My baby cries all day everyday

[Stephenie51]

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
My LG is 5 weeks old and from about a week old she has cried all day everyday (some days slightly better than others) she suffered from constipation at first and I was advised to change her milk so we did and everything started to come regularly so I assumed the crying would get better (I was wrong) if anything it got worse, I’ve been to the doctors a number of times once to be told there’s nothing wrong with her and she’s probably just having a “bad day” another thought she might have reflux so prescribed infant gaviscon, this did nothing then the last time the doctors said she might have a cows milk allergy and prescribed aptilmil pepti, if anything this made things worse her feeding went horrendous she wouldn’t take it and screamed even more I tried this for a few days then stopped because she was drinking so much less than normal.
She also seems to cry when trying to poo even though she is going at least once a day.
She also guzzles her bottles down like no tomorrow and gets bad trapped wind and when she feeds she spills a lot out the sides of her mouth and sometimes chokes and coughs.

Ive tried everything from infacol, colief, gripe water , changing to a bigger size teats and paced feeding nothing works

I’m literally at my wits end I’m a first time mum and I can’t help feeling like a massive failure.

Thanks for any advise in advance
Steph x

My baby had 3 month colic and was similar, with non stop crying. Infacol might help, maybe it's a milk allergy, so maybe try a non milk formula? It stopped at 3 months to the day. Couldn't believe I actually put him down and he didn't wake up. I used a sling and co slept so he could breastfeed as that eased it. A dummy may ease the colic.

Sucking eased the colic. It's a nightmare

Are you using the newborn size teat?
It shouldn't be spilling out of her mouth....

Honestly, you're not a massive failure!
My gut instinct says silent reflux which could be related to a cow's milk intolerance. I would go back to the dairy free milk, stick to the newborn teet sizes, feed slowly, infacol straight after feed and a dummy if she'll take one (the sucking apparently helps to keep it down and stop the reflux). Also trying keeping her in as upright a position as possible - either prop her cot up at the head end, sling, or even the car seat if that helps.
Can you contact your health visitor on the phone?

I had her on aptimil pepti that the doctors prescribed over the phone for 3 days and she went from having 4 ounce bottles to drinking bearly one and screaming even more than before, I did suspect reflux but the gaviscon didn’t really do much so thought that might not have been it, I’ve also been reading up about tongue tie, I don’t know if it’s one thing or a combination of things that’s going on and I’m driving myself and my partner insane googling stuff.

Thank you all for the advice really appreciated x

It could be silent reflux which is basically heartburn. I had to try baby gaviscon and ranitadine before a pedeatrician prescribed me dissolvable Omeprazole (Losecs Mups) which helped massively. He was on a daily dose for six months. I think a lot of the time it happens due to an immature gut and it will sort itself out but it's very hard to deal with when you have a screaming baby that you can't console.

I would recommend you introduce the pepti gradually: make bottles that are a mix of usual plus pepti, gradually increasing the proportion of pepti to usual until she’s used to the taste.

Ask the GP about proper meds for silent reflux, such as omeprazole. It’s a pain to administer but can make a huge difference.

Concur with a PP, keep your baby as upright as possible as much as possible. Sling, rocker, just holding upright. We used a wedgehog in our baby’s cot to tilt her mattress up, but a large lever arch fodder works just as well.

Wean at 17 weeks (controversial, so I’ll say no more!).

Ours was an awful screaming baby, eternally miserable and a great source of pain for me until she was about 6/7 months. I suppose when a baby is in pain, they’re gonna scream, as I imagine I would with all the acid going up my windpipe.

My daughter is out the other side now, but there’s a reason she’s still an only child at nearly 3 years old...

Your baby sounds exactly how my friends daughter was with silent reflux. I would suggest asking for a referral to a paediatrician. Medication really helped. They were also advised to wean early. I think they used a wedge pillow in the cot and liked the baby Bjorn bouncer as guy could adjust the angle of the bouncer. It’s not anything that you are doing wrong. Xxx