We had an awesome week following the switch to soy formula & Prilosec. He was content, smiling, happy. I was thisclose to writing a post about how my ovaries were itching to procreate again (OH MY GOD). But now he’s back to screaming his bloody head off every waking moment. Refusing the bottle because he’s too busy crying (as in, he won’t stop crying long enough to get his mouth & tongue around the bottle). So you sit with the bottle in his mouth, waiting for him to realize it’s there for the taking. Screaming even when he’s jiggled, carried, whatever. He’s covered in slobber & tears. But nothing helps.
A zillion thoughts run through my head. An ear infection? Teething? Reflux again?? Hungry? Wet? Constipated? Gassy? & I think at this point, I realize that I simply have a fussy, unhappy baby with one hell of a temper. I just don’t know where to draw the line. Do I give in to admitting it’s “colic?” (Which is what Dr. Hottie implied if the soy & med switch failed.) Is it possible to have a good week if it’s colic, or is this a sign that I should keep digging? He’s not running a fever. He pooped happily last night & he’s had a decent amount of milk today. Do I call the pediatrician, or do I wait & see if this is a one-day fluke or if it lasts a few days? It’s not about me. I can handle the screaming. I just don’t want my kid to be in pain or unhappy & if there’s a fix, I WANT IT FOR HIM. But sometimes, I worry that I’m becoming numb to his crying. He does it so often for no reason that sometimes, I have to remember that he is crying for a reason. Sometimes he does need his diaper changed. & even though he’s cried for the past 4 hours, it’s been 4 hours & now he’s crying because he’s hungry.
He finally passed out in my arms (it takes skill to type & cradle a babe). & then I laughed at a comment left below regarding internal hemmies making you feel like you’re sitting on a place setting (SO TRUE) & it woke him up. & not just a flicker of eyes — a full bottom-lip out, entire body scrunched up, & wailing. I just wanted to stab myself for daring to laugh.
The only thing that makes him happy is lying on his changing pad & noming on his stuffed lambie. It’s a good thing that a) I like his nursery and b) I have a good book to read.
But it was so nice to have a week with a happy baby. I got to see how the other side lives.
Oh Blair I feel for you! I would wait to see if he keeps it up all day and then call the pedi in the morning. Hang in there mamma and remember, your doing a great job!!!
teething? Maybe. Its possible. The happy when chewing on lambie is what gives me that idea. GL.
It will get better! I promise!
Good luck! My little loved his changing pad, still does, we actually got another one so we could have him on it all over the house! Now at 7 months he'll sit on it and play in the floor!
aww poor baby and poor mommy! Are his clothes uncomfortable? (grasping at straws.. haha)
We live super close (friend of a friend, etc)…Let me know if you ever need a buddy to come and drink…err I mean sit with you while your little H is having a screaming match
My little boy had those A LOT when he was that age…we went through Gripe Water, Mylicon Drops and Prilosec, Zantac, etc…he eventually grew out of it. PINKY PROMISE!
I am so sorry! It really sounds like reflux and exactly what we went through with J. Like I've said before, I highly recommend the chiropractor!
I hope you (and Harrison) get some relief soon!
I agree 100000% about the chiropractor thing. I bring my little guy to one when he starts to be fussy 'for no reason'. He always comes out much happier.
Please, please, try it, for your own sanity!
I couldn't admit to myself that my son had colic, but now, looking back I'm sure of it. I think I just felt like there should be something I could do for him and it had to be something I could fix, but sometimes there just isn't. Don't beat yourself up about it.
I totally know what you mean about becoming desensitized to his cries. When they cry all the time you tend not to jump up and rush over the second it starts. Buy, hey that's not the worst thing in the world either. I actually think it has made me a more laid back parent because I already have training in keeping my cool during chaos!
When he hit the 3-4 month mark he turned into one of the happiest and most content babies on the planet. Hang it there because even if it is colic, it will get MUCH better very soon!
Blair, my LO was the same way for the first 3/4 mos.
We used colic calm, we bed-shared, we did whatever we had to do to survive. He had colic and reflux and was a nightmare. I had no help and i spent most of my days crying with him.
Does it suck? Um, yeah! Lol
Will it get better? Absolutely!
It was often suggested to us that we should take him to a chiro, but i never did. i wish i would have though, because i always hear about how helpful it was.
