Any ideas for gassy toddler?

[aidenmc]

Hi there,

I was wondering if anyone could identify with our situation. My 16 month-old still has problems with gas. It is worse whenever he is teething and it causes him to wake often in the night. This has made it very difficult to get him to sleep independently which I know only compounds his sleep problems.

He has been gassy since birth, developed frequent bowel movements for 1 month at about 4 months of age. He also developed excema on his cheek at this time. By 7 months we had him on Zantac the Prevacid for reflux. He has been off that since about a year. At 7 months we also tried alternative medicine to see whether he was dealing with food intolerances. We took him off gluten, dairy and soy until about 13 months when we saw a pediatric GI specialist who did a physical check and said he was fine. She (as well as my GP) said that she questioned the validity of the alternative testing we had done. His reflux did seem to get better (although always worse with teething) by about a year and we were advised to take him off the Prevacid. We put him back on a regular diet and did not see much change in him (i.e. the diet did not really seem to ease his symptoms).

Today, the reflux seems to be gone, but he is still gassy. He will wake up to 6 times a night and want to BF for comfort. He has the occasional rash on his torso and recently has been scratching his buttocks so much during bathtime that he was starting to bleed. We cut down on baths and put a diaper on during bath which seems to help.

Anyway, I know this is long but we are exhausted and I know that we would have a better time wit the sleep if he was not so gassy. I really have no idea whether he has food intolerances or allergies or not and don't really know where to turn anymore.

Thanks,
Becky

[Sadiebird]

I'm in a similar situation with my DS.  He's 13 1/2 months old and has been on Enfamil Nutramigen full time since he was around 9 months old, for both his eczema and problems with gas.  When he turned a year old his pediatrician recommended that we switch him to regular formula to see what would happen before switching him to whole milk.  The first time we tried regular formula when he was 9 months old, he would get a red rash all over his face and body.  Well, this time, there was no rash, but he developed terrible gas and would wake at night screaming.  When I would go in to him he would burp when I picked him up and then fall back asleep.  After three days of this, I put him back on the Nutramigen and he was fine, no gas.  I've also tried doing a mix of 1/4 lactose free formula in with his Nutramigen thinking that he could possibly be lactose intolerent and I could introduce the lactose free formula gradually.  Again, he woke up at night with gas pain.  So we're back again on the Nutramigen (and going broke during the process!)

We had three blissful weeks of him quickly going to sleep and then sleeping through the night for the first time in his entire life.  These formula trials are messing with that bliss!!! 

So I'm here to commiserate with you and I hope someone can help us both!

[Mydreamcametrue]

Becky:

To me it sounds deft. like an intolerance to soemthing.  I would assume milk.

My lo is 15.5 mos. old and we have had gas and digestive problems since birth.  He is also very gassy.  we are in the process of seeing a GI at the Children's Hospital, so if I get some answers, I will be sure to share them with you.

What other symptoms is he having?  I have talked to a lot of people on here and they ALL recommend that I stop all dairy, but in our case I am not nursing and he would only be able to drink rice milk.  I am thinking though that is what we are going to have to end up doing.

- Do you ever notice mucus or runny poops?

Wendy

[aidenmc]

Hi Wendy,

We had a period of a month where Aiden had frequent poops (8-12 per day) that were mucousy. That was at about 4 months though. They do aften seem to be loose, although I am not completely sure how they should look. They just don't seem quite as solid as I would have thought they should be. I am very curious about what your GI  will say. My appointment resulted in nothing much. They said he had no problems but that we could keep him off dairy if we like. 

Becky

[Mydreamcametrue]

Becky:  You know sometimes I hate doctors. My son's allergist said the same thing.  At 9 mos he showed allergic to Soy on the skin prick test.  About a month ago, I called to see if we could have him re-tested because I wanted to stop dairy and try soy.  his comment was " You can try it if you want to".  Geeee thanks for the help.  He would not re-test him at that time.

The GI specilaist is doing blood work, so I will be able to see if he is still allergic by that.  But, then again it may not always so up and if it is an intolerance then it would deft not show up.

If it were me and I was still nursing, I would stop all dairy in my diet and don't give him any yogurt, cheese, etc. I would try it for 3 weeks and see how it goes. 

Good luck!  Wendy

[binxyboo]

Hi Becky,

Riley was a gassy baby, we had constipation issues, excema, gooky nose etc. As I was nursing, I cut out all dairy, including all dairy derivatives in food, which helped quite a bit, and he was okay if I ate some dairy now and again. When we started weaning at a year, I tried cows milk, which gave him horrible poopy diapers, full of mucosy, he was super fussy, excema flared uo again. So I pumped for the feeds I had to as I was staring back at work, but then when he started to self wean it became harder and harder to get any significant amounts when pumping. As I did not want to give him soy milk, I tried the calcium, vit d and b12 enriched rice milk, which he has done great on. He can tolerate yoghurt fine, not most cheese. It can take about two weeks to notice a difference if you try the dairy elimination diet. I have never had Riley tested btw. The tests often are not reliable and the only way to know for sure is to do the elimination diet. I found this site hepful http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/food-sensitivity.html

That rash sounds so uncomfortable, poor little pet. I love the Burt's Bee's range of products, so soothing, I don't know if they have anyting for something like that though...

All the best, Michelle

[aidenmc]

Hi Michelle. Thanks for your input! I didn't know there was fortified rice milk. I may have a look out for that. Any reason you are avoiding soy?

[binxyboo]

I was vegan for 13 years before I had lo and had quite a bit of soy in my diet. I had bad morning sickness throughout my pregnancy, worse in the first trimester and found I could not even have soy in the house because of the smell etc. I talked to my ob and she mentioned how soy is recommended as natural hormone replacement therapy during menopause, and maybe it was my body's way of doing what was best for the baby.

Now studies have since debated the effect of soy, saying it is not as effective as people believe, but there is enough research to back up the argument that having a lot of soy in the diet affects hormones. I thought this would surely not be good for a little boy esp. I also remember reading an article about how high soy intake is related to aggressive behavior in boys, but I can't remember the full details on why and how.

You can google it and find arguments for and against that amount of soy in your diet. Who knows which side is correct? But I have read enough to make the decision that it is not something I want Riley to have on a daily basis. His paed supports my decision. I am sure others would think I am overreacting, but am I am ensuring his nutritive requirements are being met as best as you can with a toddler, I feel at peace with my decision. Here is an interesting article, which I have to point out is from a website that imo swings to the extreme, but it is just one of many you will come across if you care to research for yourself. http://www.mothering.com/articles/growing_child/food/soy_story.html

Hope that helps a little, but I am sure you realise this is just my opinion and you will do what is best for your child.

All the best, Michelle

[Mydreamcametrue]

Michelle:  I have read the same things.  Soy is not good for a boy because it had estrogen in it.  There is no way that is good for a little boy.

Like you said there are so many agruments rather it is good or not and you can find SO much on the internet to make you even more confused. 

Like Michelle said just use your best judgement.  Luckily my lo is allergic to soy, so I never had to make this decision.

Good Luck