Terribly unsettled baby HELP!

[KerrieBu]

Advice needed!

My daughter is currently 5 weeks old and seems to be unsettled and crying constantly. She was on Cow & Gate stage 1 however was very unsettled and suffered terribly from wind.

About 10 days ago our hv told us to try the C&G comfort milk however I don’t think it’s made much of a difference.

She seems to just be constantly crying and it’s driving me and my partner mad as we feel at this point we have near enough tried everything. Infacol, dentinox, gripe water, colic granules and nothing works. I dread feeding her as I know she’s just going to be so unsettled and crying after.

Her pain seems like it’s very very sore on her but I don’t know what it could be, whether it’s her stomach or wind. She cries to the point were she’s struggling to breath, bringing her legs up, turning red and the tears are rolling down her face and nothing we do helps. This pain times is to the point where it wakes her out of her sleep.

She’s very very hard to wind a lot of the time (sometimes taking about an hour and a half to even get a pathetic burp up) and cries and winces every time she tries to push a fart out to the point were we would have to help her get it out. Even after getting wind up she still seems to be in pain and FULL of wind. Her crying also seems to be a reason why she’s giving herself such bad wind, as she gulps while crying.

She seems a lot worse in the evenings and one evening cried constantly from about 4 pm to about 2am before she went to sleep.
She also has had a red rash for about 3 weeks that isn’t going away and tends to never really finish her bottles and a lot of the time throws her bottles up and spews. And hiccups nearly after every bottle (really painful deep sounding ones).

We went to many dr’s and a lot of them sent us away saying she’ll grow out of it however went to another today and she prescribed us cream saying her rash was eczema and that her unsettleness could be somewhat caused by that and also gave us carobel for her milk to stop her being sick as she said her throat is red and she probably has reflux.

Gave her the second bottle of it not to long ago and she’s still screaming in pain. Don’t know what else to do

Should I try her with the carobel on the first milk again or persevere for another couple of days? The crying and dealing with her like that is getting more difficult

Forgot to mention that she always looks to suck her dummy or feed and I think it’s to try and dim the pain! Obviously doesn’t work after a short minute or so as the dummy gets spat out and the crying begins again.

Hey there,
When you say "crying constantly" do you mean constantly as in nothing no matter what will distract her or stop her crying? If so I believe an urgent trip to the doctors is required. I would probably call your healthline and see what they recommend.
Is there any chance she is constipated? Are her movements regular (or as regular as you can tell at that age)?
If the pain is caused by eczema, a luke warm bath with some oilatum or oat based bath product would probably soothe it temporarily so that might help give an indication of diagnosis.
If she has severe allergies, the milk type could also be causing the eczema flare ups.
I know it is annoying I would probably go back and see your GP again. Ask for a recommendation of an allergen safe baby formula brand to use. (Goats milk based ones are the best if you can afford it) They might be able to prescribe you one.
If it is eczema, there has been some studies recently on a strain of probiotic that has been shown to help eczema and could also help with her digestive issues. It comes in a powder so it can be given to little ones. It is called Lactobacillus Rhamnosus. Not sure what country you are in so I can't recommend a specific product I am afraid.

I’ve come to hand hold OP, I’m trying to get my own very unsettled 5 week old to sleep

How much is she sleeping during the day? Is she over-tired? My DD was exactly how you describe at that age.

Have any of the GPs spoken to you about allergies?
My baby had similar symptoms when he was that age and it was a dairy allergy.
We had a bit of a mission getting GPs to fully understand how bad he was, it wasn't until the HV say him vomit up a full feed that we were properly referred.
I would go back to the GP again

You little one sounds exactly like my first. He was also prescribed Carobel and was a nightmare to wind.

Start with the carobel straight away in the first stage milk. It can take some time to get the thickness right to suit your baby but persevere it should help although it won’t be instantaneous.

