When our little Mr.T was first born we thought he was just a sensitive little chap with very sensitive skin that would surely adjust after some time, but as time went on we realised it was a little more complicated.
By the time he was two and a half months old I was totally exhausted from breastfeeding every two hours at night and every one and a half hours during the day. I needed to wean him to get a bit of rest. Mr.T is a very hungry boy who isn't easy to wind and also suffers bad reflux. At that stage his skin all over was cracked and scaly like a crocodile and a bad dose of cradle cap covered his head, from his eyebrows to the back of his head.
It was time to stop hoping it would adjust itself and go to the doctor.
The doctor diagnosed Mr.T with lactose intolerance, bad eczema and bad reflux. He had also been lactose intolerant when I was solely breastfeeding him, as he reacted to any dairy, chocolate, etc that I ate. . The public health nurse also saw him and was horrified by the puddles of vomit that came up in our meeting.
I'm feeding him 7oz every hour and a half, half of it is vomited up again within the hour.
All through this our little man is brave and strong, smiling and coping with it better than an adult would dream of coping with his conditions. I'm hoping someday he'll find out what non irritated skin feels like.
I would like to share our experiences and trials and errors of combating this problem as I have noticed a lot of women mentioning their children suffering from some or all of these conditions. Each case is individual and bear in mind any info here is only my motherly opinion. I have no medical qualification and if you are worried please bring your little one to a doctor. If we hasn't found out about the lactose intolerance Mr.T would still be having horrible stomach cramps and diarrhoea. We are now waiting for an appointment in the hospital to get him allergy tested as the public health nurse thinks there is something else still amiss.
So here are some of the things we have tried in the hope of helping our brave little man:
Hungry baby milk:
Before we knew he was lactose intolerant. So obviously no improvement on vomiting, eczema, stomach cramps and diarrhoea.
Although I have heard with 'normal' refluxy babies it can help.
Infacol:
This helped our daughter when she was a colicky baby, but with Mr.T it was of no use.
Fennel tea:
Mr.T wouldn't take it, spat it right out.
SMA lactose free milk:
Special formula for medical reasons, which you can only buy in chemists. Torin is now on this formula and his eczema has lessened from scaly crocodile to just scaly. Also no more diarrhoea and stomach cramps.
Cranio Sacral therapy:
A light touch therapy said to be very helpful in ailments in babies. We've been to two sessions and haven't noticed any difference but apparently 4 or 5 sessions are needed to see a change. Ill keep ye posted.
To help Eczema:
E45 cream - helped for about an hour..... Wouldn't recommend it.
Organic Babies soothing baby salve - brilliant for cradle cap. Massaged it into his head every day and totally did the job. Only let down is its very expensive.
Almond/coconut/olive/sunflower oil:
Used organic first cold press oils but they didn't keep his skin hydrated for more than a few hours
Aqueous cream:
So far the best one we've found for the price though I'm not that keen on the whole parrafin oil idea, but what can I do? It keeps him hydrated for just over half a day, but on bad days I have to top it up at every nappy change. It also doubles up as soap so I use it when he's having a bath and its mild and gentle unlike some popular baby branded bath soaps.
Steroid cream:
I only use the cream prescribed by the doctor as a last resort when he scratches himself through his mittens and gets sores. It helps a little, but isn't a long term solution.
Other options still on our list if Cranio Sacral therapy doesn't work:
(Ill keep you posted)
Osteopath:
Apparently with difficult births like with Mr.T's the baby's diaphragm isn't properly stretched while coming through birth canal, resulting in a refluxy baby. Seeing an osteopath may help.
Colic Calm:
Homeopathic remedy mixture that may help some.
Homeopathy:
Another option we will try if above don't work.
Adding baby rice to formula:
Once he reaches the four month mark ill give it a shot. One spoon of baby rice in their formula is meant to settle it in their stomachs longer. Ill have to make sure there's no hidden dairy in it.
By the time he was two and a half months old I was totally exhausted from breastfeeding every two hours at night and every one and a half hours during the day. I needed to wean him to get a bit of rest. Mr.T is a very hungry boy who isn't easy to wind and also suffers bad reflux. At that stage his skin all over was cracked and scaly like a crocodile and a bad dose of cradle cap covered his head, from his eyebrows to the back of his head.
It was time to stop hoping it would adjust itself and go to the doctor.
The doctor diagnosed Mr.T with lactose intolerance, bad eczema and bad reflux. He had also been lactose intolerant when I was solely breastfeeding him, as he reacted to any dairy, chocolate, etc that I ate. . The public health nurse also saw him and was horrified by the puddles of vomit that came up in our meeting.
I'm feeding him 7oz every hour and a half, half of it is vomited up again within the hour.
All through this our little man is brave and strong, smiling and coping with it better than an adult would dream of coping with his conditions. I'm hoping someday he'll find out what non irritated skin feels like.
I would like to share our experiences and trials and errors of combating this problem as I have noticed a lot of women mentioning their children suffering from some or all of these conditions. Each case is individual and bear in mind any info here is only my motherly opinion. I have no medical qualification and if you are worried please bring your little one to a doctor. If we hasn't found out about the lactose intolerance Mr.T would still be having horrible stomach cramps and diarrhoea. We are now waiting for an appointment in the hospital to get him allergy tested as the public health nurse thinks there is something else still amiss.
So here are some of the things we have tried in the hope of helping our brave little man:
Hungry baby milk:
Before we knew he was lactose intolerant. So obviously no improvement on vomiting, eczema, stomach cramps and diarrhoea.
Although I have heard with 'normal' refluxy babies it can help.
Infacol:
This helped our daughter when she was a colicky baby, but with Mr.T it was of no use.
Fennel tea:
Mr.T wouldn't take it, spat it right out.
SMA lactose free milk:
Special formula for medical reasons, which you can only buy in chemists. Torin is now on this formula and his eczema has lessened from scaly crocodile to just scaly. Also no more diarrhoea and stomach cramps.
Cranio Sacral therapy:
A light touch therapy said to be very helpful in ailments in babies. We've been to two sessions and haven't noticed any difference but apparently 4 or 5 sessions are needed to see a change. Ill keep ye posted.
To help Eczema:
E45 cream - helped for about an hour..... Wouldn't recommend it.
Organic Babies soothing baby salve - brilliant for cradle cap. Massaged it into his head every day and totally did the job. Only let down is its very expensive.
Almond/coconut/olive/sunflower oil:
Used organic first cold press oils but they didn't keep his skin hydrated for more than a few hours
Aqueous cream:
So far the best one we've found for the price though I'm not that keen on the whole parrafin oil idea, but what can I do? It keeps him hydrated for just over half a day, but on bad days I have to top it up at every nappy change. It also doubles up as soap so I use it when he's having a bath and its mild and gentle unlike some popular baby branded bath soaps.
Steroid cream:
I only use the cream prescribed by the doctor as a last resort when he scratches himself through his mittens and gets sores. It helps a little, but isn't a long term solution.
Other options still on our list if Cranio Sacral therapy doesn't work:
(Ill keep you posted)
Osteopath:
Apparently with difficult births like with Mr.T's the baby's diaphragm isn't properly stretched while coming through birth canal, resulting in a refluxy baby. Seeing an osteopath may help.
Colic Calm:
Homeopathic remedy mixture that may help some.
Homeopathy:
Another option we will try if above don't work.
Adding baby rice to formula:
Once he reaches the four month mark ill give it a shot. One spoon of baby rice in their formula is meant to settle it in their stomachs longer. Ill have to make sure there's no hidden dairy in it.
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| Mr. T's eczema one recent morning before I put cream on him. |
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