the guilt and feeling the 'need' (innate not even conscious) to BF after 3 days on that 'stinky' (love that name Liz) milk he was a different baby. Knowing the pain was eased was worth not BF yk.

also here to hold your hand through it hun.

[~Jen~]

The thing is it would almost make this much easier if I could see her struggling/pain and then it would be worth it to make her feel better.   I could do that. Her reflux seems to be under control now with the Losec so that pain is dealt with.  With DD1, I could see she was in pain and I was really happy to do Neocate trial to see if it helped.  For her in teh end, it didn't really make a difference so I was able to keep feeding her and eventually the mucous cleared.   But Caia doesn't show any signs at all - she loves BFing and is such a happy baby and loves to eat.  It is just this weight issue that is causing the problems.  She poos as she eats and it is almost like it goes in and comes right back out in her nappy - gut not absorbing?

Her weight isn't even that low.. I think a week ago it was 5.7kg (this was a nice big jump up which gave me hope) and gave us another 2 weeks to try and get the weight up some more.  It is the dropping centiles that has paed worried.  She started out just above the 75th centile and now is down around 25th.       

[ZacsMumme]

Oh hun so many hugs. Its really tough when we can't work out whats going on. Wish they could tell us. There are many things it 'could' be ... a range of intolerance's from lactose to something like FPIES but try not to worry too much right now sweetie if she is ok in herself atm. Your pead sounds onto it and proactive and will no doubt get to the bottom of it.
When is your next visit?