Baby Never Stops Screaming. Could She Be Allergic?

My child high-pitch *screamed* for 17 hours a day from week 3 all the way to 5 months. I had great doctors and specialists. They tried everything.... switching from breast milk to Alimentum formula helped a lot but didn't stop it. It was just fewer hours and less intense screaming.

Just to give you ideas, some things we tried were: barium enima to test for blockage (came back normal), ultrasound to check for intestinal problems (came back normal), glycerin suppositories, gripes water, Hyland's colic tablets, mylicon drops, support wedge under her so she slept inclined, attachment parenting so she was always held, soy formula, ailementum formula and baby massage. The only thing that helped was the Alimentum

It stopped all of a sudden one day at 5 mos old. We went on a 6 hour airplane flight to visit my sister and, after that flight, she never screamed again. Not once. Never. I'm not sure, but I'm thinking the pressure changes in the aircraft somehow affected her internal organs and/or gas so that it alleviated the problem.

Whatever it was, I was so glad it stopped. I was losing my mind!

1 mom found this helpful

My son had colic for his first 3 months of life, and whenever I stopped drinking milk and eating any milk products, he was fine. If I had milk and nursed him, he got colic again. He couldn't tolerate it when I had spicy food, either. Even now, at 27 years old, he cannot have milk.

Hi L. - probably time for a second visit with your doctor to see if she needs a different medication or change in dosing etc. I know from my nephew that persistent reflux is incredibly painful, especially at night. I had it when I was pregnant and it was horrible. I wanted to scream myself sometimes!

The chiropractor helped both of my boys when they were babies. Ask yours if he does any kind of allergy clearance method like NATE, etc. He can also likely test for food senstitivities like dairy, corn, gluten etc. that you may be passing in your breastmilk.

There are basic things you may already be doing like propping her bed up so that her head is elevated and dont let her go to sleep with a full tummy.

Things might improve a little when she starts eating more solid foods this month rather than just liquids.

I hope you find advice here that helps your daughter!

C.

Start taking notes. Stop eating dairy for a week-check labels, you'd be surprised what has dairy (some meds too) & log her reactions. Do you eat a lot of spicy foods? Maybe the spice is burning her little belly. If the dairy isn't it, try avoiding something else the next week-gluten (again, read labels), tomato products, really green veggies (my mom's refux is worse the greener the veggie is), legumes (peanuts falls under legumes, not nuts), nuts. Keep a journal, & make an appt (her next check is a year, right? Don't wait). Give the doc your journal & tell him that the Prevacid isn't working for whatever her problem is.
Good luck!
Have you ever checked your milk supply? Maybe you're not producing enough? I found out the reason for my son's screaming was that he was hungry-almost literally starving. My milk dried up almost completely but I didn't realize it, he was still nursing & sucking for the same amount of time. I felt horrible when he sucked down 2 bottles the doc gave him! It could also be that not enough nutrients are being passed to her through your milk...

Hi L.--
Your story sounds very familiar. Long story short, the western medical community couldn't seem to figure out what was wrong and treat it effectively so we went an alternative route and I really believe it saved my son's health. The doctor we found is a chiropractor by degree, but also does acupuncture, herbs, nutrition, homeopathy, etc. He uses a diagnostic technique called EDS (electral dermal screening) to diagnose and treat (it's easier if you just google EDS then it is for me to explain it). It's non-invasive and gives you answers right away---no waiting for tests. I've referred around two dozen others to this type of treatment, all with stellar results. If you are interested let me know and I'll get you the contact information. There are also others that use the same diagnostic machine, but I've found that our doctor has a fuller knowledge of all alternative treatments.
There are lots of things you could try with your little one---withholding foods, etc, but this route gets you answers right away so you don't have to guess. I went through months of screaming and trying to eliminate things before I found this option and by that time my son was really, really sick.
Good luck!
J.

