HELP baby screaming whilst feeding

[Clairabelle]

My ds is 6 weeks old, was quite colicky early on but has settled with a change of formula. Last 24 hours has only been taking 2 oz and then starts screaming and shaking his head, seems to be in pain real tears! Has had a recent cold and still has a lingering cough and remains a bit mucousy. No other problems and happy when not feeding.Any ideas anyone.

[Clairabelle]

Thanks dinosaur,can you remember how long it went onfor?

[mimm]

Two ideas - is his nose blocked so that he can't breath whilst feeding? If so try saline drops. It could also be heartburn/slight reflux. Perhaps visit your gp or health visitor. Don't worry too much. My ds used to cry after feeds (colic I think) but it just got less and less and disappeared. I have read that babies crying reaches a peak in the 6th week. This was certainly true for me and I found it comforting to know this. Hope this helps.

[Clairabelle]

Thanks Mimm my first thought was reflux as dd had this quite badly but he's quite happy to lie flat etc. Not to say though there isn't a bit of acid coming back up.Reassuring to know others have had the same probs

[mimm]

For me my ds completely stopped crying after feeds by 12 weeks but by 8 weeks it was much improved. i do feel like all i did was wind him for the first few weeks. He is now 7 months and rarely cries at all.

[nutcracker]

CB- I had the same problem with ds3, so i know how you feel. Which milk is he on ?? My health visitor reckoned that lots of babys suffer from stomach ache on cow and gate. Ds3 was alot better on Omneo Comfort, it is supposed to aid digestion. You can get it from boots but not usually small chemists. Also what teats are you using ???? I had to change ds3's several times. Vari flow were no good. Had to change to fast flow at about 8 weeks old.

[clairabelle]

Nutcracker he is on omneo comfort I changed him at 3 weeks due to windyness. My SIL had brilliant results with it, tried fast flow but we have found vari flow the best so far. Don't know whether it's just a phase will give it a couple more days before thinking about changing anything otherwise you can't see the wood for the trees thanks for the advice.BTW anymore thoughts about Scotland?

[nutcracker]

Am assuming BTW means by the way ????? Well yes and no. I really like the idea but am not sure about leaving family as quite close. Plus whilst checking the web site i found the houses on i discovered that we will be credit checked and this will be a problem as our credit rating is still terrible from when the house was repossed and we got into debt. I was quite surprised at how dissapointed i was about that. I just feel like a change i suppose and the pictures of the houses looked so nice. I,m waffeling now aren,t I.

[nutcracker]

Also meant to say, stick with the omneo comfort, ds did improve on it but it did take a while and he occasionally had a relapse.

[mumofthomas]

Hi all. I have a 6 week old boy, weighing just over 6kgs (been putting on weight steadily since birth when he weighed 5.1kg). I breastfeed him. For the last 2 weeks or so he's been crying a lot in the evenings. He seems to be ok, and then all of a sudden when feeding, starts crying inconsolably. He pulls up his legs a lot. I believe this is due to winds, as he sometimes feeds quite greedily. But then it becomes a violent circle. He doesn't always complete the feed, then cries for hunger/wind/tiredness. He only seems happy when I pick him up and he's upright. Then he'll fall asleep in my arms. I 'll put him down as I think he's asleep, and then a gew minuets later, he'll be crying again. Wind? Hunger? Tiredness? Separation anxiety?
Any ideas? We're getting pretty desperate.

[Clayhead]

Mummytothomas, the legs thing sounds like colic to me, especially as it's on the evening.

Both of mine had colic and it was awful but then it just disappears one day and never comes back again! Not much you can do other than try and soothe them, walk round, rub tummy etc.

Good luck

[Clayhead]

sorry, mumofthomas (was thinking of mummytojames!!)

[mumofthomas]

Thx clayhead. It gets to a stage where one starts wondering what you're doing wrong. Are you a good mum. It's so hard to read the signs....and just when you think you've got it figured out, it changes...I've also wondered is the baby ill? (no obvious signs)
The thing is that at least he doesn't cry all day, and is the most adorable little boy when he's awake and happy. Let's hope it passes soon...by the way, I also think he's going through a 6 week growth spurt today - been feeding almost every hour today...finally fell asleep about an hour ago...

