One Year On...Pyloric Stenosis

Pyloric Stenosis becomes apparent when a baby is around six weeks olds. It is more likely to affect firstborn babies and boys.

Apparently it is fairly common although I had never heard of it nor knew anyone whose baby had it.

One year ago today I took Eliot to Accident & Emergency at St Thomas' Hospital. Six weeks earlier he had been born there. One year ago today I was told that my son had pyloric stenosis, I was told he would need an operation, I was told I could not feed him. I will never forget his tears and the look on his face as if to say 'Mummy why aren't you feeding me?'

No parent wants to see their child ill in any way. We were lucky that we found out what the problem was straight away, we were lucky it was not anything more serious.



Eliot before his operation

 But still it was one of the worst things I've experienced, my baby with tubes coming out of him, my baby being taken from me by the surgeons. Waiting to find out my baby was ok after being operated on.

After the op

Thankfully it all went well, he recovered perfectly and is none the wiser about his ordeal at such an early age.
You can read about the run up, the symptoms and time frame in my post from earlier on in the year.

Please do share with any expectant mummies, it was not something I was aware of prior to Eliot being sick.

One year on, Eliot is a happy and healthy little chap!

Worlds First Virtual Clinic!

I wasn't aware that colic affected up to one in four babies, were you?

Friends of ours have had babies who have suffered with colic, giving accounts of constant crying for four hours every night to being inconsolable. Awful for baby to be in pain and stressful for parents trying their best to treat and console their baby.

 I can't imagine Eliot screaming for hours and not being able to console him. It would be horrendous. We are thankful that colic is something he hasn't suffered with.

Infacol is Britain's first choice when it comes to treating infant colic. It is suitable to use from birth and is free from sugar, colour and alcohol.

Recently Infacol have launched the Worlds First Virtual Clinic www.colichelp.co.uk introduced to help give parents some reassurance  about colic. This virtual clinic can be accessed at anytime of the day, which is ideal for parents who find themselves fretting during the night and can't call their GP.

For those parents who are worried that their baby is suffering from colic, you can now get support through your computer, tablet and smartphone. Infacol's new web app gives you assistance through video response answers to questions about colic. You can choose from 50 of the most common questions that are asked about colic or you can ask your own.

As a parent I have turned to the internet many times to investigate various symptoms and have been met by all sorts of responses. I think it's fantastic that Infacol have launched their new site, solely related to colic with answers in a video response.

If you think your baby could be suffering with colic head over to Infacol's virtual clinic for support. 

* I received some sweet treats as a thank you for writing about Infacol's new site.



Guest Post - Teething by The Blissful Baby Expert

My guest post today is by The Blissful Baby Expert

Teething is one of the most widely discussed topics if you have a baby, as at some stage in your babies first 2 years it is going to cause some sort of issue. In total, by the age of 3 years old the majority of children will have all of their 20 milk teeth. Some babies cut teeth with relatively no signs or symptoms at all and the first a parent knows about it is to see the little white dot in their babies mouth.

Other babies seem to suffer with every single one. The molars are particularly painful for all babies in my experience, as they are so big-they take weeks of rumbling before they begin to cut. The canines are also not a very nice experience for everyone either.

 One of the most asked questions is:

 When does teething start?

A: In my experience teething symptoms can start anytime from around 8 weeks of age, although some babies have been known to be born with 1 or 2 teeth that have already come through.

Pain and crying are just one symptom of teething. There are various other signs that your baby is suffering from sore gums:

*More loose poos than normal

*A red, sore bottom

*Pulling at the ears (a sign of pain on one side of the mouth)

*Decreased appetite-refusing to drink her milk or eat solids (mouth may be too sore)

*Dribbling

*Wanting to chew everything

*One or both cheeks being very red and hot to touch

*Generally whingy or unhappy (if teeth are just having a rumble and causing a small amount of pain)

*Unexplained bouts of screaming hysterically which nothing you do seems to help relieve it (Due to very bad teething pain)

*Not sleeping well. Whinging or moaning in her sleep or waking up screaming

 If your baby is showing at least three of the above signs then you can say with a fair amount of certainty that it is likely to be teething pain that is the problem. Many parents will notice a few more unusual signs every time their baby is about to cut a tooth, i.e, they always develop a cold. However I have tried to stick to the more common signs that are normal for the majority of babies.

 NOTE: If your baby seems in pain but doesn't show any of the above symptoms as well, then I would recommend that you talk to your GP for more advice.

