Colicky baby - now so angry she won't even feed...? Help!

[newmomma]

Hi,

I have posted on here about the troubles I've been having with my supposedly colicky DD. Its been going on for 8 weeks now.

She cries all day, every day. Then sleeps at night and then starts again.

Only the last few days she's getting so cross that she won't feed.

She's exclusively bf and also hasn't done a no.2 for nearly a week (not uncommon I understand for bf babies) but I'm starting to stress about her not feeding.

She's always been more 'cross' with me and seems more settled with other people, but now when she's handed back to me to be fed, she becomes furious. Real fat tears, and proper angry crying.

I'm losing the will to live.

The crying was enough but at least I knew she was feeding well.

Can anyone offer any advice please??

hello, sorry if been suggested before buthave you spoken to gp re reflux? feeding becomes associated with pain for babies with reflux, my DD had it

newmomma, colic does tend to peak between 7-9 weeks so you may well find it starts to get a bit better from now on

that said, ds2 was exactly the same as you describe and it turned out he was reacting to egg and dairy in my diet. when i cut it out he improved immensely
he was still colicky a bit, but we used techniques from dr harvey karps book (the happiest baby on the block) to help soothe him, which seemed to work quite well

it's really, really horrid having a crying baby so you have my utmost sympathy
there were times when i had to call dp home from work because i was so scared i was hgoing to hurt the baby when i couldn't stop him crying

remember it's ok if it's getting too much to pop baby in his crib and just go and have a cup of tea

oh yes and also have you tried colief, its £12 in boots or you can get is on presciption, its brilliant.

are her nappies still wet, if not then I would call the doctor. But don;t worry about no poo.

I haaven't got any advice about the crying other than a friend of mine had good results from a cranial osteopath.

I've just read your other thread and I have had some experience with not bonding with a baby.

With my second I didn't bond at all for the first 3 months, then slowly slowly I did. Now (he is 3) I absolutely love as much as the other ones and can't believe I worried about it. I was advised to do lots of skin to skin apparently not jsut for little babies but works for late bonding too.

so don't worry about the bonding bit yet.

Sorry - you have my sympathies. Have you tried putting her in a sling? My dd responded surprisingly well when I did this during her colicky phase (luckily it only lasted a few weeks)

I had a Baby Bjorn and got it off ebay - so long as it's a front-one and you're comfortable, I don't suppose it matters. Something about the way her legs are positioned whilst in sling apparently can make a difference.

Hope it doesn;t last much longer.

and for the cross feeding - does she get cross if you are already holding her...it might be that as she is crying so much you are missing the cues to feed (obviously hard to spot, so not a criticism at all)

Have you been doing skin to skin to calm down, that works for my 3 month old when she gets frantic.

Newmomma I am so sorry that things are still tough going with your DD's colic. When my DS1 was very young the GP thought he might have reflux and gave a prescription for Infant Gaviscon. I only ended up giving it to him a few times. Not sure if it was a coincidence or just his age (about 8 weeks) or going to see the cranial osteopath as well, but his "colicky" phase ended as quickly as it began. If you haven't already, I'd go to the GP and insist that you would like to try some Infant Gaviscon. I don't think it would hurt to try it if you haven't already. I'm so sorry you're having such a hard time.

newmomma - so so sorry you are going through this, I think you need a plan of action so Monday morning you have to do two things, phone and get an appt with your GP, get the colief or infant gaviscon, even if she only has a little colic it will help, second thing is to phone and book her into a cranial osteopath.

Now even if these things only help a LITTLE bit, it would be amazing how much a little bit can help you and her.

I would also consider cutting dairy out your diet for a week to see if it helps.

and getting an hour a day away from her if you can, even if it is just handing her to your DH and you going out for a walk, just anything to get you away from the crying

does she cry in the car, mine always slept in the car, sometimes if I were desperate I would drive for about 20 mins to knock them out then park the car in the drive, roll down the window, open the front door and sit watching the car so I didn't have to move them, got me a good hour of peace and quiet.

Will you do those 2 things then? On Monday?

I often had the same problem with my LO. Turned out she did have reflux, so ranitidine (sp?) from the GP helped a bit. I also found I had to BF her with no disatractions at all when she was getting older, and that helped - shame as I had been enjoying all the TV I'd had an excuse to watch whilst feeding! and it did mean I couldn;t really manage in public anymore - kept having to go and sit in the car. I think her being overtired was a large part fo the problem as well. Once i realised that I really tried to ger her to nap after 2 hours max of being awake, even if it meant driving her round in the car / taking her out in the pram for an hour - seemed to keep her calmer.

You have my sympathy - it's so draining isn't it. But IT DOES GET BETTER (I never beleived anyone telling me that at the time though!)

Hi, I read on another thread that babies don't need their mother, per se, in the same way that a toddler needs their mother, rather babies need care, and they don't mind who gives it. So don't feel guilty about leaving DD to your DH, PIL or parents for when you need a break to save your sanity.
Thank you also for being honest about how difficult it can all be, I'm expecting DC1, and forewarned is (hope!) forearmed.

Hey Newmomma, so so sorry you are having such an awful time, your poor LO too :(

I din't really have first hand experience but a friend of mine has a 3 month old and had very similar problems to you. She cut dairy out of her diet and things seemed to calm down, she notices a difference if she does take dairy again...might be worth a try

Newmomma - as thisisyesterday mentioned, Harvey Karp's 5 S's work fantastically - watch - remember the 'swing' is more like a jiggle and the ssshhh has to be surprisingly loud, but IT WORKS!

My friend's baby was like yours in the early weeks and she really struggled - once he'd got better she really really wished she'd asked more people for help - eg I had offered to come and take him for a walk but she always said no. She regrets that now and feels she made it harder for herself. Take all offers of help and get a break for yourself.

Remember, TTSP (this too shall pass) x