GP or hv?

[Givinguph0pe]

Dd has started to cry every evening at about 9pm and even though she's hungry she can't take the bottle for some reason. She cries until about midnight before giving in to exhaustion. Last night she had 50mls at 9.30pm and then nothing for six hours.

She's 8 weeks old, two weeks old corrected. She has breast milk which I express. Could it be silent reflux? It's awful seeing her hungry but not able to eat. She's been fine until now. Shall I get a GP appointment as an emergency today?

[Givinguph0pe]

Sorry thought I was in chat!

[MakeItRain]

Could be silent reflux. Take her to the GP. My dd had it and the time just after feeding was really painful for her. I read that some babies with it, like my dd, feed endlessly as drinking milk temporarily soothes the pain (which happens straight after the feed) while some babies drink very little as the pain for them occurs during the feed. My GP was so much more helpful than the hv, who for weeks insisted I was giving her colic by overfeeding her and that I should leave her to cry

[Givinguph0pe]

Could it just happen at night? She seems ok in the day although often takes smaller amounts in milk more frequently instead of one full feed but she doesn't seem uncomfortable.

[eatscakefornoreasonwhatsoever]

I suggest you ask MNHQ to move this to feeding section as I think there could be some feeding-related things going on here. Have you got a bf support group near by that you could go to? Often lactation consultants and peer supporters are more knowledgable about these kinds of issues than GPs and HVs - and often even midwives.

[MakeItRain]

My dd was much worse at night. I think it was linked to her being upright and moving around in the day. She had other symptoms like a sour smell on her breath/gagging choking episodes/coughing/arching her back after a feed. She got steadily worse between 6 weeks and 3 months. She was finally diagnosed at 3 and a half months when she got medication and our lives changed! But I remember scouring the internet and reading that there can be several causes of symptoms, such as lactose intolerance, colic which does seem to get better on its own, or silent reflux, which seemed less well known when my dd was little. Definitely go to the GP. They were always lovely and never made me feel like I was wasting their time.

[Givinguph0pe]

She gags a lot when she's lying on her back but she's rarely actually sick.

[mrtwitsglasseye]

Is there a reason you need to express? Has she taken a bottle at other times?

At eight weeks you're only just establishing feeding. I wouldn't worry how much she is taking and feed her completely on demand.

[Givinguph0pe]

Yes failed at breastfeeding. Had everybody in the world come and try and sort it out but to no avail.

She takes a bottle in the day without the writhing around and crying but she never has very much and then wants to feed again quite closely together. She sticks her tongue out a lot, coughs and chokes whilst feeding all the time, and she has hiccups several times a day. Often when she gets hungry the hiccups start but it can be after a freed too.
She's always done some of these things but seems a lot worse the last week or so. Looking back I now think ds had it too, can it run in families?

[Witchend]

I found colic was worse in the evening with dd1. She didn't want to feed but lie upright on me with her tummy squashed against me. I wouldn't go leaping to the conclusion of reflux yet. Discuss it with hv if good, gp if not.

[notquitehuman]

It does sound like colic and/or reflux. DS suffered from both and the evenings were an absolute nightmare. GP gave us some baby version of Gaviscon which seemed to soothe him, but the only other thing that stopped him screaming in the evening was his vibrating chair or car rides. It's worth checking out as it could be allergies etc so keep going back if you can't find a solution!

[Whatdoidohelp]

GP definitely. My DS had colic and infacol was brilliant for him and letting him sleep/nap for late afternoon till we went to bed in a raised position in his bouncer. It's hard. Good luck

[RebeccaMumsnet]

Hi all,

We've moved this over to our infant feeding topic now.

[MakeItRain]

It can run in families. My ds had it but not as badly as my dd. She used to gag/choke but was rarely sick. Definitely get her checked out. Gaviscon can help keep the acid down while medicines like ranitidine neutralise the acid. My dd went from waking every 40 minutes all night to 8 hours with one brief wake up the first night she had it.