Help! Bloody mucus(y) spit up

[chistiana]

Hi ladies. I need your help and advice. I have a 4 month old baby girl. She is exclusively breastfed since birth. She does have quite the acid reflux but it's getting better. Now tonight I fed her, held her for a while to make sure nothing comes up (actually held her for over half an hour) and put her in her bed. As soon as I put her down she started fussing (she usually sleeps fine when I put her down) and a minute letter she threw up quite a bit. What's got me really concerned is that in the vomit there was a lot of mucus and most of it was brown. I called the pediatrician and he could only give me two answers a) one of her siblings secretly fed her something or b) I have cracked nipples and she drank blood.
However a) I am 100% sure no one's given her anything to it cause she was with me in the carrier all day and b) I don't have cracked nipples.

So what do I do????? Should I be concerned??? She does have a blocked nose and green poo (sorry tmi) so she is down with something but should I wake her up and take her to the hospital or am I over reacting???

Any advice is welcomed

Thanks ladies

 

[LeannieB]

Hi Sorry no advice here but didnt want to read and run. How is she now? X

 

[JumpingIn]

You're right to seek a second opinion... This could be oesophagitis from the acid. It's she on any acid suppressants? Hug

 

[bundle4me]

If she has a snotty nose maybe it could of been a little blood from her nose blood vessels, my ds gets a bloody nose when he has a cold. Def get a second opinion x

 

[chistiana]

Thank you all ladies!

Jumping she was on Zantac but it's not working at all so we haven't given her any for some time now. Blood from her oesophagus is what I m most worried about.

Bundle yes her nose is pretty stuffy and we ve been suctioning it but if there was a trauma inside to have cause soooo much bleeding wouldn't we have noticed some on the outside as well??

Last night she spit up again some brown stuff so I held her aaaallll night n didn't dare sleep myself. Today she hasn't vomited yet so I m just keeping an eye and will probably seek another opinion too

 

[Septie]

Christina, I'd probably go in to be seen. It's probably irritated from something (cold/reflux) and therefore bleeding. But if it's a lot (or looks like a lot - often it still is not much!), better to get it checked out. If there is another occurrence, can you take a pic and take it with you?
Sorry to hear that you are still dealing with the reflux!

 

[Amygdala]

Please take her to be checked! I can't believe your pediatrician was so dismissive. I'm sure they'll find a perfectly benign reason for it but unexplained blood in bodily excretions should never be ignored, much less in a newborn. Don't let them send you away, insist that they check her over!

 

[JumpingIn]

Would you say her reflux really affects her or your quality of life? If the diagnosis is certain then Zantac not working is a sign of the need for a stronger acid suppressant, different medications or different lifestyle or diet changes. I wouldn't give up on things getting better with other therapies xx

 

[chistiana]

Thanks septie. Yes it's still pretty strong..she even spits up like an hour after feeding if she laughs a lot I ve taken a picture so I think I will take her to the local children's hospital because her poop has been really green as well and this is odd to me as I haven't had anything green and she is exclusively bf.

Amygdala thank you. After talking with a few friends and seeing how they reacted I m pretty set on taking her to the hospital. And if it's really nothing ow well..they ll just think I m crazy!

Jumping it's weird,..before Zantac she was crying and fussing literally all day and you could see the acid would cause a lot of pain. With Zantac she continued spitting up but she didn't seem to be in so much pain. Now we ve stopped it and she still doesn't seem to be in pain but doesn't put on a lot if weight because she literally spits up almost everything. When I tell out doc about it he says Zantac is our only option but since it's not stopping the spitting up I don't see why she should be taking it.

 

[chistiana]

Jumping can I ask you what GERD is? Also maya is lactose intolerant and I try to cut all lactose out but even beef makes her reflux worse??!!!

 

[JumpingIn]

Cow's milk protein and beef protein allergies often go together and both can massively worsen reflux. .. so my question is are you sure it's not the protein in dairy and not the lactose that's her problem? Some kids have all 3 going on though, but if you've been using any 'lactofree' style products that still come from cow's milk and she's allergic to the proteins there could be a problem there. Not to get too complicated but soya protein has a similar structure to cow's milk and beef proteins and should also be eliminated. Do to be clear, if you're breastfeeding, no dairy, no beef, no soy

Now on to the Zantac...I can totally see why you thought it best to quit and for all I know you may be right. . But what you saw completely makes sense. Zantac will some of your baby's stomach acid, making reflux less painful, but will do nothing to stop feed and other gastric fluids being forced up into the oesophagus. In reality there's very little to help with that. .. Domperidone makes feed move through the stomach and down into the intestines quicker and this would be your only option, but unless vomiting is severe enough to stop her gaining weight is not a drug I'd recommend as it comes with risk of hefty side effects.

GERD stabs for gastro esophageal reflux disease -basically severe reflux. A lot of babies have GER... spit up or non harmful reflux...The difference with GERD is that it is painful and affects quality of life, especially when it comes to eating and sleeping. Babies with GERD need medical attention normally at least for their first few months but sometimes up until 18 months or even longer. It all depends, there's a spectrum.

It sounds to me like even if this blood isn't from her oesophagus it had raised the issue of her pain again and Is be inclined to give the Zantac another try, knowing it won't reduce vomiting but may make her more comfortable. Suppressing acid will also allow her oesophagus to heal if that is the issue

Hope this makes sense and helps and hope this blood is a temporary issue

 

[JumpingIn]

Sorry typos, on phone with GERD baby on shoulder!

 

[chistiana]

Lol had to laugh at your last comment, maya is always always held!! You actually hit a cord there...the other day I was at Starbucks and desperately wanted to drink something so I thought tea but I always drink tea with a lot of milk and I hate it black so I thought soya wouldn't hurt. So I had a latte tea with soya! How do I test for the allergy in the protein???? I ve noticed it other times..I won't have anything cow dairy but I ll have spaghetti bollonese (sorry cant spell!) and she ll go ballistics!
It also makes sense to at least re start her on the Zantac just so tht her oesophagus can heal a little. What tests do you suggest I ask my doc to write for us? I m taking her tomorrow