7mo baby is always unhappy and so am I

[iamelectrogirl]

Hi, I'll try and make it brief
My DS (7 months) is a rubbish sleeper. He sleeps maybe an hour in the day and wakes up three or four times a night, often not going to sleep until 10 or after several hours of trying to get him down.
He throws up frequently, usually almost immediately after a feed (bf) and can carry on for several hours. He seems to be dairy intolerant (sick and diarrhoea after eating dairy) but I've been brushed off by drs who say he would have other symptoms such as bad skin.
Often he whines/cries all day. He will play for longer in the jumperoo but will only play for five or ten minutes otherwise. He also screams hysterically if he's put in his cot awake. I've tried lots of different methods, I've given him Gaviscon and elevated his head and changed his diet but nothing has helped. I feel like I'm going mad, I'm a single parent but I can't cope, all of my time is spent with a crying baby

oh gosh that sounds really hard.

I think break it down - first of all if he has bad digestion or allergies that will of course affect his mood and crying. Can you get him seen by a specialist in baby nutrition - have you tried cutting dairy?

Have you spoken to anyone at your local childrens centre about advice onefinding someone to help with that - throwing up frequently at that age sounds abnormal.

Remember - doctors are not experts (or anywhere near) on diet - you need someone who is a specialist.

It is so so hard when they are unhappy - does he have a dummy?

I don't know if this is possible for you but my final sugg estion is find some really good childcare for him so you can have a few hours off - by 7 months both my children d going to a childminder for a few hours while I started to work from home it mad e a HUGE difference to my mental state

I found a loving woman who was gentle and patient and they were in a home environment with one to one care - which is what I think is right for babies....someone who has had a lot of experience with babies will not find it as emotionally draining as you do if he cries...

sounds like he might have tummy problems so I do hope you egt it sorted and get some time off for yourself. Its hard!

poor you!! this sounds hard. Was there a time when it got worse or has he always been this unhappy? my ds has a cows milk allergy (as well as soya and eggs) and reacts through my breastmilk, have a look at cowsmilkproteinallergysupport.webs.uk for some information about symptoms and diagnosis. Theres also some good associated fb support groups. Lots of people have issues getting gps to refer them so if you really think dairy is the issue you might need to try excluding it from both your diets to see if it helps (dont use soya alternatives, its fairly common to react to both). But I definitely agree with pp about getting some time for yourself! hth

This sounds so difficult :(

Have you had a chance to talk about it all with a health visitor? It's good the docs have checked things out and found nothing medical, but it does no harm to discuss it again with the HV, as there might be something amiss.

Five or 10 minutes play before losing interest and wanting to do something else is absolutely normal - he probably needs your full attention after that time, and whines until he gets it? Normal, and exhausting when you are already tired and feeling overwhelmed. Going places where and your baby can meet and see others helps a lot - your HV should know of friendly groups in your neigbourhood.

Hope you get good support and help soon.