Forum : Mums

hi this is the first time iv posted on here but im literally beside myself and hoppe someone can offer me advice? My little boy is 18 wks on friday and it was mentioned at roughly 6 weeks that he may be lactose intolerant due to be fractious and bloated- he was also admitted to hospital for possible colic???? He has been on enfamil o lac for a few months now and his weight has increased he is now 18lb which i know sounds a lot but he does not look too fat or chubby and the hv said a while back he is catching up?? after having him weighed yesterday they are now saying I should see a paediatrician as he has gained 2lb in just literally over 3 wks!!! Can ANYONE offer me advice about intolerance testing and what it involves and if they have experienced anything similar/ I came out of baby clinic upset and angry yesterday as all iv done is follow their advice aand when i need answers i feel they pass me off! Im prepared to pay to see someone if it helps with him becoming settled. He is waking for a feed still in the night also but they have told me not to wean til 6 months Please Help :(

noahsmom - i cant offer much help on the intolerance but wanted to say that you should keep asking for more and more opinions. my cousin's little girl was lactose intolerant and she didnt get any useful information from anyone until 6mths old so
therefore had a very difficult time early on with no one really listening to her. he does sound like he is gaining a lot of weight though. how often and how much does he feed?

regarding him still feeding in the night, that is totally normal so dont let that worry you - a lot of babies dont stop night feeding until they wean, some dont even then! you shouldnt wean until 6 mths old and waking in the night for a feed is not a sign that they need weaning.

My litte girl hasnt fed properly since she was born, ive asked advice from everyone, we have been to the hospital three times, she used to scream with pain with every bottle, her nappys were dark green, she used to pull her legs up all the time and also would never lie still just always kicked about tryint to relive the pain in her tummy. HV and docs and nurse all told me it was colic, and tried to pass me on all the time. it got to a point where my little girl would scream everytime i put a bottle in her mouth she was what seemed to me as 'frightened of her milk' but still no one would have it, i used to have to feed her by putting her dummy in and swapping it for her bottle after every few mouth fulls. Its took me till two weeks ago where i went to the walk in centre and demanded someone to help me as i was pulling my hair out, she mentioned lactose intolerant and referred me back to my GP who prescribed me colief and cow and gate pepti junior milk for lactose intolerant babies! After nearly 4 months this has helped my little girl sooo much! Everyone has passed us on, fobbed us off, made us feel like we were doing something wrong, it got to a point where i was in tears everytime my baby needed fed. Its a mothers instinct to know something is wrong but no one is willing to help its hard enough having a baby than going through this.. Im just having a rant too as lactose intolerance is so distressing for a baby and i had no idea about it, so my little girl has been forced to drink loads of different kinds of milk since she was born with the advice of health visitors when they should of picked this up earlier. My poor little girl :( Also on doctors advice now, we have started weaning early which seems to be making a big difference as she will only drink 3 ounces of milk, so the food is toppping her up. she slept for 12 hours for the first time too!! Im a qualifed nurse but even i think childcare professionals need to stop reading books and looking at babies individually. (Rang Over) Thanx Ladies ha x

Rant over that is :) X

Noahsmom, allthough I have had lactose intolerance issues with both of mine I dont know much about the testing. I have read that you can test for lactose intolerance and have it confirmed but that also that as its an intolerance rather than an allergy the testing isnt 100%. My youngest had a milder intolerance so I have got away with using a comfort milk with him (50% less lactose). With my eldest who had a severe intolerance the GP took the view that as it often resolves itself after weaning he simply gave me a completely hypo allergenic milk on prescription and said we would test later if the problem didnt get better between 6-12 months. Im not sure that the weight thing will have any connection to the intolerance. I have had exactly the same with my youngests weight. He was born 7lb 2 and at 18 weeks he was a chunky 18lb 14. There was a few weeks when he put on almost a pound a week. They did mention a few times that if he kept on putting the weight on as fast he would have to be referred to the peadiatrician. Its just so that they can check there is no medical reason for the weight gain like diabetes or thyroid problems. I know how you feel though as I have found that it depends on who weighs him as to what gets said. Some have a lot more common sense aproach than others. I went once and was told I was overfeeding for his age so I asked to speak to somone else who checked his length and said his weight and his feeding appropriate was fine for his size. As far as your sons weight is concerned unless you think he isnt in proportion or that somthing is causing the weight gain like overfeeding I wouldnt worry to much. They do have to follow guidelines and refer you for medical advice if your baby dosnt fall in to the 'norm' on their charts but they really should be more helpful when you are asking for further advice. Perhaps a chat with the GP instead if you are concerned x

hey noahsmum

my experience with gps and hv when it comes to lactose intolerance and practically everything actual;ly is that they dont know a bloody thing and r quick to palm u off to soameone else. i figured out my oldest waslactose intolerant because a friend suggested she might be after i described her symptoms (same as ur son) and i found lactose free milk (expensive) and she got so much better she had a very severe allergy and was put on prescription milk literally even gravy powder with milk as an ingredient would make her ill but then at 12 months she tried some ice cream at her 1st bdaya dn was totally fine. she was 4 months b4 i discovered her allergy and with no help from drs. they didnt offer me testing all i did was cut lactose out her diet completely its in somany things u dont realise. and she was quite under weight i had been made to feel like a bad mum at the clinics when i took her to b weighed so id stopped taking her but she suddenly got really fat loadsa rolls little boobies everything really proper chubachub bless her and the gp said it was because she had been so starved for so long, because obv she was just rejecting all her milk up until then, that her body was just storing all the fat it could. but her weight evened out by about 6 months and she is now completely fine with an extremely healthy appetite and weight.

if u are concerned book an appointment to see a gp, or maybe a private dr of some kind? but i really dont think u should worry too much. if he is healthy and happy and finally getting his milk to stay in then id say listen to ur mothers instinct.

on some good news...my lo lucie did a massive poo today after i gave her a tummy rub and she was crying but then a few minutes after that she did a normal yellow breastmilk pooh and has been so happy since then YAY!!!

just read my post back, my lo katie (oldest) wasnt skinny and starving like iv made it sound she was under weight for her length (she has always been long/tall.) obv ididnt starve her lol just made it sound really bad like child abuse but iu get the point i was trying to make?

Iv got an app for Friday so fingers crossed! Iv put him on aptamil comfort today snd he had been ok so far but won't finish 6oz,,, I really think he needs something else not just fluids???? I might try him on a bit of rusk? Anyway thanks for your help I'll keep you posted:))

Hi Candice, haven't been on much lately so haven't read all replies but are you on lactose free diet yourself as it can pass through breastmilk? My nephew was severely lactose intolerant but my sister bottle fed. Hope you are all doing well and congratulations on the poo lol!!! xx

no i love milk never had aproblem with it i eat alot of yoghurt, milk in my coffee etc. my partner was lactose intolerant until her was 1 and my mum and sister r still lactose intolerant so hv and mw did say it was quite likely lucie wud b like katie is even tho its not genetic it does seem to b more common if other int e family already have it.
i am breast feeding all day (literally ALL DAY i feel like she's just hanging off my boob from the moment i wake up!!!) but at night she wakes up once and i give her formula then. and i had some champers on new years eve so she had formula for 24 hours and thats when her intolerance really took hold but shes so much better now doesnt scream al the time like at the beginning of the week

and thanks i was so happy about the poo lol