Refusing Feed/trapped wind - any advice?

[Lovecat]

Hello, this is my first post and I hope someone out there can please help me, I'm at my wit's end!

My DD is just over 3 months old - I had to move from breast to bottle (aptamil) at 6 weeks as she was still jaundiced from birth and ever since then she's had what appears to be the most appalling trapped wind - although she always burps well, she will start straining and straining until numerous farts (sorry!) come out - by which time she's started to cry inconsolably. I've found that tummy massage helps a bit, and bicycling her legs, but the underlying problem hasn't been resolved. On advice from the Health Visitor, we moved her onto Omneo Comfort milk, she's now 1.5 weeks into it.

Now, I have no idea if this is connected or not, but last night at 6pm she refused to feed - arching her back, crying hysterically and thrashing around whenever the bottle came near her. Both myself and DH walked her around trying to comfort her until in the end she conked herself out. She was normal for her 11pm feed and slept through til 7am as usual, when she drained the bottle.

I was thinking this was a one-off until her 11am feed today when after having 2 ounces she started up again. The minute I took the bottle away, she was happy again... She's napping at the moment and I'm waiting to see what happens with her 2.30pm feed.

I've taken her to the doctor and the clinic with the crying and the stomach pain and apart from the suggested change in feed the response I've had has pretty much been 'well, babies cry, you know' and that's been about it.

Now she's refusing to eat I don't know what to do... How long should I leave this before taking her back to the doctor? I get the impression they think I'm a paranoid mother...

I suppose what I'm asking is could this be a sign of something else, underlying, being wrong with her? I'm beginning to wonder if it is just trapped wind, especially now she's not eating either.

Has anyone else been through this and did they manage to find a way to make it better? She's such a lovely, happy little girl when she's not straining so badly and it tears me up to see her so distressed...

Thanks

ok prob colic which is really painful..you can get infacol which is brill go get it now! and not being rude but do you wind her after her feed even if she falls asleep?

Have you tried laying baby on her tummy over your knees and rubbing back... ds was very windy and someone suggested it and it worked!!

Hi, thanks - she's been on Infacol ever since she was 2 weeks old - even when she was breastfed she'd gasp and gasp and swallow a ton of air before she'd latch on. I'm not sure if it's doing any good or if she'd actually be a lot worse without it...

You're not being rude at all she gets winded til she burps after every feed, it's very rare she falls asleep after feeding - I must admit, I don't know what the OH does at the 11pm feed because I'm in bed shattered by then, but I think he does the same... hmmm, must interrogate him tonight!

pmsl@the dh bit ...oh sweetie ,,really if you feel worried go and see or call your health visitor..your not over reacting your a loving mum.x

This sounds exactly like our dd1 was. I tried those Dr Browns bottles which helped, but the thing that really did it was putting her on lactose-free milk. SMA make it and you have to order it from the chemist. It smells like boiled cabbage but it did do the trick. SMA told me you need medical advice before you can use it; my GP said, 'Give it a go, it can't hurt'. At about five mo dd1 went onto Aptimil and she doesn't have a lactose problem now, it was only temporary. HTH

well? did you scutinise dh? how is bubby

Um I could be quite wrong but it sounds more like reflux than colic to me. Colic tends to be at a certain time of day, unconsolable crying for up to several hours and there is a definate pattern to it. Reflux can occur during a feed, straight after a feed or several hours after a feed. Classic symptoms can be arching and crying during feed, windy symptoms with difficulty expelling air from either end, constant hiccoughs, spilling or vomitting, pain when winding, wanting to feed constantly or totally refusal of feeds. For formula fed babies the type of formula may make a difference, some children get reflux symptoms as a reaction to dairy or soy and may need a specific formula. Other tactics to try with a refluxer are constant motion, short feeds often, keeping baby upright as much as possible, elivation of cot, winding several times during a feed and in some cases medication is also necessary.

I do agree with Saacsmum re colic. Both reflux and lactose intolerance are very different from colic and have definite causes. One thing to look for with a lactose problem is bloating - our dd1's tummy was just full of gas. Our gp did suspect reflux with our dd1 but it wasn't in the end.

Hi and thanks for all the advice!

I duly interrogated the OH and he swears blind that he winds her thoroughly...

She hasn't refused another feed since so I'm hoping it was just a one-off.

It's interesting that you bring up reflux (pardon the pun) as I thought she might have this back when she was still breastfed, as she had the arched back etc symptoms (although not to the same extent) and posseted continually (still does). She does get hiccups an awful lot, I never knew that could be a symptom... We asked if she could be tested at her 6 week checkup and have been given a hospital appointment for 30th June - it just seems a long, long way away at the moment... In the meantime we are trying to keep her upright as much as possible. Her tum isn't bloated so I don't think it's an intolerance of any kind - her cousin has coeliac (sp?) disease and his poor tummy was like a drum before it got diagnosed, so I'm as sure as I can be that it's nothing like that.

Having said all that, I was talking to the lady who shares my horse last night, she works in a special care baby unit and she said if we were still concerned she could ask a friend of hers who is a paediatrician to have a look at her privately - he's on holiday at the mo, but if she's still as bad next week when he's back we're going to take her up on this kind offer (thank goodness the OH has company health insurance...).

Thanks again for all the advice and support - it's nice to feel I'm not totally paranoid!

sounds like ds2 - who has mild reflux