[showurhorns]

My 15 month old has had issues from birth w/ sleeping. Finally Nov 2009 she saw pediatric neurologist who believes she has "a" sleeping disorder and Sensory Processing Disorder. We saw a OT and was confirmed w/ SPD. My daughter from early as 6 weeks constantly kicked her legs as she slept. As she got older she has become more and more restless. This past 2 weeks she has started rubbing her feet together non-stop at night.She has developed chap ankles where she rub so much. Past few days she has started fussing when walking especially after sleeping or sitting for a period of time. She is spending more and more time in my lap. We have a appointment the 12th of Feb. to go back to the Neurologist. As I do research for her symptoms Sensory peripheral neuropathy keeps popping up. Which you can guess is very scary to imagine to think this a possibility for 15 month old. I thought of calling to see if I can get her in earlier even though it only 2 weeks away. But I am scared that is progressing so quickly. Any thoughts on the possibility that peripheral neuropathy may be the cause and if I should push for an earlier appointment ( if it is even possible).

[mrsD]

Some babies are born with B12 deficiencies. This typically happens when the mother is also, but also if the expectant mother was vegan.

There are also B6 dependency issues that can cause seizures in babies... the restlessness may be a minor form of this.

Strict vegetarians and vegans are at greater risk than lacto-ovo vegetarians and nonvegetarians of developing vitamin B12 deficiency because natural food sources of vitamin B12 are limited to animal foods [5]. Fortified breakfast cereals are one of the few sources of vitamin B12 from plants and can be used as a dietary source of vitamin B12 for strict vegetarians and vegans.

Pregnant and lactating women who follow strict vegetarian diets and their infants

Vitamin B12 crosses the placenta during pregnancy and is present in breast milk. Exclusively breastfed infants of women who consume no animal products may have very limited reserves of vitamin B12 and can develop vitamin B12 deficiency within months of birth [5,43]. Undetected and untreated vitamin B12 deficiency in infants can result in severe and permanent neurological damage.

The American Dietetic Association recommends supplemental vitamin B12 for vegans and lacto-ovo vegetarians during both pregnancy and lactation to ensure that enough vitamin B12 is transferred to the fetus and infant [44]. Pregnant and lactating women who follow strict vegetarian or vegan diets should consult with a pediatrician regarding vitamin B12 supplements for their infants and children [5].

from http://dietary-supplements.info.nih....vitaminb12.asp

There also are sensory integration disorders in children. This can be helped by adding choline to the diet, which then improves acetylcholine in the nervous system.
http://www.incrediblehorizons.com/se...ntegration.htm

Does she fuss at socks, or loose slipon slippers too?

I'd check the feet to see if any rashes are there. Any redness, etc? Might be something she picked up, like athlete's foot fungus or contact dermatitis from soap residues in clothing or
on the floor? Any rashes anyplace else on the body? Allergies of any kind?

[stagger]

Originally Posted by showurhorns

My 15 month old has had issues from birth w/ sleeping. Finally Nov 2009 she saw pediatric neurologist who believes she has "a" sleeping disorder and Sensory Processing Disorder. We saw a OT and was confirmed w/ SPD. My daughter from early as 6 weeks constantly kicked her legs as she slept. As she got older she has become more and more restless. This past 2 weeks she has started rubbing her feet together non-stop at night.She has developed chap ankles where she rub so much. Past few days she has started fussing when walking especially after sleeping or sitting for a period of time. She is spending more and more time in my lap. We have a appointment the 12th of Feb. to go back to the Neurologist. As I do research for her symptoms Sensory peripheral neuropathy keeps popping up. Which you can guess is very scary to imagine to think this a possibility for 15 month old. I thought of calling to see if I can get her in earlier even though it only 2 weeks away. But I am scared that is progressing so quickly. Any thoughts on the possibility that peripheral neuropathy may be the cause and if I should push for an earlier appointment ( if it is even possible).

My thoughts and prayers are with you and the little one

[showurhorns]

Thanks for the info. The nuerologist had mention blood work but wanted to wait until she was older. I am going to go ahead and request that he does it now. I also had wonder about iron deficiency. I have read where B12 and iron deficiency can be related and also can have some of the same symptoms. Iron Deficiency can also cause sleep disorders and restless leg symdrome. She has oral aversions due the SPD. So I know she does not get adequate nutrition(I do supplement w/ formula and multi-vitamins). I was also was anemic while pregnant and brestfeeding. It has been so frustrating because of her age it took a while to get the Dr's to listen. 15 months of knowing something was wrong. It took me having a break down to get their attention. I feel we still are not there but I get it is progress. There new symptoms are just concerning because they are progressing so rapidly. Poor baby has slept in 15months. I know it effects her development. At this point she has no delays and actually has meet all her milstones early. She just has behavorial issues at time.
She does have issues w/ socks actually anything on her feet. Blankets are her enemy.
No rashes except the chafing were she is rubbing her ankles together. She goes bare footed alot. I use steam to clean the floors. I use dye/fragrance free detergent and soaps. So hopefully that is not the cause. She did get a new pair of shoes but she had started rubbing them before then.
I also notice alot twitching in her legs and hands especially while she is sleeping.

