Screaming Baby - Englewood,CO

I know many will say I am a quack, but I believe in chiropractors. My own children have benefited from adjustments as babies. This past year after a major adjustment for my daughter twice a week for 3 months, she was suddenly happier and much healthier than the year before when she was constantly sick with at least a cold and sometimes worse. My niece screamed for the first 2 weeks of her life and when my mom went to visit she took her to a chiropractor and the change was immmediate! Give it a try!

Have you tried otter pops for crankiness? My 1 yr old loves 'em, and I suspect that they really help with an aching mouth.

My son was always crying baby and after trying lots of remedies he was still crying non-stop. Thank God, babies magic tea did help and my son stopped crying like hell.

Lots of good suggestions. I'd check in with your doctor who may be able to at least rule the physical ailments out. Molars are no fun for some kids, but the discomfort and crabbiness shouldn't last more than a few days or so. My son has a milk intolerance (some call it allergy) - he can't digest milk protein, which means it goes through his digestive system and literally cuts up his intestines (ouch!). We switched from dairy and he's good. It takes a few weeks for the dairy to cause this so it may be the change to milk. The other symptoms he had other than crying (screaming) were - arching the back, red bloches/excema, runny stools with mucus, and a very runny nose, and diaper rash... HOWEVER, your physician can best Dx the physical stuff. Very likely just a stage - and as hard as it is, hang in there, your happy little guy will be back soon!

So glad you asked H., because I was getting ready to send the same question! The same thing is happening to my son. He was a very easy going baby, but now he is eternally grumpy and his 1st birthday was a little over 2 weeks ago! I have received the same advise, that it is his molars coming in. I really think this might be the case, because he has started grinding his teeth and biting himself (so far no one else). He still sleeps as good as ever, but his nose runs non-stop and he has temper tantrums like I have never seen before. My other conclusion (don't know if this will help) is that he is just starting to walk. I think he gets frustrated by this because I can tell he really wants to walk like his cousin (who is 3 months older) and be more independent. So he is in the awkward stage of crawling well and walking some. I can tell this makes him mad because when we are outside on pavement Tristan (his cousin) walks around and plays. Alexavier (my son) tries to wiggle out of my arms and get down with him and tries to walk, but stumbles and switches to crawling, and of course I don't want him crawling on hot dirty pavement so I pick him back up or put him in playpen and this really ticks him off. And thus begins the fury that until about 3 weeks ago was unknown to me. I guess it is just my son asserting his independence? I will check back on this thread for other mom's suggestions, if you hear anything that really rings true I would love to hear it!

Hello there H.,
I used to use a product called calms forte that I would buy in the grocery store pharmacy or the homeopathic teething tabs from the same place. They worked wonders for my boys! The other thing you might think about is have you switched him to cow's milk on his first birthday? I did & our son had a sensitivity to it. I cut out all dairy products for a week and he was a whole new kid!! When he turned two we tried dairy again and he did better that time. Good luck to you

I'm sure you hate to hear this, but "this too shall pass!" Tough times though.

My little boy is 14 months, and he's my fourth baby. I have gone through some really tough spots with the other kids, all of them different.

My little guy seems to be having these screaming, crying times too and I'm not sure if I know why either. It is true that I can now see the 4 molars that have broken the surface and are still trying to come through, but I don't think that's the whole problem. Sometimes we tend to blame more on teething than actually is the problem.

I think it is a stage and I know things will change. It's hard, but I have to admit that it's easier the fourth time around. I guess I'm just a little more "broken in" or used to it. I just don't get as stressed out and frustrated about it as I used to.

If he hasn't been fussy until now, you've definitely had it good! I promise, things will get better. Things will change; I just wish you the strength to get through this hard spot.

The website www.handinhandparenting.org has some good articles and info about how to listen to our children when they cry--because sometimes they have emotions that need to be expressed by crying. You might see if you feel like that site and advice would be helpful.

If it is molars you may be able to feel them or perhaps look back and see that something is under his gums. If he's crying that hard, something is definitely bothering him. If that's the case some orajel can go a long way. If he is cutting teeth, this can help them come through faster:

http://www.drchristophers.com/extracts-oils/kid-e-calc-ex...

you may be able to find it at herb stores.

He also could have an ear infection. If so, you want to cut out dairy, and mix some finely crushed garlic (I like the Christopher ranch bottle so I don't have to do it - look in the produce section) in some olive oil and put it in his ear canal with a dropper.

