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Original poster

Baby crying for hours and hours

63 replies

babycryingandcrying · 03/04/2022 20:05

Hello,

I have a 6 week old daughter and she cries for hours and hours at a time.

It is really wearing us down.

She has a lot of reflux and keeps on spitting up milk between feedings.

She is gaining weight fine though.

The health visitor thinks she might have a tongue tie.

She doesn't seem to have belly ache (no hard belly, no pulling up of legs).

Her crying and screaming is so so awful. Her face gets really red and she is crying like she's being murdered.

I try to console her, try to hold her in different positions, nothing helps.

At the moment she's lying on the sofa next to me, while I'm typing this, screaming her head off.

I never heard a baby scream like this :(

I don't know what to do. My husband thinks I should go to A and E tomorrow, but I don't think they can help us.

We tried Infacol, but that also doesn't help.

Can anyone help please, she screams for most of the time she's awake and it's really not sustainable.

The rare times she's not screaming she's actually quite sweet and has started to smile at me now.

OP posts:
Littlebird43 · 03/04/2022 21:30

Both of mine were complete screamers from 6 weeks to c.10 weeks. It started really suddenly and then faded out from 10 to 12 weeks.
For the 1st I read every forum to find out what was 'wrong', got completely exhausted and developed pnd.
For the 2nd I concluded it was just a really hard development stage. Baby was passed the sleepy newborn stage but not yet able to self sooth. Dummies and a sling were lifesavers.
Good luck, get support, share the nighttimes, work as a team, no harm in seeing a GP. Welcome to parenthood!

AnotherNC22 · 03/04/2022 21:34

My LO had horrible reflux - she was also mixed fed. It was developmental rather than allergy related (no rash, no mucousy or vinegary poos, no other CMPA symptoms) so no prescription formula needed - we got a GP appointment who prescribed infant gaviscon. A bit of trial and error with dosages and literally within a few days she was a different baby. For friends of ours, infant gaviscon didnt work, but they went back to the GP and tried omeprazole, which did. Plus the usual reflux advice of holding upright after feeds, following 'eat, play, sleep' routine so baby isnt lying down immediately after feeding, little and often feeds, good winding, tiger in the tree hold, nuk teats for bottles. I also heard that infacol doesn't work for reflux so I'd cut that out straight away.

The other thing is that if you are intending to keep bf alongside formula, if it is CMPA, dairy can take up to 3 weeks to leave yours and 3 weeks to leave baby's system (6 weeks in total) so you might not see results straight away.

DD grew out of it at 6-7ish months.

NrlySp · 03/04/2022 21:38

My oldest was exactly like this - he’s 17 now and it’s long behind us!
He was also gaining weight and I felt this meant the doctor/midwife didn’t take me seriously
Try to get some prescription medication for the reflux. Also helpful was not having him lie flat (at all)
White noise - like the hoover really helped. So did. taking him for a drive in the car seat. It was probably the motion and being upright. My husband would take him for an hours drive.
Being in water also helped - so we would do baths.
And if you can have some one take over for a bit or a supportive baby group for someone else to cuddle that really helps
Cranial osteopath too. And a dummy
You have my massive sympathies. It was awful. But he grew out of it. It passes but you need to take care of yourself as well.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

0-3 months old Babies & sleep Families General health
Rachaelrachael · 03/04/2022 21:39

Both my babies had reflux and it's soul destroying. 2nd baby's was much worse and she was in so much pain she eventually stopped feeding altogether. Cue a trip to hospital where she was finally prescribed lansoprazole which was amazing! We weaned her off at 4 months.
The Drs hate to prescribe it as its expensive but keep pushing if the usual reflux milk and gaviscon don't work

stairgates · 03/04/2022 21:41

For my baby it was nuts in my diet, so maybe leave these out aswell xx

LabradorFiasco · 03/04/2022 21:45

Hi OP, so sorry to hear you are in this hell. Loads of us have been there with a non-stop screaming baby.

