Normal or not? Acne+rash, fussiness, screaming, sleeplessness, etc

Beth Kevles wrote:
Hi --

What you're describing *could* be a food allergy, but it just as easily
could be one of those baby "thing" or even just heat.

If it doesn't go away with cooling weather, then I'd probably try a food
diary with dietary elimination. But not right away unless the problems
get worse.


hmmm, cool weather won't be here til October.....I could turn the a/c
down more, but then I'd need a sweater!

For dietary elimination, milk protein intolerance bothers about,
perhaps, 30% of infants. It's the biggest infant food issue. But soy
and egg come in next. And some kids get two or three at once. The rate
of intolerance, by the way, is for infants on solids. Most nursing
infants can still handle what mom eats.

That's what I thought. I've seen the 30% figure and on another group I
visit, it seems like every other baby has a milk allergy which just
seems a bit high.

About what mom eats - what makes me laugh is a lot of people say to
avoid spicy foods. But what do women in countries where spicy food is
the norm eat?! I normally eat very spicy food but lately I can't
stomach it as much, tho the few times i have, DD did great.

I noticed the cradle cap starting...a friend suggested olive oil on her
head.

This worked brilliantly with ds. We tried E45 cream and a special
shampoo and they both irritated his skin.

Jeni

On 2006-08-14 18:51:00 +0800, "cjra" said:

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.

With the shower, just make sure you don't soap her up!!

Olive Oil didn't do much for our cradle cap. What fixed it was a
mixture of "aroma baby barrier balm" and just plain picking it out. It
didn't hurt him at all, but the skin underneath was quite delicate, so
I kept the barrier balm on and didn't let him in the sun without a hat
on. It came back once, and same worked again once the 'cornflakes'
started lifting at the edges. Eugh.


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.

Oh, if only we had a crystal ball - we could help you then, but it's
all just guesswork, really. If you can reduce the crying by helping to
make her not so overstimulated and get her some good daytime sleeps...
and the gas gets better, you have your answer. That's just my theory
tho.


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!

Best of luck!

Jo

--
Woman, Wife, Mother, Midwife

On 2006-08-14 18:55:36 +0800, "cjra" said:

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.

Just a mere technicality here, but true lactose intollerance in a
breastfed baby is pretty much incompatible with life, as breastmilk is
full of lactose. If the baby is deficient in lactayse it will need
supplements to help digest the lactose to prevent bleeding intestinves
and severe pain, etc.

(correct me if I'm wrong - I know you all will )

Jo
--
Woman, Wife, Mother, Midwife

Notchalk wrote:
On 2006-08-14 18:55:36 +0800, "cjra" said:

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.

Just a mere technicality here, but true lactose intollerance in a
breastfed baby is pretty much incompatible with life, as breastmilk is
full of lactose. If the baby is deficient in lactayse it will need
supplements to help digest the lactose to prevent bleeding intestinves
and severe pain, etc.


oh I didn't mean to suggest DD had a lactose intolerance problem, only
that that is the *only* food related issue anyone in my family has.

On 2006-08-14 22:56:53 +0800, "cjra" said:


Notchalk wrote:
On 2006-08-14 18:55:36 +0800, "cjra" said:

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.

Just a mere technicality here, but true lactose intollerance in a
breastfed baby is pretty much incompatible with life, as breastmilk is
full of lactose. If the baby is deficient in lactayse it will need
supplements to help digest the lactose to prevent bleeding intestinves
and severe pain, etc.


oh I didn't mean to suggest DD had a lactose intolerance problem, only
that that is the *only* food related issue anyone in my family has.

yup I thought so Hope it's all getting better for you guys!
Jo
--
Woman, Wife, Mother, Midwife

My baby is 6 wks old and sleepless, too. They are starting to become
more socially aware and resist sleep at this time. This is normal. I
would have the rash checked out.