 Most adults will have experienced toothache or pain at some point in their lives, even if only when their wisdom teeth are having a 'rumble' for a few days and trying to push through the gums. It can even put us off eating because your whole mouth feels so sore- but at least we understand and can self medicate accordingly!

A baby has no idea and the only way to let their parent know is to cry. For the majority of babies, teeth can take a long time to appear. They rumble in the gums, gradually pushing their way up before "erupting" (aptly named by dentists) and 'cutting' through the gums so that you can finally see and feel the sharp tip

 Q: How can you help soothe the pain of teething?

Giving your baby things to chew on will help. You can keep teething rings in the fridge or even freezer and just get them out when needed and offer to your baby. Even giving her a cold, damp flannel to chew on will give relief as the cold numbs the pain and the fabric gives a soothing massage as she chews it.

If your baby is already on solids then offering cold foods like yoghurt or cool fruit purée will soothe sore gums

Sometimes rubbing her gums with a clean finger can also help

There are various gels,liquids,powders and teething products on the market, as well as necklaces all containing particular ingredients, all claiming to be the best to help with teething pain.

In my experience, after trying a number of different products with my own three children,babies I've worked with and chatting to other mums, I have found the most helpful and soothing product to be a teething liquid called ANBESOL

http://www.boots.com/en/Boots-Brands-A-to-Z/Anbesol/

It is also sold in gel form too, but I've found that like other gels, it slips off the gums and around the mouth as you are attempting to apply it. This means that you don't really get enough of it around the gums to relieve the pain

The liquid is much more effective because you can apply it directly along your baby's top and bottom gums using a clean fingertip. It contains an antiseptic ingredient as well as an anaesthetic so it brings instant relief.

If you use this and your baby still seems upset and in pain, then you can give infant paracetamol or ibruprofen once they are over 12 weeks old.

In my experience Ibruprofen based medicines are much more effective on teething or any other type of pain, than paracetamol based products

 A baby who is teething will not self soothe or calm herself down until the pain has stopped. During the day, sometimes teething is easier for your baby to cope with as there are lots of distractions in her environment.

At night, lying in a quiet dark room, all alone, she has nothing else to think about apart from the rumbling in her gums, so she will wake up crying repeatedly. She may settle initially with a cuddle if it is just mild teething pain, but will likely be unsettled and wake on and off all night. With more severe pain she will be almost hysterical and crying even when comforted.

This is the time to try the teething remedies you prefer. I find Anbesol liquid and ibruprofen based medicine are best at dealing with teething pain.

They will both take a good 20-30 minutes to take effect, during which time you should sit and cuddle her to keep her calm. Once you know she is no longer in any pain,  then you can encourage her to go back to sleep for a bit longer until the morning-but be prepared to be in for quite a few unsettled nights when new teeth are cutting-particularly the Molars and Canines, which cause very bad pain and can affect eating habits too.

 

Unfortunately teething is one of those things that goes on for months, sometimes without a tooth even cutting to begin with. Symptoms can begin from the age of 8-10 weeks and it is normal for a baby to suffer with teething pain or symptoms for 2-3 days and then be fine again for a few weeks. For most babies it does tend to come in spurts of a few days here and there.

All children are very different as to the age at which they get teeth-some begin getting them by 6 months, others are still toothless at 12 months-despite showing lots of teething symptoms. My middle son was actively teething every now and again from the age of 10 weeks but his first tooth didn't appear until he was 14 months!! I thought he would be gummy forever!

 

Q:Should you start cleaning the tooth once it's come through? How and with what?

A: You can start getting your baby used to teeth brushing as soon as their first tooth comes through. Buy a toothbrush and toothpaste recommended for your babies age and to begin with just let her chew on the brush and get used to having it in her mouth. If she's teething then she will enjoy the feel of it in her mouth. Getting her used to having her teeth brushed from a very young age will prevent any reluctance against doing it as she gets older.

 Q: Why do some babies get diarrhoea and sore bottoms when teething?

Many experts say there is no connection, but mums often say that they notice a connection.

A: As a mother of three children who have gone through the teething stages

and having spoken to many of the hundreds of parents I work with, I would say there is most definitely a connection between a baby having more loose stools when teething.

The reasoning behind the loose stools is due to the extra saliva that your baby produces and then swallows more of. This saliva aggravates the tummy and makes a baby produce more acidic poos.

