Screaming in Pain

Have you had her test for food allergies i mean like pku, and other food allergies like to wheat or lactose? I know that when my babies were born they did this at the hospital. Then 1 week later they did it again at the doctors office. She may be beganing to teeth but i think that is a little early. Try changing formulas to like lactose and milk free because soy does have some lactose compounds. You might try similac sensitive or some brand of similac, carnation good start is another good brand, she might be getting to much iron in the formula. There is a lot of things that could be going on with this. She could just be colicy. Defiantly ask the doctor may be he needs to run a blood count and levels! Good luck T.

You might want to try Mylecon drops. They help relieve gas pain. Gas X also makes a baby kind. I'd steer clear of Walgreen's brand though. Not b/c it doesn't work but b/c it's bright pink and stains terribly. Hope that's all it is and hope it helps!

My daughter had colic until she was about 3 1/2 months old. start a check list in your mind to eliminate.
1) fever (this could be a number of things)
2) teething (she is young, but it could happen)
3) hungry/thirsty
4) bowel movements - color, texture, size - thats one of the ways i knew when my daughter was sick. it's gross, but sometimes necessary!
5) uncomfortable - clothing, tags, the actual cloth, laundry detergent
6) gassy - lay her on her back and push her knees to her belly
* the more they scream = the more air in their belly = more gas
7) is there one particular body part that she does not want touched or doesn't use when she is crying (i.e. are her arms/legs more imobile than usual?)

What does she do when she is done crying/what makes her stop crying? that could also tell you whats wrong!
Just a few things to start with. let us know
Hang in there and good luck!

Dear C.,

You need to start documenting when she starts screaming and for how long. Also, it would help the doctor figure out the problem if you document everything she eats and drinks, at what times, naps and the duration, how many wet diapers and how many poopy diapers. document everything! Best Wishes,

J. H.

There could be so many things. With my son he had acid reflux and once he got on meds he was fine. My youngest daughter did the same thing, and she also had reflux, but I also took her to a chiropractor. It worked miracles. No my crying, no more screaming, just a happy healthy baby girl!

It could be acid reflux. The same thing happened with my now 8 month old daughter. She would be fine and would eat and then she would just cry out in pain. We started doing small doses of Mylanta (per Dr's orders) a day and switched to prescription Zantac. Definitely take her to your Dr and see if they think that's the problem. Once we started the medicine her crys of pain went away. Good luck...

I would ask your pediatrician about colic and reflux.

What does she do right before she starts screaming? Does her tummy feel hard and tight? Might be gas pains. Here are a few things we tried and seemed to have luck with: Bring her knees to her tummy several times, kind of like riding a bicycle. Lay her on her tummy, sometimes the pressure will force the gas out. Swaddle her nice and tight. Make sure to use a receiving blanket that will not stretch or loosen up easily. We tried the Mylecon with every bottle and it seemed to work at first but then it lost its effectiveness. My son (who also takes soy formula) actually got better after we stopped using it, but that may have been a coincidence. Good luck and I hope she feels better soon!

Both of my children did the same. I tried everything under the sun! I started taking them to Dr. Fred Clarke, b/c one of my sons started hard twitches and stopped nursing. Immediatly after the adjustments he stopped crying, the twitches went away and he started nursing again. Dr. Clarke has also stopped my older son's nosebleeds and numerous other problems. He is great with kids! I started taking Kevin when he was 3 days old. Both my children are much happier and VERY active now!

Dr. Clarke is about 137th and Mur-Len
###-###-####

I agree with the person who said to document so you can recognize patterns; maybe narrow in on cause. At 11 weeks, she's still very young, imature system. Formula's are man made and her system was designed to work with breast milk. It really has to work harder to digest and can't use all that is in the formula. One of the results can be extra gasses - and that's painful! Certainly, if your documentation leads a doctor to believe there is something more serious - by all means check that out, but I wouldn't worry - that will not help either of you! Enjoy your baby!

When you hold her does she pull her legs tight up against her almost in the fetal position, if so it could be gas in her tummy.

It very well can be gas. My daughter did that too, but she did it shortly after she ate, not once a day. Have you tried gas drops? Have you notice that "passing of gas" stops the crying? Good Luck!

