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#1
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Normal or not? Acne+rash, fussiness, screaming, sleeplessness, etc
I've looked on kellymom.com which has been useful, but everything is
either normal or a sign of a problem. My 6wk old next Monday daughter got baby acne last week. Normal. But now it looks more like a big rash across her face. very red. It's also spread to her neck, ears, head, and upper chest. That part is still very acne like (pimples with white heads), but her cheeks look more rash like. Gets worse when she feeds, which could be the heat (it's super hot here, though we are inside w/a/c, she still gets all sweaty when she feeds). This made me think perhaps it's the breastmilk itself with direct contact causing a reaction on the skin - her face gets covered with BM when she pulls off, she's a messy eater. Sleeplessness - she was a good sleeper at first but is now sleeping very little. She managed 3 hrs today because she was so wiped out from little sleep the last few days. She'll sleep in stretches of 10 min - an hour max. She sleeps a little longer at night but not much. Fussiness/screaming/crying - she doesn't cry a lot, more often she's just fussy. This is usually at night (normal right?), but now a bit more during the day. I gather that's due to being so tired. However sometimes when she nurses, she does pull off and let out a scream. It doesn't last, it's one quick scream, then she'll go back to nursing. This made me think of a food allergy (dairy maybe?). I basically eat what I crave, but have massive dairy cravings (cheese, yoghurt mainly). As of today I've cut dairy out but I guess it'll be awhile before i see any changes. How common really is a dairy allergy? Gas - she has it, but doesn't every baby? It's hard for me to know what's normal. She farts. But she doesn't seem hugely bothered by it. Her stools are normal - mostly yellow and seedy, occassionally mucousy and occassionally green (usu. at night). Her pedi said all that was normal. Thoughts? Advice? Is any of this related - ie rash+fussiness+sleeplessness = dairy allergy? |
#2
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Normal or not? Acne+rash, fussiness, screaming, sleeplessness, etc
cjra wrote: Thoughts? Advice? Is any of this related - ie rash+fussiness+sleeplessness = dairy allergy? I remember things getting really weird at 6 weeks - I think there's a growth spurt there, which could account for the fussiness and sleeplessness. I don't have any direct experience with allergies, but my cousin had a severe milk allergy (it was so bad that he had to go on soy formula), and his symptoms were severe diaper problems (bloody diarrhea or really bad diaper rash, or both), major gas, and other intestinal stuff. Although, I suppose everyone's different. I'll let someone else speak to whether or not it could cause a skin rash. I guess one way you could check would be to put a bit of milk somewhere weird, like the bottom of the baby's foot, and see if a blister develops there. Might sound a little, well, mean, but at least you'd know for sure if it's the milk, or if it's just baby acne. Oh, the spraying thing should slow down a bit soon, too, as your body stops overproducing milk. Have you changed anything lately, laundry detergent, soaps and lotions that you use on the baby, soaps and lotions that you use on yourself? I still can't wear perfume, because it just freaks my 1 year old out. Maybe you've changed something and that's what she's reacting to? I know the first few times I wore perfume, before I figured out the link, I felt like there was an announcer saying, "We have replaced Amy's baby with this other, rotten screamy baby... Let's see if she notices!" I would inventory every product you're using on yourself and on the baby, and see if anything has changed recently. Laundry soap can be a big one. We use All Free, which has given us good luck. I wash everything in it - after all, she's on us all day. Just washing her stuff in special detergent wouldn't do much good, IMHO. It couldn't hurt to try eliminating dairy from your diet, but make sure you're getting enough calcium otherwise. Those chewy chocolate supplements are great!! Can't remember what they're called... I think I'd hold off and see if things don't improve in a week or two, because like I said, things got a little weird at 6 weeks around here. Everything was much easier at 8 weeks. By 12 weeks, life was almost normal again. Hang in there, Amy |
#3
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Normal or not? Acne+rash, fussiness, screaming, sleeplessness, etc
On 2006-08-12 08:15:25 +0800, "cjra" said:
I've looked on kellymom.com which has been useful, but everything is either normal or a sign of a problem. My 6wk old next Monday daughter got baby acne last week. Normal. But now it looks more like a big rash across her face. very red. It's also spread to her neck, ears, head, and upper chest. That part is still very acne like (pimples with white heads), but her cheeks look more rash like. Gets worse when she feeds, which could be the heat (it's super hot here, though we are inside w/a/c, she still gets all sweaty when she feeds). This made me think perhaps it's the breastmilk itself with direct contact causing a reaction on the skin - her face gets covered with BM when she pulls off, she's a messy eater. Sleeplessness - she was a good sleeper at first but is now sleeping very little. She managed 3 hrs today because she was so wiped out from little sleep the last few days. She'll sleep in stretches of 10 min - an hour max. She sleeps a little longer at night but not much. Fussiness/screaming/crying - she doesn't cry a lot, more often she's just fussy. This is usually at night (normal right?), but now a bit more during the day. I gather that's due to being so tired. However sometimes when she nurses, she does pull off and let out a scream. It doesn't last, it's one quick scream, then she'll go back to nursing. This made me think of a food allergy (dairy maybe?). I basically eat what I crave, but have massive dairy cravings (cheese, yoghurt mainly). As of today I've cut dairy out but I guess it'll be awhile before i see any changes. How common really is a dairy allergy? Gas - she has it, but doesn't every baby? It's hard for me to know what's normal. She farts. But she doesn't seem hugely bothered by it. Her stools are normal - mostly yellow and seedy, occassionally mucousy and occassionally green (usu. at night). Her pedi said all that was normal. Thoughts? Advice? Is any of this related - ie rash+fussiness+sleeplessness = dairy allergy? It all brings back memories. My son had REALLY bad neonatal acne from 4 - 8 weeks or so. Then came the cradle cap, which litterally stunk and was thick and crusty. That lasted until about 5 months. The screaming at the breast (for me, at least) was due to too much coming out at once. The sleeplessness (I think) is due to them being so much more aware of everything, and easily overstimulated by all this new awareness, leading to overtiredness and, yup, fussing, crying, screaming. It's awful. Sometimes all I could do was put him in the bjorn and bounce on the birth ball to calm him to sleep. Then we discovered the shower's power (that rhymes!) one night when even the bouncing did nothing. He fell asleep in the shower immediately. We stayed in there with him until he got floppy and although he did wake when we took him out to dry/dress/feed him, he went back to sleep easily then. I don't think I'd jump to the allergy conclusion just yet. Gas is caused a lot by crying, so if they both started at the same time, then you probably have nothing to worry about there. Hang in there. The best advice I got when we were at that stage was, 'This, too, shall pass". Jo -- Woman, Wife, Mother, Midwife |
#4
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Normal or not? Acne+rash, fussiness, screaming, sleeplessness, etc
My 6wk old next Monday daughter got baby acne last week. Normal. But now it looks more like a big rash across her face. very red. It's also spread to her neck, ears, head, and upper chest. That part is still very acne like (pimples with white heads), but her cheeks look more rash like. Gets worse when she feeds, which could be the heat (it's super hot here, though we are inside w/a/c, she still gets all sweaty when she feeds). Ds was born in the middle of a hot summer last year and he got heat rash as well as what the midwife called a hormone rash. Apparently caused by the residue of my hormones coming out after birth - or something. He did also get an eczema infection which needed treating, but that was really itchy so we knew it was something different. Sleeplessness - she was a good sleeper at first but is now sleeping very little. She managed 3 hrs today because she was so wiped out from little sleep the last few days. She'll sleep in stretches of 10 min - an hour max. She sleeps a little longer at night but not much. As ds's sleep has improved greatly since last year it's been easier to notice that the heat really affetcts his ability to get to sleep and stay there. In cooler weather he drops off after about 10 minutes of wibbling, in the heat it has taken up to an hour, despite every effort to make his room cool. Fussiness/screaming/crying - she doesn't cry a lot, more often she's just fussy. This is usually at night (normal right?), but now a bit more during the day. I gather that's due to being so tired. However sometimes when she nurses, she does pull off and let out a scream. It