I don't know if this will make you feel better, but my LO was basically constantly unhappy for the first 3/4 mos and now is THE happiest, smileyest baby. He is SO social, laughs at everything, smiles at everyone, melts people's hearts. I never would have believed what an absolute joy he could be back in the beginning.
You're already miles ahead of where I was. I couldn't take the screaming and every day was the worst day of my life.
Keep your chin up!
We went through the same song and dance with my son. Before giving in to the term colic we tried one more thing that I don't think you have. We switched formula one more time to the Enfamil Nutramigen. Pedi suggested it and said we would notice a difference in 24-48 hours if that was the problem (milk allergy and something that is also in soy formula).
It didn't work for us but doesn't hurt to try. In the end she Rx'd us something called Levsin and within 24 hours he was a completely different baby (wish she had Rx'd it before he was 11 weeks old though!).
It does get better! Now my son only cries when he is tired. I never thought these days would come!
My LO is ten weeks today. She was also diagnosed with colic. A lady that works with my husband told him to try running a vacuum near her to see if that would stop the crying. I would have never believed it, until I saw it for myself. It actually worked. Whenever LO is fussy, or in a full-on cry, I turn on the vacuum and she instantly settles down and doesn't make a peep. It's been the best tip anyone has given me! Now, I will say that, if she is hungry/wet/hurting, then she'll continue to cry. Then I know it's more than just a crying spell. Good luck.
We definitely do the vacuum! But the moment it shuts off, the crying picks back up. Highly unfortunate to both us & our electric bill!
They have CD's that play the vacuum sound continously! It is GREAT!
Blair,
My 2nd baby had colic for 4 months. One thing that "helped" was the Grandma's Fussbusters CD. It's a collection of sounds (vacuum, washer/dryer, rain, etc.) I had copies of it everywhere (the house/car/grandma's). It's worth a try.
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/fussbuster
Wendy
I had a colic baby, too. It feels like a walking nightmare… The worst kind of death sentence. But, the GOOD news is that Colic usually passes at the 3 month mark. It's a miraculous day. I can say (HONESTLY) once we hit 12 weeks, DS was a much more relaxed baby… and now he never cries. Ever.
Good luck, Blair! You can do this! You are such an amazing mom. Harrison is lucky to have you.
God Bless.
Wow, Harrison sounds just like my son! PJ is about 4 weeks ahead of Harrison and I swear it's getting better already. He has acid reflux too and after trying to even take dairy out of his diet, he seems to be growing out of it. Good luck and hang in there. Misery loves company and your posts help me deal over here.
Couple of things. I went through this with my son right around that age too. First off the clothes may be an issue, I found that most things with a waistband made him uncomfy at that point and one pieces were the way to go.
Also, 6-8 weeks is the peak of fussiness in babies. It is also called a "Wonder Week" which is marked by a fussy phase. It just means he is adjusting to something new and this is how he is dealing.
He may also be constipated. Soy formula did that to my DS. We had to use glycerin suppositories to relieve him. He may also have gas. I found that Gripe Water really helped us.
It will get better, I promise you that. He will mellow. Although if this keeps up for more than a day, you might want to check with your pedi.
You are doing great!
Is he ready for a higher lever nipple?
Luke did this when he was ready for a nipple switch. Also, the low flow nipple caused him to gulp a lot of air which made him super gassy and in turn very fussy.
This happened around the 2.5 month mark for us. It took a few days to get better after the nipple switch, but it worked great for us.
Have you tried a white noise machine to imitate the vacuum sound (with less effort and electricity!)? Our little guy is only 5 weeks old and hasn't been colicky, but has had some pretty extreme tantrums. We have this alarm clock, which has an extremely loud "waterfall" setting: http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order…
Holding him right next to the alarm clock with the sound on works like magic–he stops crying instantly. It also works well in our bedroom to drown him out when one parent needs to sleep and the other one is "on duty" in another room. GL!
…and this too shall pass…and yes my dear, it will be called colic.
Not that I doubt Dr's because I don't . But hence my point…most ped's are men(and I don't care how many years of med school you have under your belt or how many MBA's,MD's & PHD certificates you have on your wall) unless your a female and have carried & given birth to a child don't talk to me about postpardom depression, reflux, colic, fussy stages, sore nipples & bleeding to the point of needing a trnsfusion…okay doc!
