5 week old, writhing in agony, not sleeping, feeding all the time = one very tired, grumpy, exasperated mum....

[Jaysecond]

Ok so i know babies cry, and i know things are not easy in the first few weeks, but this is taking things to a whole new level.

He woke up this morning at 5.30 (after waking every 2ish hours all through the night) and has had about two hours (very broken) sleep since... when hes awake hes screaming his head off and writhing about, bringing his knees up , arching his back and generally looking like he has the worst case of constipations ever...now i know all about reflux and about lactose intolerance, i tried coming of dairey for a whole week and it made no difference whatso ever, i dont thikn its reflux, (although i thought it was silent reflux at first) as he has so much farty gas its unreal, not a trait of reflux. His stomach is constantly making churning gurgling nosies and sounds like hes hungry, you know your self when you have that empty feeling and the noises your tummy makes.... he can fart for about two hours, and we are not talking little biddy ones, but real MAN type ones, this seems to momentarily releve something, but within minutes hes back to square one. Nothing i do, other than feeding him consoles him, but there lies another problem, i think i am feeding too much as he never feeds for long and in my opinion isnt getting enough if any, of my hind milk, so begins the cycle of it all, screams in agony, console with feed, quick feed, gas bulid up, sleep for no more than two hrs, wakes feeling hungry and due to gas build up...... i really dont know what to do for the best, its driving me and DH mad as we are not getting any sleep whatso ever, the doctor thinks he is ' one of those' babies but i want to know what i can do to alliviate it... tried infacol, tried gripewater, and am now trying a homeopathic remedy called Colcythis, i also know that it wont go on for ever, but at this moment in time i could happily SCREAM and send him back from whence he came ( although that might be painful)

Does ANYONE have any advice, suggestions ,helpful hints or expierence in this i am at my wits end.....

Jay I had this with ds1 15 years ago and then dd but not quite as bad. I know how hard it is. I have no new advice but give you all my best wishes and hope it settles very soon.

Jay, so sorry you're going through this if it's any consolation so am I. I've had it as well with my other 2 boys, not the girls though. It seems to be much more a boy thing , I'd forgotton though what with it being 7 years since I last had a boy.

I feel like shit. Exhausted, useless mother etc. etc. I'm desperate to find some of that colocynth but don't know where to get hold of some. DOES ANYONE KNOW PLEASE??!!

All Ronnie wants to do is suck from about 2pm to 9pm if he's doing anything else he screams. He won't take a dummy. I don't feel as if I've bonded at all with him.

What I do know though is that it will get better. My ds1 very miserable with tummy probs, screamed and screamed, nothing would stop it. But at about 3 1/2 months he transformed into a delightful little baby. Hang on in there {{{hugs}}}

Sorry you are going through this.Have not read rest of thread and am sure that someone will have suggested this but have you considered silent reflux?My second had this and did not get diagnosed until nearly 6 months of complete misery

She had all the symptoms your little one is exhibiting:

Really unsettled and screamy.
Frequently waking from sleep screaming and unsettled.
Frequent feeding and fussing at the breast.
Frequent bouts of inexplicable inconsolable screaming.
I also cut out dairy and tried all the colic remedies to no avail.

I think that if you google "GERD in infants" you may come up with some signs and symptoms a little light went on when I found this.DD although she didnt sick up any feeds would just fed constantly and be very uncomfortable.Basically she was regurgitating acid from her tummy and it was burning her throat,and the feeding was the only thing that would alleviate the discomfort Poor little thing.She also had some of the other symptoms-neck arching in a peculiar manner (Sandifers sign) and lots of colds/respiratory wheezes,ear infections and bad breath.....she was much better when we got infant gaviscon and she could be upright. HATED being laid flat.Tilting your cot might help.Some babies with severe reflux also need other tummy meds like ranitidine if gaviscon does not work.HTH

thanks for your advice and support ladies. I have been using the colocynthis and it does seems to be alleviating some of his symptons, but hes still having episodes of the uncomfortable painful squirming and writhing... seems the colocynthis helps pass his wind a bit quicker than norm, but the actual movment of the gas through his bowels still seems to be the problem for him. Am going to continue with it for a few more days though, i havnt given the Gaviscon anymore since giving it twice, i figured i have to try one thing at a time or else i wont know whats what.

Kitty, sorry you are having it bad also with similar symptons. If you want i can tyr and get you colocynthis at the pharmacist where i got mine from and then post it on? it was about 4 pounds but I believe some doctors do perscribe it, but only if they are 'into' the homeopathic remedies.

Will look at GERD on google Wrinklytum. Sorry your LO wasnt diagnosed till so late, it seems to be very common that. Glad things are now better for her, and you

Jay, that would be good, thanks. I started giving him some COLIEF today, it's a bit of a pain, but he's been crying less. We still have had bouts of him being alseep and then sudden really high pitched shrieking almost, poor love

Oh i really feel for you, both my children displayed these symptoms and eventually were diagnosed with silent reflux. Once treated i had different babies, honestly. Please get to a gp or paediatrician and explore this possibility,as you say at least then you will ahve explored all potential causes. in the meantime take any offer of help that you can get...
HTH, and hugs..

I used Colief to with my DS. It worked amazingly. I BF and just expressed a a small amount of milk first and then syringed it into DS mouth. A bit of a faff but really worth it. I also got it prescribed by my GP as it can be expensive.

Poor you - it's miserable isn't it, especially when you're so tired. I agree with Kitty - it will pass, if you can bear it for just a few more weeks. My ds2 was very unsettled with colicky pain, but is now 14 weeks and in the last week I've noticed we're suddenly having more good days than ones where I'm weeping in a corner while ds2 wails and ds1 wails because, well, isn't everyone?

I know you posted this a very long time ago but I wondered if you ever found a solution? I have a 6 week old with the same problem