doesn't last, it's one quick scream, then she'll go back to nursing. This made me think of a food allergy (dairy maybe?). I basically eat what I crave, but have massive dairy cravings (cheese, yoghurt mainly). As of today I've cut dairy out but I guess it'll be awhile before i see any changes. How common really is a dairy allergy? I thought what you did. For me going dairy free didn't work. It turned out one breast had a flow that was too fast so I used to lean back more and tip him slightly over me to feed. It settled down after a few months. Annoyingly the other one is too slow so bf'ing has never been an easy affair. He also gets stroppy when he's tired. Routine is important to him. Gas - she has it, but doesn't every baby? It's hard for me to know what's normal. She farts. But she doesn't seem hugely bothered by it. Her stools are normal - mostly yellow and seedy, occassionally mucousy and occassionally green (usu. at night). Her pedi said all that was normal. Ds had horrible gas and you could see the relief when he did fart, so perhaps it's the built up gas that is bothering her? Neither infacol nor gripe water helped (though some swear by it), and at the time I wasn't confident enough to know how to massage his tummy (which is supposed to help). Like many things it settled down after 3 months. Thoughts? Advice? Is any of this related - ie rash+fussiness+sleeplessness = dairy allergy? It could be, but it could be just all the other things you have mentioned. I certainly felt it was worth going dairy free to find out because I had read so many success stories. I would have felt bad if I hadn't tried, although as it turned out he is fine. He is allergic to eggs but my eating them doesn't seem to affect him, as going egg free has made no difference to him. HTH a little. As Jo said, if it's not anything like intollerances, then it will pass. Jeni |
#5
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Normal or not? Acne+rash, fussiness, screaming, sleeplessness, etc
cjra wrote: I've looked on kellymom.com which has been useful, but everything is either normal or a sign of a problem. (symptoms snipped) Thoughts? Advice? Is any of this related - ie rash+fussiness+sleeplessness = dairy allergy? This does not sound normal to me, but there is a certain degree of... familiarity. Let me just tell you abut my experience. For the record, I too have a first cousin with a life-threatening milk allergy. My girl had terrible baby acne which cleared up when we started washing her face with Cetaphil. Not anywhere but her face, but the Cetaphil DID help with that. I think that was normal baby stuff; spreading to the neck and chest, not normal. My girl *did* have a dairy allergy, and it took us years to figure it out. She always had very rosy cheeks; and she kept scratching them (and drawing blood every several weeks.) We never put two and two together, though, and thought of it as a rash. She developed horrid gas at around six weeks old, and at around six months old she started to spit up (and had never been a spitter before that, not *at all*.) As she got bigger, she would have bouts of mystery hives -- they never seemed to itch or bother her, but they looked terrible, and they were all over her body. One day, when she was almost two, she was diagnosed with a peanut allergy; she tested negative to milk, believe it or not... but I had a suspicion that just wouldn't go away, and pulled her off dairy as an experiment (and me, too, since she was still nursing at that point). This was really hard for all of us, because she was at this point a kid who would want a glass of milk and some yogurt topped off with string cheese for breakfast in the morning. The results were *astounding.* We thought our girl just had very rosy cheeks; as it turns out, they were constantly inflamed due to exposure to cow dairy. When we put her on soy milk, her cheeks turned a more normal color, the mystery hives went away, she started sleeping better at night, and a number of behavioral problems vanished. In her case, she could still tolerate small amounts of dairy -- call it a piece of string cheese a day -- but we put her on soy milk and soy yogurt. We could tell when she went over her tolerance limit because her cheeks would turn blazing red again... As for that negative test, the allergy has since told me that it not all allergies are mediated through the IgE reaction, and that given the obvious and reproducible effect of feeding her too much dairy at once, that must be what we were seeing. If there's one thing I've found over the past couple of years, it's that allergies are still only very poorly unserstood by medicine. Hope for the future, for you: The past couple of weeks we've been experimenting with letting her eat more dairy again, and the allergy