My son screamed bloody murder from the second he woke up until his tried little body hit the crib everynight! This went on non-stop for 4 months…I wish I was joking, but I'm not…guess that's why I stopped with just 1 child.
You are doing fine. He's fed, changed, burped & loved! The only thing you can do is be patient…he will grow out of this stage. I PROIMISE!
i second the vaccum….or put him under the fan in the bathroom. that humming works too!
My 3 month old is EXACTLY LIKE HIM. I mean to a T!!! I wish I could offer advice, but nothing I do works either! My mother-in-law says my husband was the exact same way as my daughter, so I blame his genes. I have become numb to her crying TOO and I feel so bad when I realize she's hungry or needing a diaper change! Good luck to you hun
haha, my kid LOVES the changing table too.
Just remember, Colic is Doctor for "I dont know what the hell is wrong". It's not actually a "thing" it's just what they call not knowing what the "thing" is. So definitely keep digging and trying things, and hopefully you can figure it out/it passes. It seems like most babies have been a little crazy the past few days.
oh PS if he's not taking the bottle for a long time and he needs some hydration- you could always try a dropper/cup temporarily. When i was too engorged for him to latch on the first few days, I pumped and we fed him with the (big) dropper to make sure he didn't get all dehydrated (which would then cause him to have troubles eating)
Sooo I don't have a baby yet BUT i do have a nephew whom I'm around 24/7 and have been there every step of the way. He's currently a sweet laughing, smiling almost 10 month old BUT up until he was about 5 months he was…horrible. I was going to try and find another word but it wouldn't do. He screamed bloody murder unless he was breastfeeding and even that didn't always soothe him. It's crazy to me that he's the child he is today because the way he was as a baby, I just couldn't have imagined it. I say all that to say that maybe this is a phase Harrison's going though and while I can't give you any solid advice like the moms above I can tell you that "and this too shall pass"
Um…at least you can still laugh? I got nothing…
Blair, my daughter Ashley screamed all day long for three months straight. It was a living hell. We finally figured out she was hungry (I was nursing and she refused any formula). We had to force feed her formula. She got a little better but was still an incredibly fussy baby until six or seven months. I do not know how we survived those first months, and like you, I became immune to the crying. But it got better, so much better! She became the best baby/ toddler I could ask for and honestly, I would go through the living hell with my next one if I can get a baby/toddler as good as she has been since 7 months. So Harrison may be giving you a hard time now, only to turn out to be the best behaved baby on the block that you can take anywhere at anytime and he will be an angel. Best of luck to you!
Here is a link to the vacuum cd
http://www.colicshop.com/vacuum-cleaner-cd.shtml
We have the fan cd and it works wonders. Maybe this would help Harrison? ((Hugs)) to you and Harrison!
Good Start Soy saved my life. PLEASE try it. It's very easy to digest and really helps with the fussy, gassy, refluxy irritable baby. If it doesn't work for you they have a $$$ back guarantee. Just save your receipt & mail it in & they'll give you a refund. Good luck. I've been going through the same thing….Gavin is almost 4 months and doing SOOO much better. Hugs & happy baby dust.
Blair – I dealt with the same issues with my son for the first couple months of his life too. We had him on Zantac and Soy which all seemed to help, but one thing that was also suggested was Infant Probiotics. You can find them at Whole Foods, or whatever health food stores are around you. We used Dr. Udos Infant Probiotics and it really seemed to get his tummy in check and I have a much happier sweet 3 month old!
Best of Luck!!
Carrie ~ Smyrnagirl from the Bump
My son (who is now 4 months) started out on "normal" formula at birth. After realizing he had reflux and putting him on meds, we had a couple weeks with a happy baby. Then, all hell broke loose. He became inconsolable – especially after taking his bottle. The doctor decided it could be a milk allergy and switched him to soy. He seemed happier until it was time for him to poop – then he would scream in pain. Turns out, he was allergic to soy too – his poop started having blood in it. So, we started him on a special formula from Canada – Neocate and it worked wonders! We suddenly had the happiest baby ever! He was on that for a while and we just switched him to Nutramigen (which can be bought in stores) and he is still such a happy baby! Maybe trying the Nutramigen would help? It says, on the can, that it helps with colic…. if that is what is wrong with him. Anyway, just thought I'd give you an idea – I hope he starts to feel better soon!
