Scream feeding - I don't where else to turn

[frazzled2mummy]

My ds is 16wks a twin (not sure if it's relevant) for the last 3 or 4 wks my son screams while he has his bottle. I've been prescribed colief, that made no difference, told to use comfort milk, the same, sma stay down again no difference.
He's never sick but at his regular feeding times I put the teat in his mouth he'll have a few mouthfuls then SCREAMS, his arms and legs start thrashing around and he arches his back. I was convinced it was silent reflux and eventually was prescribed infant gaviscon which seemed to work for 2 days.
He seems so hungry and eventually with some bottles I cam get him to take more than the usual 2oz. He's putting on weight so the health professionals seem less than interested.
Feeding time has become so unbelievable stressful for both of us. His twin sister only has 2-5oz per bottle so neither are big eaters. I have to older children too so feel at my wits end trying to look after a stroppy ds(4) and a lil madam dd(20mths).
Has anyone experienced the same or have any idea wat the problem could be I really do look forward to hearing from u.
Thanks

Ah nightmare.

What bottles/teats have you tried?

The only thing that helped my DS was having comfort milk in a Dr Browns bottle.

I think this meant it didn't gush out at him.

Is anyone else able to take over at all?

frazzled,

My DD was exactly the same at this age. It's horrible isn't it? I got all the reflux meds as well, but nothing really seemed to work. What made a difference, was to feed her less. I was on a (very roughly) a 3 hour routine as that had been what worked when she was a very small baby. Once I started feeding her roughly four hourly it seemed to sort itself. I see you have other DCs, so you'll be much more experienced than me, but I think I was misreading her and thinking she was hungry when she wasn't.

Having said that, it might have been a coincidence and it would have sorted itself out. I would say the screaming thing lasted about 3-4 weeks.

A friend of mine had the same problem: tried all the Gaviscon etc with no results. She eventually got prescribed a medicine called "MUPS". This sorted her baby out in a matter of days. However, the medicine is very expensive and is usually used for adults. Her sister is a DR and suggested it. I aksed my GP for it and he wasn't keen to prescribe it, but it might be something you could look into.

I hope you get is sorted. I found this period utterly soul destroying.

I use tommee tippee bottles but have tried others with no improvement. I feed the twins 4 hourly and ds appears hungry when I do.
Whats MUPS to treat so I can ask the doc am going to try and take him back next week.
I breast feed my 1st 2 until they were 5mo so I'm pretty new to bottle feeding. I did breast feed the twins for 6wks but was difficult with 2 other dc.
I'm thinking of starting solids to see if it helps at all?? Just Dobt know what else to do

my son ended up on lactose free milk which helped so much, he also had reflux but once he was toddling it subdued. i thought the gaviscon was crap (sorry very honest) we had 4 mnths of screaming his head off, losing weight, the trots etc. it might be worth while changing his milk - good luck cos i know its really difficult x

Poor you. Nothing more to add really. I feel your pain though!

I think the MUPS is to treat reflux/stomach acid type complaints. My GP prescribed Zantac(?) in its place. I think it costs about $300 per bottle so is very expensive and it is more commonly used in America. However, it is avaliable here and my GP was aware of it.

My friend who did use it said it had the most amazing results and she swears by it.

If you google "MUPS" there is a bit of information around on it. It does seem to have good results.

I really hope you get something sorted. i only have one DC and it was so stressful and distressing when this happened. I can't imagine how you're coping with this and 3 other DCs. Respect!!

I had the same gaviscon helped a bit but didn't cure it. We were reluctant to try any of the stronger medications as they sounded so harsh so just rode it out. She was a vomiter and vomited until she was three years old when a pediatrician suggested cutting dairy out of her diet. We did and it worked!

They said to have a break from dairy and go back to it after a few months to give her stomach a chance to repair itself. She took back to dairy just fine and hasn't vomited since.

If i could go back i would insist on seeing the pediatrician when she was a baby or at least much younger. I would have also have looked into dairy free formula.

It never occurred to me that it could be dairy because she was having expressed breast milk. I didn't realise she was still getting it through my milk!

I'm thinking on asking to see a paediatrician but would feel terrible if there was nothing wrong?? I've just bought soya milk to give that a try.
Have had a bad morning and had a cry myself! Just feel awful I can't help my baby

Bless you frazzled! Have you tried Dr Brown bottles? I ebf but my friend swore by them when she had trouble feeding her LO. I think they work by slowing the flow of milk.
Re reflux. I ended up with my DD on ranitidne which helped. Prescribed by dr. It's pretty potent stuff and I took her off of it at 4mo but it did more than the gaviscon ever did. And much easier to give when bf than gaviscon.
You say he's putting weight on and that's the main thing, but it doesn't help when you're feeling like you can't help your baby. You must be shattered. Big hugs!

Oh Frazzled. You poor thing. I think you should ask for a referal to a paediatrician. There is somethiing wrong: your baby is screaming when you feed him.

It's terrible isn't it? Feeding is supposed to be a lovely, nurturing time and it's horrible for you and him. Have you anyone else around who could take a shot?

Maybe the soya milk is the answer and it's all going to be fine now?