appears to be gone gone gone. No red cheeks, no mystery hives, nothing. (Now if only I could say the same for the peanuts... sigh...) My advice based on my experience: It is possible and even likely that you've run into a food allergy or sensitivity. From what you're describing, it sounds like it's a lot worse than we had it; which is a curse and a blessing, because you have no choice but to deal with it, but at least you won't have the guilt of leaving it untreated for two years. :/ It's easy enough to experiment; plan out one dairy-free week and see if you notice any improvement. Be careful about dairy in things like baked goods, though, as it just may be your baby is sensitive to that degree; it might be best for the week to stick to simple meats, vegetables, fruits, rice, and olive oil instead of butter. If you want to be very scientific about it in case it's a problem with something besides dairy (wheat springs to mind) there are lots of elimination diets available out there on the internet that could help you find out if it's any of a number of foods, and since it sounds like you could be dealing with a more serious problem (or at least a more serious reaction) I'd strongly encourage you to try one. It'll no fun, but you would get a lot of peace of mind out of it. Or better, if you explain your concern to the pediatrician and describe family history of severe food allergies, he/she may be able to give you an elimination diet specific to you and your situation. Keep us posted... I have a special place in my heart for this kind of problem, especially since I'm wondering if I'll be going through all of this again myself in a couple of months! Super good luck to you! |
#6
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Normal or not? Acne+rash, fussiness, screaming, sleeplessness, etc
In article om,
"cjra" wrote: My 6wk old next Monday daughter got baby acne last week. Normal. But now it looks more like a big rash across her face. very red. It's also spread to her neck, ears, head, and upper chest. That part is still very acne like (pimples with white heads), but her cheeks look more rash like. Gets worse when she feeds, which could be the heat (it's super hot here, though we are inside w/a/c, she still gets all sweaty when she feeds). This made me think perhaps it's the breastmilk itself with direct contact causing a reaction on the skin - her face gets covered with BM when she pulls off, she's a messy eater. It's normal for milia (baby acne) to spread that far, and for BFing babies to be red-faced/sweaty after a feed on a hot day. For young babies, BFing is actually aerobic exercise. And yes, she might also have heat rash, which will disappear when the weather cools down. It is like little red pimples, as a rule. Sleeplessness - she was a good sleeper at first but is now sleeping very little. She managed 3 hrs today because she was so wiped out from little sleep the last few days. She'll sleep in stretches of 10 min - an hour max. She sleeps a little longer at night but not much. Try swaddling her for sleep in something like muslin, with an open weave. She might be twitching and waking herself up. Does she wake up with a yell? At worst, she might have reflux, but as 6 weeks is also growth spurt time it's hard to say. In addition, she might just be thirsty. Is she having lots of little drinks? Is it very dry or humid? How hot has it been? Fussiness/screaming/crying - she doesn't cry a lot, more often she's just fussy. This is usually at night (normal right?), but now a bit more during the day. I gather that's due to being so tired. However If she's fusssy later in the day, I'm afraid that's "colic", which is doctor-speak for "being fussy in the evening for no apparent reason". OTOH you might want to check her gums in case a tooth is on its way! sometimes when she nurses, she does pull off and let out a scream. It doesn't last, it's one quick scream, then she'll go back to nursing. This has two possible causes. Either she is cross because the milk isn't coming out right this minute, or because too much of it is coming out! This made me think of a food allergy (dairy maybe?). I basically eat what I crave, but have massive dairy cravings (cheese, yoghurt mainly). As of today I've cut dairy out but I guess it'll be awhile before i see any changes. How common really is a dairy allergy? Gas - she has it, but doesn't every baby? It's hard for me to know what's normal. She farts. But she doesn't seem hugely bothered by it. Her stools are normal - mostly yellow and seedy, occassionally mucousy and occassionally green (usu. at night). Her pedi said all that was normal. Thoughts? Advice? Is any of this related - ie rash+fussiness+sleeplessness = dairy allergy? No idea; it sounds like a typical baby-in-summer thing to me. Remember to dress her very lightly: a nappy alone is fine, or with a singlet. Leave actual outer clothes for when you go out or have visitors! -- Chookie -- Sydney, Australia (Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply) "Parenthood is like the modern stone washing process for denim jeans. You may start out crisp, neat and tough, but you end up pale, limp and wrinkled." Kerry Cue |
