am losing it

[RachelsFirst]

help.
my ds has just turned 3 months. shes had awful colic and reflux since she was 3 weeks old and so has always been unsettled.
things were improving a couple of weeks ago and she was much happier and sang and laughed alot.
but now it seems like i'm back to square one. she yells and yells in the morning (not crying) and i presume shes hungry. as soon as i put her to the breast she screams and pushes me away and kicks and arches her back. she never did this with her colic or reflux though.
i try to put her down and she screams even more.
her hands are constantly in her mouth. could she be teething now??
at a total loss and my back is killing from holding her constantly..
help - am losing mind and sanity.....

rachel sorry you are having a tough time of it. I don't have much experience to draw on to help you but didn't want to leave your post unanswered. IIRC DS went through a phase like this and was screaming like he wanted food but then screaming when he got it, it was really stressful but it was just a phase.

It might be teething but then I've used that reason for all sorts which later turned out to be something else entirely.

One thing that worked well for us when DS was unsettled whilst feeding was gently talking to him or singing, it seemed to distract him from his unsettledness, enough for him to relax into feeding.

Good luck, and stay strong, it will pass! I promise.

thnx chocorange. feeling frustrated and upset but feel that i have to put on a brave face with family.
she screams so loud that even my singing is drowned out. am taking her to a cranial osteopath tomorrow and crossing everything in the hope that it helps...

Sounds to me like she Might need the loo!

Wish someone had told me to read this site before I had my wee one /www.tribalbaby.org/EChowwestarted.html. He was always wriggling, crying, not feeding properly. Then when he was six months or so I realied that he'd only poo when his nappy was off, so started sitting him on the potty for poos at nappy changes rather than have him pop on the changing mat. Then at 10 months or so he started only weeing at nappy changes too, so I got curious, started Reading up on elimination communication and was amazed. Now it's clear to me that when he was wriggly and crying when he was tiny he was trying to tell me he needed the loo and didn't want to do it in his nappy, or whilst he was feeding or in bed etc. I still can't believe it possible, he's one now and almost completely nappy free. All his own doing. I just realised and started helping him use the potty rather than leaving him to go in his nappy and then changing it.

Thought I'd post because what you say about your dd being wriggly and unhappy when waking and whilst feeding are classic times for offering the potty. Maybe try it and see if it helps? With your baby bring alot younger than mine was, you'll need to hold her over the potty, but the site I linked to tells you how.

Ofcourse it may nit be the case, but worth avtry, wish someone had told me!

I read about ear infections recently and symtoms include screaming etc but also refusing breast as the sucking motion makes the ear pain worse. Maybe take to doctors to get this checked?

I don't have any solutions I'm afraid but my DD is the same age as yours and acts in exactly the same way.

I also remember when DS was little he went through phases of acting like this as well. So perhaps it's quite common? I never got to the bottom of what was causing it but the phases never lasted long.

So this time I'm just trying to remain calm when she screams and am chanting This Too Shall Pass.

Have you and your baby been checked for thrush?

Rachel, is your DD on any medication for reflux?
My DS was like this before we got him on the right meds and the right dose. I started many threads here in utter desperation - he sometimes screamed his head off for hours and hours on end. He arched his back a lot as well and screamed every time I tried feeding him. This behaviour started when he was 8 weeks old.