I'm really sorry this is long but I would really appreciate some opinions please? I just don't know what to do anymore and I'm so tired I can't think clearly. Sleep deprivation is making me feel physically sick and I don't really feel capable of coming to a sensible conclusion.
DS is 6 months old
History - DS appeared to have colic from pretty much when he was born - terrible meltdowns in the evening only stopping when he slept in short spells, terrible wind, green poo, dark brown smelly mucousy poo. All these led to trips to the gp - they said colic but strange that it was from birth. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Surely colic wasn't this bad? Evenings were so traumatic.
When DS was 8 weeks old during a particularly terrible evening meltdown we found a huge lump had appeared in his scrotum. Went straight to hospital and DS had surgery for a strangulated hernia - basically his guts had come through the gap his testes had descended through in the womb which hadn't shut.
The surgeon said his intestines and bowel were inflamed and swollen and that the hernia must have been mobile travelling in and out of his scrotum undetected by us as he had his nappy on since birth which explained the meltdowns. We felt terrible even though we know it wasn't our fault - the gp couldn't have detected it either until it got stuck.
7 weeks later at the beginning of November and DS was finally getting a bit better and starting to settle then bam, gets the norovirus. After the initial virus we were then back to explosive green poo, terrible wind and pains and 2 hourly, sometimes hourly feeding.
We then hit 4 month sleep regression at the same time. Hourly, half hourly, random wakings sometimes appearing to be writhing in pain at night. This then increased. We were up to 10-15 wakings each night. Some wakings for food, some in pain, some for seemingly no reason - we would pick him up and he would go straight back off.
We then started getting blood and mucous in his poo and after hospital tests showed no further infection we sought a private paediatrician on our health insurance who said that the norovirus had really damaged his gut and this bloody mucous was the lining of his gut coming out and showing its discomfort. He also had a tear in his anus from the constant explosive poo. The green poo etc was because milk was going straight through him undigested because his gut just couldn't absorb it. He was feeding so much at this time so this made sense.
He did some allergy testing and also an ultrasound on all organs to make sure all was normal and it was.
It took until the beginning of January but his anus healed, poo went back to yellow, his feeding slowed to 3/4 hourly in the day, sleeping improved mildly with him waking every 2 hours normally for food with the odd hourly disturbance where he goes back off when reassured etc and he seems to be more calm and settled in himself generally.
Here we are now and he is still waking excessively and I am too tired to work out why.
Typical night - He goes down around 7 and will sleep until 10.30 ish then wants a feed. He will go back off until 11-12 and we will resettle, then wakes 1.30-2 wanting another feed, then go off until 4 ish if I'm lucky and then want another feed then we play the up down up down game until 6 when he will doze until 7-7.30.
When he wakes he screams, writhes, complains until he gets fed but I can't work out whether he is hungry or is feeding for comfort because he is in pain still? He is having plenty of feeds in the day, a small amount of solids (been weaning for 2 weeks) and he has a bedtime bottle of formula to give me a break. I think my supply has dropped though as i fed him on both boobs at lunch and as I've been worried about supply i offered him a bottle and he still took 140ml?
We have started some gentle sleep training with him so I would put in cot awake and sit with my hand on his tummy and ssh him
He moans for about 5/10 minutes but goes off to sleep on his own. This works when he goes down at 7 and for daytime naps but doesn't seem to help him sleep any longer.
He seems to have bad wind, is uncomfortable farting and appears to need to be comforted. He moans and writhes then a small fart will come out. We do massage before bath and it doesn't make a huge difference.
I just don't know what to do, I'm so confused and so tired and I can't work out if there is still something wrong with him or if because the writhing and moaning does stop when I feed him is he now just being a stroppy boy who is used to waking so wanting to be fed and have a cuddle?
I wonder whether because it used to hurt it now scares him or something?
Any ideas?
Huge thanks for reading and a large
Please or to access all these features
Please
or
to access all these features
For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.
Parenting
Is there something wrong with my baby? Long sorry!
23 replies
Impatientwino · 22/01/2013 05:04
OP posts:
Don’t want to miss threads like this?
Weekly
Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!
Log in to update your newsletter preferences.
You've subscribed!
Please create an account
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.