15 weeks and still crying all the time...

[nomoreminibreaks]

My DS is now 15 weeks old and suffers from what we assume is colic - he's been on infacol, then dentinox, then colief and dentinox - now on infant gaviscon (prescribed) and I've reintroduced colief after he was a nightmare on just gaviscon alone. He seemed to perk up a lot with the latest combo for a few days but has now gone back to his old self (basically never happy, always seems uncomfortable and cries a lot). It's soul destroying as I thought we'd come through it and we haven't - I feel like I had a glimpse of what it is to really enjoy having a baby!

He is EBF and we don't have any big problems feeding, although he sometimes gets fussy towards the end of a feed when it seems like he has a tummy ache.

He does sleep through the night - sometimes 9 or 10 hours - and I think this is the only reason I haven't completely cracked up... yet!

He had a 'traumatic' birth as he was 9lb 11oz (4 hours of pushing plus ventouse then forceps) so I'm wondering if cranial osteopathy might be the answer?

Just looking to see if anyone else is in the same boat or came through it and at how many weeks - the usual answer of it getting better at 12 weeks came and went...:(

[fruitshootsandheaves]

My DS was like this. I won't tell you how long it went on for as that wouldn't help but just to let you know it seems such a short period of time looking back on it and he is now a happy, polite 15 year old! It won't always be so hard.

[pinkytheshrinky]

imho cranial osteopathy will do no harm - a friend on mine in Holland did this for her son and he improved dramatically - he too was a big baby and had a tough time.

I have no other suggestions apart from reflux? one of my dds2 had this and it did improved as she was weaned at 4 months (that was almost 8 years ago when it was ok!)

[TheSnickeringFox]

Hi, my beastie of a ds didn't improve until about 4.5 months. I too was relying on the magic 12 weeks, which just came and went! Now he is a very happy 8 month old and the 'screaming times' :( are thankfully behind us. Mine was also ebf (still mostly bf!).

We did try cranial osteopathy but tbh the answer for us was time.

I carried (well, still do carry) ds around in a sling in an upright position a lot. Have you tried a sling?

If your gp has prescribed infant gaviscon then presumably you have a reflux/silent reflux dx? Gaviscon just doesn't work for some babies. Next step might be ranitidine or omeprazole - definitely worth going back if it's not doing the trick! There is a good support thread for parents of refluxers in the feeding section which might be worth a post?

[valentinemum10]

my dd is 19 weeks& suffers from reflux.its improved as shes got older,around the 4months& recently ive discivered carrying her in a sling has calmed her a LOT! She screamed a lot,didnt want to be put down.also because of teething.i carry her as much a spossible couple of hours a day in half hour slots, she cries very little,much calmer,feeds better(not massive fussung and gulping etc)
i suggets a sling if u can.i made one for nothing with a long piece of nice fabric,wrap around&knot method.some website wi
ll show you how.

[petaluma]

From personal experience I would try cranial osteopathy - sorted my 10 week old out in super quick time and by the second or third session (we only had to have 4), he was sleeping through the night at around 3 months. The osteopath also diagnosed a random stomach issue, completely unrelated to the original problem, which was causing bad wind. This also contributed to the improvement,

Also - my very good friend's ds was eventually diagnosed as being allergic to breastmilk! Can you believe that? He was put onto a special lactose free formula and crying stopped almost immediately.

[BionicEmu]

I empathise with you, my DS was very similar, although cried all night too. He was diagnosed with severe reflux though. I promise, it does get better! The things that I found that helped were:

Keeping him upright for a good 20 minutes after a feed, even a night-feed. If your DS likes bouncy chairs then great, mine would only ever sit in the bath support.

Lifting one end of his cot so he wasn't flat, but if your DS is fine at night, then no problem there anyway!

Maybe he has wind if he fusses at the end of a feed (or I think that's a sign of reflux too?), I've had DS in all sorts of weird positions trying to get the wind out of him before.

Also, how are his nappies? My DS suffered with bad constipation from birth, but Gaviscon made it even worse, and talking to his paediatrician it is well known for causing constipation.