Only family around is my other half who is amazing with ds(4) and dd(20mo) but he doesn't have the patience with the twins. I think it's a man thing.
I've given him 1bottle of soya and he took 4oz but was starving as had only had 4oz since 2.30am he's due his Nxt feed in about 25mins so fingers crossed. Thank u for all your support been going out of mind and felt like I was going mad! X

Fingers crossed for you! I would def speak to your HV and GP. I don't know how good a substitute soya milk is plus you don't just want to assume he's dairy intolerant. Hope you get this sorted soon. You're an amazing mummy...remember that! 4 kids...I couldn't do it! x

Unfortunately I've tried everything else buttonboo? So at this point it is an assumption. And he was just crying for a feed so made bottle of soya milk up and put teat in his mouth. He had a few mouthfuls but then the screaming has started again.
I'll have to go back to the gp Wednesday and ask to see a paediatrician we can't go on like this its not fair on any of us. But am I the only one that wen u take a child to the gp they make u feel like ur making things up?! Or making a mountain out of a molehill? I rarely take the kids to the gp these days, don't want to seem like a neurotic mother!!

Nope, been there done that too. Neurotic mother I mean! When DD was 3 wks old she screamed non-stop (and I mean non-stop) for 3 hours. I called out of hours GP and they came out at 2am, by which point she was snoozing peacefully in her cot. Felt like a right idiot as I'm sure he thought 'first time mum' etc etc. When I took her to the GP the first time with reflux as I couldn't lay her down, she just screamed and screamed. I had to walk there (DP had car at work and I couldn't face getting on a bus with her screaming and everyone looking, rolling their eyes) and it took me half an hour as half way I had to pick her up and carry her in one arm, whilst pushing pram with the other. I got there and the minute I walked in the door she stopped crying and when we saw the Dr she was smiling away etc. He just said, 'she looks ok to me'. They were only really concerned about her having wet nappies and not much else. He proceeded to tell me how he 'walked the floor for hours' with his 3 when they were young. I left feeling a complete idiot and yes, as soon as we got outside, she started howling again!!!
Do whatever you need to do to get some fluids in him and then see your GP next week. Hope your weekend goes ok...

Frazzled,

It's strange isn't? I was so upset about my DD being like this, but I felt exactly like you do about taking her to the Dr. But he was very nice about it. Someone suggested to me filming the screaming when feeding on a phone to show the GP. I dind't end up doing this, but it might be an idea?

I really hope you get this sorted. Come back and let us know how you are getting on. In the meantime, good luck. I feel for you. I wish I could do something to help you. It sounds like you've got your hands full!

www.mamonlineshop.com
MAM bottles are AMAZING, my friends baby was really struggling until she tried one of these and Aptamil comfort easy digest milk...she never looked back after making the switch!!!! Good luck!

Could it be teething? If he is only screaming when feeding it sounds like the actual feeding itself is hurting, whereas with an intolerance/reflux he would keep crying afterwards and in between feeds.

Try some bonjela 20min before a feed and see if it helps...

Is he over hungry? Maybe he's a snacker & would rather have 'little & often'? (not easy for you I realise). Which teats are you using? My DD3 sucked strongly so she's always been on the next teat before recommended, otherwise she'd get frustrated & cry (flattening them at some times!). May sound daft but any chance the 4 yr old can help you feed him as often they become more focused on them than the feed, even if only for an ounce or 2!

We had the same problem and it was reflux and diagnosed milk protein intolerance at 1 year. I would also recommend dr browns bottles. What helped us during the screaming while feeding was white noise. Would put kettle on or run tap when she started screaming and it would calm her down, bit awkward to do but usually worked and once calm could move to a more comfortable place. Good luck it really is awful.

have a similar thing going on with my 11-week old, although with daughter NOT gaining enough weight causing lots of HV concern. Nothing works for us but this - definitely not a miracle cure, but helps:

give baby bottle until they start the screaming part. Stop, burp them and allow them to calm down (we use a dummy to do so and it works quite well). We then give our baby the next bit of the bottle while gently bouncing on the birthing ball or rocking and shhh-ing her, stopping to wind her and calm her with dummy as much as is needed. A change of room or turning the TV on mid-feed sometimes helps for some reason, distraction maybe! It takes quite a long time, but she has become more relaxed during feeds since we've done this, and we now only need to stop 4-5 times to get her to take 120ml (sorry don't do oz!) as opposed to 20+ times! Possibly bad habit forming, but you do what you have to do for your child's health and your immediate sanity!

Gripe water sometimes helps a bit but is vile!

We thought it was reflux or possibly dairy intolerance, paediatrician disagreed and said it was just one of those things (sigh!). Haven't got to the bottom of it yet but I am beginning to think she just suffers very badly with wind for whatever reason.

We saw a cranial osteopath this week and, while she's not that much calmer (a little, perhaps), she's A LOT hungrier.

Really do feel your pain. I've cried a lot of tears about it, dreaded feeds, especially night feeds.

I had this with dc2 and dc3 - it is really awful! Mine would never take bottles at all so I persevered with bf. It started around 6 weeks and I don't remember it happening anymore once they were on solids around 5 months. It was difficult to go anywhere as they would need feeding so I would sit down in a cafe, they would suck until the milk started to come out, then pull away and scream leaving me sat there with milk spraying everywhere! It was a hard time as DH would end up having to take the other dcs out and I would stay at home trying to feed the screamer. They would never take a good feed so wanted to suck all the time.

We never got to the bottom of it - tried everything - but it DOES get better.