[tiktok]

mumofthomas, I think it will help to talk to one of the breastfeeding helplines about this.

In the meantime, just letting him sleep on you in the evenings, if this is what keeps him happy, is fine.

[Grommit]

This sounds exactly like ds. He fed very badly, cried during and after feeds (bottle feeds) and coughed alot. After he was no gaining weight we were referred to a paed. He prescribed a steroid inhaler which made no difference. We took him to a dietician and she diagnosed him as having hidden reflux. This means the milk comes back up giving the baby a painful burning sensation. Most reflux cases the baby vomits alot - ds's was 'hidden reflux' which means the milk comes back up so far but not into the mouth. The dietician prescribed a powder to add to the bottle to make the milk heavier and stay down. This worked a bit but he did not really get over the reflux until he was sitting up. If this continues I suggest you see your GP and try to get referred. HTH

[mumofthomas]

thx grommit and tiktok. i did phone one of the nct breastfeeding councillors - very patient and helpful!
she also said that it sounded like colic, although this only really starts a little later with babies. persevere, she said...
also suggested that i try to feed lying down as this may cause less winds - i have quite a strong flow of milk. in addition, expressing a bit of the milk before a feed, may help, as the first milk is quite sugary and can cause winds too. a change in my diet, reducing things that may cause winds such as onion, as well as milk, to which babies can be sensitive, may help too.
i'd also had touble with him preferring my left breast to the right. i started wondering whether anything was wrong with his body on that side, but it didn't seem like it. she said that it's quite common for babies to prefer one breast above the other (e.g. one may have more milk than the other) - try to fool him by feeding in 'rugby-ball' style - he thinks he' still on left breast...but actually on right.
i've been trying all these things over the last two days, but he's still crying in the evenings. daytime, though he's happy and contented, even during and after feeds...strange. anycase, his 6-week is on this friday, so will check progress with GP. to help myself with his feeds in the evening, as well as to know that he is actually getting enough to eat in the evenings, i am feeding him expressed milk from a bottle - at least he'll take this, if not settle at my breast.

[tiktok]

mumofthomas, glad you call a counsellor. I still think it's worth doing whatever he seems to need to stay happy in the evebings. There is nothing wrong with a baby who cries but settles when held closely or given the chance to sleep in your arms.

[jabberwocky]

mumofthomas, my ds was like this and it cleared up when I stopped drinking milk and eating ice cream. Good for him but for me!

[janx]

Hi mumofthomas
Just read your message - had exactly the same with my dd when she was younger - I do really sympathise. She did suffer a lot from wind (although she did burp after feed) I was breast feeding her and it wasn't just the evening feed. Anyway I tried many things including diet, different positions etc. I also went to see an Osteopath (children's centre for Osteopathy) who said she thought dd's pelvis was slightly twisted and that this could cause discomfort in feeding position. Anyway it is completely gone now - not sure what worked in the end - she may have just outgrown it - I would recommend the Osteopaths - the centre in London is lovely - Also I think colic can sometimes occur if there is not enough of gap between feeds as it does take baby a few hours to completely digest milk. Good Luck

[mumofthomas]

Ladies, Thanks for all the advise so far...my baby son is still unhappy most nights, but I think that we're slowly getting into a routine. Last night he hardly cried at all, and fed really well, and then went straight to sleep at about 9pm and slept through until 1.30pm. I'm not sure what we did right, except for not getting him over-stimulated during the day, and letting him sleep when he needed it. We're trying not to let him stay awake for longer than 60-80 min at a time, and to feed approx every 2.5 - 3 hours, however being guided by him...So hopefully this will help and he'll outgrow this stage...He does have his 6-week check-up on Friday, and I'll check with GP then about possible hidden reflux.
In the meantime, lots of hugs and cuddles help and are rewarded in the mornings with lots of happy baby smiles and gurgles.