#7
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Normal or not? Acne+rash, fussiness, screaming, sleeplessness, etc
Chookie wrote: In article om, "cjra" wrote: My 6wk old next Monday daughter got baby acne last week. Normal. But now it looks more like a big rash across her face. very red. It's also spread to her neck, ears, head, and upper chest. That part is still very acne like (pimples with white heads), but her cheeks look more rash like. Gets worse when she feeds, which could be the heat (it's super hot here, though we are inside w/a/c, she still gets all sweaty when she feeds). This made me think perhaps it's the breastmilk itself with direct contact causing a reaction on the skin - her face gets covered with BM when she pulls off, she's a messy eater. It's normal for milia (baby acne) to spread that far, and for BFing babies to be red-faced/sweaty after a feed on a hot day. For young babies, BFing is actually aerobic exercise. And yes, she might also have heat rash, which will disappear when the weather cools down. It is like little red pimples, as a rule. I've noticed the red cheeks go away when she's not leaning against me, so I think it's just heat/contact with my skin. Sleeplessness - she was a good sleeper at first but is now sleeping very little. She managed 3 hrs today because she was so wiped out from little sleep the last few days. She'll sleep in stretches of 10 min - an hour max. She sleeps a little longer at night but not much. Try swaddling her for sleep in something like muslin, with an open weave. She might be twitching and waking herself up. Does she wake up with a yell? At worst, she might have reflux, but as 6 weeks is also growth spurt time it's hard to say. In addition, she might just be thirsty. Is she having lots of little drinks? Is it very dry or humid? How hot has it been? 100F outside. 79-80F w/a/c and ceiling fans. humidity about 50% max. She does have lots of little drinks. I worried a lot on Saturday a she wouldn't eat more than 5 mins, and we were going out all day (and would be outside). It was hotter than hell.She slept a lot, and ate very little - and WAS dehydrated as she had very few wet diapers. But by evening when we were home she ate more and her diapers were looking better. Sunday morning was the same though with not wanting to eat, but by afternoon she was back on track. Slept a lot too. However at night, tho she's sleeping, she's twitching a lot, making a ton of noise, clicking her mouth. She doesn't wake with a yell, tho she does occassionally have an isolated scream in her sleep. She rarely spits up, but did yesterday once. I tried swaddling her and she just screams and kicks til she's out of it. Being somewhat claustrophobic myself, it's hard on me! I feel like I'm torturing her. She was sw addled almost constantly while at the hospital (once she was stable enough to move, so from about day 8-17). She seemed to tolerate it then but just goes nuts now. But I will try some more. Fussiness/screaming/crying - she doesn't cry a lot, more often she's just fussy. This is usually at night (normal right?), but now a bit more during the day. I gather that's due to being so tired. However If she's fusssy later in the day, I'm afraid that's "colic", which is doctor-speak for "being fussy in the evening for no apparent reason". OTOH you might want to check her gums in case a tooth is on its way! a tooth already??? I didn't think it was colic b/c it wasn't that bad. i associate colic with screaming crying, rather than just fuss. Now, though (sat and sun) the fussiness has moved to morning and she's napping in the evening. I think her sleeping is back on track, except she doesn't sleep much during the night and she sleeps best when she's laying against one of us sometimes when she nurses, she does pull off and let out a scream. It doesn't last, it's one quick scream, then she'll go back to nursing. This has two possible causes. Either she is cross because the milk isn't coming out right this minute, or because too much of it is coming out! I'm thinking now it's because of too much milk coming out. but she managed ok last night. This made me think of a food allergy (dairy maybe?). I basically eat what I crave, but have massive dairy cravings (cheese, yoghurt mainly). As of today I've cut dairy out but I guess it'll be awhile before i see any changes. How common really is a dairy allergy? Gas - she has it, but doesn't every baby? It's hard for me to know what's normal. She farts. But she doesn't seem hugely bothered by it. Her stools are normal - mostly yellow and seedy, occassionally mucousy and occassionally green (usu. at night). Her pedi said all that was normal. Thoughts? Advice? Is any of this related - ie rash+fussiness+sleeplessness = dairy allergy? No idea; it sounds like a typical baby-in-summer thing to me. Remember to dress her very lightly: a nappy alone is fine, or with a singlet. Leave actual outer clothes for when you go out or have visitors! she's normally just in a diaper +onesie. Thanks for the info and advice. |
