Inconsolable Infant

A.,

We had this w/ my second baby. Honestly, I added equal parts formula and rice cereal to water. I cut X's in the bottle nipples and fed him like that + Zantac--you can't miss a dose + keeping him erect most of the time. He had to sleep a lot on my shoulder, or in the baby swing. If that still doen't help--there are othere meds out there!!

My daughter had the same problem and I was told she was Lactose Intolerant. I started her on Nutrimegen formula and didn't have any more problems with gas or hard stools again. The only downfall Is It's expensive and hard to find. I had Kroger on State ST In New Albany order It for me so I never had to worry about running out. I hope this helps :)
L.

A.,

My son has acid reflux and was put on Zantac as well. I am a new mother and my son is 5 and 1/2 months old. Arching the back is a symptom of acid reflux. In the very beginning starting out with my son, he acted the same way. I realized that he wasn't being burped enough. I know that seems very simple but after putting him across my knees and bouncing him (lightly) and patting his back, it really seemed to help and be a life saver for me. Sleep was not something I was getting a lot of the first 6-8 weeks, and after giving him mylicon and being vigilent with the burping and Zantac, he's now fine. I hope everything goes well with your little girl!

Good luck,
C.

A.,
I totaly understand what you are ogin through. BUt daughter was that way for 2 months straight right from three weeks on. she is now 7 months old and a happy baby. But I thought that i was the worst mom in the world I switch my daughter to enfamil gentle ease. This helped her out so much. for my bay it was lots and lots of gas. So we were constently burping her and trying to help her move the gas.
Please try to get a second opinion from another ped. It could be something that your first ped never thaught of.
Stay stong I promise it will get better.
J.~

Hi A.. My daughter was the same way. We ended up changing her formula and she was better but still fussed a lot. Even though they have ruled out colic, have you tried wrapping her up tight in a blanket like they say to do with a colicky baby? My daughter loved to be wrapped up and held tight. That helped her a lot!

good luck

S.

Here's some things to try - I empathize with you, we ended up at a gastro-intestinal specialist with ours due to the reflux and constipation.

Try these maybe:
Do the bicycle with her legs alot, it helps with the gas, also rolling her from side to side while doing this helps get the gas out without much effort on her part (doing lower leg twists from right to left with them pushed inward toward her tummy).
Little Tummies Infant Gas drops, we used them in about every other bottle - ask your pharmacist for the right doseage for her age - completely safe.
We did breast milk for a while, then for medical reasons, I had to stop due to transfer of medication in the milk. We were then put on Enfamil w/ Iron, 3 weeks later, we switched to Nutramigen(sp) ICK and EXPENSIVE. We stayed on that for 6 weeks, then slowly transitioned (with our gastro-specialists supervision and advice) to Carnation Good Start - and WHAT A DREAM! It's so gentle, and very close to the consistancy of breastmilk too, oddly.
Sitting up for at LEAST 30 minutes after each feed is imparitive. We used the bouncer chair or the carseat for sleepy times, then moved him to the crib after this time had passed.
Using a passy right after burping/feeding, this helps the "keeping it down" part of digestion to continue. This was a pediatrician recommendation, and then also mentioned by the gastro specialist.
Burp, Burp, Burp - at that age, we burped every 1/2 to 1 oz.
Watch out for over feeding, this one will invite reflux!!! It's almost better to have several little feeds then one big one with a reflux baby.

And finally, ask your ped. about adding a bit of plain rice cereal to the feed (you'll have to get a faster flow nipple for bottles) 2-3 times a day to assist with the reflux, some doctors even prescribe Enfamil AR which has added rice starch in it to help with this.

For constipation:
Prune juice made our baby terribly gassy, so we used 1 tsp of baby stage 1 applesauce in his bottle 2 x's a day, this made the poop come more naturally for us as the fruit has natural juices in it for the bowel to absorb along with the milk/water.

Good luck, and trust me, it passes! Ours went away and seemed like overnight at about 3-4 months!

Get yourself a copy of " The Happiest Baby on the block" it is a great book. right now my 7 week old is sleeping 7 hours at a sreach and is mostly happy when he is awake. Also, are you breatfeeding? If not, that could be part of the problem. Formula is MUCH harder to digest than breast milk. But get that book, and you may be able to skip the GI test.

have them change the formula, that might be it mine soon was doing that and they change his milk

OH MY GOSH!! This mimics my son to the "T" I so wish I could chat with you about what happened with us. Please please please make sure you do not take the first advice from a doctor you get, our second opinion kept our son from having an unnecessary surgery. I know you don't know me but I am from North Carolina and would gladly call you or you can call me. I have unlimited long distance also so please email me with a contact number or if you would feel safer calling me email me and I will gladly forward it to you. ____@____.com

Blessings

Tracy

try her on nestle good start supreme dha and ara. it works most like breast milk and is the most gentle on their bellys. if she is upset all the time, get a sling or moby wrap off the internet so that you can wear baby right against your body so she can hear your heart beat, just like she was in your belly. you can go to www.wallababy.com for the ring sling. i love my moby wrap even better though. you can go to www.mobywrap.com these things are extremely worth while. they will keep them from crying as much, give your sanity back, and free up both of your hands so you can clean up, make meals, do laundry, go shopping. we wear our baby everywhere. everyone always asks "how did you get him to always be so happy?" its just always keeping him close. that is what a baby needs. as an adult we need affection, to feel loved, and alot of attention to feel good.....well so do babies. not many people know to think like this, but it really works. if you need any help working the wraps, please email me. good luck!

Our daughter constantly acted like she was "crampy" too. We switched to soy formula and she was fine after that. It could be even an allergy that is upsetting her. I would try soy, and then the lactose free formula and see if that helps at all.

