Somebody please tell us what were doing wrong with this baby! All suggestions and advice much appreciated.

[Charleesunnysunsun]

DS2 is 5 months old and currently driving DP and i insane.
I'm not sure whats wrong with him, but he does nothing but scream.
He can't be put down, if we do he chokes himself from crying so much but still whinges and cries if he's picked up.
He hasn't eaten properly for the past 3 days either.

Ususally he is mixed fed with breast in the night and bottle and breast in the day, he has never been a great feeder and has always snacked on/off but this last week he has just had about 2-3 sucks on the boob then fallen into a light sleep before waking 5 mins later screaming.
Any bottle i get down him he brings back up. He is still however having 1 solis meal a day usually porrige or baby rice and he seems fine with it. On attempts to increse this he refuses.

Night times are the worst we haven't had any sleep for weeks now, he used to be a great sleeper waking only 1-2 times for a feed then streight back to sleep.
This past week or so he sleeps for 5-10 mins at a time untill midnight then he is away crying untill morning,
needless to say both DP and i are knackered especailly poor DP ho is up at 6am for work!

We have tried everything to make him happier and spent a ton on swings/slings and play gym ect to amse him but none of it has worked.

I am not sure if this is a medical thing so im taking him to get checked out on Wednessday, but he does have alot of red blotches on him not sure if this is related? apart from this i wouldn't say he was ill at all.

We are just at a loss as to what to do with him as much as i love cuddles it's getting rediculous as he is never put down! He co - sleeps with us aswell which i don't mind sd i love to feel him tucked in beside me but even then he doesn't sleep - help us please!

I am going offf line for a few housrs so please leave any feedback and i will return a.s.a.p

how long has he been like this, how long has he had the red blotches, does he have a temperature, I'd call NHS direct and speak to someone there.

Does he have reflux???? would explain erratic feeding and screaming - mine have never had it but sis's little one did and was given baby gaviscon??

Short term, have you tried Calpol at night, just to try and get some sleep for yourself?

i would get him checked out for a digestive issue such as reflux ... this can really unsettle babies. Also there are tons of viruses going around at the mo' - i think a full "health check" at the doctors would be a starting point

also, could he be over-tired? The more tired babies are the harder they are to settle and so get in a vicious circle of crying, and getting even more tired and harder to settle.

Watch your DS for his sleepy cues and at these signs (grizzling, yawning, pulling at ears, rubbing eyes) put him down for a nap

Sounds like reflux could be something to do with it, but no idea re red blotches. Hope things get better. You must be exhausted. Good luck xxx

Any chance of getting to doc's sooner? I know the receptionists have been to the same charm school as nightclub bouncers, but they should know to make an ASAP appt for a baby this little.

it would be strange for him to suddenly develop reflux if he'd not had an issue with it before now (but if he's always had feeding issues...)

when did he start the solid food? the red blotches could be a reaction to a new food (the porridge or rice). Tbh, I would stop the solid food altogether and see if it makes a difference. Could also be the formula if that has only just been started.

Calpol is paracetamol - unless there is actually something wrong that is causing him pain or he has a fever it won't help him sleep. Agree with over stimulation thing - and putting him in swings and play gyms etc won't help that to be honest. Have you tried just putting him in a sling (the fabric kind) and carrying him - maybe he just wants the body contact? Is your home very stimulating i.e bright colours, telly on a lot etc? Maybe getting him into a routine with naps etc would help him settle more at night - I sometimes feel with babies that the more they sleep, the more they sleep, IYKWIM. The snacking thing - maybe he does have a bit of colicy pain from this as when babies do that kind of snacky feeding they only get foremilk, which is a bit gassy. Maybe reduce the bottles and then make sure he has longer breastfeeds? Also look at the frequency of his feeds - maybe he isn't really hungry but just looking for comfort so other ways of soothing might help - a nice bath, a story, a walk in the pram? Sounds tiring, hang in there, some babies are just more high need than others. My DD1 was just like this but DD2 was a dream.

"it would be strange for him to suddenly develop reflux if he'd not had an issue with it before now (but if he's always had feeding issues...) "

Following on this, do this behaviour coincides with introduction of formula or perhaps solids? Or, if you are still breastfeeding, have you changed your diet lately?

Is he weeing and pooing ok? If it is a digestive problem or tummyache, this could be very important.

yup stop solid food, get him to doctor, then get him to cranial osteopath asap.

if you're in london i know a good un

I went to the emergency docs with my frends 4 week old baby on saturday, she is poorly with a cold but she is crying alot & staying awake, they said they thought it was reflux & gave her some baby gaviscon, the doctor asked if friends baby prefered to be held up rather than laying down, this was right because she likes to lie on shoulder.

She has been so much better since being on the gaviscon so it does help.

Go see your doctor tomorrow & i am sure it will help.

