This is going to be a long thread. Apologies in advance. Please do not comment if you have nothing productive/positive to say as I'm already feeling extremely low.
I gave birth to my newborn baby at the end of November (she's 9 weeks tomorrow) via c-section. I had her three weeks early due to complications with my placenta. Was initially meant to be induced but it wasn't really working so I opted for a c section.
Being a mum is something I always wanted for myself. I always envisioned myself having around two kids and pouring the unconditional love I believe a mother should give her child, into my own children.
I found the early newborn stage somewhat difficult but nothing major. Just adjusting to the postpartum anxiety and recovering from a c section. I'm someone that can survive on minimal sleep so I was okay with waking up every two hours to feed my baby.
However, I noticed 2-3 weeks in that she was always restless, always spat up a lot of her milk, had a screaming cry, had eczema, pain when pooping (would cry so much) and after speaking to many professionals I finally spoke to a doctor who suspected she has a CMPA and this doctor did prescribe her Pepti 1. I also spoke about how I believe she has reflux symptoms and was prescribed Gaviscon.
Anyways, fast forward she has been on the Pepti 1 milk around 5 weeks and after week six I'm supposed to give her normal formula again to see if the symptoms return and if they do then she would be given an official diagnosis.
I've found the last few weeks really hard. Although I thought her getting the prescription milk and Gaviscon would take some time before I could see any difference. I feel like I've found it's gotten worse. My baby cries for hours and hours. She wants to be held and kind of rocked up and down constantly. She cries when feeding, has bad reflux after feeds, cries to be fed every two hours (still at almost 9 weeks) but then also refuses some kf these feeds but then cries as she wants milk, takes a few sips then lets out a painful cry. I've tried the Gaviscon, Pepti 1 and Infacol. Nothing seems to help. Although she wakes up every 2 hours I'm not actually getting much sleep because after drinking milk she's restless and makes many noises (that scare me and keep me up. By the time she settles it probably takes 1-1.5 hours and I then only get half an hour - 40 mins sleep before she wakes up again and the whole process repeats.
When she naps during the day, she's restless, she naps for ten ish mins then cries and wants to be held/rocked up and down (I think it soothes her stomach) but this also means I can't get anything done and that she is fussy from not getting proper naps. I feel as though I'm really struggling to cope now as despite the fact that I can survive on waking up every two hours. It's all starting to catch up with me. I've spoken to numerous doctors and they all just say she'll grow out of it. I'm sure reflux is something babies do grow out of and CMPA can be treated but she's so unsettled all the time whether that's screaming in pain or wanting to be constantly rocked up and down. I feel like that's all the doctors really say and just prescribe some Gaviscon and send me on my way.
Waking up every 2 hours. Getting broken sleep of 40ish mins at a time and then having a crying, angry and unsettled baby all day is hard. My partner does help but he has to work and his work is driving related so I try not to get him to stay up too much at night due to him having to drive the next day and he needs to be able to focus whilst driving. He works long hours during the day as I'm only entitled to maternity allowance and financially we're struggling a bit. My dad's also in hospital with sepsis at the moment and I just feel like I have a lot going on 😢