screaming baby - what I am doing wrong?

[MacMomo]

13 week old dd (born 11 days early); EBF and co-sleeping. Started sleeping 7-8 hrs at around 7 weeks old (7 pm - 2 am) without any trouble. She had colic for a couple of weeks, which upset her. She has silent reflux, but it never seems to bother her much.

About 8 nights ago, she started screaming at bed time. Around the same time, she started getting fussy and refusing the breast. We thought it was a nursing strike, but she does feed happily quite often (though only small feeds during the day). She has also stopped napping during the day almost completely.

We still think it might be reflux, but the symptoms are not consistent.

She started off refusing her bedtime feed, but the last few nights she has taken an expressed bottle without too much fussing. However, afterwards she screams and screams and is completely inconsolable. She latches and feeds for comfort, but ... before she was refusing to go near the breast or the bottle. Tonight she had 5oz of milk (with Gaviscon) relatively happily, then screamed for 20 mins. She only calmed down after latching and taking another small feed, then passed out. An hour later she was screaming again, and again latched and took another big feed. This is a lot more milk than she ever had before. And again, sometimes when she screams, she refuses the breast.

Can someone talk me through what might be the problem? I am so distressed by hearing her so upset and not being able to comfort her. Sorry this post is so long, I am beside myself with not knowing what to do for her.

(I took her to the dr who confirmed normal temperature, ears, throat, breathing).

How are things now MacMomo? is she any more settled? Is so hard at this stage when it's all guesswork...

"She doesn't peep during doctor's examinations, or osteopath massage (she was refusing to turn her head to one side ever, now fixed) so I don't think she is fussy by nature"

My little boy was like this - didn't even murmur at his injections. I figured he was used to pain in his tummy so had a high pain threshold - unlike his twin brother who roared for hours at his jabs as he wasn't used to experiencing discomfort.

Hope things are going better - it will get better over time and sounds like you are doing all the right things in the meantime.

Only just got back to this! How is everything going? The test is something I entitled the effect of moving my daughter from a vertical to horizontal position. She would be settled on us and asleep, holding her in my arms I would just move her gently and after a minute or she would start to cry and wriggle, still in her sleep. IT was just the effect of posture change which made it so clear it was reflux.

On another note your gp sounds incompetent when it comes to babies. Gaviscon causes constipation in lots of babies but since his advice to use all bottles goes against all the advice he is supposed to read about babies it makes me think he doesn't bother reading it and knows nothing. I'd see if you could get that referral!!

OOOOrrrrr... it could be a developmental phase... recommend ''The Wonder Weeks" which would reaasure you that fussy periods precede a developmental leap.. in case it isn't reflux. Worth investigating everything, huh?

My daughter's first baby's like this. Screaming constantly although she's a brilliant mum, doing absolutely everything for him.

He's nearly 9 weeks old and days when he doesn't scream for most of the day are few and far between!

He does seem to have wind which is very difficult to get up. My daughter uses one of those Dr Brown bottles that is supposed to help with wind (with a blue spout thing inside it). I'm wondering how to help her and feel that the silent reflux discussed on here could be worth her checking it out.

Gem2981 mentioned changing to Aptamil Comfort - what's that? How does it help baby? And what's ranitidine?

Thanks for any advice!

my dd 8wks had silent reflux and it can be very unpredictable in terms of symptoms,ask to see a pead or gastro specialist,gps tend to be reluctant to prescribe and know very little. Ranitadine is good in the right dose,my dd is on omeprazole which is great but she still gets it some evenings and still had to be kept upright after feeds foir 30mins.
I wouldnt give oj as it is acidic and will exasparate the reflux-pear puree is ok but my dd was constipated from gaviscon but i find a syringe or two of water puts an end to it. I have also found te baby whisperer book and easy routine really helpfull,good luck.

DD was dreadful as a baby, she cried and cried, wouldn't nap, woke 5-6 times a night and had eczema on her face and bottom. We saw the GP and a paed consultant, I felt she might have a cows milk intolerance as there is family history, the paed made me feel like an idiot as DD was ebf, so obviously there was no way she could be showing a cows milk intolerance, the bottom eczema was down to using real nappies and I should be leaving her to cry instead of co-sleeping and bfing at night - he even commented about me still b/fing and not having weaned (dd was 5mths).

