Very Fussy Baby Need Help with Ideas and Feeding

I feel your pain! Dr Sear saved us! PLEASE read his "the fussy baby book" or at least visit www.askdrsears.com.
There are dozens of things you can do- and some days some work and some days its others. Just remember a few things: 1) It will NOT last forever! There is a light at the end of the tunel and odds are, by 3 months, she will be fine 2) You and your partner are a TEAM. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Some nights we litereall took 10 min. shifts...3) The baby is crying because she hurts, not because she is a brat...etc. And even if you can't make the pain go away, your comforting does help!
Again- too many tips to list all- a few- the "baby wearing" was HUGE. Don't have to use sling- my husband used the baby bjorn.., baby massage (the I love you" massage is great), baths with herbs, gripe water, different bottles...please please look into Sears

1 mom found this helpful

Don't know how long this has been going on, but there's often a growth spurt around this age. Hope you can find something that helps or she outgrows it soon.

D.,

My cousin was having the same problem with her son. Her doctor didn't know what was wrong either. He was always crying, consipated, fussy before and after eating, not sleeping well etc. etc.

Mother's intuition was telling her to make the switch to soy. End result? A happy baby!

Hope you can find a solution that works for your little one!

Hi there. We switched my son to Enfamil Gentlease when he was about 9 weeks and it made a world of difference! He was less fussier, had a TON less spit up, made all our lives better. The other thing is checking her nap schedule. It may be time to make sure all naps are in her crib (if not already). Also, I know what your ped said but we found it better to give our son less food more often. We were feeding him 5 bottles a day at one point but they were smaller. Just a thought- every baby is different.

D.,
I had the same problems with my oldest (now 3) and we ended up putting her on Alumentum(sp) formula. It is very expensive at $25 a can but it worked wonders. I do know there is a similar type made by Enfamil if you prefer that brand. I would ask your doctor if they have a sample can before buying it. We tried the soy first also only to find out that if it is an allergy of some sort often the child will have the same adverse reaction to soy formulas.
My daughter is now able to consume all milk products with no problems so it may not just be an allergy it may just be sensitive stomach and digestive system at such a young age. I wish you all the luck in the world and I hope you get it taken care of soon. I know how hard it is to have your child crying constantly and not being able to sooth them.
J.

D.-
When my twin boys were born (they are now 2), we had to switch from regula w/iron formula to the Enfamil Gentlease because it was easier for them to digest. I wouldn't say that they were super fussy, but they were fussy and really gassey all the time. By the time they were about 6 1/2 mos old I was able to switch them back to the regular formula (as their digestive system was more developed). I would try the gentlesase first and see if that helps.

Try the health food stores too -- you can get gripe water (I think that's what it's called) and I've heard from others who had colicky babies that it helped.

-K.

My daughter was like that. I thought for a week or so it might be the formula (we used Enfamil) and it was not. She was colicly. It passed by about 12 weeks. It was worse between about 4 and 10. There isn't too much you can do about it...she will outgrow it.

I'm sure so many moms can relate to your tale of colicky woes. I myself had a baby just like this. Enfamil lipil was horrible for his tummy and you might as well throw those mylicon drops in the trash. Definitly change her formula. Try the lactose free, or the gentle ease. We ended up trying soy and that didn't work and then ended up having to us enfamil nutramigen. this made a world of difference and the fussing got cut almost within a day. Another tip is to get those dr. browns bottles. they are a godsend for gassy babies and in general just a fantastic bottle and product.
Now I know this is such taboo but it worked for us because our son would not sleep for a long stretch of time without crying even with a full tummy, so out of desperation we put him to sleep in his stomach. It worked like a charm! 4-5 hour stretches of sleep and this also made him less cranky. I think the sleeping on his tummy actually helped his tummy ease up a little. I've spoken to other moms who swear the same thing.

good luck!!!

Our oldest didn't seem to be tolerating the milk based formula very well (I don't remember the exact problems) and we did switch to a soy formula. We also noticed that some brands seemed to be worse than others. You could try switching your formula to see if it works any better. Our oldest tolerates milk just fine now, in fact she did at the age of one when we moved from formula to regular milk.