Thanks. Anymore info is much appreciated

[Feel the Burn]

Originally Posted by showurhorns

Thanks for the info. The nuerologist had mention blood work but wanted to wait until she was older. I am going to go ahead and request that he does it now. I also had wonder about iron deficiency. I have read where B12 and iron deficiency can be related and also can have some of the same symptoms. Iron Deficiency can also cause sleep disorders and restless leg symdrome. She has oral aversions due the SPD. So I know she does not get adequate nutrition(I do supplement w/ formula and multi-vitamins). I was also was anemic while pregnant and brestfeeding. It has been so frustrating because of her age it took a while to get the Dr's to listen. 15 months of knowing something was wrong. It took me having a break down to get their attention. I feel we still are not there but I get it is progress. There new symptoms are just concerning because they are progressing so rapidly. Poor baby has slept in 15months. I know it effects her development. At this point she has no delays and actually has meet all her milstones early. She just has behavorial issues at time.
She does have issues w/ socks actually anything on her feet. Blankets are her enemy.
No rashes except the chafing were she is rubbing her ankles together. She goes bare footed alot. I use steam to clean the floors. I use dye/fragrance free detergent and soaps. So hopefully that is not the cause. She did get a new pair of shoes but she had started rubbing them before then.
I also notice alot twitching in her legs and hands especially while she is sleeping.

Thanks. Anymore info is much appreciated

Sensory neuropathys are horrible,, if she had it,, you would know,, she might have aversi0ons to cold or hot,, feel like shes being scalded just even touching something thats a different temperature then the temperature in the room,, does the sun bother her,, does she complain shes being burnt,, like I said,, I have it,, they have no clue why, oh they toss out ideas but it sure isnt helping me to stop losong control of my nervous system,,

[cyclelops]

I had childhood restless leg syndrome, from as early as I can remember, I would have these attacks that lasted many nights. I too could not stand socks or blankets on, to this day, I sleep with my feet uncovered, and my feet are always very cold, so it makes no sense. My parents have a picture of me sleeping with my legs crossed. I used to bounce them around like that until I fell asleep. Ugh, horrible sensation.

There could be many reasons for her behavior, and the doc should throroughly evaluate her. I don't think it is fair, that a child who can not explain what is going on with her body, should have to suffer.

My thoughts are with you and your little girl.

[Raglet]

hi there

I would have thought that is a baby had sensory PN she would be extremely distressed and screaming a lot due to the pain or, if she had numb feet, would have balance issues, injuries to her feet that she didn't notice happening etc etc. Rubbing feet together in my experience of neuropathy would not be a usual response either to the pain (extreme pain) of neuropathy, or to numbness. I have experienced both pain and numbness over the course of my disease, and the thought of rubbing anything against a part of my body that was experiencing neuropathic pain would be excruciating (even a sheet brushing against my hands or feet was excruciating). My feet are now numb and well, they just don't feel anything, so no need to rub them against anything.

Restless legs makes more sense to me too, though I am not sure if it affects babies. I have not heard of neuropathy causing restless leg type symptoms (though I am the first to admit am not an expert on PN), but it's not something that I have heard of. So, whatever is affecting the poor wee girl, it really doesn't sound a lot like PN to me.

I do hope you find out what is going on, please keep us updated about what the neurologist says.
best wishes

raglet

[mrsD]

Most children with eating issues ... some hate certain textures, etc...will drink smoothies!

You can make these with whey protein that has added glutamine in them, and add vitamins, flax oil, etc along with the fruit and they will go down without fuss.
Bananas, blueberries, strawberries, pineapple, mango, etc all go into smoothies easily. Even vanilla yogurt! (with the active organisms in it). She won't taste any of the things separately, which she might balk at. Many kids get into the process of making the smoothie too, as it can be fun.

Many children's vits now have choline added to them. So choose one with that on the label. Flintstone's Complete has choline now added to it.

Restless legs can be due to low magnesium levels. Magnesium is found in whole foods that kids often refuse. You can circumvent this with a magnesium cream. Kirkman makes one that autisim parents rub on the back of the child before bedtime.

My magnesium thread has that link and also a new recipe a member here makes their own-- The Kirkman one is designed to give 100mg/gram, and for a small child I'd recommend that, so you do not accidently give too much.

This is my magnesium thread:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread1138.html
The RDA for a small child-- is 80mg a day. (elemental)
This is the Kirkman link:
http://www.kirkmanlabs.com/ViewProdu...ct_ID@124.aspx

Without magnesium in the diet, a person cannot metabolize fats into brain cell membranes, or make neurotransmitters.

Small children with sensory issues can quickly become deficient in just about every thing, because they refuse many foods.

This is PediaSure which is also a good idea to try:
http://abbottnutrition.com/Products/pediasure

If her feet itch, and she is "twitchy", you may have to examine Celiac or gluten intolerance for her. Many people have this, and in small children it can manifest in bizarre ways, and typically leads to malabsorption of nutrients as well:
http://jccglutenfree.googlepages.com/

Jccgf posts here on our Gluten forum so you can ask her questions directly there.

[mrsD]

I was doing some looking around on the net, and found this:

http://www.btinternet.com/~tetheredc...dysraphism.htm

Infants with hidden spina bifida may have several orthopedic
symptoms.

I'd get that checked out when you have your doctor's evaluation.

[pabb]

Originally Posted by mrsD

I was doing some looking around on the net, and found this:

http://www.btinternet.com/~tetheredc...dysraphism.htm

Infants with hidden spina bifida may have several orthopedic
symptoms.

I'd get that checked out when you have your doctor's evaluation.

sometimes i just need to "open my mouth" ....i had thought of this too. but didnt going looking.....spina bifida occulta......good luck