I have never dealt with "colic" (thanks lucky stars) but I know when I asked our pediatrician about it she said, "I don't believe in colic." I guess meaning that if they're crying, there's a reason. I say keep digging but if you can't figure it out don't beat yourself up over it. I know, I was tons of help, right? Good luck!
I think you would be complaining about not losing the weight and your kids eating/reflux a whole lot less if you would have breastfeed. But, that was a choice you made.
oh, Anonymous. I've been wondering where you snaked off to the last few posts. Does it just make you tingle in your undies that I allow anonymous commenting? I sincerely hope so. I bet you get naked & roll around in a velvet sheet, thanking God that I am so generous to not censor my blog. & then you lay there for hours, wracking your wee little brain & sipping on a bottle of Yoohoo through a pink curly straw, trying to think of some witty retort in hopes of "sticking it" to me to the point that I will cease writing or wallow in a despair of Oreo truffles & tears.
Sadly, you are mistaken. Please buy a vibrator instead if you're still looking to get your jollies.
well this "anonymous" has never posted before, however now it looks as if I need to peruse previous posts to see what the original "anonymous" has said to get your panties in such a twist. by the way, you didn't address my original comment. which obviously means that you realize your refusal to even attempt to breastfeed was completely selfish and a disservice to your baby. So, basically, you got what you deserve. An unhappy baby and a fat ass. Good Day to you.
oh darling, why won't you post your name or email? You have that option. Do not be coy.
& honestly, it is such a horrible shame that you are forced to read my blog & care so deeply about those womanly bits in my bra & my son's welfare. Did someone kidnap you & chain you in front of a computer, sending an RSS feed directly into your brain? Please, speak in code & let us know where you are located! A dark, dingy basement, perhaps? Must you put the lotion on so you don't get the hose again?? I shall send search teams! I shall call John Walsh!
HAPPIEST BABY ON THE BLOCK.
Get it now.
we have both book & DVD. Harrison scoffs at Dr. Karp. 'tis unfortunate!
wow, sounds like my 7 week old. He's on Prilosec (was on Zantac), and we went from the basic formulat to soy and his poop/farts smelled like sufler/rotten eggs. He has been on Similac Alimentum for 6 days and OMG, he's an angel. So basically I think he is allergic to dairy and soy…wondering now if he does not have reflux. Pedi said 90% of infants outgrow this allergy by 12 mo. Good luck.
Want me to bring over the gin? For you, not Harrison. We'll make it a game. Every time he cries, you take a shot.
this is why we are friends.
a few things from me too.
1. Colic calm (coliccalm.com) worked a little for us. It is gross and black and makes their poo black, but it helps on the nights that my little one screamed for hours and still wouldn't fall asleep.
2. Sleep Sheep- toys R us- it's a sound machine and now (6 months in) I turn it on in her room and she's out like a light!
and a little note to anonymous: I breast fed (still do actually) and I have only lost 2/3 of my baby weight and my child was a screaming mimi for the first 4 months of her life. So you my dear, need to get a life and leave this woman alone.
So I had an unhappy baby. She's been on reflux meds for weeks but in my heart of hearts, I don't think she has reflux. She's fed primarily breast milk but I have her on a soy formula at night. After about 10 weeks of every -time-she-was-awake-crying, I felt like I could find another answer myself. I found myself reading the Baby Whisperer forums online and without reading the book, put my daughter on a SLEEP EAT AWAKE 3 hour routine…not a schedule, but a routine (to be tweaked to a 4 hour routine by 4 months) and she has a 12 hour day, essentially. My problem? She wasn't sleeping enough..
Crazy, right? I was feeding her a lot…probably more than I should, because I thought it must be hunger. But on this routine, I honestly have a MUCH happier, well rested baby. I can't believe it took me this long to try something new like this. So it's just a thought. The routine is called EASY (eat, awake, sleep, "you" time). You have probably heard of it or even tried it, but I felt like it was worth a shot to bring it up.
I wish I had more help for you but some babies are just difficult no matter what you do. If you want to relieve your mind on the possible earache issue I suggest getting an EarCheck http://www.earcheck.com/ (they're also available at CVS and BabiesRUs). My son started sobbing like he was in pain in his crib the other night and was almost inconsolable for about 15-20 minutes (I know that isn't a lot but he barely ever cries and this was his pain cry). After two or three cycles of this and since it was new behavior I started googling how to tell an earache from teething and found this device. You place it in their ear like a thermometer, press a button, and it uses sonic waves to determine if there is fluid in the ear (the main cause of ear infections).