Finally, the thing that saved my sanity was being around other mothers. I was lucky that I have a lovely NCT group who used to take it in turns to hold DS and try and comfort/entertain him while I bawled my eyes out had a rest. Maybe find a group near you if you don't go already? Or just having a friend or relative come around and entertain your DS while you sit and watch. I think lots of people don't realise just how draining it is having a constantly unhappy baby who needs constant attention and just won't sit there nicely. It can be such a relief to have someone else there too, even if you just sit watching them with a cuppa.

Again, it does get better, it's a cliche but you will forget it soon.

[minxofmancunia]

Hi he sounds just like dd, she screamed all day but at least slept at night otherwise I think I would have lost it. The things that helped for us were, colief, sling, tilt end of cot up on a slant, paediatric chiropractor and the introduction of solids.

went to see the chiroprator after reading that babies born by ventouse/forceps (dd was ventouse) often have these sorts of difficulties. She was brilliant and it was expensive but worth it. she was also v late walking (17m) although she tried she couldn't get her balance. took her to chiropractor and she walked out of the clinic!! Sounds a bit mad but true. ds birth was textbook and he's had none of these problems, I think their spines are twisted when they are yanked out and this effects the whole nervous system.

[kenobi]

Another one for cranial osteopathy - DD was also a big baby (9lb 15) and I had a difficult birth - she was banging on my cervix for 18 hours without me dilating at all (then emcs).

It is hard when you have a screamy baby and everyone else seems to be having an easier time than you - DD would only sleep upright in a baby bjorn and I spent four hours A DAY walking endlessly around London - and she would cry the moment I stopped. I thought I would go mad, if it wasn't for another mum who had a reflux baby and the two of us would push and sob and swear.

She was very windy (not reflux or colic, just veeeery windy) and like you I thought 12 weeks would bring some relief. She was markedly better after each osteopathy sesssion, and for me it was also about 4.5 months when it got better. Life got a LOT easier at 6 months - in fact 6-9 months was a golden time.

She is now a charming, vivid little toddler and (silver lining) having had such a hard time with her as a baby, both me and DH are LOVING the toddler years. What's a tantrum or two compared to four hours of walking a day and endless crying?!

I wholeheartedly second BionicEmu's post about winding for ages - remember: a minute spent winding is NEVER a minute wasted!

[tostaky]

My DS1 was like this except he didnt sleep at night either...
Things improve around 4-5 months as he got more active.
what helped though was:
winding
cycling his legs
holding him his tummy on my arm while walking around the flat (for hours at a time, a recipe for madness)
tummy time
sling
tilting his mattress a little so his head was slightly higher than his feet
singing songs to him somehow
getting out of the house everyday not sure why


i got rid of the colief/gripe water/etc... after a few weeks because i felt it did not do anything.

good luck! it gets better dont worry!!

[bettieblue]

Hi

Ive just posted in Health as im having similar difficulties with my DS who is 7 weeks old. I am desperate to do something as im worried that the magic 12 week point will come and go with no change. I use infacol, I considered colief but have been prescribed lactose free milk which im going to try. I also posted to find out about cranial osteopathy and have had some positive posts which has convinced me its worth a go.

Will let you know if it helps at all.

[kenobi]

bettieblue - 7 weeks is still incredibly young - they're still in shock about being in the world! And just because DS is screamy now does not mean he will not settle around 3 months like most babies (even DD got a little easier at 13 weeks).

There's a lot of good advice on this thread, at the very least hopefully it will reassure you and nomoreminibreaks that things will and DO get better!

I don't know how cranial osteopathy works - and a lot of people think it is woo woo - but all I can say is that it definitely helped with us.

[nomoreminibreaks]

Wow - my first post on mumsnet and I'm blown away by how helpful everyone has been!

Thanks very much for all the advice and reassurance - it's good to know it's not just me and that it will end one day!

Been back to the doctor yesterday with him and he's now on Ranitidine - they said not to use Colief at the same time. He's been ever so slightly better and does seem to have slept a little more during the day but he's still not a happy chap.

I think I'll make an appointment for Cranial Ostepathy... fingers crossed!

[cockle84]

bit of a strange suggestion but does he have a stuffy nose or sound a bit crackly after feeding. My baby gets terrible Colic when she's slightly snuffley. I used some nasal drops and this helped her get her wind up and settle.