Help! My Baby Cries All the Time.

I have 3 1/2 month old that was acting the same way. I believe throughout the day he was not getting enough sleep. I started laying him down more throughout the day and he slept and was in better mood afterwards. I took him to the doctor not knowing if it was something I was doing. He just started around his 3 month old b-day. After about a week I just starting putting him down for a nap, he had learned to fight his sleep.

Hi H.!
My 1st daughter was colicky until almost 6 months and had to take gas drops for awhile.Eventually out grew it.
My 2nd daughter had acid reflux until she was almost a year. She would arch her back and scream at the top of her lungs. I would let her sleep with her head higher than her body like in a carseat ,swing, or bounce seat so she can feel better. She was put on zantac(liquid form) I had to give it to her with a medicine syringe. She did fine after the medicine but she did spit up on occasions. This medicine stains clothes.(3rd daughter got new wardrobe cause of it)Hopefully your son feels better.

I married my high school sweetheart too. We've been together for 14 years and married 8 years.

I don't think 3 months is too old for colic. Typically, colicy babies cry more as the day goes on. I could be acid reflux, but when my son had reflux, it would bother him anytime he laid down, the time of day didn't matter. My son had all the symptoms (excessive spitting up, crying when laid on back, overeating,etc) so my dr let us try out Zantac to see if it would help. It worked great and he eventually outgrew it. But, some drs won't give meds without doing extensive testing like upper GIs. You probably want to talk to the dr. The Zantac was only given once a day and tastes like bubble gum, so my little guy didn't mind it at all. Good luck.

HI H.,
I am not sure if you have tried this, or if someone has already mentioned it, but if he suffers from acid reflux, or maybe just problems releasing air (my little girl who is now 3 yrs old did). You might want to try and invest in Dr Brown's bottles. They look like a normal bottle, but they have a spout thing that goes in the middle, which reduces the amount of air that he sucks in while feeding, plus, it reduces the amount of air bubbles in the bottle. You can find them at drugs stores, and now I have seen them in Wal-mart. This worked wonders with my daughter. Also, does the screaming reduce if you pic him up off the floor? It could be that in the AM hes ok for a while on the floor, but he would prefer to be sitting up or standing. My daughter HATED to be laying down flat. If she was upright she did fine. I hope these suggestions work!

C.

Hi H.. My son had acid reflux when he was an infant and was on medication (first zantac and then prevacid) until he was 8 months old. He didn't really spit up a lot so at first I wasnt' convinced about the reflux. The two things that convinced me were that when he was lying down I could hear gurgling in his throat and when he was screaming in pain, if I gave him a dropper of one of those liquid soothing over the counter medicines (I can't remember the name!! Not pepto but something with an M!!) we could instantly see that he was relieved. He'd go from screaming and being stiff to just totally relaxed. I don't recommend just trying this on your own - check with your doctor to see what they say adn for dosage. I've heard some doctors are fine with giving this to babies, others aren't.
The other thought that came to mind is that I was wondering if your baby is getting over tired in teh afternoon and evening? His happy morning mood may come following a good night of sleep. Is he taking 3 naps a day, at least? My child was an over tired baby and we'd have evening screaming as well. If you think that tiredness could be a contributing factor, I highly recommend Healthy Sleep Habits by Marc Weissbluth. I don't agree with all of his strategies, but I do think that he has excellent research on children's sleep and how much they need.
Good luck!

First, I understand your problems and feel for you!! I know what it's like to have your son scream all day. No, babies can have colic up to 6 months! But, we are all optomistic that Tucker will not!!

A couple of things that helped my son (he was on Soy from day one so that wasn't his issue): going outside calmed him down, keeping him upright for 30-45 minutes after every single feeding as well as gas drops at each feeding, and the 5 s's.

The book The Happiest Baby on the Block talks about the 5 S's and though I don't agree with everything in the book, those saved our lives.

They too thought our son might have reflux but he never spit up (but they don't always have to) so I really didn't think that was the problem. We put him through all the gerd meds and nothing helped. He HATED taking those medications but I hear it really works for them if that's what the problem truly is.

