To think there's something not quite right with my baby

[ButteryJam]

HV, GP and DH all make me feel like I'm an over worrying hypochondriac mother

My LO has been very very fussy right from the very start, very alert and a little bit colicky (but definitely not colic). Now she is 13 weeks and has the following:

• episodes of screaming in pain for up to two hours, and won't settle unless I give her calpol. This occurs in the morning too. But it's all very unpredictable
• excessive (sometimes up to 50) hiccups at least twice a day
• refuses feeding (even if feed time) when in the state of crying
• tends to only feed when either asleep or very sleepy
• naps are so short, sometimes just 10-20 min, and a very very sensitive sleeper (I have to keep the house phone off and literally tiptoe around her)
• has had a sniffly nose, watery eyes almost constantly
• coughing during feeds or after
• and just generally not very happy, though does have some very happy smiley moments too

I'm a first time mum, so please tell me, is this all completely normal? HV told me earlier on in the week to stop looking for what may be wrong but just accept I am very unlucky to have this type of a baby.

(Tongue and lip tie were removed around 10 weeks so its not that).

Wasn't meant as a criticism strawberry* apols if it came across like that. I know what a difficult baby's like - fortunately mine was our second.

In going to agree with the suggestion above. Take the baby to A & E over weekend. Better yet if you live close to a children's hospital. Your GP seems very unsympathetic ( at best). I cannot understand why people let babies suffer this. I really don't. Good luck OP.

One thing I did was write out all the symptoms and when the GP tried to fob me off, I'd ask them to explain.

It makes me so angry that so many GPs seem to just fob off new mums.

My DS had very similar symptoms and all the GP would diagnose was reflux. When the reflux meds were not working he said that as DS was gaining weight that all the screaming and problems feeding were "just a minor inconvenience and he'll grow out of it". Never mind the fact that I was on my knees with exhaustion because of the lack of sleep and on the edge of needing some ADs.

It turned out that DS had multiple food allergies to milk, egg, nuts, legumes and soya.

I had tried cutting out dairy and it helped a bit, but I hadn't considered other allergies.

My GP poo poohed the whole idea of DS reacting to what I was eating, he said it was impossible.

Anyway, I hope that reflux is the right diagnosis for you and you get prescribed something that helps. If it doesn't it may be worth keeping a food diary. If you are cutting out any food try and see a dietician to make sure you are getting enough nutrients.

My son had these symptoms & was treated with infant gaviscon & ranitidine. Symptoms disappeared overnight once the meds kucked in. After her feed keep her sat up in her bouncy chair to stop the acid from coming up her food pipe. Massage her tummy to help her wind regularly.

Sorry, haven't read the whole thread, but I think my baby also has silent reflux with exactly the symptoms you describe and we gave her Nutrilon 'AR' on the recommendation of a pediatrician. It's like wallpaper paste to thicken the milk and you just give it on a spoon before each feed. It worked immediately for us - my baby smiles all the time now - and meant we didn't have to use medication like gaviscon. Poor baby. Hope you find something that works.

Can I also add, that my DS couldn't stomach my milk when I drank orange juice. It made the reflux worse, so keep a look out for which foods you eat cause more distress.

Meant to say - you can buy Nutrilon 'AR' from the pharmacy - it's in the baby milk section.

Nutrilon = Aptamil in the UK (I live in Holland). I'll shut up now...

We can't recommend baby cranial osteopathy enough. We had a baby that didn't seem happy in himself and cried for hours every night - we are sure he had colic but seemed more then that but as a first time mum didn't know what or if I was just fussing. Then we noticed he never moved his head to his left - a friend recommended osteopathy and after one session he relaxed and slept. The osteopath said she could feel the tension in his tummy and also in his neck. We went a handful of times and she said it was enough and he felt much better and he was. We are due twins in October and will take them just to be checked over ( eg we aren't going to wait to see f they seem colicky or have reflux) - worth a try.?

By the way if you sense something is wrong then stick to your guns, I was told by 2 doctors and a Hv that my sun didn't have jaundice - ended up in A&E with shock and surprise jaundice..... Don't be fobbed off!

Don't be fobbed off. DS2 had silent reflux and as it turned out was dairy and soy intolerant. I must have worn a rut in the GPs carpet before someone finally listened to me. It didn't seem to make any difference that I had never darkened the door with DS1 and was in no way over anxious.
The support website Little Refluxers is very helpful, as is the ( stupidly titled but very good) book Colic Solved by gastro- paediatrician Dr Bryan Vartebedian.
Dairy and soya free breastfeeding and omeprazole made a big difference to us and we have all survived relatively unscathed, but I haven't forgotten how difficult it was. DS was off meds at 16m old, outgrew his allergies by 2 yrs and is unaffected and on a normal diet age 3.

