Newborn cried for 8 hours nonstop

[Tiredmamaa]

FTM to a one month old. Last night was peak crying. Me and DH tried everything. She eventually tired herself out after another feed.
I'm really struggling. I wanted a baby so much, and I knew babies weren't easy and people may flame me for this but I didn't know they were this hard.
I've been to GP, midwives, health visitor who all confirm she's healthy and the fussiness and crying is something she will grow out of.
Shes a very hungry and gassy baby - I formula feed.

What am I supposed to do in the meantime. With DH back st work I feel so lonely in the daytimes and my experience of motherhood is just tiring and stressful. It pains me to see her cry and that I can't calm her. Everything people suggest I've tried. I'm on empty now, feel like a failure and just broken.

Please don’t let doctors fob you off that she will grow out of it, she could be in real pain if she has allergies etc. Some great suggestions above.

You’re doing great, that’s not easy x

Try a different formula, I know lots of babies who just couldn’t take to aptamil. You have plenty of options so keep trying until you find one she’s completely settled on and enjoys.

DD1 was terrible when she was a baby and I breastfed, they thought it was a cows milk allergy so I had to cut out all dairy - didn’t make a difference, and at 6 months I just didn’t know what to do, turns out she was just a hungry baby and I wasn’t giving her enough breastmilk so I ended up combi feeding with Hipp organic and she was much better.

We used a sling to comfort her. The Bjorn slings are amazing and if she was crying I’d pop her in that and walk up and down the stairs, she’d fall asleep within 5 mins. Give that a go!

it’s a very hard stage but you will get through it! Don’t ever doubt yourself or beat yourself up over it!

My 1st one cried a lot and was very difficult to settle. Even when she was asleep she didn't seem comfortable. We tried all different formulas and in the end the health visitor put her on prescription milk which did help somewhat. She was still quite a difficult baby but at least was more comfortable and less gassy after feeds.

It is not at all unreasonable to not realise babies were 'this hard'. All children are different. Some babies are significantly more demanding than others; it's nothing you are doing wrong. I agree 8 hours is a very long time for solid crying, so I would actually go to a paediatrician (not GP) for a check-up, if you can afford it. Saying that, my mother's god-daughter apparently cried like that for months and was perfectly healthy.

FWIW, I used HIPP ready-made formula and MAM baby bottles. I'm not convinced the type of milk or bottle you use has any impact, but I guess it's worth trying different things.

Very basic q's; just to check

How much formula does she actually drink in 24 hours
Is this roughly the amount recommended for her weight
Is it correctly made up/ diluted? Double check. Don't take this the wrong way but I have encountered adults who make mistakes with measures (liquid or dry).

Is the teat hole too small/large/blocked.

Have you tried cranial osteopathy?

You have my sympathy - my eldest child was like this. Looking back, I think he had colic. Baby massage seemed to help a bit - although I burped him after every feed I think he still had trapped wind and this helped to move it downwards. Is there anyone who could help you when your baby is crying? 8 hours is a long time to deal with on your own.

Thank you all for replying to me and advice and reassurance.

I haven't tried cranial osteopathy - my labour was quite traumatic and she had to have a suction cup to get her out and I had episiotomy, might look into that.

She doesn't nap much in the day as she just doesn't go down, funnily enough this morning she has been napping on me or in her carrycot so she must be so exhausted from last night still the poor thing.

It's awful seeing her scream like this and for so long, it's been on and off since birth but last night was the worst.

I will persevere with doctors and if this happens again in meantime I'll have to take her to a and e.

I keel wondering if its reflux or colic- she's very hiccupy, I burp her multiple times during feeding, shes windy. I'm not convinced she's hungry all the time but she doesn't settle unless k give her the bottle but it doesn't resolve as she cries between feeds when burping her. She spits up frequently and occasionally is sick. Keeping her upright. Won't take the Dummy and spits it out.

Sometimes the sling helps, but other times she screams as she's in too much of a state.

It's frustrating as some days she's absolutely fine, but it feels like it changes constantly.

I thought she was getting upset because she wasn't pooing everyday and was straining which is why GP prescribed lactulose, and she would calm after she did poo. but she did a massive poo yesterday and she had the worst crying I've seen since she's been born.

Could be so many things and I'm so confused.