My daughter had that same issue as an infant. She started with Enfamil then I moved her to lactose free Enfamil. My daughter is now fine at five years old. We did realize she had some food allergies at 1 1/2 years old. Once we got those under control (milk, egg, soy, proteins) all was fine. At five she is still allergic to milk but it is getting less every year. She is tested every year in the spring. I know this is outdated info but this is all I have.

Poor baby! I hope you can figure out how to soothe her for both her and your sakes!

I have used similac prosobee for all 3 kids and have had no issues.

Last night on the internet I came across this: http://www.thanksmama.com/product_p/snp-004.htm
I've never used it but I thought it looked interesting! It appears to be a wrap and they claim it to be proven to calm fussy babies. Mylicon never worked for my kids and they weren't even colicky.

God speed!

Just a thought, maybe you ahve already ruled this out. Could she have acid relfux?

We switched my daughter to Isomil Advanced (Similac Soy) at about 8 weeks because she was just miserable. Gas, not wanting to eat and crying. Soy made a world of difference. We did try Alimentium briefly but she refused to drink it after the first day. Good luck.

The only formula that worked for my son was Carnation (Nestle) good start formula. Try it. You'll see a big difference. Good luck! :)

D.,

I have 5 sons and my second one was colicky, it seemed like he cried until he was about 12 months old! Some of the things we did to comfort him (because nothing on the diet end seemed to help) were :
1. walk the floor with him
2. put him in his car seat and just drive around in the van my husband would do this for me in the middle of the night so I could get a couple of uninterrupted hours of sleep
3. sometimes a baby swing outdoors would help (not much help in this weather I know!)
4. I would hold him close to my body and sit at the foot of my bed with my feet on the floor and just bounce up and down with him in my arms, the motion of it seemed to calm him down sometimes
5. I would put him in his carseat and put it on the washer while it was spinning or agitating or put him on the dryer while it was running (I never walked away of course!) This would also help sometimes.
6. There were also times I would just rock him until he wore himself out and went to sleep from exhaustion.

I hope you can find a reason for his discomfort but sometimes they are just fussy and all you can do is try and comfort them as best as you can. Know that it won't last forever. Good Bless and good luck!

Just because no one else has mentioned this, I'll share one source of fussy-baby that I found with my youngest:

Baby's brain has a limited ability to deal with new smells, new sights, new sounds, new tastes, new textures... but in our culture, we are inclined to go to the grocery store, the doctor's office, a friend's house, a restaurant and a bookstore all in one day. That is a LOT of new information for a newborn to take in, and without any way of dealing with it, by 4 or 7pm, they're just completely overwhelmed, inside and out.

It may help to intentionally slow down your day. Have people over rather than going out visiting (plead 'tired mom' or 'fussy baby' if you need an excuse). Space out appointments to one a week or less. Accept the generous help of friends and family, and ask them to bring groceries so you don't have to go out, or if it's available use the (often free) services of grocery stores that deliver.

In the 'wild' a new human would not have seen a new person a month, and there would be no 'new' environment to be in, while all the clothes and textures would have stayed the same for months. Our babies, here in civilization, have a lot to cope with that they're not wired for, and it takes some of them a lot longer to be able to deal with it than others.

It isn't possible to re-wire a baby's brain any faster than it's going to develop, so knowing that they need a simple, slow life may make it easier for parents to have relaxing evenings.

hi D....

my son was the same...lactose intolerance runs in my family and even though he didn't have the full blown symptoms, it definitely helped when i switched him to Similac Sensitive. I had him on the formula till about 10 months and than i switched him to regular milk and he was fine! although a baby may not be fully lactose intolerant, the sensitive formula breaks down easier in their stomach, i reccomend it...
let me know what happens!

D.

Our youngest went from Enfamil to Similac to Parents Choice Soy formula. The reason for switching was he was actually welting up with hives when he was given any regular formula. (He was breastfed and supplimented with formula due to a weight gain issue) He thrived on the Soy formula and now that he is almost 2 he has been drinking regular milk since 1 with no problems.
Try many kinds and remember that ALL formulas have to live up to the same rules. Brand name and store brand all have the same nutrition. Find what fits your childs belly and also your budget.

hey i had my son on enfamil with lipil and the same thing happend to him. He was always crying and real fussy. I switched him to Nestle Good Start with dha and ara and hes been great ever since. My older son was also on nestle good start. Its great. I think the enfamil gets to bubbly when you mix it and the bubbles are what hurts the belly. Good Start doesn't do that.