Silent reflux, another vote here. My DS2 had it and was a nightmare baby, never happy and my instincts were that he was in pain. GP gave infant gaviscon which was useless. Then ranitidine which helped for a few hours then wore off. I kept going back, got referred to the hospital who said it was a dairy intolerance and I should give up, based on no history other than hearing I have asthma. Bollocks.

We paid for a private gastro consultation (about £200) who confirmed my thoughts - if it was an intolerance why would he be better in upright positions rather than supine, and why would the ranitidine have helped? He also noticed my DS2 was constipated, making his reflux worse as the top end could not empty downwards because the bottom end was full up.

One prescription of omelrazole later and we had a completely different baby. He was in it from about 6 months to 10 months ish, until his sphincter muscles at the top and bottom of his stomach grew stronger. Even now he still needs laxatives at 16 months although we are weaning him off.

In my opinion there are so few side effects to trying something like ranitidine or omelrazole that its worth a try if you can find a friendly GP or go private and get a proper history taken and have time for a longer discussion. You will know in 2 weeks if it helps or not, and if not you can rule out reflux as a cause. If it does work that confirms the suspected diagnosis.

Good luck, and it DOES get better. I felt I'd been robbed of my snuggly newborn phase and felt so angry and sad, but the time passed and he got better and now I have a very snuggly toddler instead.

Reflux.

Hiccups are a classic sign. I bet she had hiccups while you were pregnant with her too.

I think it sounds like my ds when he had reflux bur without the vomiting so could well be silent reflux. I eventually started listening to all the doctors who said it was just something we had to live with until we changed gps when ds was five months and the new gp was shocked ds wasn't being treated for his reflux. He was like a different baby once he was on the right medication. So much happier. Try seeing a different doctor and asking about silent reflux. Persevere because it's not fun for you or your dd. If an adult was suffering the same things they wouldn't be expected just to put up with it so why should a baby be expected to be constantly uncomfortable.

In my opinion there are so few side effects to trying something like ranitidine or omeprazole that its worth a try

I agree it sounds like reflux, but I would be extremely wary about giving PPIs, unless absolutely clinically necessary, and maybe your GP is too, hoping that the esophogal sphincters will strengthen in due course.

The basic problem with PPIs is that they suppress the acid production "chemistry" of the stomach -- sometimes permanently.

Many adult users cannot come off PPIs because the stomach reacts by producing excess acid (hypersecretion rebound).

Gaviscon is much less of a problem/risk as it is just forming a foam type barrier, not messing with the acid production process.

silent reflux.

ranitadine

try visiting a chiropractor - My baby was the same but we took her to a chiropractor and it has changed everything. she's so much more content now. she had 2 appointments and then we were told he only needed to see her again if symptoms returned, he also showed us massage to do at home

hope things improve

Thank you so much everyone! I have read all the comments and will go back to another GP and try and chase up the appointment with the peadtrician.

Yes, I baby had these hiccups when pregnant too, up to about 50-75! Even when she was in hospital she had them in those frequency, and I raised the alarm to them and to GPs, HV, midwives etc and all said it was completely normal! I can't for the life of me understand how having that amount of hiccups can be normal!

I have tried osteopathy and still got a few more appointments left, but I'm not sure it is helping but I will continue, just so that can be ruled out.

In terms of chiropractor, is that the same as osteopath?

Someone mentioned that orange juice made it worse, and looking back, I very rarely have orange juice, and on the three occasions where I had to give calpol, the day before that I had orange juice. I think I'm going to completely avoid citrus fruits for now.

Latemates, may I DM you to ask which chiropractor you took your baby too?

cumfy, thanks, I have been worried about that too, and of course I'm not keen on giving medication. But at the same time, if after doing everything I can, she is still in pain, it'd be unfair of me to let her suffer, as I would never put my ownself through it.

Lactose intolerance? Breast milk contains lactose (nothing to do with your own dairy intake) My daughter had to stop breast feeding her fourth baby due to this, never had an issue before.

ButteryJam, no one wants their baby to be on medication but if it's the choice between a miserable or happy baby I know which one I'd take! My DS has been on ranitidine since he was about five months old, with a brief stint on omeprazole. It really does work and he's happy. He used to projectile vomit his milk and scream. He also has a dairy allergy.

I'm a children's nurse too and we have lots and lots of children on anti reflux medication. The acid from reflux can erode the airway and can also cause respiratory problems due to aspiration, so don't write off medication. Go see the GP.