Should I worry about my baby?

[familygiblers]

My son is 12 months old.  Since he was 6 months old he has fallen below the charts in weight.  He also started solids at around 6m and has always gotten gassy after eating them.  At 9m we discovered he was anemic.  We treated him with iron drops, but it took three months for his hematacrit to be normal.  And to get him there I had to switch from breastfeeding to formula and add cereal to the formula as well as give him the iron drops.  About three weeks ago he started to throw up a few times a day for a week.  After the vomitting ended, everything he eats makes his belly bloat up like a balloon and he cries for a long time.  He has white chunks in his stool but his stool his not runny, it is also very foul smelling.  He only weighs 17lbs which is way below the chart.  My pediatrician doesn't seem worried about him and keeps telling me to give it a couple more weeks, but I am not convinced.  He used to be in a normal weight range before starting the solids.  Should I be concerned about him or should I just do what the doctor says and give it a couple of weeks?

[Niscoti]

My son, now six, began developing very similar problems. He initially gained a pound a week in his first six weeks and was a robust little chunk and 19 pounds at 5 months.  Gradually, as I introduced solids and started weaning him to formula between 6 - 10 months, he started faltering.  By 11 months, he had gained only 1 pound and began a nonstop series of colds and congestion.  The doctor insisted he was just unlucky enough to be coming down with one bug after another.  He started wheezing and was put on prednisone. The doctor refused to listen to me when I showed him a rash on his bottom.  I suspected he had gotten chicken pox from my daughter, but he insisted it was only a diaper rash. When he developed a fever of 104.5, this doctor said it was not unusual in small children. But with his already overburdened immune system, and prednisone to shut down a proper defense, my baby became seriously ill and permanently scarred.  

I finally switched doctors, but he had never regained his vitality.  He had chronic diarrhea and vomiting over the next year and episodes of sleep apnea from his swollen tonsils and adenoids.  At 20 months, on the day he was supposed to have them removed, he came down with a fever of 104.7.  The nurse in his pediatrician's office tried to make me wait two days for an appointment.  I stormed in and demanded to see the doctor, who took one look at him and called the hospital.  He had a WBC of 26,000.  It took 16 hours for them to figure out it was pneumonia.  We nearly lost him.

I have since learned to shout and scream if I have to when it comes to my baby.  The first doctor wouldn't listen when I told him I suspected food allergies at 8 months, but couldn't pinpoint the offending agent, so I wanted testing.  The second doc was better, but wanted to "wait and see". He "didn't want to put him through a potentially needless and painful test."   After the pneumonia, he complied with my request for allergy testing.  The test was very well tolerated, much better than the daily vomiting.  We found out he was allergic to cow's milk, wheat, soy, eggs, citrus, corn, and several other things that he had been consuming daily.  In fact, his breakfast in the hospital had been scrambled eggs, toast, and orange juice.

We radically changed his diet.  I am happy to report that within 2 months, he had gained 3 pounds.  He is now a healthy, strapping young lad with boundless energy, and his food allergies are no longer. His body had a chance to recover. He can eat anything. He had to have those adenoids and tonsils removed, but even that was nothing compared with the agony of his daily bouts diarrhea and vomiting, and not knowing how to get him the help he needed.  You know when something is not right.  Trust your instincts and push as hard as you have to to get the answers you need.  If you still are told, "We can't find anything", then you docs need to learn to ask the right questions.  Good luck.  I hope and pray you don't go through the misery we endured from listening to negligent,lazy doctors who make you feel like you're the one with the problem.

[Lor]

Did he have the stomach problems before he was switched to formula? Is it possible he is having problems with the lactose?

[nadia]

My niece had the same problem when she was 11 months old.  She experienced alot of intestinal pain (which was thought to be colic) and was vomitting.  Her mom was dilligent in trying to treat the problem.  She eventually discovered that she was suffering from an over abundance of candida yeast in her intestines.  Could the white chunks in his stool be evidence of yeast?  You might want to look into that. I hope you find some answers.  Good luck!

[familygiblers]

I don't have probs getting him to eat solids he loves them, they just make him very sick.  Also he cant eat much other than babyfood because he still has no teeth.  He does well at some things but is still very limited.  He is my fourth child and I have never had one of them develop anemia.  Usually there diet makes up for the lack of iron in breastmilk but with Kasey it didn't.  I really wonder about malabsorption disorder but I cant seem to get the pediatrician to listen to me.  I am at a loss, I guess I will wait a couple more weeks and then if no improvement I will take matters into my own hands.

[nadia]

Just wanted to say that my niece was Lactose intolerant.  She was given Lactaid and her problem was eliminated.

[familygiblers]

He has had the prob since he was six months old, I didn't switch him to formula until he was 10 months old.

[Lor]

It is not unusual for a breastfed baby to have a low iron count. He should of been on drops while you were nursing him. Not sure how long ago you stopped nursing him. At 12 months old he should be eating more than just baby food. At this point he should be having a lot more finger foods in his diet(mac and cheese, pancakes,grilled cheese etc). I know that is easier said than done - as all babies know what they will eat. I had a picky eater and a eat anything one. When babys don't feel well they will stop eating. Sometimes it takes a while for them to feel back to normal. He will get there - just be patient with him. My 8 month old lost 3 pounds from catching herpes a daycare worker gave her by kissing her on the mouth. I was too worried about it. I made the mistake of fixing her anything she wanted. Just to get her to eat something. Now she at 11 is very picky. If you are still worried about it take him back to the Dr and keep asking questions. You are the are the one who is with him day to day - not the Dr.