Angry 5 week old?

[Emmaaa1990]

Our baby is 5 weeks old and seems to get really angry! She grabs her face in frustration/pain I do not know!! We think she has colic or bad wind as she tenses and arches her back a lot. She also grunts a lot as if she's indiscomfort. I called the docs a week or so ago to express my concerns and they prescribed her some infant gaviscon. This appeared to help her for a week but now I don't know if she's like this because it's no longer working or if there's something else wrong?!

She's struggling to nap in the day time, really fights it and just seem uncomfortable and if she does eventually go down she wakes after 20 minutes sometimes crying in distress like she's had a dream. It's all really bizarre to us we are first time parents so just want her to be okay and comfortable! Of a night time she does seem to sleep for at least 4 hours at a time and is eating/weeing pooing okay! I'm contemplating calling the doctor again if she's no better over the weekend!

Just had an intense screaming session and with that she has grabbed her face and made it red and blotchy. Does this sound like colic or could this be something more?

Any advice would be brill!

Thanks

Is she breast or bottle feeding? Sounds a bit like cmpa...

@IDontDrinkTea she's formula fed she's currently on Aptamil anti reflux. I did wonder this myself earlier, do you know if the doctor can prescribe milk there and then if they suspect? Or do you think she would need further testing etc beforehand? Thankyou for commenting and for any help :)

How are you winding her after her feeds? Are you swaddling her for naps? When she gets worked up, have you tried lying her on her back and bicycling her legs - weird but effective)

It could be any number of things. You cant diagnose CMPA off the back of what OP has said.

Have you tried tilting her cot/moses basket/whatever she's napping in ever so slightly at the head end? Try putting books under it. If it is reflux it helps the acid stay down a bit

@SeaToSki yeah wind her several times during a feed as we know she's so windy! Thing is she seems to burp and pass wind fine but always seems Unhappy like there's excess wind trapped or she's in pain. Yeah I do bicycle legs with her everyday seems to settle her briefly but again she's not happy for long and still seems to be In discomfort. We also give her infacol before every feed.

@Letsallscreamatthesistene yeah we have her crib tilted and have tried things underneath her head too. Just seems like everything we try doesn't make my difference or if it does it's only briefly. Horrible seeing her in so much discomfort feel abit helpless!

I could have wrote this myself,my boy is 6 weeks on Monday. At first he was having a lot of colic signs so we put him on aptimil comfort as ouf daughter had colic and it magically went away when we put her on that milk. It didn't improve for my son.i looked up silent reflux and it seems like he could have that. Was prescribed gaviscon but now he's constipated and uncomfortable all day. I'm going to call the doctors on monday if he's still bad. Have you tried an ounce or two of cool boiled water and do bicycle legs that helps with colic too if that's what it is. Thoughts are with you! So hard when your babies in pain and you can't take it away x

I had a baby like this. It was exhausting for everyone. Things that helped us were a battery powered rocking chair, anti-colic bottles and a dummy. Good luck! It feels endless but you will get through it.

I could have written this post! Exact same thing is happening with my DS. He's soooo windy so we're trying out infacol too which seems to get the wind moving. But he still continues to grunt and tense up even after he's been burped loads! I just feel so bad cos it seems like he's in pain and I just don't know how to help him :( so no advice here but I know how you feel! I hope they get some relief soon. Good luck!

The ultimate in winding technique is this

sit on a dining room chair so that your thighs are parallel to the ground
lay the baby along your thighs so that their legs are resting on your tummy and their head is on your knees. The baby is face up - so you are smiling at each other
stay like this for at least 2 mins, you can sway your legs a little side to side and play peek a boo with their hands, but keep their torso horizontal
after 2 mins sit baby bolt upright with their legs right out in front like a 90 degree angle, support their head under the chin so they are not slumped at all. It feels weird, but after you have tried it you will know how it works
if there is any wind left, you will almost feel it errupting in a bubble. Its a bit like when someone farts in the bath
you can pat babies back gently to encourage the bubbles up, but the most important bit is that they are sitting bolt upright