Lactulose is not recommended if there is lactose intolerance. It can cause wind, cramps and diarrhoea. Why don't you trial a non-dairy formula, see if you can narrow things down a bit? Btw, sensitivity to cow's milk protein can also cause constipation, you may be in a bit of a vicious circle atm.

Not read all replies sorry but I see she is FF and very hungry

what teats are you using? Mine always needed the fast flowing teats and not the ones for their age or they couldn’t get the milk out properly/gulped in loads of air which gave them trapped wind and made them cry

Could you wear baby in a sling all day ... she sounds over tired , and if she's in a sling you still have your hands to make a coffee x

I changed my baby to hipp and he changed very quickly.

Look up cow's milk protein allergy. Sometimes the crying/colic is the only symptom at this age particularly if you're breastfeeding so the only CMP is coming through breast milk. (This was the case for us so it took months to get a diagnosis and any support). Nobody took me seriously until 12 weeks and by then things were improving. When we started weaning the picture became clear very quickly as lots of symptoms started appearing or escalating

Im a midwife and mum of a reflux baby. It sounds like your baby either has reflux or CMPA. I would guess most likely reflux and would be asking the GP for a trial of Omeprazole or Ranitidine.

As a side note, 40-60ml of water a day is a huge amount for a 4 week old baby. A 6 month old is only supposed to have a max of 30ml a day. Babies can get Hyponatraemia (water intoxication) which can be very serious. I would stop giving extra water, it isn't required. All babies need at 4 weeks old is breastmilk or formula.

OP your update has reminded me of some things with my granddaughter, the constipation was awful, she’d scream, she bled one day with straining so much.
Does she draw her knees up towards her tummy? That’s an indicator of pain.
It took a few days for the milk protein to leave her body after the change to milk free formula but the change in her was wonderful. She slept, smiled, thrived.
She continued with Omeprezole meds for the reflux until she was about 16 months, then weaned off it. After doing the Milk Ladder thing she can take milk now, but she still eats little and often, she’s like me, grazes at lot. She’s not on any meds for the reflux now but we know when she’s hungry, we say shes Hangry (hungry and angry) her mood changes when she’s been fed. She will try new foods, (not like her brother) We think after being on such a restricted diet for so long she’s making up for lost time.
She’s seven.
You’ll get there op.

I agree. My best friend end up seeking a second opinion because she was told that her daughter did not have tongue-tie. She was told she couldn’t have a second opinion but she went and got one because the crying was endless and her daughter just seemed hungry all the time. Not only did she have tongue tie, she had to do the procedure twice before it was fixed. Something to do with not enough tongue exercise (they give specific instructions to move the tongue etc).

So tough. 8hrs is a long time for a baby to cry, something must be wrong.

Having read your messages it really sounds like either reflux or an CMPA.

Reflux is easy to rule out and the GP can prescribe you infant gaviscon or something.

www.babydoc.com.au/faq/colic-bore-your-baby-to-sleep/
Please have a read of this which describes normal newborn behavior which I think is often overlooked and misunderstood. She really sounds overtired/overstimulated.

Apologies, I missed the bit were you said formula fed.

I agree with the others to look at her feed & intolerances & allergies. My DD was lactose intolerant too, but she was EBF so I didn't realise until later when she was weaned off BM. The fact your baby was worse after lactulose, heavily suggests lactose intolerance. My DD couldn't take it & react badly to it with colic like pain, neither can I. We are both lactose intolerant

I'd also suggest looking up videos on baby massage for colic, we found this really useful when our DD was a newborn

Both my kids wouldn't sleep unless they were in a sling in those early months. My husband and I used to do shifts at night and baby was pretty much constantly attached to me during the day. It was exhausting but it does get better, I promise! Also, I'd suggest ruling out underlying health issues. My oldest had reflux and was a million times better on gaviscon. My youngest had a very hard to detect tongue tie, which made feeding difficult for him and he got very gassy - but because he was gaining weight I had to really push to have him diagnosed. It wasn't a miracle fix, but things did improve once we had his tie released. Signs for us were gassiness/spitting up a lot after feeds, not wanting to lie flat, and having a slippy latch when he fed.

I know this post is quite old now but I’m currently going through this with my 5 week old baby and wondered how you got on?