My daughter went through a phase of screaming that scared us so badly that we were on the verge of taking her to the emergency room one night. We thought she was having a seizure, she was screaming and writhing and nothing calmed her UNTIL my husband tried offering another bottle of milk, which she sucked down like a starving little animal. We were trying to wean her off of the nighttime bottles by watering down the milk, as suggested by a million other moms (she was a year old by this time). She tolerated it for a few days and then started screaming every night. She was mad and letting us know that our new approach wasn't working for her. My point is that maybe she's mad about something you're doing, like, for example, the crying it out thing. It just doesn't work for some kids. If the medical stuff checks out as normal, you may want to try NOT letting her cry. Best of luck...

My daughter was the same way starting at 2 weeks to 3 1/2 months. We knew it was 6:00 because she would start to freak out and cry inconsolably. It does sound like GERD if she is doing it at night, but here is a question - are you staying with her to go to sleep and then expecting her to put herself to sleep on her own through the night? She may just be scared.

With my daughter, it turned out to be a dairy allergy. Most foods take a few days to leave your system, but dairy takes up to 2 weeks. I completely went off dairy while nursing. There are typically 2 types of dairy allergy - whey and casein. My dd had probs with both. I read every label (it's amazing what dairy is in!), and made life adjustments. It was amazing what a difference it made. She outgrew the problem around 12 months.

I also recommend a pediatric chiropractor - especially if your daughter is already on Prevacid (we did this too, but it didn't seem to help). The chiropractor will bounce your daughter and lift her into the air while adjusting her. She may cry a little when the pain is being relieved, but it is not an adjustment like an adult would get. We go to ours first when my kids are sick. She does wonders with ear infections and general fussiness!

Good luck - this too will pass. Stay strong!

You might also do some research on probiotics. Unfortunately I can't give you a lead on finding something specifically for your baby, but I have heard a of story of amazing improvement for a baby who had basically never been happy.

S.

I'm 99% sure that she's just hungry! You should be feeding her more food by now. I wouldn't rule out certain types of food, before trying to feed her more. I think too many people freak out about dairy products.

You can be giving her yogurt, pureed fruit--homemade is best (banana, pear, peach, etc.), pureed veges--homemade is best(peas, corn, sweet potato, avocado, etc.). I like to mix these with oatmeal or rice cereal or pureed pasta. When she's 9 months old you can start giving her the same but in small chunk form, along with bite size pieces of bread/toast, meat, cheese, pasta, crackers, etc. Then by the time she is a year old, she can pretty much eat what you eat (sandwiches, pizza, quesadilla, pancakes, etc.

You still feed her breat milk in between meals. You could even start introducing a sippie cup in a couple months. I found it helpful to feed cereal right before bed time because it helps them sleep through the whole night.

Do you consume a lot of dairy? She may be having a reaction to the dairy in your milk. That's what happend with my baby. I had to two choices either cut out all dairy in my diet or put her on Soy Formula. I chose the formula and she's a completely different baby now. Very happy too!

The five most common things babies are allergic to (through your breast milk or fed directly) are dairy, soy, wheat, eggs and nuts. If you only pick two, cut out the dairy and nuts. It might take a few days before she feels better, but also note that if you add something back into your diet, it might take a few days before she feels worse. I had a similar problem, would cut out dairy, he'd do better, then I'd have a latte and no problem that day, think, "it can't be the dairy" but eventually I figured out it didn't bug him for about 1.5 days (maybe it wasn't my first sip of dairy but the cummulative effect of dairy over a day or two?) but it was definitely the dairly b/c I had 14 perfect days, started drinking milk again, and then the very next day after that, the screaming started.

Someone else suggested she might be hungry. I will say that that is also a possibility. In hindsight, I didn't realize but I wasn't making enough milk, so when he wasn't screaming from allergies, he was screaming because he was hungry. We had to go the route of elimination diet for me and soy formula supplement and rice cereal supplement for him (though, as someone mentioned, if she's allergic to dairy, there is a 50% chance of also being allergic to soy). You could also try the hypoallergenic formula for a week while you pump and see if anything changes. She will most likely grow out of it over time, but you hate to see a hurting baby (broke my heart!)