@Sunshinesweet123 oh no! Feel for you too! Seems like it's quite a common thing just feel like you are alone tho don't you! I'm so thankful for Mumsnet! Oh bless him so horrible, she seems to be going fine but definitely isn't happy still! Belly goes all tense and she grunts :( I haven't tried boiled water no, maybe that could be something I could give a go! Bicycle legs we do everyday yeah seems to give her some relief but not for long. Thoughts are with you too, hopefully they both get better soon x

@marmiteloversunite terrible isn't it :( I did start to look into colic bottles so may invest in some of those Thankyou! Yeah she has a dummy and she furiously sucks that too so not sure if that's because of discomfort or because she really likes it haha. Thankyou :)

@greenemerald awful isn't it! All the things that are supposed to help don't seem to be, I know it's horrible but nice to know it's not just me and my baby! Hope you are okay and your baby isbetter soon x

@SeaToSki ooooh that sounds interesting! I am definitely going to try that technique! Thankyou for taking the time to explain it I'm hoping this will give her some relief at least!

I used to use a reflux formula mixed with colief drops that naturally help ease off any constipation for my baby with silent reflux. Also holding upright for 30-60 mins after each feed, keeping bed tilted up, hated any baby seat (car seat, rocking seat etc etc) as the angle just wasnt good for his tummy so for the first few months I carried him everywhere (invest in a sling) and as he gets older then you can try a high chair that reclines slightly and a car seat that isnt the carry around one as the ones that stay on the car tend to be a bit less reclined.

Hth and hopefully it settles soon. Also maybe scratch mitts to protect her face and eyes

My baby is now 20 yrs old.

I just really empathised as I was a first time mum with a screaming baby and felt that everyone else was much better than me at feeding etc. I thought it would go on forever but it didn't. Also my second baby was completely different and much easier.

marmiteloversunite my 24 year old was the same. I don't usually click on baby threads as I am out of touch, it just struck a chord with me because I remember this so clearly and as a first time mum it's very difficult. Nothing you do seems to work and you feel like there is something wrong. There isn't usually anything wrong, some babies cry like this at this age. They are not angry.

If you are ff try comfort milk

Please don't give boiled water to a 5 week old without speaking to a doctor first.
There are many reasons water is not recommended for babies under 6'months and you could make things worse not better.

@JustSew struck a chord with me too! I remember the desperation. Just wanted to say it will be ok and you are doing well!

I switched my DS onto goat milk formula due to colic, made a significant difference , he was much better .

Poor baby.
It could be reflux, colic, wind, CMPA, one of them or a combination.
Check out the symptoms of CMPA and if you think it could be a possibility, you could trial a hypoallergenic formula - GP can prescribe or if they refuse, you might be able to buy it yourself - then if you notice an improvement you'll have a stronger argument to persuade the GP to prescribe more.
If it is CMPA it can take up to 3 weeks for the cows milk protein to leave baby's system, but you should see improvements before that.
A dairy free trial is the only way to diagnose btw, there is no test (not at this stage).

www.allergyuk.org/information-and-advice/conditions-and-symptoms/469-cows-milk-allergy

My baby girl suffered with colic, it was a horrible time, not what I had imagined/hoped the early days of motherhood would be like. She would scream for hours at night and I felt so bloody useless, their isn't alot you can do about it unfortunately.
I used infacol in her bottles, windered her and all the massage techniques and it seemed to help abit but unfortunately you just need to ride it out.
I was told by gp and midwife they outgrow it and luckily she stopped suffering with it at about 10 weeks old.
She is now 7 months old and sleeps through the night great, on average 9 hrs straight.
I know it's hard going at the moment but remember it gets better, hang in there x

Thankyou so much to everyone who commented! I definitely don't feel alone with this! Great suggestions & advice so Thankyou everyone, it's a shame so many of our beautiful babies have to suffer with this but good to know they will outgrow this and hopefully 6 or so weeks max and I will hopefully have a happier baby! Thanks again! :)