Distressed baby - what else to do?

[curlyrebel]

Our baby is 5wo and constantly cries when not feeding or sleeping. We think he has wind/reflux. We've tried everything to soothe him - infacol, gripe water, dummy, sling, going for a drive, keeping him upright etc - but nothing really works.

Last weekend we took him to A&E. They checked him over, said he is putting on weight and is otherwise fine. They didn't want to give him infant gaviscon or rantidine. Apparently it can cause respiratory problems later...not sure if one of them or both?
They just gave us an advice leaflet to take away. It hasn't helped at all.

I've now registered him at my GP surgery and have booked him in for an appointment but am worried I'll just be turned away again. There has to be something that will help him surely? It's horrible to see him so distressed and it's really hard on me and my DH too.

You don't need a prescription for infant Gaviscon, or the alternative we used, Cow and Gate Carobel (which we found miles more effective than Gaviscon). It's okay to try them yourself.

Are you breast or bottle feeding? My first was like this, it was so distressing. I was breast feeding and one of the HV suggested going dairy free, which I did and it made a huge difference. He settled at about 15 weeks, so hang in there, it will get better!!

Hopefully your GP will help, most doctors understand that you no your baby and will listen to your instincts for stuff like this. My DD was in nicu for ages and was given gaviscon and various other things and they never mentioned respiratory problems there so it can’t be too big of an issue, hopefully the GP will explore it more with you

@UtterlyUnimaginativeUsername Infant gaviscon is for babies over 1 and it says should only be used for babies under 1 with medical supervision.
@Panicmode1 yes breastfeeding...I was wondering about that, thanks for the suggestion. It's worth a try. So yours still got distressed occasionally after cutting it out? 15 weeks sounds a long way off right now!

Thanks @Alb1. Did the gaviscon work for your DD?

Health visitor service will probably be more use to you in this situation than the GP, especially if baby has recently been checked over and all seems ok. Can you call them and arrange a home visit? They'll be able to spend more time with you discuss feeding, winding techniques etc. (and generally just have more experience!) than the GP.

Hope you get something sorted quickly

Either try Rantitadine (GP needs to prescribe) or go dairy free.

It did but she didn’t need to stay on it for long, her problems were probably from being so small rather than anything else. I heard good things about it on the ward though. Have you tried baby massage aswell? It doesn’t fix problems like this (I don’t think, I’m no expert) but the belly strokes can help relieve gas and to be honest I just felt better about having an extra thing to try when the crying was relentless. The health visitor came and showed us the basics

My ds was like this, he cried pretty much nonstop from 5wks to 12wks and nothing helped. It stopped eventually, that's all I can say!

My first baby was like this too. It was so hard. I would say 3-6 weeks was the absolute worst part. It got easier after that when she started smiling and I realised she didn’t hate me, and easier again at 15/16 weeks. Loads better after weaning at 6 months.

The Dr Sears information on high needs babies was useful. And seeing the lactation consultant helped too (she was tongue tied which meant she was swallowing lots of air.) Not sure the cranial osteopath helped but it was comforting and worth a shot! One of my mum’s friends gave me the advice that crying never sounds as bad outdoors so I spent hours walking her round (even though she rarely slept.)

Promise it gets better. Some babies hate being babies.

I would say if it doesn't ease, consider cows milk protein allergy. Mine had it and it presents are reflux with tummy ache.

My baby had reflux and was distressed and crying at feeds. So the opposite of what your baby does

Thanks everyone, some useful advice. He's not been too bad in the last day. I even got smiles this morning!

I've been feeding him whenever he cries (even if he has already been on the boob multiple times) and he settled quicker. So I'm starting to wonder if his cries are more for hunger and/or tiredness. It's so difficult to know! That's interesting about high needs babies @Gunpowder. It is entirely possible he's a baby that hates being a baby!

He is still vomiting after feeds. I'll see how he is in the next couple of days. Hopefully he will settle down without the need for any intervention.

I really hope he settles for you as I remember how draining and stressful it was. I’ve had twins since and even that was easier than my first!

Please don’t beat yourself up as it’s nothing you are doing wrong. You are doing the best you can in really difficult circumstances. You will look back and be so impressed you survived it. And if you have subsequent children you will realise how easy they are in comparison!

Oh and hurray for the smiles they make it all worth it.