The acidic poos in turn can cause a very red, sore rash on a baby's bottom

 I hope you have found this post helpful and I'm honoured that Lucinda asked me to guest post on her blog. If you would like other helpful baby related tips feel free to come and have a look at my blog www.theblissfulbabyexpert.com and follow me on twitter @blissfulbabyexp for FREE parenting advice anytime

Thank you very much for this informative post! Lots of questions answered for those of us worrying about teething!
Be sure to visit www.theblissfulbabyexpert.com for more great tips!

REVIEW & GIVEAWAY - Essential Baby Care Guide DVD

 

The Essential Baby Care Guide from The Essential Baby Company was launched in Tesco back in February. There are six individual DVD's Introduced and narrated by Professor Robert Winston , Breastfeeding, Formula Feeding, Introducing Solids, First Aid,  Your Baby's First Month and Sleeping (RRP £3.99 each). The full DVD covering all of the above is also available (RRP £19.99). All are available from Tesco and the full DVD is also available from Amazon.

I was recently sent the First Aid DVD to review. I'll be honest and say I had no idea about baby resuscitation and the recovery position for baby's. The DVD shows you how to administer to babies under one. I suppose they are both things that hope I will never have to do. But none of us know what is round the corner, within family, friends or events we may encounter out in public. I am so glad that I now have more knowledge about strategies to implement should I experience an emergency!

The DVD has several sections...

• Baby recovery position
• Baby resuscitation
• Baby choking
• Bee Stings
• Epi Pens/Auto injections
• Burns and Scalds
• Baby Sprains
• Baby Wounds
• Baby Poisoning

Each and every section offers invaluable  advice. Advice in many of the sections that could save lives!

'All topics are explained clearly by experts in the field including, midwives, teachers, doctors & consultants, first aid trainers and nurses from organisations such as The Royal College of Paediatrics, St Johns Ambulance and UNICEF'

 

What I particularly found useful in the First Aid DVD was the clear explanations and demonstrations of how to carry out the first aid required.  A recap of key points at the end of each section is great too. It is helpful to hear other parents share some of their experiences.

 

This is perfect for all expectant parents/parents of babies. The majority of us do not have the time to book on a first aid course and this is a informative solution that can be done in your own time at home. It is advised in the DVD that you do take a first aid course but in the meantime this gives you vital information.

 

You cannot put a price on life or health, this is fantastic resource to inform your first aid knowledge. I highly recommend adding this to your DVD collection!

 

I am pleased to be able to offer one lucky reader the chance to not just win one of the guides, BUT the entire collection, all on one DVD! All you need to do is enter via the Rafflecopter below.

Each entry will be verified and the DVD will be sent to the winner by the company, not myself.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

* The first aid DVD was sent to me I return for this review. All views and opinion are entirely my own.

Pyloric Stenosis...have you heard of it?

I hadn't

 

This is a long post, so get comfy! I've wanted to write this post since I started blogging. It's not intended to worry anyone but to raise awareness.

 

Eliot had been a 'sicky' baby since he came into the world. In fact he gave me quite a fright the day after he was born. His 'windy' sickness continued after feeds which was what we were told and presumed was the 'norm', until just before he turned six weeks old.

 

It was the early hours of a weekend morning and the OH's turn to get up to feed Eliot. Whilst he was winding Eliot I heard an almighty gush and splash. He had vomited everywhere  much more than usual, the sheets had got a soaking and  the muslin had failed its use. I remember saying 'It's not fair! He has his milk then brings it all back up'. Poor little man. For the rest of the day there were no more similar occurrences. I wasn't worried as Eliot was his usual happy self, just a bit more sleepy.

 

During the night I was awoken by the sound of Eliot being sick...in his sleep. Some had even shot out of his crib onto the carpet. I changed his clothes and bedding, after some tears Eliot was sound asleep. I was a bit concerned as this had never happened before but he didn't have a temperature and had happily gone back to sleep.

 

The following afternoon Eliot brought back quite a bit of a feed. It was different from normal, it had pale brown bits in it.

I'm sure many of you who read this would have rushed to A&E now or got in contact with your doctor.  

As Eliot was still very happy and taking all his feeds I didn't think it could be anything too serious. I was going to see the clinic to the health visitor in the morning so I could discuss it with her.

 

The next day Eliot was weighed at the clinic and had put weight on. As we waited to see the health visitor he was sick after a feed. This time I was concerned, on his bib was a bright red blob. Blood in his sick! I left it there so I could show the health visitor. When we were called in I told her of my concerns. The health visitor was relaxed and not worried at all. She said it was 'just reflux'. She was happy he was putting on weight, he was eating, he was happy. Even when I mentioned he'd had brown bits in his sick the day before and pointed out the blob splattered on his bib, she was not worried at all. She had no explanation for it but discouraged me from going to my GP!