I had the same probelm with my son. They also put him on Zantac, which I ended up not giving to him b/c he would gag every time I tried to give it to him. I'm not a doctor, but it sounds like your daughter has colic. That is what my son had. It was terrible, so I understand your pain and frustration. Unfortuanately there isn't much you can do except wait for her to out grow it, which will happen, I promise. Once my son got over it, he was the happiest baby ever. As for the constipation, you can try to put a little kayro (sp?) syrup in her bottle, or some sugar water. I had to do that with my son b/c he was very constipated, and it does work. Also, we never had a doctor tell us that he had colic, but I know that is what it was. For some reason, doctors these days do not diagnose colic. Instead they try to diagnose it as acid reflux, or they'll tell you something else is wrong, but they'll necer call it colic. But it does sound to me that you're daughter has colic, and so I'm sorry for you b/c I know how bad it is to have a baby with colic, but just hang in there b/c she will out-grow it soon.

A.--my daughter didn't personally have this problem but my godson did....they did three things....first before they knew it was a formula issue...they would lay blanket on the dryer and lay him on top and start it...the vibration would soothe him....then they would put him in his swing and start it and vacuum the house...that would also help...and then finally like some of the other moms they had to change his formula...good luck

Hey!!My grandson was on Zantac also.He was on Infamil w/iron and was ok on that although I added cereal to it to help him rest some.But we put a book under the mattress to elevate him some and that seemed to help a little.The dryer,vacuum and hair dryer also worked.I loved the hair dryer for the longest time!!!TrWe also tried the leg thing pushing them in towards the belly and it was a relief also.Good luck!!!

My daughter was the sameway. I had to put her on goats milk. Maybe this will help.

Rubbing her belly while she is lying across your legs migth help. Have you tried moving her legs like she is on a bike? That might help the gas also.

Maybe a enemia so she can have a bowel movement.

Hopefully this works.

I was exactly where you are 20 years ago and scared to death.
Luckily for you times have changed doctors and formula companies care if your baby cries. You will make it though
this I promise. Does your baby spit up????
My granddaughter would start crying everyday at 4:45 to 5:00.
Cry for maybe two hours. Arching her back and wailing!
We used gas drops. Did super burping jobs. Purchased a swing which helped her sometimes sleep through it. Eventually, my daughter was distraught, and I was out of ideas. I went to target <Grandma Break> Purchased a Playtex Vent Air bottle,
She was using Avent, and Rice cereal. We've now had four days without gas drops, And without CRYING!!!!!Also, your baby would be to young for juice so purchase <Colace for infants laxative drops>.Its a little pricy but worth it!
Try Vent Air Bottle, Your soy formula, and colace first.
Enfamil makes a formula with Rice starch in it its easier on the tummy than rice itself..Enfamil AR. I dont know if goodstart makes a soy AR.
When you start cereal use a small amount like 1/2 tablespoon
gradually move up to 1 tablespoon and so on. Also it works better if you purchase a stage 2 nipple for cereal.
Please let me know how your both doing...

A.,

My son was the same way. The Zantac and Mylocon are a waste of money and un-needed. I tried them all, and if they are not helping the problem then that's not the problem.

My son would go 10 to 14 days without a bowel movement and then when he went it would be everywhere. He was the most unhappy child, always screaming and arching his back as if in constant pain. It was heartbreaking not being able to console him. I had a ped tell me at his 6 month check-up that I was just a paranoid first time mom. I immediately switched doctors. He was put on the maximum dose of lactulose for his size three times a day, put on prune juice, and sent for a GI test with a gastro at MUSC. He was diagnosed as severely constipated. Surgery was discussed if the meds didn't work. Thankfully, the meds and juice worked and he was going at least once a day. He immediately became a happy rambunctious child. He is now four, and finally potty trained (I was warned that the constipation could come back when we started potty training and it did). I still keep an emergency stock of Glycolax (provided by his ped) for those times when he hasn't gone for three or more days. I have spent many hours on the floor of the bathroom with both of us in tears as he "tried" to go.

I know at times it seems that you are the worst mom in the world for not being able to console your child, but you aren't. You are wonderful! Be your child's advocate and keep up the fight. Get her the help she needs.

Stay strong, we are all with you!

Try Enfamil Nutramigen Lipil. It's hypoalergenic and the milk proteins are easier to digest.

my daughter was on Zantac as well until she was 6 months old. The symptoms are almost identical. I never had to get surgery for her though. She was placed on soy and it took about 1 month for her to be back to normal. She was on Soy until she was 1 year old. I transitioned her into cows milk and she does fine with it.

I did the mylacon drops, I did everything they told me....Still, I had a miserable baby. i felt hopeless and like it was my fault. It made me feel miserable. If this is anything like I had with Elizabeth, I can tell you it will get better.

I used to lay her on her back and make her legs peddle like a bicycle to relieve the excess gas. This seemed to soothe her. But, again, I know how it feels to have a miserable baby. It seems like it will never end. Things will get better. Do you live in Tidewater? If so, who is your pediatrician?

Why did the ped rule out colic? There is a great book called The Happiest Baby on the Block, that I would recommend. My baby boy was very angry from almost the minute he was born and was extremely colicky but the book really helped us. One thing we did was run the blow dryer and it really calmed him down. Good luck and hang in there.

Hello A.. Both of my daughters have similiar problems, and their pediatrician said they were both lactose intolerant. Try switching formula, I use Enfamil Lactose free, and I also used Similac Lactose free for my oldest daughter. And also try sitting your child up for at least 30 minutes after feeding, and burping. These techniues helped my girls out greatly. Good luck.