I thought my two month old seemed in pain and went to the doctor. At three months he had double hernia surgery and then he was fine. Trust your instincts that something is wrong.

Good Morning C., even with the soy formula have you tried gas drops? Mylicon is in baby section but Equate is less expensive and bigger bottle, in pharmacy section.
It still could be gas causing her to cry. You didn't mention when she does this just during the day.
Maybe when she cries pick her up and scruch her legs up tight against you and pat her, like a burping pat. Other then the above C. like you I am at a loss also, as to what could cause it.

Hope you get answers ASAP, I hate it when babies hurt.
God Bless
K. Nana of 5

When she cries like that is it always for about 8 minutes or does it sometimes last longer? If so, how much longer?

My guess based on what you've said is that she probably has a stomach ache from being gassy. If she starts doing it more often or for long periods of time then you will probably want to take her to see the doctor. Otherwise somethings that have worked with my kids are: burping them (maybe she didn't burp well and has one "stuck"), swaddling them and wrapping an extra warm receiving blanket fresh out of the dryer around their abdomen, walking and swaying while saying 'shhhhhhhhhhhhh', and the swing and/or bouncy seat sometimes help.

There are 2 books that my doctor recommended to me that you might want to try and pick up from the library for more ideas if you can. The first one I haven't read but have heard a lot of very good reviews about is "The Happiest Baby on the Block" and from what I've been told gives a lot of ideas on things to try to comfort your baby. The 2nd which I have read was recommended to me by my son's pediatric GI and is called "Colic Solved" by Dr. Vartabedian. It has some good advice on helping soothe your baby when she's fussy and also on how to talk to your pediatrician about what's going on.

BTW, you mentioned that your daughter is on soy formula. Did she have problems with regular milk based formulas? Just wondering because the GI told us that most babies who cannot tolerate milk-based formulas are also unable to tolerate soy. Both of my son's have had problems with both milk and soy based and have had to be on either Alimentum or Nutramigen formulas. That's probably NOT what's going on with her if she's only crying once a day for a few minutes at a time but if it starts happening in longer stretches, it's something to consider.

A.

It could easily be bad gas. My son is lactos intolerant and had to switch to soy or lactos free when he was young and he still to this day goes through some gas problems from milk products that are found in everyday foods.... Maybe she is having a problem with the soy or maybe shes just having gas like most babies do... in which case love her and comfort her wait till you talk to the doctor to freak but I think shes gonna be ok.

C.,
We experienced the same thing. We relized it was gas. Our 3 month old will do that if he falls asleep right after nursing without burping. Mylicon works great right after nursing or a bottle. Good luck.

Teething? Try infant ibuprofin. If that's it, she may calm down rather quickly. I used the infant liquid for my own gums through wisdom teeth issues - it works.

My son did that, but it was for hours and at night time when he laid down for bed. It was acid reflux. they put him on zantac that was a little nerve racking to put such a small baby - 4 wks at the time - on medicine,but it worked miracles and he started to sleep better and seemed in much less pain. when he started sitting up on his own it just slowly went away.

My son who has all the crazy allergies, did this on soy formula. Get her off the soy first, then try treating her with overthe counter symethicon drops for babies (for gas. That worked for my sons' issues.
But too I have read here how so many babies have problems with acid reflux and think it's worth looking into! I hope you have good luck in finding something to alleviate her pain, because I remember how distressing it was when my sone was doing this.

Could it be gas pains? Have you tried Mylecon? At about 3 weeks my son woke in the night screaming in horrible pain and nothing would soother him. My husband went and got gripe waters which helped a bit, but you are limited on how often you can use it and you can use mylecon with every feeding. It was a total lifesaver and was used l lot throughout his first year. There are also tricks to help them release the gas. Try rubbing her tummy then pulling her knees to her belly. Little toots will come out and she'll feel better. Good luck. I know how you feel ... it is horrible to hear your baby cry in pain and not be able to soother him/her.

My daughter did the same type of thing when she was on soy formula. She was sensitive to soy. She had gas pains from it. I used Mylicon drops and the Dr. switched her to lactose-free formula. We found out she was lactose-intolerant.