Good Luck!!

D.,
Has your doctor considered that it might be a cows milk protein intolerance or other food allergies? Her stools might give a hint about that, but it is interesting that it seems to occur after eating. You could start eliminating things from your diet to see if that works for her.
But don't let the Dr. just push you off, my best friend's son did not have a bowel movement for a really long time and the dr kept dismissing her concerns - turns out he was allergic to soy and she was weaning him to a soy formula!
K.

D.:

My son had problems with regular formula when he was first born. He would eat and seem content and then seem hungry again. At first, we'd try to feed him more, but, eventually, it seemed like something wasn't right. I talked to my pediatrician who suggested trying a lactose sensitive formula. My son takes Similac, so, we switched him to Similac Sensitive. It worked. The doctor told me that, if the lactose sensitive formula didn't work, we would try other thing, like soy. If his issue is gas, however, sometimes soy can make the gas worse. That's why we tried the lactose sensitive first. It's an easier to digest formula for babies who have sensitive digestive systems. My ped told me that at one year, we will start to ween him from the sensitive formula to regular and then, if all seems fine, to milk. The point is to see if he is actually sensitive to dairy. Anyhow, it seems like talking to your ped and switching formula would be worth a try.

Good luck with your little one!

I don't have experience with food alergies...
however, in my experience, the thing that worked best was putting my baby in a sling (wrapping blankets around her, zipping up my husband's winter coat around us both) and taking a walk outside...my baby always calmed down once we started walking and this became part of our routine at least once a day. Know that your baby will mature and will be a happy one in time.....

Hi. I had the same problem with my now 6 month old. I was breastfeeding and then supplementing with formula. She self weaned around 4 months when I returned to work full time. I orginally had her on Enfamil Lipil and then switched her to Enfamil Gentlease per the advice of my peditrician. That didn't realy seem to help much BUT what did help was taking her to see a chiropractor that specialized in infants. I know it sounds CRAZY and I was very apprehensive about doing that until I did a lot of research. It is not the same chiropractic medicine that you hear a lot of adults talking about. They don't "crack their back". It is finger tip pressure that they use. I'm not sure where you live but I can send you the info where I took her to. She turned into a completely different baby. After I took her, I spoke to a few other people that had taken their infants as well. Try googling infant chiropractic care to pull up some research on it.

Good Luck.

6 week old babies are usually going through a grow. They are hungrier, more alert and don't know why they feel that way. With your doctor telling you to make her wait to eat...how mean is that?! I would do just the opposite. Extremely hungry babies tend to get frantic when they are eating and gulp the milk and take in ALOT of air...leading to alot of gas, getting too much at one time and tummy discomfort. I would feed her when SHE is hungry and burp her frequently. If she needs to be held alot, hold her. She is uncomfortable and just wants her mom. Colic goes away at about 3 months or so. The telltale sign of that is if she is screaming and pulling her knees up to her belly. Try doing "bicycles" and talking calmly to her. A different formula could help too. All babies tummies are different and have a different reaction to different formulas.
I remember doing alot of walking, soothing, bicycles and then one day it was just gone. This too shall pass!!

I can't really help you with advice but just wanted to say hang in there - colic doesn't last forever!

HI D.,
My son did have colic and the only thing that helped him was something called Colic Calm. It was recommended to me through a friend and it helped my son greatly! I could only find it on the Internet and its FDA approved.

Good luck!

We have had similar difficulties with our twin boys and it was determined that they have allergies. I am breastfeeding so i am off dairy, soy and some other foods. Often if dairy is a problem, soy is also difficult to tolerate. I hear that the pre-digested formulas are the best bet. I am not sure where you get them,perhaps a gastro doctor would be a good resource. We also use digestive enzymes and put a wash cloth with chammomilia tea on the abdomen for relief.

my sister also had very simialr problem with her daughter and used lactose free formula she used the kroger brand and she does AWSOME now. Good luck!!