We found out he had allergies and after changing pediatricians he put him on Zyrtec and now he's great (he also had problems with coughing and breathing as he got to 4 and 5 months.) We will have him tested soon now that he's old enough for a blood test.

We swaddled Zane until he was 6-7 months old. That and the swing was the best thing for him! We didn't worry about how he got to sleep when he was little, we just did whatever worked.

THE COLIC hold was a God-send! Oh and don't let me forget that giving him warm baths would calm him down as well. I gave him two a day when he was little!

If you ever need anything or a great pediatrician let me know. God bless you and hope you get some relief soon!

My son had colic when he was that age. He also had gas. So I gave him gas drops. I remember having to drive my son around in my car to get him to stop screaming. It was a hard time. Maybe you can start feeding him cereal. That also helped us. We started our son on solid foods a little earlier. Good Luck!

N. B.
Mom Advice Central-http://www.mymommycentral.com

Yes, if it Acid Reflux, you should definately get a prescription. If you don't the acid will do life long damage to the esophagus that is irreversible. My son took Prevacid from 2 months -10 months. I have had friends who opted not to get the prescription and every one of them now has a child with feeding problems because the child is afraid of food because it 'hurts'.

Good Luck!

Hi H.,
Have you thought about other food allergies besides lactose? I was a baby who cried a lot and as an adult was diagnosed with celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder that is actually very common in which a person cannot have gluten (a protein found in many grains) in his/her diet. Just something you can think about checking out.
T.

My daughter has had colic and reflux. We did try zantac and prevacid. The zantac worked for awhile and then we tried the prevacid...at some point, she just outgrew it before she turned one. We just weaned her off of the prevacid.

But one thing that my child does have that we found out when she was 6 mos old...food allergies. She is allergic to dairy products specifically milk protiens, eggs, soy and peanuts. That was the cause of a bunch of her problems. I breastfed exclusively, so I had to cut out a bunch of things from my diet. Once I did, it helped her screaming a lot.

Your child could also be lactose intolerant. It might be that the formula you are using has something in it that upsets your child. They make special formulas for lactose intolerance and milk allergies.

Also, your child isn't too old for colic. Some studies show that children can have it until 6 months sometimes even longer. As each child is different, it all depends on the child.

I hated putting my child on medication at such a young age. I ended up doing it because we had exhausted all other avenues. Before jumping to a prescription, I'd check into the lactose & food allergies. The food allergies can be checked out by a simple bloodtest.

Good luck. It was not fun for us and I know exactly what you are going through!

H.,
I read your request outloud to my husband and he asked if I had written it! Your 3 month old sounds exactly like my 4 month old! When my son was only days old, the dr diagnosed him with acid reflux. I took him in for a sonogram and it was confirmed. He now takes Zantac twice a day. This has helped some, but still the screaming continues in the evening. I have tried taking him outside in the evenings for walks and this helps, but now its to hot! We have started putting him down for the evenings earlier and this helps a ton! His main screaming was from 5 pm. to 9:30 pm. Now he gets a small nap in the evenings and then nurses at 7:30 pm and is down by 8 pm. I would definitly ask your dr to do the sono to confirm the reflux. Meds may help him a lot. Let me know if you would like more info! I'd be glad to chat with another mom who is in my shoes!!

I have an in home daycare as well as 2 children of my own. I have had this issue with a few of the babies I have raised. Your son sounds like my daughter was. My mom kept urging me to switch to soy and I finally got a can of carnation soy formula and it was like a switch almost instantly! I really think regular cows milk (milk based formula) can be a bit harsh on the little ones tummy! Both of my kids were on soy and it stopped their crying problems... I also had a little girl I sit for and when they weaned her off of breast milk they had to use soy because of her colicky behavior. They also had her on a medication but we weaned her off of it within a few weeks and she did fine. I have heard of babies becoming addicted (I don't want to scare you) so if you think he doesn't need as much after a few weeks then wean him off of it a little at a time.. I have heard not to just STOP it or it will seam his symptoms come back, but if you do it slowly over a week or two then he may be fine! As was the case for the little one I keep. Another REALLY good thing I recommend is a bottle called Dr. Smiths... they have a funnel thing inside ofthem and it basically takes all the air out of the bottle.. every baby I have sat for has used these and since the parents switched to them the fussiness stopped within a week of using them in combinatin with the soy formula. I am not saying it will definatly cure YOUR baby.. but I have been there and from the sounds of it you are ready to try anything. It's worth a shot! You can find those bottles at target and at walmart! They are GREAT!!! Also make sure you do lots of let exersizes with him... lay him on his back and sit in front of him and it can also be play time... take his feet in your hands and rotate his legs like he was riding a bike.. it REALLY helps the little ones to work out the gas in their tummys and they usually like it because it feels good and you are interacting with them!
Also try raising his crib mattress a little so he is not flat on his back b/c if he does have refulx laying flat on his back can be painful... place a small pillow under the mattress in his crib and that will raise one side a little so that when you lay him down he is at a little angle.. that can help too!

