Trouble sleeping and sweet urine smell

[zaksmommy]

My son (7 months old) has been on a formula rollercoaster. He was breast-fed until 12 wks. When he was 6 wks old, he turned into an unhappy baby. He would arch and scream when he ate and sit-up. The Dr put him on zantac (per my request) and the arching stopped and he slept through the night for about a week. But every time he ate, hours later he was crying. Finally they changed his formula from milk, to lactose free, to alimentum and now nutramigen due to blood in his stool. That worked again for a week and now he is up every 1-2 hours crying and nothing pacifies him -bottle, cuddling, rocking... When he was about 6 wks old, his diaper smelt sweet like syrup. His urine still smells sweet at times. My Dr thinks I am crazy but I brought a blanket in that he peed on and he lightly agreed with me about it smelling like syrup. He is a very restless baby when he sleeps. Always tossing and turning and often waking himself up by rolling on his tummy and then smashing into the bars on his crib. We have not slept in months and neither has he. Please help, I have been to 2 doctors and a GI Dr. Something is wrong with him. He is very active, constantly rolling, banging on everything and just not happy. Like I said - everything works for a week and then he is the old baby again. HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[AidansMommy]

Look up maple syrup urine disease.  It is actually an illness, and a lot of the symptoms you are describing sound just like it.  Be adament and seek 2nd, 3rd, and 10th opinions if need be.

[zaksmommy]

I ask the Dr about that and he replied that he does not fit the symptoms. I made an appointment with an endo dr to see because I have a gut feeling its not "just nothing". I just wanted to know if anyone else encountered this. Thank you!

[jrmcjpm]

i had concerns about that with my daughter...and it does sound like MSUD (maple syrup urnine disease) google it for yourself. good luck!

[jrmcjpm]

sorry. that message was for zaksmommy.
i had concerns about that with my daughter...and it does sound like MSUD (maple syrup urnine disease) google it for yourself. good luck!

[zaksmommy]

Thank you. I told my dr that and he said that he does not fit the symptoms and I let it go for about a week. Then I brought a blanket it that he peed on and he lightly agreed with me that it did smell sweet - but he had never smelt msud urine before and would not test him for it.. Again - he tried to brush me off and I wanted him to do a blood sample and then he referred me to an endocrinologist finally! We have an appointment this Tuesday. I read all about it but the dr is right, he does not fit ANY symptoms - sleepyness, sluggishness, vomiting, rigid/floppy, seizures, poor weight gain etc. He is well off the growth charts weighing in at 22 pounds at 7 months.

What happened with your daughter?

[jrmcjpm]

she was the same age as your son, and the smell went away and like your son had none of the symptoms, so i never persued it further. she is now 2 1/2 and doing great! now i'm concerned with my son who is 15 months...he is not peeing like he should be and just got off the phone with the doc and they said to wake him up at 3am and if he isn't wet, to go to the ER! great!
being a mom, it never ends huh?? haha..loving every minute though! let me know how everything turns out for you and your boy! take care!!!

[zaksmommy]

Thank you for your input. I really appreciate it. How is your son doing? Hopefully he had a wet diaper. And yes, being a mom never ends. It's a bumpy ride - but in the end,  the thrill makes it worth it! Good luck and let me know how he is doing. I will put you on my prayer list!

[rebekah42]

I have a question too ...  my daughter is 23 months old and has in the last 4 - 6 started to smell like maple syrup.  Not her pee - just her!!!.. I thought I was imagining it but a lady in the church nursery today told me she smelt it too.  I've googled MSUD and nothing matches except the smell and it isn't her urine.  Should I be concerned?  What do I do, if anything?... you're throughts are greatly appreciated!!!  I can also be reached at ***@****...  thanks so much!

[zaksmommy]

Hello - I just received the results from my sons urine/blood test for MSUD. Everything is ok. If you are concerned - talk to your dr. It is a simple blood test and they place a back over her privates to get the urine. I have noticed that when I feed him sweet foods such as applesauce, sweet potatoes etc it smells more sweet - just like when we eat garlic - it is excreted through our pores. If it is nothing - then confirmation will make you feel better. I know it did for me. Hope that helps!

[Johninsf]

Fenugreek pills (breast milk enhancers) can make mom smell like maple syrup. I don't know if it can do the same to the baby, but I don't see why not.