I'm also assuming you've been to the dr. and had her ears checked so it's not an ear infection or anything unrelated like that.

Wow, Kitty had some great ideas, you might also try a chiropractor and cutting dairy from her diet (and yours, since you are breastfeedng) if you see cottage cheese in her diaper that is undigested milk protein, and it's not fun. An osteopathic doctor may be a great idea also.

She could be lactose intolerant & getting milk protiens from your breastmilk or formula.

After reading Kitty's response I wonder if you could check into hyperbaric chamber treatments. I knew a woman in New Mexico that specialized in these treatments for children. I don't know much about it, but it couldn't hurt, and you should be able to go in with her - if you can find a chamber. Or. just take a flight somewhere!

This sure sounds like pain, and needs to be addressed. Since you are breastfeeding, I suggest you find an IBCLC and schedule an appointment. IBCLCs are skilled at playing detective. Then you can take this info to your doctor.
I hope you figure it out quickly.
A. (mom and IBCLC)

Ugh, what a hard time you're having!

I have a 19 month old who cannot tolerate dairy, soy, egg, wheat, chicken, rice (!) or banana. All of those bother him through breastmilk except banana. And boy oh boy, was it a long road to figure all of those out! ;)

First thing I'd do is eliminate dairy. Yes, do a food diary, too, but if you eliminate dairy and that's the culprit you should start to see *some* improvements in a couple of days. It'll take longer than that for it to completely clear her system and yours (took a full 4 weeks for us) but you should see some changes if it's dairy. Maybe even some big changes. Here's a great list for what to avoid: http://kidshealth.org/parent/misc/milkallergy_cutout.html And do check ALL labels... you'll find dairy in teething meds, gum, toothpaste, deli meat, sausage/hot dogs, etc. You might also pull that rice formula for a bit to see if that's the problem. It took us MONTHS to figure out that rice makes my son sick. Flu-like sick. Ick.

I would suggest that you NOT switch to soy formula yet, for a couple of reasons. 1) dairy and soy intolerance often go hand-in-hand and 2) if your daughter has multiple food intolerances it might be easier to modify your diet than to find a formula she can tolerate.

Definitely try probiotics... just make sure they're dairy free, for good measure. Try www.natren.com or www.country-life.com. They're both free of most (if not all) of the top 8 allergens. Probiotics may not help but they certainly won't hurt.

You might also talk to your doc about the Prevacid. Could be that the particular med isn't work for her. I still would go the food elimination route as well, though... I know many people who have been able to reduce or eliminate reflux symptoms for their babies through diet. (That includes my son, who used to reflux a bit when I was eating dairy, even small accidental amounts.) And don't assume the rice cereal is safe either. I've had better luck with veggies for my little guy (though I didn't really start solids in earnest 'til about 10 months 'cause of his issues). You might avoid grains entirely until she's a year or so... they're not as easy to digest as veggies & fruits.

Sorry this is so long. I've got loads of links & info... if you need more, feel free to send me a message. I'm more than happy to share the fruits of my MANY hours of research! :)

Best of luck, mama. You're doing SO right by your little girl to keep after this. Hope you can solve it soon!

Hi,
...just wanted to wish you luck and encourage you to trust your instincts. My daughter also screamed -- did not cry -- but screamed as if in pain. At 6 months we took her to an allergist and she was severly allergic to dairy , eggs , and nuts -- all through nursing. I had no idea since we have no family history of food allergies. Once I stopped eating those foods she was a different child.

If you choose to explore the food allergy angle , do go to a good allergist -- don't just rely on your pediatritian. The allergist will perform a scratch test... Not fun but not that bad either... Going to the allergist will give you some real information instead of relying on an elimination diet or other guesswork.

Good luck.