It's a little pricey but it was still less that one co-pay for the urgent care clinic and it was a lot easier to send my husband out to get it at 11pm than to pack the baby in the car to go to the doctor. I still don't know what was wrong with him (nightmares maybe?) but I was able to reassure myself that he wasn't sick and now I can check his ears any time I think he might have an infection.
If anyone is interested we paid $47 after tax because it was $10 off with a CVS card and we used a $5 off CVS coupon from their site. If you're getting it for future use you can order it directly from their site and there seem to be a lot of 20% coupons out there (just google earcheck coupon) which would make it only $40 (ground shipping is free).
oh, to clarify the $5 coupon was from the CVS site and the 20% off coupons are for the earcheck.com site.
Hey hon! We tried Prilosec for Savannah for about 1-2 weeks …. it helped a tad, but not as much as everyone would like. We made the switch to Prevacid and it was a lot better. Still, not 100% but about as good as you can get!! Maybe just switch up the meds, per your Pedi's thoughts?
My boy was similar and just loike everyone said, it does get better. I switched to a soy formula and it didn't matter…he still screamed. He was gassy a lot too. What did work for us was
1. Switching to Dr. Brown bottles. They are a royal effin' pain in the ass to wash but OMG they were a Godsend.
2. A cradle swing. This kid would cry non-stop but when I put him in the cradle swing after a few minutes he would settle down and go to sleep. He was happiest in that swing. And he had to have it swinging like hell too. No slow and easy…I think I had it up to 6 which was the highest setting.
My son never slept in a bassinet or a crib until he was nearly 5 months old….he SLEPT in that swing. It was the only way I could get him to stop screaming and actually sleep. My ped said it was fine and no harm in him sleeping in the swing and it was better for him anyway since she suspected reflux and wanted him fed and remaining elevated afterward. I even had him sleeping on a wedge once he finally got a bit better and graduated to the bassinet.
We went through our share of Gripe Water too and it did help get him to sleep. We affectionately call it BD (baby drugs) in my house. Good luck with H…you are doing a great job and he'll be all the happier later one once this passes because of you!
I'm not a mom yet, but I babysit for my cousins all the time and both mothers swear by the CONAIR infant sound machine( it has 10 or so different noises (ocean, rain, white noise, heart beat, etc.)) to help their little ones fall and stay asleep. And I will be a total loser and say I bought one for myself because I had insomnia (which turned out to be fibromyalgia, but that's another story for another day). Anyway, this little lady does wonders, so even if it doesn't work for sweet baby Harrison, maybe it could be a relaxing measure for you? Ya know, crank it up so the sound of crying drowns out for a little bit and knock back a couple drinks in between feedings
I got mine off target.com for $25, here's a link. Good luck, colic should pass soon.
http://www.target.com/Conair-Infant-Sound-Machine…
PS, amazon has it too for a whopping 2 bucks less.
My DD was just like this too. Reflux and colic and the first 3 months of her life were miserable for all of us. But like other PP's said, she did grow out of it (although we are still dealing with the reflux issue and she's almost 6 months old). The fan above the stove (vent fan) saved us. I would turn that thing on high and swing her in front of it and it worked every time.
Despite what you may think, you are doing a great job and it really will pass. You'll be amazed, one day it just stops. Best of luck to you and Harrison!
SIMILAC ALIMENTUM! greatest formula since sliced bread.
SIMILAC ALIMENTUM! greatest formula since sliced bread.
(Yeah, you don't know me, blog-stalker who found you through the Bump… My son is about 5 weeks younger than Harrison.)
I _never_ leave comments on blogs (horrible, I know), but I just stumbled across the anonymous comment above saying you wouldn't be having reflux issues with Harrison if you'd breastfed.
And I just wanted to let you know, not that encouragement from random strangers will help any, but my son is exclusively breastfed and has reflux so bad that it's giving him asthma. We've been in the ER, seeing a pulmonologist, switching between every reflux drug on the market looking for one that works, we're ordering him a reflux wedge for sleep on the doctor's orders, he gets a nebulizer treatment every night… so yeah.
People suck. And reflux/colic/whatever is NOT because you're feeding formula. Prilosec worked for exactly a week for us too, and then it was back to the screaming and wheezing.
Eesh. Anyway, that comment just made me so mad I had to say something. Hang in there!