Long story short, at 6mths I started to put cows milk in her food and her face and bottom got so sore, it was obvious that she was cows milk intolerant. I still feel so at the drs.

So just wanted to say it's worth cutting out the dairy, I found it took 6wks before my breastmilk seemed to stop bothering her and I had to cut even the smallest amounts out. DD does tolerate goats milk.

My DD had the same symptoms as you have described. I did alot of research and changed her food from SMA to SMA LF, lactose free food. My DD's digestive system hadn't matured and couldn't digest the proteins in ordinary baby formula, I switched to this food and noticed a huge difference after 2 days, my DD slept 15hrs at night and also had her naps during the day. You should try a tin of it. It won't harm your baby at all, in fact it could do the opposite. I've never looked back. I have had 2 other children since that and have put them on SMA LF. What have you to lose, try it and let me know the results.

I never used gaviscon but managed to eliminate reflux by avoiding dairy. Hope it works for you, OP!

Can I suggest you real through the gastro chapter (last section of the book)
by Alison Scott Wright called The Sensational Sleep Plan.

The chapter in the book explains a huge amount about reflux and silent reflux.

There is a huge amount of information in there that may provide understanding and possible suggestions for improving or at least
moderating the situation for your DD.

I honestly wish that I had known about this reference/info source when
I spent 3months working with a baby with severe reflux and colic.
Unfortunately at the time I had no experience of either. The reflux was not diagnosed in her until she was 4mths old.

It really is an excellent sorce of information.

Thanks everyone for so much help, very much appreciated

After a week on ranitidine and 10 days without dairy and caffeine, DD is much better tonight - hoping it's not just a one-off. She still has plenty of reflux, but I guess maybe it's less acidic and so less painful. The eczema is also mostly gone, too. The ranitidine has given her diarrhoea, though, which makes her fussy on and off throughout the day and as she's not digesting the milk as effectively (less stmach acid) she is now a feeding frenzy, and I have struggled to keep pace.

Yes, I also think there must be a behavioural element to it, even if it is just fear of feeding due to acid afterwards. She has responded surprisingly well to being put to bed an hour later and sleeping until 9 am. Also, she settles better with a brighter night light, and seems to need much more reassurance that she's not alone (the Wonder Weeks app does predict increased clingy-ness). Perhaps she has been screaming before bed because she associated it with dealing with painful reflux alone? We've always gone to her when she cries, hoping the reassurance will pay off.

No, I am committed to Breastfeeding so will stay off dairy rather than give her Aptimel.

maternitynurses the reviews I read for the book you mention say it is a bit anti-Breastfeeding which put me off buying it - if the tips for dealing with reflux involve formula or giving bottles then it wont help me. What is your feeling on it's usefulness for breastfeeders?

Thanks again, will let you know how it goes.

Hi MacMomo, you poor thing, what a bad time you're haing. I've had two babies like this and it's hard.

Can I just ask, how often does she poo, what's it like, what's her weight-gain like and is she gassy and unsettled?

*having

For ages she was a one poo a day girl usually same time! Then gaviscon made her constipated. Now she's doing about four a day but they are small mostly water.

I haven't had her weighed for two weeks but gain has been fine and she is definitely growing out of clothes. Weigh in place always seems dirty and full of sick toddlers so I dont like going.

She is a bit farty but much, much less than she used to be! Very burpy, lots of hiccups. Yesterday she seemed fussy in a clingy way and also when poo time came.

I just ask because reflux problems in DD are made massively worse by my milk oversupply. If she gets too much milk she has frequent, watery, green nappies and they smell sour. She also tends to be farty, hiccupy and burby (you can hear it come up when she lies on her back) if my milk supply is excessive. I just wondered if that could be a contributing factor in your DD's case - something to talk through with a BFC though if you think it could be.

Yes I am sure it is, I seem to have way too much milk in the morning, uncomfortable and even engorged. Then by evening it's all gone and she can latch and suck for 15 mins and not get a let down. She may have overfed yesterday, but today it's the opposite.