Baby Health Questions

[CurlyQ284]

I thought I'd ask a bunch of things at once instead of making multiple posts:

LO is 6 months old and his left eye has had a clogged duct since birth.  He has been seen by 2 doctors and my eye doctor took a look at it as well.  Warm compresses and massaging it is what they tell me. This isn't helping, he's had it for 6 months and his eye is regularly glued shut in the morning.  I'm constantly wiping crap out of his eye multiple times a day.  Anyone experience this?  Is there anything that will FIX it?  For the last week it's even red around the edges.  It looks uncomfortable.

He also has a cough that varies with severity.  Sometimes it sounds  like a "wet cough".  Again, seen by 2 different doctors and they don't think it's serious.  He's had this cough since January.  Currently it sounds bad but they say "oh it doesn't sound like it's in his lungs, he'll be fine" and tell me to use a humidifier and steamy bathroom.  Again, that does nothing.  I read that post this morning about the parents with the baby that had bronchitis and I'm nervous.  He's been multiple times and they say it's nothing but what if THIS time it's bronchitis but I don't know that because the other 5x they've said it's nothing?  I seriously ask them at every appointment, they listen to him and then say it's not a big deal and usually blame it on daycare germs.

Last question.  We started solids and DS was constipated last weekend.  I gave him a break from oatmeal all week and just did purees this week but this weekend he got constipated again.  It was on the tail end of the squash trial period, we started peaches and he did ok.  I'm not sure what to do here?  Look for cereal with fiber in it?  Give him a few bites of prunes/peaches/pears each night to keep him regular?

[CurlyQ284]

May 20, 2013 12:08:12 GMT -5 @aliciaroset said:

If you're BFing, you and put some breastmilk in his eye. really.

Not BFing anymore. I tried that when I was and it didn't help.

I should also add that they gave me ointment for the eye, still no help.

His cheek on that side is higher so it looks like the tears maybe can't make it up and over to "escape"? Could that be it?

[evynsmama]

Can you see a different pediatrician? It sounds like you don't feel confident in the advice of your current pedi. and/or don't feel like they are listening to you. I know every kid is different but my daughter only got 2 colds her first year in daycare, a constant cough for 5 months is not a daycare virus IMO. For the constipation are you nursing? If so are you drinking enough water, if on formula is your DS getting the recommended number of ounces? At this point solids should be more for them to practice eating than to be their core nutrition. I always kept prunes on hand in case of constipation, they worked great but usually it has to do with not getting enough water.

[CurlyQ284]

We have already switched and the new ones say the same thing.

He is a big boy (98% for weight and height). I'm feeding him about 36-40 oz per day. I was just doing a tablespoon of oatmeal in the morning and a little 2 oz puree at night. Is that too much?

[CurlyQ284]

Oh and for the cough, they prescribe neb treatments. He was up all night coughing, I moved him to his carseat to sleep and did a neb treatment before daycare this morning but there didn't seem to be any change.

[mortomo]

My son had the tear duct issue and had his tear ducts probed to clear them. Daycare kept sending him home thinking he had pinkeye and finally the doctor referred me to an eye doctor and that's where he got a diagnosis. Apparently he had 'webbing' in his tear ducts that caused them to become backed up with fluid and bacteria that caused his eyes to look all gunky and stick shut. It also got rid of the 'bags' he had under his eyes all of the time.

That was about 16 yrs ago and I have no idea if they take care of it the same way now.

[cleo29]

As you start feeding him table foods, the fluid intake should go down a bit. They can eat one of those little jars of food no problem.

Do you hear wheezing from him at all? Do you have a lot of carpeting in your house? I know they say babies cannot have allergies (other than food) but I don't buy it. Both of my kids displayed signs of allergies as a babies.

[daisybuchannan]

Connor has a blocked tear duct too. They're watching it and if it doesn't resolve by a year, they make have to do a procedure with a scope to clear it. Some days it's really gunky, other days it's not bad. You can apply ointment to the skin to help protect it from the moisture.

For the constipation, I'd just stop with oatmeal and start with foods that don't cause constipation. Get some organic fruits and veggies, steam, and puree.

[CurlyQ284]

Sometimes he sounds wheezy, I'll tell the doctor and they listen and say his lungs are clear. He isn't wheezy all the time, just sometimes so are they not hearing it? I'm so frustrated.

No carpet now but we are moving to a house with carpet on Saturday. We have 2 dogs though.

[pinkflats]

My DS had a clogged tear duct as well. We scheduled surgery shorty after his first birthday and two days before surgery it randomly cleared up. We did the compresses, massage, breastmilk, everything we could think of/were told to do and nothing helped, it just cleared up randomly on its own one day.

[cleo29]

May 20, 2013 12:26:21 GMT -5 CurlyQ284 said:

Sometimes he sounds wheezy, I'll tell the doctor and they listen and say his lungs are clear. He isn't wheezy all the time, just sometimes so are they not hearing it? I'm so frustrated.

No carpet now but we are moving to a house with carpet on Saturday. We have 2 dogs though.

I would wonder about a pet allergy or something. Perhaps see an allergist.

[CurlyQ284]

OK, its reassuring to hear others have experienced this tear duct thing. It seems they don't do much until 1 year from what you guys are saying so I guess I'll wait it out. I'll quit oatmeal and just do purees. So now its just the cough.

[CurlyQ284]

May 20, 2013 12:29:36 GMT -5 cleo29 said:

May 20, 2013 12:26:21 GMT -5 CurlyQ284 said:

Sometimes he sounds wheezy, I'll tell the doctor and they listen and say his lungs are clear. He isn't wheezy all the time, just sometimes so are they not hearing it? I'm so frustrated.

No carpet now but we are moving to a house with carpet on Saturday. We have 2 dogs though.

I would wonder about a pet allergy or something. Perhaps see an allergist.

I'm googling about baby allergies and "chronic nighttime cough" is mentioned. I'll definitely start looking for an allergist.

[sake]

May 20, 2013 12:26:21 GMT -5 CurlyQ284 said:

Sometimes he sounds wheezy, I'll tell the doctor and they listen and say his lungs are clear. He isn't wheezy all the time, just sometimes so are they not hearing it? I'm so frustrated.

No carpet now but we are moving to a house with carpet on Saturday. We have 2 dogs though.

A month or so ago, G sounded wheezy to me, but it was more like his nose was clogged, and he was whistling when he breathed, not so much that his lungs were wheezing. You know what I mean?
The doc said that it was just a regular cold, and it would resolve itself. He got better for a few weeks, and now his little cough and congestion is back again. I agree with cleo, I think it's allergy related. H has TERRIBLE seasonal allergies, and I'm worried that G inherited them. I hope your baby starts feeling better soon. I know it's terrible that you can't do much to make them feel better when they're so small. 

[peachykate]

Acid reflux can also cause a chronic nighttime cough.

Jax has acid reflux, allergies, and asthma. If the nebulizer treatments aren't helping then I would assume its not asthma/allergy related.