I agree i would take him off the solids for a while too.

hope he gets better soon x

Think there are few different issues

Long term always crying/never happy - check out for silent reflux - been thru this until dd3 was 6 months old she was miserable unless carried a certain way, finally they believed me - gaviscon solved it in a few days, no other symptoms apart from lots of belching/burps

The last few days - he sound ill, phone drs demand appointment, could be something as simple as ear ache - makes them bleedin miserable sleepwise, they seem okay apart from the can't sleep because it's too painful

Blotches could be food reaction or a rash because he is ill/coming down with a virus etc

Clarification would help us give better suggestions - cranial def worth a go too
HTH

Thanks for all you posts any tips/hints and advice are so welcome right now!

I do think he is overtired he has never had daytime naps but the thing is as soon as he drifts off he wakes again within minutes he seems unable to stay settled asleep.

I have tried a sling and our house is full of things for him to look at and we also go out alot of places to give the children a change of scenery.

We put him on solids on recomendation fromthe HV and he seems really happy and if anything gets worse when he is not on them but i am willing to give it a go again. At the moment he is only literally having 2-3tsps of plain baby rice or poridge
.

I would love to havehim ina routine but it seems impossible as like i say he wont go down for scheduled naps and he feess on and off for a few seconds each time during the whole day and night.

I would love tot ake himt o the dr's tomorrow but i do like to see one regular dr who isn't working and the dr who does work tomorrow is a really not nice lady.

Talking of Reflux though he has dropped off the wieght line the last few clinic visits ans he is a very sicky baby, could these all be symptoms? He does also hate laying down and is only ever happy when upright.

He has been a very whingy baby since birth and has always cried alot so this isn't really new i think its just beging to get to us after so many months.
I'm afraid i can't afford a CO as much as i would love to!

I feel crappy i love him so much i just want im to be happy, we do get ocassional really huge grins from him but not much.

Thanks for all your help keep it coming!

How long has he been on solids? The blotches make me think allergy (or virus) and it could easily be to the solids. A friend of mine's dd got serious reflux problems right around the time that she started introducing solids. She stopped on solids for a couple months and now that she is a bit older, things seem ok. I'd definitely try to go to a doctor as soon as you can.

good luck and hang in there!

yes sound like reflux to me

DD3 (silent reflux) NEVER slept during the day apart from 2 min cat naps ever now and then and would wake up screaming.

Thank goodness she slept 9ish hours at night (and that was it) I think that was because she was so knackered as 9/24 is far from the 16/24 that she needed

they kept telling me it was a touch of colic....

just say you want to try infant gaviscon to rule out acidic reflux, it can take 2-3 days to really make a difference (as they will still be sore from a few months of acid burn up the throat)

It won't harm him if he hasn't got reflux and it will rule it in/out

Be firm your sanity needs it - and the consultant told me it can start at any age!

definintely sounds like reflux. loads of the same symptoms as my dd.
similarly, my dd was sicky generally and then all of a sudden it got a lot worse and she was inconsolable - I think she was just really hungry.
infant gaviscon saved my life!

Deffo going to ask g.p for infant gavascon!
It really sounds similar DS seems to be always starvng but wont eat! Poor thing

I just so know what you've been going thru - I went back to work to escape from the constant misery - such sad memories and the HV ignoring me saying - there's something wrong until I couldn't fight anymore.

Hugs x

maybe being daft, but any chance he is just teething?

I am just wondering what sort of labour and delivey you had? Difficult or instrumental delivery can lead to misalignment {spine) problems that cause chronic discomfort. Cranial osteopathy can be the answer in these cases.

You didn't mention whether his bowels seem to be functioning normally. Just wondering about intolerance/allergy or even constipation?

I am off to bed now, and will be away from computer for the next few days. I do hope the GP will be able to help. Will be thinking of you. (Ds1 was a truly AWFUL sleeper. We had noisy neighbours and he was a very light sleeper. Also, MIL always went and picked him up out of his cot or pram to give him a cuddle, even when he was fast asleep, she wouldn't leave him in peace, and I am sure that really contributed to making him very jumpy. I used to have to leave the radio on very quietly next to him in order to mask any other sudden external noises like doorbell etc and that did help a lot).

Thanks for your replies everyone they are much appreciated.

I have had him up the dr's today and told him the symptoms he has reffered us to the Peadiatrician at our local hospital who specialises in the gut area. We have met him before he is lovley although there is a 2-4 month waiting list to see him!

R.E his bowels, he has very loose stools that are bright yellow or green full of mucus. (tmi!)

I had a very calm but quck delivery with no intervention at all.

And yes he is teething which is why he has suddenly got worse but it has been going on since he was born i wwas jsut hoping it was colic an would go away!

The G.P wieghed him today and in 2 weeks he has dropped from the 25th percentile to the 9th rather suddenly he seemed more worried about that so hopefully the hosp appointment wont take to long!

I did mention reflux which he said is entirley possible but he wants all areas covered.

Ir's becoming totla dejavu we had this with DS1 who we were told for 2yrs had a milk intolerence like me when i was a kid, turns out he has Cystic Fibrosis instead! Luckiny DS2 has been tested and is totally clear so thats a load off my mind!

Thanks again