Other than that, the only thing I can suggest is to get some Mormon Missionaries and have them give him a blessing. Best of luck.

I was going to say the same thing about switching to milk at one year old. None of my kids had a problem, but if they have an allergy or intolerance to it, it could cause them horrible stomach pains!

Also, my son just got his molars at 14 months. It was pretty bad. He was slobbering CONSTANTLY and had the worst diaper rash. That could be a couple of clues as to if he's teething or not. I know when my last son got molars, he had diarrhea, diaper rash, a fever, and he threw up randomly all over the place. It's different for different kids, but molars can be tough, especially if they don't break the skin right away and hang out underneath the gums.

Try gas drops, too. My 2nd son had horrible gas problems and would wake up screaming in the middle of the night, and during the day, he would just stop what he was doing and arch his back and scream!

First of all, I would take him to the doctor and rule out anything medical. I had one son that basically had heart burn around that age. It was so sad because I didn't think babies did that at that age and nothing made him feel better. Also my daughter had to get tubes in her ears, she didn't have ear infections just pressure build up behind her ears. So you just never know what it could be.

Non-medical things could be simple like you said, his teeth (not sure it would be a molar, that is more around 2) or maybe he just wants something and cannot express it.

Good luck! I know how hard it is.

This sounds exactly like what my children do when they are teething. I would try giving him Hylands Teething Tablets, they work wonders for my teething children, on a regular basis and see how that works. I would even contact your son's pediatrician to see what he/she says. Good luck!

Make it a GREAT day!

S.

P.S. I am also a WAHM due to being laid off a week into my maternity leave last September and my husband works out of town almost every week. We have much in common and I would love to be friends!

HI! So, I would check on the dairy allergy. He may not have had one at first, but he could have developed one now that he is only on the milk. The other thing is that is could be a combo of the two, teething and stomach. Try using some lactaid, and then give him some Ibuprofen for his mouth and see what happens. But, if he still is crying like that after trying a few of the suggestions, I would call the doc. They may need to just look him over to see if they can spot anything.
also, check to see if there is something wrapped around a toe or something else that might be causing some circulation loss, I've heard that even a little hair can cause a lot of pain and damage, just a thought.

He sounds like the male version of my daughter. She was a laid back baby until right after her first birthday. She figured out how to throw fits!! She gets hysterical, throws up...she is a real drama queen. With my little girl a lot of the irritability is because of the molars coming in. And she walks now and is very active and she gets really cranky when she needs to nap. Definitely start doing time outs ( just one minute or so) if he is testing you (like when you take something from him or tell him not to do something). When she is teething I use teething tablets and if she is just tired and throwing tantrums I let her do it in her crib. She is actually happier in there than me trying to console her. And if they are mad and throwing a fit I do a time out and then we move on to something else. She loves being outside. Good luck! But I am sure most of it is irritability because of the molars, especially if he is normally a calm happy guy.

My son is now 14.5 months, and also seems to have some tantrum episodes. We already went through one molar, so I don't think it was that for him. With the molar, Motrin would help and he really wanted to be held a lot. I could also calm him. The tantrums seem to be so much more frustration. Walking does it, trying to communicate, pushing boundaries.
I have really tried to get down on his level and understand what it is that he wants. I also wait for him to calm down a bit and tell him what is going on..."I know that you want the cracker, but you can't scream for it. When you calm down and act nicely, you can have the cracker." It hasn't solved it, but he now isn't crying about everything, he seems to know that I am trying to understand him.
He does still seem to overreact to some things, but I have noticed a relationship to food lately. When it is about time for him to have his milk, he will react to the littlest thing. When I can calm him down, and get him his milk, he is then a totally different baby.
My son will also cry so hard, his nose bleeds. But it does seem to be getting better. I am praying that this is just a phase. Good luck.

Please take him to the doctor. It may be just a stage, but better safe than sorry!

Have you considered food allergies? Dairy made our daughter real fussy.

Just a thought - but did you just put in wi-fi in your home or maybe a cell tower went in nearby? Or maybe a close neighbor has a new wireless internet system. These damaging frequencies can really upset a child - www.teamfab.emf411.com

If it is his molars you should be seeing them coming through the gums. You could put Ambesol on it or give him something to such or chew on. My ten month old is already cutting his first molar and he is crabby, but is usually a happy baby, so i know what you are talking about.