Things I found that used to help with wind
Warm bath
Baby massage
Tiger in a tree hold
Walking up and down the stairs wish DS over my shoulder
Gripe water
Teething powders

Stick with the carobel for a few days and see if it improves, if it doesn’t go back and there are other medications they can prescribe. If your DD also has eczema it might be worth looking into CMPA.

It’s bloody hard work. I promise you it does get better. You are doing an amazing job.

I was just about to say, it does sound very like an allergy. Have you tried baby massage to help with the tummy pain?

I find bicycling my DS legs, and also lifting his feet up helps encourage him to fart. Also moving him around, so hold him up high on your shoulder for a few min, then cradle him in your arms, then sleeping tiger, then lay baby on the change mat etc.

That may help the symptoms, but allergies need a doctor visit. Good luck, it's so hard when you have a crying baby that won't stop!

Crying as in normally when she starts she is a nightmare to stop again. It seems she only stops when whatever she is crying about (be it pain) stops or fades off. And I was only at the doctors today and explained all this however the stuff for eczema and carobel is all that she gave me and if it doesn’t work she said to come back. And I’m not to sure if she is constipated she would have about 1 poo everyday or sometimes 1 every 2 days. And it would be very VERY smelly and quite dark. I was also looking into probiotics however haven’t got to the point of buying any. And I’m in Northern Ireland!

And her sleeping can be all over the place. Today she slept a good amount while we were out and about however a LOT of the time she fights her sleep or is to in pain to stay asleep for long before she wakes up screaming again. I would put her in her cot as soon as I see she’s tired and she will just sit constantly and look around her for ages before either drifting off or more than likely start crying again

So sorry to hear you are going through this.

Sounds very like reflux connected to cow's milk intolerance or allergy to me. The eczema on top of the other symptoms makes Cmpi/a a likelihood.

Go back to the GP and push for a) reflux meds, and b) hypoallergenic formula. They will likely make you try the reflux meds first. If they try Gaviscon, this just does the same thing as Carobel, so no real point (and causes constipation, i.e. another pain-causing condition ). Next thing they will try is Ranitidine, which makes the stomach less acidic. After that it's a PPI like Lansoprazole or Omeprazole, but in some areas GPs are not allowed to prescribe this, and the baby needs to be seen by a paediatrician/paediatric gastroenterologist first.

They are generally reluctant to prescribe the hypoallergenic milks because they are expensive, but it would be apparent within 2-3 weeks if it wasn't the issue after all. I would really push for that as a trial.

We went through all this with our DD now 3, 2who is dairy, gluten and soy intolerant, plus also intolerant of loads of fruit and veg. She is starting to grow out of it now, but these poor kids begin life in a lot of pain. I hope you get some proper help soon.

No Dr has mentioned allergies yet but I’ve been starting to think it could be however I’m not 100%..I’m assuming if this carobel doesn’t work I’m hoping maybe they’ll look into her issues further.

I’m currently putting the carobel in her C&G comfort milk (only a small amount for now) to see how she gets on as the comfort milk is already quite thick. I’m not sure if it’s the comfort milk making her sore and I don’t know whether to move her back onto her stage one as it says the comfort milk can take up to 2 weeks to come into effect.

And we’ve tried everything to get wind out and help try ease the pain in her stomach, belly massage, leg cycling you name it and sometimes a small bit of wind comes out but not even half of what is stuck inside her.

Currently 1:45 am and she’s yawning but lying in the cot beside me looking around left and right as per, I’m just waiting for the crying to start 😣

see another gp, get another opinion...sounds like milk intolerance possiblly allergy

oh bless you...still awake
if she starts up screaming again, perhaps a warm bath might relax her tummy and get a bit of wind out x

Definitely sounds like reflux/allergy, keep pushing GP. Maybe keep going through HV?

