Trapped wind /night time abdominal pain in toddler

[joshR]

Just wondering if anyone has any experience of night time tummy pain or trapped wind in a 1yr old. We're getting very disrupted sleep on nights when she suffers with this (usually a few nights in a row every few weeks, but recently it has been much more frequent). She can be up every hour - clearly in pain, writhing, arching her back, crying and initially I can breastfeed/comfort feed her back to sleep for an hour or so but then she gets more and more discomfort until we need to walk around with her in a sling some nights. She clearly wants to sleep because she is doing all this writhing and crying half asleep and nods off quickly if we bf/hold/sling her (we co-sleep) but then wakes up again not long after. She's also very farty but does not seem to be constipated. The doctor has said it could be colic/trapped wind and has given us infacol at 5x the newborn dose. She didn't have colic as a baby but was quite windy.

In the day she is very jolly, active, bright and generally seems to be thriving. She eats quite well but recently has been a bit fussier.

I've found that wheat exacerbates it and give her gluten free bread etc, but she's now been off wheat for several weeks and the problem has arisen again.

Just a bit at a wits end with the multitude of things it could be or that we can do to help and don't really know where to start!

Oh and she has formula during the day. I tried her on cows milk but she a) didn't like it and b) developed a tummy upset in the following days so I thought I wouldn't bother introducing it again until her tummy troubles are resolved. She does however love other dairy like yoghurt and cheese.

Thanks in advance!

[susyp]

sounds like an allergy or intolerance - have you tried taking her off dairy completely? my daughter also has this with cows milk allergy & soya intolerance. She was always bright in the day but the exact symptoms you describe below. She wasn't constipated either - it was trapped wind and tummy ache with both - the cows milk allergy made her vomit but she has quite a strong allergy. Soya intolerance exactly as you describe above but that was when she was having soya yoghurts - not sure you;d be exposed enough generally to get a reaction like you have had. I'd put money on cows milk allergy especially as you say she had tummy upset after actual cows milk - lots of people on this forum have children with this so no doubt you'll get some other advice.

susypx

btw - your GP should have suggested this. Ask for a referral asap (you may need to go private initialy). GPs are hopeless at allergy/intolerance stuff. a 1 yaer old should not need infacol - there will be something else going on.

[Saffron]

There's no definitive evidence that infacol really helps colic anyway. As susyp says, you'd probably be better off investgating the real cause with a referral to a specialist, or even just a different GP with better knowledge in that specific area. I think if it were my LO, I'd try dropping dairy and adding some age-specific probiotics. Xx

[Didine]

we had the same issue with my daughter and put the blame on teething until we were completely exhausted and went to see a paediatrician. She suggested to try lactose free formula ( sma) + probiotics and within 2 nights, the problem was solved.

We still gave her dairy during the day. 2 years after she is still on lactose free milk, has dairy during the day and is not allergic to lactose.

[tomo]

My son had this, he still has occasional bouts. Our GP sent him for a blood test to eliminate dairy allergy, and also a stool sample to check for any underlying bug and also checked for absorption. He had very loose stools at the time. All came back as normal, so took it upon ourselves to eliminate windy culprits. So no more beans, pulses etc and generally reduced his fibre intake. I also gave him a probiotic powder (the health matters store on LL sells it) It all did help, but he can still get trapped wind from time to time. I'd definitely ask to see another GP and see if you can get some tests done.

[joshR]

Thank you for your help everyone. I've been convinced all this time she was sensitive to wheat but maybe dairy is a possibility. I actually feel quite guilty I've been carrying on all this time because i thought it was teething or the GP insisted 'she'll grow out of it' but it is actually worsening. We've had some of our worst nights recently. I will try to get a GP appt next week and be more insistent on further investigations.

I've also heard that nanny goats milk can be gentler and am wondering now she is 1 if I should switch to that instead of cows milk? And if I should wait to do all this until I've seen a dietician? Re the probiotics, do I get them from a health food shop or do they need to be prescribed?

[susyp]

If you get a referral letter from the gp and go privately you can be seen and tested within a week, I would cut out dairy completely until then.

Susypx

[susyp]

Also if she is mucusy that would be a sign of an allergy, if not maybe an intolerance- you can't test for intolerance you just work it out by trial and error.

[joshR]

She's not mucusy unless she's got a cold although she does have one quite often!

I went to a different GP yesterday after one of our worst nights ever. He was dismissive of the food intolerances but said it sounded like silent reflux and has given me ranitidine to try for 2 weeks and then a review with a referral if we still have problems. I did suspect SR when she was younger but was dismissed as wind and colic by a couple of doctors and sent on my way... It would also make sense that she comfort feeds so much and sleeps badly when flat, to the point where she only realy naps in a sling and now occasionally the buggy.

He said not to eliminate dairy at this point as he wants to see what is having an effect. I have read that dairy intolerance and SR are often linked so this is a little frustrating as surely eliminating an offending food from her diet is more productive than medicating, but I'm willing to give this a go and see what happens next.

She did actually sleep very well last night after the first two doses.

He also said that nurofen we were giving her for teething would probably exacerbate it and she's been having it quite frequently recently, and also that the worsening of symptoms when she's eaten wheat could be because it is digested more slowly so it sits in the stomach and causes the reflux.

[reren]

Recommend oat milk - my son swapped to it after bring constipated on cows milk and immediately liked it.