HELP!!! Very Fussy Newborn!

yikes! forget the pediatrician- ask/tell ped that you want referral for what's called a SWALLOW STUDY- this is done by a SLP (Speech & Language Pathologist- sounds funny to use this term w/ an infant who doesn't talk! but that's who does these)who does a little test to watch EXACTLY how baby is sucking/swallowing and can then recommend what to do. Best case scenario: you're told that everything is great! worst case scenario: you get help NOW, sooner, rather than later...

next I would look into a sling to comfort the baby
www.thebabywearer.com/forum even has a forum about wearing twins!!! go join, as it's a great community of mamas!

Harvy Karp's The Happiest Baby on the Block should help, too. get the dvd bcse who has time to read w/ a newborn, let alone twins!

I have twin boys that are now almost 3. I know you have your hands full with having 2 other children. Well, anyhow it does get better, but takes til they are about 4-5 months old. One of my sons cried and grunted a lot. He had gas. We were aloud to give him gas drops starting around that age. Mylecon worked great. He still had moments, but it got better and better. Just pray and I understand the frustration. I had to feed mine every 3 hours because they were early, until they were 4 months old, so it felt like I got to get naps, instead of sleep. My husband did the 5am feeding, so I could get a full 5 hours of sleep. I am sorry he has cleft pallate, I don't know if that is why he is fussy, but I will forsure pray for you A. and for your family.

Have a great day and if you ever need to vent you can email me at ____@____.com, there is a wonderful twin support group called JACKPOTT, and it is like 22$ for membership and they have monthly meeting at 7pm once a month. The second Tuesday of each month. You can go and check it out without signing a membership too. Also, we sell stuff to each other and it is just a great resource.

pss...Also we tried a swing that swung side to side instead of front to back and that comforted the boys and they slept in it til they were about 6-8 month old. It was a life saver....

Has your doctor checked to make sure your son is able to eat properly? Often with cleft lip/palette they are unable to suck properly therefore they do not receive enough food. Ask your doctor to check and see if he is able to suck enough from a bottle to fill him up. If he is crying constantly he may have colic or even acid reflux (which is more common in multiples). I don't know his symptoms but if he is constantly fussing then he is likely in some type of discomfort and/or pain. It's time to see the ped and if you are not satisfied with his/her answer then see another one or ask to see a specialist.

Good Luck!

Have you heard of Harvey Karp's The Happiest Baby on the Block? He has 5 techniques for calming fussy babies. I used them with my first and they really helped a lot. There is a book, but with an older child, a toddler, and twins, I imagine you don't have lots of spare time! So I suggest ordering or checking out from the library the DVD. It is quick and shows you the techniques in action. We watched in when my daughter was a couple months old and immediately put the techniques into practice. The techniques include swaddling, shushing, side lying, swinging, and sucking. It may not solve your issues, but maybe the techniques will help lessen the crying.

rite away-try probiatics for babies. keep refridgerated. get from health food store. call dr miles @ progressive pediatrics ob beach & parental home rd.bless you...take a deep breath..you will get through it!!xo
gripewater & malyci (spelling wrong ) from drug store for gas!!really helps! inconjuntion w/probiotics!!

Dana Obleman has a good e-book on getting babies to sleep. For me it was worth the $40. I've also used Sears and done the attachment parenting, and am glad of that experience when it was an option for me. More kids mean you really need more sleep.

Good Luck, and Sweet Dreams.

L. D.,
mom of three

A.,

1st-Don't feel bad asking for help. You need a sanity day for mommy!

2nd-The only way they can express themselves is through crying. My son had slight colluck and severe gas the first 8 months of his life. My days and nights sound like yours do now. I recommend warm baths to help soothe them, exercise time with and for baby, baby massages, taking walks in the neighborhood, being in the sun just 5-10 minutes a day may help. Take a road trip to the library, they have tons of books that I read (more looked at the pictures to get ideas) and it helped. Now you can actually reserve books online for most libraries and you could have someone pick them up for you.

The homeopathy stores sell Gripe Water (Homemade here in Ortega at Weise Pharmacy behind Publix on Roosevelt) which soothed our baby. It has chamolime and other natural herbs that make their tummies feel better. Poor guy just needs more of mommy. Him laying on your warm belly probably helps him too. I'm sure the different formula reeks havoc on the little guys tummy. He may be dealing with gas and all sorts of stuff. Make sure you learn how to burp him just right for him - trying different ways and rubbing his back extra long to see if you can get that one last one out so he can sleep better. He may need the bears with the heart sounds or something familiar of mommy. He will be your sensitive one it seems. Good luck and give him all that extra lovin he needs until he's past all this. Good luck. Sorry about my spelling!

Dear A.,

Hi! My daughter screamed 5 months, non stop. After several doctor appointments and a lot of heartache it was finally diagnosed. My daughter had severe acid reflux and was put on a few medications until we found Axid, it worked wonders. The acid reflux was so bad and painful that it caused erosion in her esophogus. We also found out that she has severe allergies to milk and eggs. It was hard to get the doctors to listen, we heard everything like, she is just fussy, she has colic, so we changed doctors and found that she had a severe problem, the poor thing suffered for months because her doctor would not go the extra step to figure things out. After we changed her diet, used the medications she was a new baby!! You should ask your doctor to have a barium test done, it is painless the baby just drinks a little and they do x-rays and it shows if the barium bounces up the throat after ingested.
R.

I agree with Shelly, when ever you have a special needs child (Clef lip/pallet) is special needs, close follow up with a doctor is very important. My uncle had this as a child & I remember my Grandmother telling stories of how painful it was for him & how hard it was to get him to eat. Please follow up with your ped.

I have no great wisdom for you on this problem, but let me know if you have any typical twin questions. My set of b/g twins are 5 now. I also had 2 other children, so I understand your situation.

Try running water like from the shower. Or taking him outside for some fresh air. It's a miracle how the simple breeze has lulled our children to sleep. Any noises really. Funny how I still always hush my older ones when the baby is sleeping. Sometimes it just takes an outsiders view, though. You're doing the right thing asking for halp. Hang in there. They're worth the work. Boys are very loyal when they get older from my experience. Perhaps he's just having a struggle for the attention with all else going on. Does your nine year old help? That's a perfect age for children to get interested in caring for babies. Not changig diapers but you know, the little things count. Every little bit helps. God bless you and all your kids! - A.

Hello A.,
Congrats to you and your husband. I can just tell you our secret. I put a king size pillow (in the crib) propped up by folded towels underneath. Almost like a cradle, this helps keep the milk down after eating. We wrap our daughter in a soft warm blanket like they do in the hospitals and place her in the middle of the pillow until she can keep her milk down. We only put a onesie on her most of the time because the blanket is so warm already .. We have more then one blanket, because they get attached to them and love the way they feel to the touch. Sears has them, the ones with stars, in white, pink or blue. If she is not happy in the crib we put her in the swing. We have two swings, one the takes batterys and the other one plugs into an outlet, that will also use the car seat, so straight from the car or a walk can go right to swing mode without having to take her out. Right now it swings side to side, like a cradle, because we noticed the front to back swing makes her spit up the formula. And we also feed her really well. They go through growth spurts and will sometimes require more. So that's our secret.

1. Well fed, well burped
2. wrap in soft blanket,
3.place on pillow in crib until she shows signs of rolling or can keep milk down well.
4.Or place in swing. ours will swing forever if we let her.

Now our second son really didn't care for the swing, but our others did.

Keep up the great work. God gave you these little miracles, because he knows

YOU CAN DO IT!!!! God bless you and your family. L. Z.