She could also (as a symptom of her being so uncomfortable from reflux) be overtired? My little boy fought sleep from early on and he just constantly constantly fed. If he was having a poor sleeping day (most days) he would get really bad hiccups. Even now at nearly 2 if he is hiccupy I always know he needs a longer nap/earlier bedtime. You'll find ways to get her off to sleep in time but most babies with reflux wont just drift off lying flat in cot, they are in too much pain in that potision. My little boy wouldnt fall asleep without being fed or cuddled or rocked until a LOT older.

Until you get GP sorted out a great way to soothe extended crying is taking her in a deep bath with you. Get someone to help you and watch the temperature but they love swimming about and the comfort of the hot water on their sore tummy.

Sounds so similar to my son. Was told colic and to wind him properly Turns our he's not great with dairy or soy. Ended up on prescription milk and it's made such a difference. My GP was next to useless but my health visitor was amazing and pushed the gp. He also has reflux. Once we got all the meds right, he was and is, great.

Sounds a bit like what my LB had, the GP put him on Ranitadine for silent reflux.

I think they go through a leap at 5 weeks ish so that could also be making it worse. Have a look at the wonder weeks app if you haven't already done so, it gives me hope! 😂

Definitely sounds like a milk allergy - poor baby being left in pain. Would they leave an adult in so much pain?

Film your daughter when she’s screaming post feeds, go back to your GP and say you want to try dairy free formula.

Unfortunately she hates baths, screams even more when she’s in them! Can’t win unfortunately

She probably is overtired a lot of the time as I think the crying in general tires her out even more. But I’ve came to the realisation now that gp’s can be a bit useless so will definitely try and push more with the HV. My HV however was all messed over for a long while there and I ended up with a HV that only works two days a week and I forget her name as I’ve only met her once so would be embarrassed to ring not knowing who I’m ringing for

She is however coming on the 13th of December back out to see me however I’m thinking now I don’t know if I’ll be able to wait that long so don’t know what to do.

But if it stays like this for much longer I will definitely film her to show the HV and doctor as she is normally good as gold when their around and perfectly fine lol

When I went to my GP with a screaming baby I purposefully fed him about 20 minutes prior to the appointment so when I got in the doctors room he was screaming!!!!!

Milk allergy can be very very painful for babies and it can damage their gut so please don’t leave it until the 13th of December. Try and get an appointment today and don’t let them brush them off.

I genuinely can’t believe that the fact your baby has eczema still hasn’t made them query an allergy - that’s awful! Eczema and the screaming pain with feeds is what led to my son having a dairy allergy diagnosed.

Good luck and please get your baby seen again ASAP.

I personally dislike cow and gate because whilst it means the legal requirements for nutrition it also has the lowest nutritional values of any of the formulas. I use aptimel profutura. When DD (3 months) has wind I stand up so that her legs can dangle beneath her (supporting her bum and neck obviously) and sway or walk around. This seems much more comfortable for her and helps her bring the wind up. Friends have found infantacol helps so see the GP for this. If she isn't wanting to bring wind up pop her on the floor for 10 mins (preferably on a mat) and then pick her up as this can help to.

Another one here who has a baby with a milk protein (and soy protein) allergy, and what you're experiencing sounds exactly like what we went through. I'd definitely video it and make another urgent appointment with the doctor - we're now on a special/prescription hydrolysed formula and he's so, so much happier - he's like a different child. He was just in agony before. I really feel for you, hope things pick up soon

I think the wind is probably a red herring. Sounds extremely likely to be a milk allergy.

If you have spare ££, then you can order in some.hyooallergenic formula from.boots or Tesco or somewhere. It's expensive but isn't a prescription only product and it might give you ammo with the GP if it works.

Soy, Goat's, lactose-free milks are not generally suitable for babies with cmpi. You (probably) need something like aptamil pepti, nutramigen or neocate - neocate least likely to cause a reaction but v expensive and v unpalatable.

Thank guys!

I’ll see how she copes over the weekend now and if things don’t drastically improve I will ring the doctor on Monday morning. Fingers crossed something will get sorted and soon lol!