She scribbled in the red book and off we went...straight to the GP to make an appointment. Still I wasn't panicking.  I suppose I felt reassured that she hadn't been at all worried but shocked that she hadn't told me to go to my GP to be cautious.

 

At the GP  we were booked in for an appointment the next day.On the way home we bumped into the OH's mum. I explained all of the above, including that I wasn't too worried and that we were seeing the doctor in the morning. She was a bit concerned but I put it down to that trait being part of her character.

 

I rang my friend who had a nineteenth month old and after explaining what had been going on she told me to just take him to A&E. She said she'd been to hospital a countless amount of times when her son had been ill.

I suppose I was in denial, Eliot was happy and feeding well! I suppose I was reluctant to be that first time mum who panics.

 

I text my friend who is a paediatric nurse in a special baby care unit and asked why he may have had blood in his sick.  When she was able to get back to me she explained that he could have irritated the lining of his throat/stomach due to being sick a number of times. This made sense, he had 'reflux' so this was likely.

 

That evening I rang my parents to tell them what was going on. They also said I should take him to A&E. I explained that the health visitor wasn't worried, other than that and being more sleepy, Eliot was his usual self. And we were seeing a doctor in the morning.

 

I'd turned to the  trusty old internet to diagnose his symptoms and was led to an explanation of pyloric stenosis on the Great Ormond Street Website.

 

'Pyloric stenosis is when the passage between the stomach and small bowel (pylorus) becomes narrower. The passage is made up of muscle, which seems to become thicker than usual, closing up the inside of the passage. This stops milk or food passing into the bowel to be digested.'

 

  I read up about it on other websites too which mainly highlighted there would be lots of projectile vomit. Some of Eliot's symptoms were similar but not exact.

 

At the doctors the next day, she checked him over, felt his stomach and asked lots of questions. Including had he been projectile vomiting, had he been pooping and passing wind. He hadn't done a poo for a few days but had been windy. The GP thought it was reflux and prescribed Infant Gaviscon. She also gave a prescription for lactulose if he hadn't pooped by the following day. I was booked in for a follow up phone call in two days. In the meantime she told me to go to A&E if it got worse.

 

That afternoon the Infant Gaviscon seemed to be helping and Eliot had a poop. It looked as though we may have found the answer to the problem.

 

This was short lived. After a lunchtime feed the next day, Eliot was forcefully sick all over the kitchen floor. The Gaviscon wasn't doing the job it was supposed to.

I took him to the nearest A&E, back at St Thomas' where he had been born. They have a children's A&E department within the main A&E.

We weren't waiting long before a nurse called us into a cubicle. I described everything that had been going on and  was told a doctor would be in shortly.  I was also given some bits to try and take a urine sample from Eliot (not an easy task).

When the doctor got to us I retold the events again. He said he was going to take a blood test as there were a couple of things it might possibly be. I mentioned Pyloric Stenosis and he confirmed this was one of the things he suspected. At this point I was still in denial I didn't believe it could be that. There were phone calls back and forth to the OH.

When the doctor returned he said the blood test results were inconclusive and Eliot was being sent for an ultrasound scan over in the children's hospital. I put Eliot in his pram and a nurse walked us round.

I'd been to the children's hospital whilst pregnant as that's where they carry out the ultrasounds to check if there are any heart problems.

I laid Eliot on the bed and he was scanned. Coincidently a paediatrician came in to see the sonographer. He pointed out on the screen that the 'pylorus' muscle wasn't opening. Eliot did have pyloric stenosis. That meant he would need an operation, there is no alternative.

I was shocked, dazed. Was this really happening to my baby boy? The nurse took us back to A&E where Eliot would be prepped to go on to one of the children's wards straight away. There would be no more feeds until after the operation.

I stepped outside the cubicle and burst into tears as they put a tube down him to remove the contents of his stomach. The doctor also inserted a drip to replace the fluids he would be losing by not having his feeds. I rang the OH and told him to get there immediately.



 

Soon we were taken to the children's ward. The doctor who had popped into the scan room came to discuss the operation with us. As Eliot's blood test had shown his blood gases weren't normal he would not be able to be operated on until they were. We were told it could be the next day or the following one. I prayed his blood gases would be back to normal by that next day. The hardest thing was not being able to feed him, I knew he was starving and looked at me as if to say 'why aren't you giving me my milk?!' It was heart breaking.