Sophie's Mama
cjra wrote:
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?

cjra wrote:
My 6wk old next Monday daughter got baby acne last week.
Yeah, I remember my 3mo son had a few days of that and an eruption of
baby acne when the heat came up again.
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.
Actually, that's not too unsurprising... try to find an ocean initator
or utilize a noisy fan (read most of the useful stuff from "happiest
baby on the block"- get yourself the DVD or look up the 5 S's) to
provide Veinous noises (supposedly shush-shuhs was the noise in the
womb even more prevalent than a heartbeat). we adored a Cd of whale
song the first month home from the hospital. Maybe try putting the
radio on static between/off radio stations.

Whoohoo! found Dr. Karp 's theories online!
http://www.contemporarypediatrics.co....jsp?id=108006

Try swaddling her for sleep in something like muslin, with an open weave. She
might be twitching and waking herself up.
The most important part is that the arms are immobilized or it will
even cause the baby to cry more!
100F outside. 79-80F w/a/c and ceiling fans.
yeah is the temp we are dealing with here. Made me real sick due to
touchy stomache... be careful with your sugar intakes. I ended up
really ill w/ gatorade since it was too sugary for my post-anitbiotics/
post-surgery tummy.
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
You may be "forced" into co-sleeping... my son did that w/ us as well.
As an alternative you could try babywearing during the day to statisfy
her touch cravings. (I know that's not what was wrong w/ my 6-wk older
since we co-LIVED on the couch due to c-section... lil bugger did get
very used to being with me 24/7.)
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.
That may also be related to the fact that baby's sort of have an
emotional inertia- they stay in one mood state until something
distracts them enough to shift into a differing mood state. It gives
them an emotional resilency that I think reminds me of when I was young
& got a good cry on and got the sobbing hiccups... (babies sorta do an
emotional version of it & may take as much as 10 minutes to soothe a
grr'd up baby.)
You may want to take your sweetie to a chiropractor-- I know my little
boy had a quick reversion to cuteness after his 2nd adjustment- the
first one he refused to co-operate & so we had to try again a few
weeks later. somewthing was up w/ his hip.. of all places.

Please forgive typos and incomplete concepts from the hurried
typings of:
Sirah Morgan
Who on May 6th 2006 had Baby Kenneth and we are still learning the
ways of each other.
Love, Wisdom and Blessings to you and yours!

rash - my midwife saw it and said it looked like heat rash. it's moved
toher chest, but has mostly cleared up on the face. It's still there,
but not nearly so bad.

sleeping - it's gotten better at night. I moved her from her co-sleeper
http://tinyurl.com/qbant and just laid her on the bed next to me. That
seems to help her sleep longer.She still doesn't nap long during the
day though.

fussiness/screaming etc - she hardly does it in the evenings now, it's
just the mornings. It's still there, but better. I think the main issue
is gas - it's clear that's what's upsetting her, now I just have to
figure out what I'm eating that's causing it. I don't think it's dairy,
and I've avoided the usual culprits. When eating she'll just snack for
5 mins, now she is an efficient eater it seems, but still these
multiple 5 mins or less snacks are annoying 'cause she does it every h
our. I do believe strongly in feeding on demand, but this seems a bit
much. Or is it? Is it normal?


Along those lines, she'll go to daycare at 12 weeks, where she'll
likely be fed on a schedule. How do I deal with the transition? Do I
try to set the schedule now? or how soon before she goes? Do I just let
the daycare provider do it?

Thanks!

cjra wrote:
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?

"cjra" wrote in message
I think the main issue is gas - it's clear that's what's upsetting her, now
I just have to figure out what I'm eating that's causing it.

There may be nothing in your diet causing problems. Just remember that their
digestive systems are immature and they have gas and it could just be normal
stuff. I am not one to quickly jump on the diet band wagon, so take it with
a grain of salt.

Along those lines, she'll go to daycare at 12 weeks, where she'll
likely be fed on a schedule. How do I deal with the transition? Do I
try to set the schedule now? or how soon before she goes? Do I just let
the daycare provider do it?

Let the provider deal with it. Is it certain that she will be fed on a
schedule? I would be wary of a provider who scheduled fed infants and would
look for someone who would feed on demand, but that's me.
--
Sue (mom to three girls)