Just understand that it is very normal and quite common what you are going through.. you are not alone and TRUST yourself! I hope you find something or a combo of things that work.. I know it is a big step to move to medications... try a few of these things for a week and see if they help at all... if not, maybe he does need a little help with meds... it's okay if he does, you have not failed him or anything! GOOD LUCK!!!!

Boy do I sympathize with you. My daughter had silent reflux where they don't spit up. If he is calm and then suddenly goes stiff and starts crying, you can bet he probably has reflux.

I thought my twin boys had it too, but after reflux medicine didn't help, we took them to a gastroenterologist and found out they had a milk allergy. They had to be switched to a real expensive formula but because it was medically necessary it was covered under insurance. You might contact Cook Childrens' Gastroenterology clinic and let them take a look at him.

I agree with the first response that your child is not too old for colic. My son went through this also. We used Nutramigen formula. It is hypoallergenic formula--but expensive. This is something we had to ask the pharmacist for since they keep it behind the counter.

My son also has food allergies. He is allergic to soy, peanuts, tree nuts, and wheat. We did the blood test with him and it came back showing no allergies. We did the skin test when he was older and it showed the allergies.

If you would like to investigate the food allergy on the internet try searching these two sites: www.fastoftexas.org (This is FAST Food Allergy Support Team of Texas) and www.foodallergy.org (FAAN Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network). If nothing else it may ease your mind or help you know what questions to ask the doctor.

If you need the name of a pediatric allergist, I can highly recommend one located in Flower Mound. Just let me know.

Good luck and hang in there!

H., goodness, this sounds like a difficult situation. I have had foster babies and they did not do that but a close friend of mine had a baby who did that until about age 6 months. Colic has unknown causes - some theorize that baby just gets ultra stimulated during the day and by evening he/she is wound up. Eventually, my friend's baby stopped this but it lasted past 6 months. Don't give up - get help of a friend or family member who can give you a break in the evening. Maybe cut down stimulation if you can. One of our foster babies did have acid reflux but it included projectile vomiting. I'm not sure a baby can have reflux without throwing up but maybe so. You could always swap pediatricians for awhile and get a second opinion. Hang in there! I don't have any babies right now and if you need help, let me know. I live in Bedford. I would be happy to come give you a break or sit with you one evening so you don't lose your mind. A crying baby can wear you down - we had twin foster babies and it was hard. I was exhausted so I can empathize with you.

My son was diagnosed with Reflux at approx. 6 weeks of age due to screaming crying whenever he spit up. We were rx'd Prevacid. It really really helped. We just got the dissolvable pill, and used breastmilk to dissolve it. He took it just fine, and tolerated it well. He is 8 months now, and doesn't show any signs of reflux any longer, so we have discontinued the use of the med. Good Luck!!!

My daughter was the same way and we tried every formula and eventually ended up using goats milk. She could not break down the protein of the cow milk.

Hi H. does he stop cring after about an hr or two and settle into the evening, if so he will stop doing that in about a month. my son who is 14yrs old did that and we could set the clocks by him, same time every nite, screamed for hr or maybe two, I would rock him walk around the house with him put him on the floor with toys nothing helped then a friend from church who was going thru the same thing said drive or walk around the neighborhood that worked for them and in about a month he stopped. it was weird. I would think if he needed reflux meds he would be doing this all day too. is your Dr. a pedi dr or general dr. K.