Many posters have suggested formula-based/food allergy type adjustments. I wondered if - given the tongue tie - baby might be suffering a touch of lactose overload?

www.llli.org/breastfeeding-info/foremilk-and-hindmilk/

www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bfinfo/lactose-overload-babies

If baby has a tie, the latch could be shallow and therefore making it tricky for her to milk the breast and bring down the fats into the milk, rather than just getting a ton of watery (lactose-rich) milk which can leave them with ‘colic’/‘allergy’ symptoms (very frequent green, loose stool, lots of wind, gaining loads of weight).

If this resonates with you, I would look into paying a private practitioner to assess and cut the tongue tie. For me and many others, improvement is rapid and you may even be able to move to EBF if that’s what you wanted to do.

Just a thought Flowers

WhatNowwwww · 03/04/2022 21:48

I ended up in A&E with DC1 at about 3 months. They sent us straight up to the Children’s ward who prescribed Omeprazole and he was like a different child within about 10 days. I’d already tried cutting our dairy etc which had made no difference. DC2 did have CMPA and reflux didn’t scream much but couldn’t feed so wasn’t gaining weight Omeprazole and dairy free diet helped somewhat then they added Ranitidine (which has now been withdrawn) and Domperidone and that’s what helped the most.
Definitely push your GP for them to trial Neocate or one of the other dairy free formulas and to get the Consultant to prescribe Omeprazole.
I would second trying the tiger in the tree hold of you haven’t already and lots of walks in the pram, if nothing else the crying doesn’t seem as loud outside I always thought, but lots of babies will eventually fall asleep in the pram.

hobbledyhoy · 03/04/2022 21:59

My daughter was like this. Managed to get liquid omeprazole that went into her bottle in the morning, absolutely transformational.
Was still quite a sicky baby but certainly not the pain with it.
They'll try and give you gaviscon first as it's cheaper but it's not as effective.
Good luck, I know how dreadful it is when you feel so helpless and bloody shattered.

peachgreen · 03/04/2022 22:02

My daughter was the same. It was silent reflux caused by CMPA. Once we switched her to CMP-free formula (and she got used to it) she was a different baby. I'm just so sad it took us so long to figure it out because I had terrible PND by that point and it ruined our first 4 months together.

Bunny2607 · 03/04/2022 22:03

Hi OP
Sorry you are going through this, however just wanted to say i have been where you are now and would agree with other posters about cows milk protein allergy. My personal experience was my daughter being like yours at 3weeks old, we went to the GP who sent us to hospital and we stayed for 4 days. They gave us omeprazole for reflux and also put us on pepti junior milk which is for CMPA, took 3/4 days to fully get in her system but she is a different baby now. I only knew about CMPA as my first baby had it, and i had to push the doctor at hospital to prescribe the dairy free formula as they were saying it was just constipation so stand your ground with them and trust your instincts. I hope things improve for you soon, and remember this will pass. I told myself that alot in the bad times and baby is 9 weeks now and generally settled apart from a fussy couple of hours at teatime. Hang on in there, sending a hug.

Bunny2607 · 03/04/2022 22:06

Also just wanted to say my GP told me the omeprazole cost to the NHS is 79p for 28 tablets, we use one tablet per day. I do think its the “wonder drug” for reflux as iv read alot of positive stories online and it’s definitely helped my baby. Gavison didn’t work for us, so again try a couple of things but ultimately push the doctors if you don’t feel things are working.

Redlorryyellowlorryblue · 03/04/2022 22:11

I really sympathise. My DD was the same and it turned out to be CMPA. Get it checked out and don’t let them fob you off. We had a dietician available at our local children’s centre. Worth a look if you do too.

www.allergyuk.org/resources/cows-milk-free-diet-information-for-babies-and-children/

Allergy UK

Wingingthis · 03/04/2022 22:14

Agree possible CMPA
Get the tongue tie cut asap it really helps
Push for medication for reflux
Keep her upright as much as possible, I wore my baby in a sling constantly

