Diagnose DS...

[rugbywife]

...I am only asking because how I will proceed kind of depends on what he might have. 

background:
- he is about 4.5 months old, exclusively BF, no teeth yet, he is a big boy at just over 17lbs at 4 months
- three weeks ago he started struggling when it was nap/bed time, I figured 4 month wakeful
- about 10 days ago he began eating less at each feed, eating for a shorter amount of time and arching his back/screaming after about 5 minutes of feeding. I considered reflux but he very rarely spits up and is gaining weight ok from what I can tell, he just seems to want to eat less each feed and at times, seems to feed more often (but that might just be because I am offering it whenever he seems upset and more often because he seems to be eating less each time)
- he consistently has his hands in his mouth, tons of drool, DD had her first two teeth by 4.5m, so when his crying/upset behaviour continued, I presumed teething. About two days ago I started giving tylenol when he is really upset.
- yesterday I realized that he hadn't pooped all day the day before (so Tuesday). It is possible he didn't poop Monday either, frankly, I can't remember. If he didn't poop on Monday that means he is currently on day 4 of no poop. Theoretically he might not have pooped on Sunday, honestly, no idea, but lets go with he did, lol.
- he is becoming increasingly unhappy in general. He isn't an unhappy kid usually, this crying, screaming, arching back is new, increasing over the last 7 days I would say.

SO...it could be

- teething (hence the tylenol)
- constipation (which tylenol would make worse, no?)
- reflux ()
- something I haven't thought of???

Unless it is reflux, there is no point in taking him to the pedi.  He was there almost 2 weeks ago for his 4 month well visit and he seemed just fine then, doc was happy with his progress/development. I guess I just don't want to give him tylenol if that is keeping him from pooping but I don't want to not give him tylenol if he is in pain.

WTF can't babies just fucking speak. 

[rxbeth]

Tylenol won't cause him not to poop. Don't worry about that.
Wonder week hell?

[pinotgrig]

No fever, right?

Any chance of an ei?

My money is on teething, I think.

[dottyblue]

4 days of no poop is no big deal for an EBF baby. Pedi says up to 7 days can be normal. Tylenol won't cause constipation.

With the increased drool and fingers in mouth, I'm going to say teeth BUT be prepared... It may still be a while before any show up. DS1 always had teeth symptoms weeks before we actually saw a tooth.

[Deleted]

I vote teething. Piper went through a few weeks like this, then was fine for a week, then poof. 2 teeth.

[rugbywife]

I know 4 days is NBD for poop, I was just wondering if that was causing his unhappiness. I thought Tylenol was constipating but I must be wrong.

REGARDLESS...he just pooped!!!

Now to see if his unhappiness changes or not. Probably teething if it doesn't!!!

[Deleted]

Oct 1, 2015 10:52:19 GMT -5 rugbywife said:

I know 4 days is NBD for poop, I was just wondering if that was causing his unhappiness. I thought Tylenol was constipating but I must be wrong.

REGARDLESS...he just pooped!!!

Now to see if his unhappiness changes or not. Probably teething if it doesn't!!!

Ways to get a kid to poop: Feed prunes, take temperature, or post on GBCN about lack of poop!

Works every time. 

[rugbywife]

Oct 1, 2015 10:55:19 GMT -5 @sessalee said:

Oct 1, 2015 10:52:19 GMT -5 rugbywife said:

I know 4 days is NBD for poop, I was just wondering if that was causing his unhappiness. I thought Tylenol was constipating but I must be wrong.

REGARDLESS...he just pooped!!!

Now to see if his unhappiness changes or not. Probably teething if it doesn't!!!

Ways to get a kid to poop: Feed prunes, take temperature, or post on GBCN about lack of poop!

Works every time. 

Seriously. And the white onesie worked. Luckily the cloth diaper saved it.

[rxbeth]

Oct 1, 2015 11:12:39 GMT -5 rugbywife said:

Oct 1, 2015 10:55:19 GMT -5 @sessalee said:

Ways to get a kid to poop: Feed prunes, take temperature, or post on GBCN about lack of poop!

Works every time. 

Seriously. And the white onesie worked. Luckily the cloth diaper saved it.

Lol.  I was going to say to put him in a favourite outfit!

[curbsideprophet]

Is he nursing or bottle feeding? How do you know he is taking less? He could just be getting quicker.

[rugbywife]

Oct 1, 2015 12:55:41 GMT -5 @pennypie said:

For us a lot of what you're describing was reflux. Hands in mouth to the point of choking himself, snacking instead of full feedings, frequent night waking (due to hunger and also 4mo-wakeful), catnapping, fussiness. He wasn't particularly spitty either. For us, the real kicker was he had a weight gain lag and dropped from 95th percentile to 47th. Apparently around 4mo is also the height of reflux.

It might be worth a chat with your doc. I was kind of skeptical about reflux, but the weight lag was what really convinced me to medicate him and it worked like a charm. We started to pull back on his meds recently, and wouldn't you know...not finishing bottles, frequent night waking, etc. all started happening again. So we're going to keep him on it for another few months before we attempt to taper.

Here's a link on 'silent reflux': www.reflux.org.au/information/common-characteristics-of-reflux/. DS had so many of these things and I chalked them up to just weird baby things, and I think in some cases they are...but in his they were signs of reflux.

How do they 'test' for it? Just by symptoms?

[toutsuite]

Oct 1, 2015 12:55:41 GMT -5 @pennypie said:

For us a lot of what you're describing was reflux. Hands in mouth to the point of choking himself, snacking instead of full feedings, frequent night waking (due to hunger and also 4mo-wakeful), catnapping, fussiness. He wasn't particularly spitty either. For us, the real kicker was he had a weight gain lag and dropped from 95th percentile to 47th. Apparently around 4mo is also the height of reflux.

It might be worth a chat with your doc. I was kind of skeptical about reflux, but the weight lag was what really convinced me to medicate him and it worked like a charm. We started to pull back on his meds recently, and wouldn't you know...not finishing bottles, frequent night waking, etc. all started happening again. So we're going to keep him on it for another few months before we attempt to taper.

Here's a link on 'silent reflux': www.reflux.org.au/information/common-characteristics-of-reflux/. DS had so many of these things and I chalked them up to just weird baby things, and I think in some cases they are...but in his they were signs of reflux.

I totally agree with this. A lot of what you are describing would fit a reflux diagnosis. The arching of the back after eating, hands in the mouth, crappy sleeping, frequent snaking, etc all fit. Reflux doesn't necessarily mean they have to spit up a lot. Sure it could just be a baby being a baby but if your doctor is able to see the reaction after a feeding or whenever then they could probably diagnose it very quickly. I was hesitant to medicate at first but honestly ds is such a happy baby now and it has made a world of difference. We are currently weaning him from the meds without issue (he is 10 months).

[rugbywife]

He feeds ok MOTN...but wakes often and is unhappy after about 3am

[rugbywife]

Oct 1, 2015 15:21:07 GMT -5 @pennypie said:

Oct 1, 2015 14:37:58 GMT -5 rugbywife said:

How do they 'test' for it? Just by symptoms?

For us it was just symptoms. Tried medicine for two weeks to see if it worked and it SO worked. I imagine if it wasn't reflux-related, nothing would have changed.

Ok. Guess I am going to go see my doc tomorrow.