Why does my baby boy smell like maple syrup?
Are you taking Fenugreek to increase your milk supply? If so, that may be the reason. But it's also possible that he could have Maple Syrup Urine disease, a metabolic disorder. So if you're not taking Fenugreek, I'd contact the baby's doctor right away. Good luck.
Have your pediatrician check him out asap.
There's such a thing as Maple Syrup Urine Disease and it can be serious if it's not treated.
http://www.newbornscreening.info/Parents/aminoaciddisorde...
Maple Syrup Urine Disease is one of the things they test for in the CA Newborn Screening blood test. For you other moms not in California this is a heel-stick blood test that is done the day or two after they are born while still in the hospital. It tests for all sorts of things, including blood disorders and metabolic disorders. So he should have been already tested for that one, at least preliminarily so. Did anything show up on Newborn Screening? Your pediatrician would have/should have notified you.
I find that peed-on diapers in general smell a little maple-y. Disposable diapers that is.
If you think it is not normal, call your ped.
Please, please listen to B in her post. You need to get your son to the pediatrician today, not tomorrow. Insist that he be tested for maple syrup urine disease. It's for real. If he does not turn out to have it, you will at least have eliminated that as a reason for the scent. Be assertive and strong with the doctor and insist on testing.
Most states test for maple syrup urine disease, so your baby would have been tested for this genetic condition in the hospital after birth. Make sure to mention this to your dr at your next ped office visit if you are concerned.
Both my kids would smell like sugary syrup. It's something about the combination of the urine smell and the scent of certain diapers combined, I think.