 

I stayed with him overnight on the pull down bed next to his cot. Unfortunately he pulled out the line giving him fluids which meant it would need inserting all over again! Not a pleasant experience to witness when they find it hard to get a vein. The nurse on duty that night was lovely and reassured me the doctor would be with us a soon as possible. I was getting increasingly concerned as I knew he wasn't getting any fluids.

Eventually a doctor got round to us. After failed attempts to insert a line I the back of his hand she placed it in his foot. They had taken more blood and she told me his blood gases were now normal. I was relieved, this meant the operation could take place the next day.

The nurse told me to get some sleep as we had a long day ahead of us. She was wonderful at caring for Eliot.

 

 

Before the op

 

In the morning another doctor came round to talk over the operation again, go over the risks again. I signed the consent form. Then it was just a matter of waiting to be called to theatre.

Poor Eliot seemed to know he wasn't gong to be fed and hadn't cried as much. We were then visited by the anaesthetist who asked about family history of allergies etc to anaesthetic.  

 

Just before lunch the nurse received a call to say it was Eliot's turn to go to theatre. I carried him down, hugged and kissed him before the surgeons took him. I burst into tears as we walked away. I know its morbid but I did cross my mind that it could be the last time I saw him alive. The operation itself was straightforward, a little incision above his belly button. It had small risks but all sorts of things were going through my mind.

The OH and I went to grab some lunch and my mum arrived shortly after. Then all we could do was wait. Wait to hear if it had gone ok...or not.



Thankfully, when the call came the op had been a success. The nurse took us down to recovery so he could be brought back up to the ward. He looked so pale and dozy after the anaesthetic.



 



After the op

 

The next step was to introduce feeds in small amounts, increasing them gradually. The feeds went down successfully with none being brought back up. This continued over night as the amount increased.

 

The next day I was worried about his wound which was stitched inside and had steri-strips outside. It looked red where it had rubbed against his gown when I'd fed him and had been bleeding.

The doctors had already been to see him and were happy to discharge him that afternoon. I couldn't believe it after we were in hospital for days when he was born. I was reluctant to go, worrying we would be returning.



The day after the op looking much brighter

 

When the doctor came and had another look he removed the steri-strips, cleaned the wound and put on new steri-strips. He was still happy for Eliot to go home. At the time Eliot's feed was also due so we had started it whilst he was laying down. Soon after he was a little sick. I panicked calling the nurse over who said it was probably because we'd started his feed whilst he was laid down and just a bit of wind. Now I really didn't want to go home! She told us to stay until after his next feed for reassurance.

So we did and the same thing happened, Eliot was sick. The nurse reassured us again and told us to stay for his next feed if we were that worried.

We did, the last thing I wanted to do was to take Eliot home only to have to go back. If he needed to be there then we would stay.

To add to the concern, around his belly looked red. I was worried it could be an infection. The doctor came and had another look. With a pen dotted around the edge of the redness. This was to monitor if the redness was spreading.

Luckily it didn't seem to spread any further but we did stay for another couple of feeds, before leaving that evening.

Thankfully we have not been back to hospital and Eliot has done fantastically since.

 

Eliot's sickness still continued after feeds so we have been back and forth to the GP. He is still on Gaviscon but his reflux seems to have improved since beginning weaning.

 

I made a complaint about the health visitor who told me not to go to the GP.

I have little faith in the health visitors I've seen especially after our most recent visit where I was told to 'add salt' to Eliot's food!

 

Every health professional I saw during that time and that I have seen since, asked if he had been projectile vomiting a few feet. He hadn't. It appears they have this misconception, but rely heavily on this one symptom for diagnosis.

 

 In hospital I was told I had got Eliot there at the right time even though I felt guilty I'd not taken him sooner.

I was told that babies can become so ill from dehydration when pyloric stenosis is not found early, that they end up in hospital for long periods of time.

 

So please, if you are concerned about anything with your baby don't make the mistakes I did. I wish I'd listened to family and friends and taken him to hospital sooner. I wish I had been an overly concerned first time mum.

 

Pyloric Stenosis becomes apparent when a baby is around six weeks olds. It is more likely to affect first born's and boys.

Apparently it is fairly common although I had never heard of it nor knew anyone whose baby had it.

 

 

Has your baby had pyloric stenosis? Are you aware of someone who has?