8 months of screaming - help

[ginortea]

Well, not quite all the time. But when we was born, he'd scream for hours. Never cry, just scream. Colic, we thought. But while he became a little easier to distract, and the gaps between screaming fits became a little longer, he never really grew out of it.

At six months, a doctor diagnosed reflux. I felt dreadful, but also relieved that we had an answer. Two months later, he does vomit less, but the screaming continues. I'm beginning to think reflux might never have been the problem (dr was v quick to diagnose, just a few hurried questions, no real tests...)

He cries on waking up until getting his bottle, cries as soon as I put him down again. Cries in the high chair while he waits for breakfast, cries when I put him on the floor again afterwards. But if I distract him successfully (find the exact toy he wants to play with, take him to the swings, put him in the bath) he stops immediately, which makes he think it's unlikely to be pain related.

He also goes through week/fortnightly periods when his mood seems to lift, and I think the phase is over, then it kicks in again.

His napping is getting a little erratic, but on the whole he sleeps well, and sleeps 7 till 6.30/7 at night.

Can it just be frustration? I'm at a total loss. I'm nervous all the time that he's about to start up and my nerves are now totally frayed.

Help?!

Milk allergy or lactose intolerant???? Reflux type symptoms may be down to one of those (with milk allergy, it's the milk protein that's the problem, with lactose intolerance it's milk sugar). Both could give gut pain/wind/vomit, could also give rashes, nappy rash. Milk allergy proteins can pass from mums food through BM to the baby, so not just a problem for bottle fed babies. He does sound like he is in discomfort a lot, but you are able to distract him with toys etc.

??? Maybe try "Comfort" formula milk, it has reduced lactose and humanised proteins, and may make your DS feel better.

This formula worked really well for my DS4 (10months), who has milk protein
allergy and can't have any food with milk in, but can use this formula.

A great, idea, thanks. It can't hurt to try, right? How did you find out your DS had a milk allergy? And can I buy 'comfort' formula from an ordinary chemist? I'm definitely open to trying it.

DH suggested it (he's a GP), Boots and large tescoboth stock several brands of "comfort" milk, all slightly different. Worth trying......hope it works!

Thanks, so grateful for your help. Mind me asking which brand you found best?

hi my daughter had a very similar problem and she has got a milk allergy she was on nutramigen but was still vomiting so now shes on neocate and shes fine. as soon as she was put on nutramigen she was like a different baby. hope this helps x

It's Aptimel Comfort we use, cow & Gate does one as well, and then there are other, more expensive ones (Boots has a couple of other brands in stock). The more expensive ones are more "altered" (less like cows milk), some babies will be fine on the Aptimel, some on the more expensive ones..... trial and error really as every baby is different.

i get mine on prescription but if you go see your doctor dont let them fob you off, it was only because my daughter was in hospital for something completley different and had follow up appointments that they agreed she had a allergy, and then at a follow up appointment for that they decided thats what the problem she had when she was in hospital had stemmed from

Thank you both so much. hbru2010 - how did you find out that it was milk that was at the root of your DD's troubles? And is nutramigen prescription only?

That's odd hbru2010, your second message definitely wasn't there when I posted asking about prescriptions. Maybe a case of great minds thinking alike?!

Did she suffer while/if you breastfed?

I just feel like there are so many things it could be - reflux, milk allergy, gastro problem, allergy to our washing powder...???

I don't want to be one of those paranoid mothers who imagines a whole load of infirmities for her poor baby. But I also want to make him happier and can't bear to think he might be in pain or discomfort.

He also (and I don't know whether this is at all related) has always needed to have something in his mouth almost all the time. Dummy at first, and now that we're stricter about its use (just for naps) a bit of bread, a rice cake, anything edible and chewable.

Any ideas?

as far as i know nutramigen and neocate are only on prescription, could be wrong though. dont worry about being a paranoid mum, nobody knows your baby better than you do, mother always knows best lol

basically when my daughter was born she was 9lb 10 so she was a very big baby lol but she never started to really pile the weight on and sometimes when i got her weighed she would of lost it. she had really bad eczema on one side of her face and would scream for no reason at all. when she had a bottle i would make her 6 ounces and she would have about 2 or 3 then scream like mad it was almost like she just took enough to take the edge of the hunger off then bring her knees to her belly and scream. then one day her neck swelled on one side, and i am not joking you i cant put into words how big it was it was like she had swollowed a egg so she got admitted to hospital and at one point they thought it was a tumour because her blood results werent consistant with a infection but she had a scan and she was fine was a englarged gland due to a severe infection. she still wasnt gaining any weight hardly and i was at a mother and baby group where you can get them weighed and there was a different health visitor there, she'd lost more weight and this hv asked if there were any milk allergies in the family well i felt so thick i had one when i was a baby, so did my sister and so did 2 of my cousins!!so the more we looked at her symptoms the more obvious it was to me so she said to mention it to the consultant(we were goin for her follow up appointment the wk after) and the cons agreed with us,changed her milk and she was a completley different baby it was amazing the difference in her. and then at the allergy clinic we saw the specialist and he said what had most likely happened was that as she had bad eczama on one side of her face it would of cracked on the surface and she got a infection through that and it traveled straight to the lymph nodes which swelled up. as for breastfeeding, i bottle fed her and breastfed my eldest. i wish id breastfed her really now, not that theres anything wrong with bottlefeeding but would of been better for her as i dont drink milk, if i had another would def breastfeed as my eldest has allergies as well so would probs pass on again x

forgot to mention bad nappies as well really green, and she had phases were she'd perk up for a few wks like you mentioned. really hope u get to the bottom of it, doctors can sometimes be quick to dismiss it as overprotective mums but nobody knows that baby like you do and there maybe nothing in it but its always better to get that second opinion, and will put your mind at rest if nothing else hope this helps xx

Hrbu- de was born 9.1 as well and also dropped to a much, much lower percentile where he's since stayed. He's never had the rolls of fat other babies have, slim arms and legs and a round tummy that almost seems swollen rather than fat. He also used to really struggle against taking much milk, but that was even when breastfeeding.

