Transition to milk question

babe2331

DS had his one year visit today with his pedi. Long story short, he's been battling with constipation issues since we began to introduce foods at 6 months. Also around that time, I noticed ezcemas on his chest and redness around his rectum- all signs of milk sensitivity. At the suggestion of pedi, we tried different things for the constipation. The problem never cleared up and we were finally sent to a GI. All the while we were never told to switch his formula to soy or something else. At the GI consult, she could find nothing physically wrong with DS and believes the constipation issues could be him just holding on. She also did not rule out milk sensitivity. She prescribed a liquid laxative, and DS is now going fine. He also still has the skin and redness issues Which have not responded to OTC remedies suggested by our pedi. Meanwhile, getting DS to eat is often a battle. He puts food in his mouth and spits it out. He does fine with puréed food when offered but doesn't eat a whole lot at a time. He only has 2 teeth.

Fast forward to today. Pedi believes DS may indeed have milk sensitivity (after reading GI report) which I know I brought up in the past. She told us to start him on soy milk 14oz per day and the rest food even if its puréed food for now. She also mentioned he is 1 pound overweight for his size (no idea how- he still wears Size 3 diapers and 9 month clothes with room to spare) I did indeed buy soy milk and DS drank it like a champ at bedtime. But he only ate 2oz of puréed beef with veggies for
dinner. So here I am at 4am looking stuf up. I'm reading lots of bad things about soy milk for boys. I'm also concerned he will not be getting the nutrients he needs because he's not a big eater. I am thinking of switching him to soy based toddler formula for now while we work on getting him to eat more (obviously not overdoing it with the formula). He sees the pedi again in 4 weeks for a weight/skin check. I know I should listen to my pedi, but my Mommys instinct says go back to formula. I just dont want to hinder my son's development, especially since hes notba big eater and we have to avoid dairy right now. Sorry for the long post! BTW GI said they can do a blood test for milk sensitivity but pedi said it isn't accurate. Sorry for the long post!

NewQueen

I'd follow the GI over the pedi, personally. Henry has eczema and the pedi prescribed him meds that the CHOP dermatologist said she would have never given to a baby his age. The pedi is great for sick and wellness visits but when if comes to anything else, I'd follow the advice of the specialist.


As for soy, I know that if there is a dairy alergy, it's not uncommon for there to also be a soy alergy. I'd get in to talk to the GI again if I were you.


Lastly...one pound overweight, really?! Do you like your pedi otherwise? I'd be giving them a bit of a side eye.

jessica0602

NQ said pretty much everything I was thinking. My gut tells me to follow the specialist in this scenario because they'd know best. Good luck!

Kernel14

I'm going to disagree with the idea you should listen to your pedi. Yes, they're smart but they don't always know everything. You are his mom and you know him better than anyone else. Sometimes your gut is smarter. And 1lb? really?

Kernel14

Also, he and Colin should be besties. Colin could probably go all day without eating. It's so frustrating. He's 11 months old and wears size 2 diapers and 9 month clothes.

babe2331

Thanks ladies for your support!  I think we're going to buy the toddler soy formula to give him at bedtime and naptime only for now.  Last night after he screamed for two hours at bedtime and kept throwing the bottle of soy milk and also water across the room, I caved and gave him the remaining 2oz of his baby formula that was in the container.  He inhaled it like it was gold, and passed out for 7 straight hours.  If we see he's not eating for an extended period, we'll give him the formula when needed.  I also think I'm going to get him a referral to an allergist to just get him tested so maybe we can avoid all of this trial and error. 

Kernal- I'm glad to see I'm not the only one with a kid who can go hours without food!

larrysdarling

Hey, I know I haven't been on here in forever. I do a lot of fb'ing with nesties these days. I'm also finishing up nursing school so I'm super busy. 

Anyway, I saw your prior post about his swallowing in the updates post a while back and I wondered if perhaps he could be having a swallowing issue. I know that sounds weird because he drinks milk just fine but sometimes kids and even adults can have a difficult time swallowing regular food or even purees.

 

Have you asked about doing a swallow study? I've seen them done clinically by speech and language therapists - usually they're done on people who have had strokes before they let them eat so they can make sure they're not going to choke or aspirate food into their lungs. A swallow study is not an invasive procedure but can be very helpful in determining if the cause of the issue is more structural as opposed to an allergy. The other issue is if he's got allergies, swallowing may be painful and by refusing to eat he may be signaling that it hurts to swallow.

Also, I hate to say it but I question the GI suggesting a 1 year old is just holding onto stool. Kids that age area basically incontinent and aren't able to choose to hold onto their urine or stool. If they were, we as moms would celebrate by ditching diapers way earlier then we do!  Continually using laxatives to get someone (or yourself for that matter) can cause dependency on the laxative to have a bm and can cause rebound constipation when you stop it. I'm not sure how often they need to be used but I'd probe the GI a little further about whether or not the use of laxatives regularly is appropriate for such a young child.  

I don't know if any of this helps but I thought I'd mention it. You're doing a great job advocating for your boy. If things don't sound right or you don't think the doc is on track, go elsewhere for another opinion. You know your kid best. Good luck!

Kernel14

Yes, just wanted to say ditto LD on being the advocate. Question EVERYTHING if you aren't comfortable. If I've learned anything this past year it's that you're the voice for your child so get as many opinions as you feel necessary until you are happy and comfortable with what is going on.