#8
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Normal or not? Acne+rash, fussiness, screaming, sleeplessness, etc
Amy Austin wrote: Have you changed anything lately, laundry detergent, soaps and lotions that you use on the baby, soaps and lotions that you use on yourself? I still can't wear perfume, because it just freaks my 1 year old out. Maybe you've changed something and that's what she's reacting to? Haven't changed anything. My diet varies, but nothing drastic. Same soaps, etc. And I'd assume a detergent problem would affect where she wears clothes, and this is just the face/head and neck area. If I wore perfume DH would be the one screaming ;-) It couldn't hurt to try eliminating dairy from your diet, but make sure you're getting enough calcium otherwise. Those chewy chocolate supplements are great!! Can't remember what they're called... I think I'd hold off and see if things don't improve in a week or two, because like I said, things got a little weird at 6 weeks around here. Everything was much easier at 8 weeks. By 12 weeks, life was almost normal again. There's hope! |
#9
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Normal or not? Acne+rash, fussiness, screaming, sleeplessness, etc
Notchalk wrote: It all brings back memories. My son had REALLY bad neonatal acne from 4 - 8 weeks or so. Then came the cradle cap, which litterally stunk and was thick and crusty. That lasted until about 5 months. The screaming at the breast (for me, at least) was due to too much coming out at once. The sleeplessness (I think) is due to them being so much more aware of everything, and easily overstimulated by all this new awareness, leading to overtiredness and, yup, fussing, crying, screaming. It's awful. Sometimes all I could do was put him in the bjorn and bounce on the birth ball to calm him to sleep. Then we discovered the shower's power (that rhymes!) one night when even the bouncing did nothing. He fell asleep in the shower immediately. We stayed in there with him until he got floppy and although he did wake when we took him out to dry/dress/feed him, he went back to sleep easily then. I like the shower idea! She's not too fond of water yet in a bath, but maybe I'll try the shower tonight. I noticed the cradle cap starting...a friend suggested olive oil on her head. I don't think I'd jump to the allergy conclusion just yet. Gas is caused a lot by crying, so if they both started at the same time, then you probably have nothing to worry about there. Well, I'm not sure whent he gas started, I mean, she's always had some. I'm not sure what's a lot. She does that arch the back, strain the neck thing a lot. Hang in there. The best advice I got when we were at that stage was, 'This, too, shall pass". That's what I'm hoping! |
#10
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Normal or not? Acne+rash, fussiness, screaming, sleeplessness, etc
Andrea Phillips wrote: If you want to be very scientific about it in case it's a problem with something besides dairy (wheat springs to mind) there are lots of elimination diets available out there on the internet that could help you find out if it's any of a number of foods, and since it sounds like you could be dealing with a more serious problem (or at least a more serious reaction) I'd strongly encourage you to try one. It'll no fun, but you would get a lot of peace of mind out of it. Or better, if you explain your concern to the pediatrician and describe family history of severe food allergies, he/she may be able to give you an elimination diet specific to you and your situation. See, we have NO food allergies in either family. The most anyone has is lactose intolerance. Zero food issues (and that's including my 24 nieces and nephews). DH's brother has fur allergies, but no food issues. Keep us posted... I have a special place in my heart for this kind of problem, especially since I'm wondering if I'll be going through all of this again myself in a couple of months! Super good luck to you! Thanks. I'm sorry to hear about all your hassles, but glad you've got it sorted out. |
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