He's been better at taking it since the reflux meds, but screaming hasn't improved.

Tried giving him aptomil comfort tonight and he wouldn't drink it. Ended up having to giv him the regular stuff instead. Sigh. Another day of full on screaming. So so tired.

I'd be really grateful if an outsider, someone with a little more perspective than me, could give me their dispassionate opinion on whether he could just be a 'spirited'/'high needs' baby.

If I carried him all day without putting him down, let him have a dummy at all times, and gave him CONSTANT distraction all the while, he'd probably not cry...

I'd be really grateful if an outsider, someone with a bit more perspective than me, could tell me dispassionately whether they think he could just be a spirited/'high needs' baby. If I carried him around ALL day, giving him constant new distractions all the while, he'd probably not cry at all...

Oops - sorry for mess above. Switched from iphone to a laptop to speed things up and had the wrong username in it!

lol no worries, my baby was on the 91st centile i think, the 2nd from the top and at her worst was the 2nd from the bottom. shes done really well now shes on this other milk shes gone up nearly 2 lines so shes still quiet a bit under but shes maintaning which is the main thing. i know what u mean about the rolls of fat my baby looks tiny compared to others her age a nurse at the doctors even asked if she was premature you should of seen her face when i told her she was 9.10 at birth!!i dont know really, i dont want to tell you he is when he might not be, but its worth mentioning to your doctor or health visitor definitly especially with the weight loss going on hope you get some answers soon x

You should try Nutramigen though the taste is not as nice as normal milk so it might take some adjusting for your LO. The doc can definetly give you a few bottles just to see if there is a change. Worked wonders for us.

Well, it sounds like the general verdict is that it's worth giving nutramigen a go. I'll try and get my GP to prescribe us some, if not then maybe I can bite the bullet and buy some myself from a pharmacy. Thanks so much for all the advice. I really, REALLY appreciate it.

Is he crawling yet? My DS would cry / yell until he was about 8mo old and started to crawl a bit. We had 8 miserable months of him needing to be shown things / carried / pushed in the pushchair so he could see the world go by. Meeting friends was dreadful as he wouldn't let me stand in one place and chat I had to wander round the room letting him look at things. It wasn't me he wanted, or to be jigged about a lot, just constant stimulation. He slept well at night and weight was fine though.

I hope you get to the bottom of it soon!

He is crawling, yeah! Like lightening, and has been for a good few weeks. We kind of hoped that might prove the magic solution too. Now we're thinking "maybe when he can walk????" DS sleeps pretty well at night too, that's what confuses me. He doesnt seem to fit the 'profile' of a colicky baby... And the fact that other babies yell a lot out of frustration has me worried that maybe I'm imagining illness where there is none... But he seems SO discontent so much of the time. Argh!

Your ds sounds like mine. Today I have been carrying him around a lot. As soon as I put him down he screams. He had reflux but stopped his meds at 7 months (2 months ago). However, he is still the same as he was, just that I could tell when it was reflux pain. I really don't know what his problem is. For 4 months we put it down to teething, he has 4 now and still reacts the same everyday! Me and DH keep telling ourselves that when he starts crawling it'll be better but he won't go on the floor to play (or even play at all!) How will he learn to crawl/ bum shuffle if he won't go down to practice! I think its frustration with my DS. If your DS is having 3 good meals a day and then needing special milk I would've thought you'd need to see a paediatrician for a proper diagnosis. If he were in pain he wouldn't be able to sleep so it sounds more like he is frustrated - like my DS. Just before my DS could sit he went through a really horrible phase of angry screaming at everything. Then as soon as he could sit up unaided he had about 3 weeks of nice long playing and calmness (thought we'd cracked it!). Then it all started again, at a much higher level! I think my neighbours must think I'm torturing him, they've got a lovely happy baby!!!

ginortea - my first Ds was a high needs baby, scaming like you describe it. he had colic too, but he was always very high maintenance. He is much better now (2.9). i think he got much better around 1.5 but then the scrrams were replaced by whinges...and tantrums... (ds2 arrived when ds1 was 16 months)
since he is 2.5 he is much much better (but still a "pain" iykwim...and very much a mummy's boy)
i wouldnt say it got better with walking, it was more a question of maturity and speech. when my DS was able to say "milk" and knew i understood him, he stopped screaming, and switched to whinging and saying milk. and then when he understood the concept of waiting, he stopped whinging for so long, just a little bit until he got the milk. now he can do full sentences, he really can understand that the milk is coming and actually "why is the milk white"..."why?".... "why?".... screams>whinges/basic speech> understand concepts/ideas + good speech>other interests (ie. why?)

hang in there, try a different formula if u want, carry him in a sling and give him lots of love, he will turn out a nice little boy :-)

(DS2 in comparison was so calm i thought something was wrong with him!!!)