AliceW89 · 03/04/2022 22:20

Big hugs and sympathy to you because unsettled newborns are the pit of misery. My DS was a screamer as well for the first 3 months. 5-9 weeks was the absolute worse - it felt like he cried 24/7 for a month solid. I don’t actually think there was anything medically wrong with him. He just couldn’t ever switch off, hated being a helpless newborn and sleep was a huge struggle so he was a permanently overtired, overstimulated wreck. You should 100% rule out allergies/tongue tie/reflux etc. But if nothing seems to make a difference, know it will pass and it will get better and nothing will ever be as hard as this Flowers

glittereyelash · 03/04/2022 22:24

My son was like this and it was hell. I literally thought he would never settle. We just had to live hour to hour rest and take breaks whenever it was possible. I found cranial therapy helped my son. You have my full sympathy its very difficult listening to a screaming child and keeping your sanity.

ladycarlotta · 03/04/2022 22:43

Sounds like CMPA would be worth checking out. My daughter was the same and cutting out all dairy and soy made a gigantic difference to her pretty quickly.

This said, 6 weeks is peak scream time.

Readyforspring · 03/04/2022 22:52

Ds was the same. Turned out to be cmpa.
Took 6m of fighting. Was prescribed a different formula but he wouldn't drink it.
At 6m he went on wysoy and was a different baby

Jeelypieces20storeys · 03/04/2022 23:00

Oh OP, I hope you are ok, there's nothing makes you feel more helpless than your baby wailing. I second getting her checked out to make sure there is nothing medical going on, but in the meantime, have you tried the tiger in the tree hold? Swaying him in this hold was the ONLY thing that settled my wee boy.

Squiff70 · 03/04/2022 23:06

I really feel for you. I remember my daughter being in hospital as a very tiny baby (during lockdown so only one parent allowed in on any given day). I was with her one day and she screamed and cried for 13 hours straight. Nothing I did helped and the nurses were just too stretched to take much notice or come and help. I sat and sobbed with her, she sounded so upset and miserable and as her mum I wanted to ease her pain or distress. After 13 hours of screaming, a healthcare worker came in the room and told me to go home. I was an absolute wreck and just utterly bewildered, exhausted and feeling like a failure of a mother.

Turns out she had CMPA. Once we got her on the right milk (Alfamino) and omeprazole, she settled and was the most placid, content baby after that. Unfortunately I wasn't able to breastfeed as she was extremely premature and despite my best efforts I never produced any milk, hence formula being the only option.

She's two now and has never cried like that since.

Stay strong mummy, it won't be like this forever. I had to walk away that day but I realise parents with their babies at home can't do that. You may need to pester the GP for a while but as her mum, you know when something isn't right with your baby so you MUST insist on getting help.

You can also Google Crysis. It's a helpline for parents or carers of crying babies. I realise you may not be able to make a call or hear the person on the phone at the moment but its an option which I thought was worth a mention.

Hang in there, you're doing great FlowersBear

Original poster
babycryingandcrying · 04/04/2022 09:22

Thanks everyone for your supportive comments, you have no idea how much they helped me!

We went to A and E yesterday, but left as the waiting time was 8 to 9 hours.

There was a nice lady sat next to me who has 4 children and she gave me some helpful tips as well.

I have an appointment with the GP at 11:30 am this morning and I will ask for some anti reflux medicine xx

OP posts:
SirVixofVixHall · 04/04/2022 09:46

My friend who was mixed feeding her (constantly crying) baby, switched to breast feeding only and he was much better , she doesn’t eat dairy products so that could have been a factor.
Good luck OP, I hope you get it sorted out.

LadyHelenaJustina · 04/04/2022 15:53

My heart goes out to you. My son was like this, and it was just awful; he had tongue tie and colic, and could projectile vomit to Olympic standard. It vanished at about 5-6 months. We had tried pretty much everything, but my health visitor reminded me that if all else failed, putting them safely in a pram in the hall while I went out in the garden for 10 minutes would at least keep me sane.

Daisychainsandglitter · 04/04/2022 17:43

How did you get on at the GP @babycryingandcrying? I hope your appointment went well.

Isobelslider · 04/04/2022 17:48

I had a baby like that.

For the love of all that is holy in this world DO NOT LIE THEM FLAT. Keep them upright as much as possible. Buy a million dummies. The dummy was what saved us. Take them to the GP and ask them to investigate the cause of the reflux. As them to medicate for it too, and not just fob you off with baby gavison.

Good luck OP. It really was hell with our eldest. But we came out the other side.