lactose intolerance or colic?

Question

my 5 week old son, gets gassy, has diarrhea, fussy and cries due to the gas. my mother-in-law thinks he has colic and my husband thinks he is lactose intolerance. he said one of his friends has 2 kids that is lactose intolerance and they put them on soy milk and they were fine after that. i take him to the doctor tomorrow for his month old check up. my first one was a very good, the only time he fussed was when he was hungry, sleepy and sick. so this is new to me. what do you'all think. i looked up both and he has the sympoms of both, so i really don't know.

i have been using gas drops and they help every now and then but he still feels like he is in pain. he started this weekend and the dr office didnt have anything open until tomorrow.

breastfed him for 2 weeks and after that off and on until about a week ago. he didn't want the breastmilk anymore, he got use to the bottle and formula.

Answer 1

He could be lactose intolerant...but more likely just suffering from the gas. Have you tried Mylicon drops? I used these all the time with my second son. He was more sensitive than my first one (which I think is very normal). If you haven't tried them, please do. They really work wonders! Good luck! I'm sure the Doc can help you out on this too. : )

Answer 2

definately sounds like colic to me. do you have a lot of milk? sometimes breastfed babies can get something called oversupply syndrome colic or lactose overload. its basically were there is so much milk that the baby becomes full before it reaches the hindmilk which has a much higher fat content. so the baby is getting a tummy full of thirstquenching foremilk which is quite watery and very high in lactose (lactose is the sugar in all animal milks including breastmilk). the babies system cant deal with so much lactose so it dumps it all undigested into the bowel where it basically ferments because its so sugary causing lots and lots of gas and looking very much like colic to anyone who doesnt know about this problem. lactose overload also mimics the symptoms of lactose intolerance exactly however its far more common than lactose intolerance. true lactose intolerance in infants is extreamly rare - milk is the only form of nourishment for a baby so nature usually makes sure the baby can stomach it. you can try block feeding to make sure the baby gets enough hindmilk. this is where you feed off the same side for a certain time frame - start with 2 or 3 hours and after a few days if there is no improvement increase the time until your supply settles down and the baby no longer has colic symptoms. i struggled with oversupply and my son had terrible colic because of it. blockfeeding works well in just about every situation and only in very extreme cases are more severe measures needed. give it a go and see if it works, i know what its like to have a colicy baby, its extremely difficult, so the block feeding is definately worth a shot! just make sure you take it slow because it can cause your supply to drop too much if you start off with too long a time frame. 2-3 hrs will be fine to start with.

Answer 3

Are you breastfeeding or using formula? He could have an intolerance to cow's milk protein, which can come out through your breastmilk and is also found in certain types of formula. If he has lots of gas, try mylicon gas drops and burping him more often during feedings. Soy formula will probably only make him gassier. I'm not really sure if diarrhea is a sign of colic. If he's breastfed, then his poops will likely be runny/gooey anyway. This is normal. Your pediatrician will be able to weigh him to see if he's gaining weight.

Answer 4

My first child was lactose intolerant, my second had colic. With lactose intolerance, they tend to spit up more and the gas drops tend to relieve the gassy belly. It's easily taken care of by switching to "Prosobee" With colic, baby will get fussy around late afternoon to evening and cry inconsolibly for 3-5 hours at a time. Gas drops for us never seemed to do the trick. We actually just switched him to "Nutramigen" and within 2 days his colic symptoms were gone. Talk to your doctor about your options. Good Luck!!

Answer 5

If it were colic, you'd know. My daughter had colic and cried non-stop for about 8 hours in late afternoon through night time. Colic is unconsolable crying. My son actually had colic and was relieved by taking meds for acid reflux. All babies get gassy and had loose stools. Gas drops may help, but my experience was that it made "me" feel better that at least I was trying to make her feel better, but only with time did the crying stop. You may need to switch formulas, but your doctor will recommend which one to use based on what you tell him. I breastfed and tried elimination diets to see if he was allergic to something I was eating. That didn't help. My daughter did stop crying when we walked outside, at least for small periods of time. Many kids who are lactose intolerant are also allergic to soy, but there are formulas which are hypo-allergenic (like Alumentim) but they taste nasty and are expensive. Good luck!!!

Answer 6

I had the same problem with my little girl. I felt so bad because it was like she was in pain all the time. Poor thing. I took her to the doctor and we tried all sorts of formula. Gentlease, comfort protiens (goodstart) lactose free, nothing worked. Finally after a month and a half of this we switched her to soy and she has been fine ever since. Hope this helps. Good luck and congrats on the little one.

Answer 7

Are you bottle feeding? My Doc (parent of 12) told me when my son had colic to cut his formula in half. Use 8 oz. of water, but only enough formula for 4 oz. It did help tremendously, and wasn't nearly as gassy. I would definitely contact your physician. It's not fair to you or your baby.

Answer 8

Whethe he is colicky or lactose intolerant only a doctor can make the proper diagnoisis so just hold out one more day and talk to your doctor tomorrow. Good Luck!

Answer 9

I found when my son was colicky it was due to the milk based formula....once he was switched to soy the gassyness, spituping, and crankiness subsided almost immediately. He would get cranky at the same time every day you could set a watch by him. Talk to your doctor about switching the formula. Good Luck.

Answer 10

My baby was pretty much the same. I changed to the soy-based formula and he is doing GREAT on it. Another formula that works good with gassy babies is by Enfamil...I forget the name of it but on the front of it, it says its made for gassy and fussy babies.