Baby cries uncontrollably when feeding

[bigheartlittleheart]

Hi all,
Hoping for a little advice. My son is 10 weeks old and has been FF since birth. He has been on Hipp Organic since birth with MAM anti colic bottles. For weeks he has been crying uncontrollably during his bedtime feed around 6.30pm however in recent days; he now does it almost every feed! He moves his head side to side, spits milk out, cries so much and takes ages to get even a couple of ounces down. I've tried to change the teat size from 1 to 2. Today I've changed from MAM bottles to Dr Browns. Hasn't made much of difference but it's only been a day. I also decided to buy Aptamil advance today and he's had it once so far, hasn't made a difference except for the fact that he threw a lot of it up! It's so difficult as my baby doesn't seem to ever enjoy drinking his milk. A paediatrician has checked him over and they're confident he's fine as he's gaining weight (currently 5.5kg) and otherwise a healthy baby. Also worth mentioning after his night feed (3am) he never settles back to sleep, he just grunts so loudly, kicks his legs and cries. Any advice/similar stories welcome please!

Keep him upright and pat his back? Sounds like reflux. If he doesn't get better go to the Gp. Good luck though because they're crap with baby digestive issues, they just tell you they grow out of it. Which they do. But not until 4 months ish which is a long time for anyone to be in pain.

Night feed definitely spend 5-10 mins cuddling him upright against you gently patting him. You can't put a baby like that down flat straight after a feed. My second was like that and someone said it to me and it made my life / sleep a million times better just sacrificing that 10 mins.

If its not after every feed then I wonder if its just the witching hour in the evenings. Or colic. But if its after every feed then I would wonder about wind or constipation and try leg cycling, tummy massage, warm baths. If it persists then doctors about possible reflux.

A few ideas:
Are you practising paced feeding? Are you feeding in an almost upright position then keeping baby up for 20 mins after every feed? Have you tried infant gaviscon if you've done the above already?

it isn't unusual to be a slow feeder. Some babies are snackers and don't want more than 1-2oz at a time for months.

My one year old would still have size 2 teats. Always stick with the slowest flow possible to avoid over feeding a ff baby as it takes longer to realise they've had enough.

Good point about about witching hour too.

My baby went through a stage of this. We completely changed her mam bottles to tommee tippee and moved her onto a bigger teat. We also tried changing position to sitting more upright when drinking and it’s all made a big difference.

I used Dr Browns with mine - no idea if it helps but it has an anti vacuum thing that prevents them taking in air. I swore by it back then but mine have got older and I've blocked out those early horrendous days! This too shall pass!

We went with the advice of the health visitor to stay on the same formula as baby was gaining weight but to move onto a bigger, slightly faster flowing teat as she thought our dd was getting frustrated with having to suck so hard with a smaller teat.

Oh yes this is the advice I got too! That my DD was getting tired of sucking and frustrated! So faster teat needed .

Silent reflux? My baby suffered with this, put on weight wasn’t sick after feeds

Hi all,
Thank you so much for all your replies! MN is so helpful. To confirm, we do hold him up right 20 mins and he is currently on size 2 teats which are definitely ok for him. After reading some of your replies, I feel like it may be silent reflux. He does have frequent hiccups too. I will try anything to help him as I hate to see my baby so uncomfortable when feeding!

@2021mumma how did you treat the silent reflux and how is your baby now? Thank you so much.

Feed him upright not in the crook of your arm
Swirl the bottle to mix don't shake
Tilt the cot or get a reflux wedge, ditto the pram
Upright for at least 20 mins on your shoulder after each feed

Mine were on domperidone, ranitidine and gaviscon for over a year, they don't prescribe the first two anymore but whatever the alternatives are now if It is reflux.

Hi all,
Just an update. No improvements but spoke to GP today and said I suspect he may have silent reflux. Explained symptoms and he said it could be. He has prescribed infant gaviscon which I'm so reluctant to give as I've heard it makes them constipated! Doesn't really seem like the best solution. Having such a tough time. It's so hard seeing my son cry so much.

It can make them constipated yes, so if it is too bad (even with a small dose less often than prescribed) then your next point of call is back to GP for omeprezole. But see how you go for a week first. My GP advised tinkering with the dose starting small every few feeds to see if that helped. If you give it every feed your baby will definitely get constipated and it may not even be needed. By titrating up I only had to give it twice a day - so the constipation wasn't too bad at all.

I know it does sound like silent reflux, but what’s his gums like? Any chance he could be an early teether? My ds1 an 2 both had there front teeth come threw at 4months and my ds3 is 12weeks and currently going threw this. He’s usually a frequent feeder during the day taking a 6oz bottle every 2hr but been taken less the last few weeks and is preferring to chomp on what ever he can get in his mouth e.g likes to go for ur finger or nose(he does get his teether when he starts this) also does ur son have a dummy? Am no a big fan bt gave in and tried mine a few weeks ago when he started not settling at nights(4nyts in a row didn’t settle til after 12 and he was usually sleeping by 9)and he fell asleep almost instantly after I gave him 1. He will take his cat naps during the day without it no problem bt won’t fall asleep at nights without it. I think they sense/learn from a young age to when it’s bed time and think nope not happening here lol

Thanks for all your replies!
I don't think he's teething. He's only 11 weeks.. I mean it's all a guessing game but pretty sure he isn't as apart from when he needs to have his milk, he is pretty settled. I am yet to start the gaviscon - am collecting from pharmacy tomorrow and will give it a go. Since my initial post, he seems a tiny bit better - maybe bottles helped (switched from MAM to Dr Browns) and not only do I prefer them; I genuinely think he drinks better with them. That said, the issue still persists. I'll update once I give the gaviscon a go... thanks again! Xx

My baby gets like this. She still has her days but I found changing bottles to tommee tippee advances anti colic and dr browns made a big difference and winding her throughout the feed. She didn’t like dr browns at first but now is fine with them. Mam I found even tho were anti colic still had loads of bubbles in them so we stopped using them completely.

My baby was like this for weeks, refusing feeds and crying in pain all the time it was horrific.

When he was 9 weeks old and refusing to feed or screaming through it I rang the doctors and just burst into tears.

He said refusing feed, crying during feeds, and generally being unsettled and unhappy and having reflex symptoms are classic signs of a dairy allergy..::.and he was right,

Previous doctors had also tried to fob me off with Gaviscon and reflux medication so I’m glad the last doctor I saw (the 5th one) actually took me and my concerns seriously.

@DreamToNightmare thank you for your reply: wow reading your message sounds like it was written by me! I have been so worried it could be a dairy allergy. The doctors don't seem to be taking me seriously when I explain what he does during feeds, all they say is as long as he's gaining weight we're not concerned! It drives me crazy! It's so difficult to go through this every feed. I always thought that feeding would at least be a calm time because I would expect my son to enjoy drinking his milk! I am willing to go to a private doctor to get the bottom of the issue. Are there any other symptoms I should look out for when it comes to dairy allergy? And what does your baby drink now?

My baby was breast fed hence why nobody wanted to hear it because apparently breast fed babies can’t have dairy allergies….

He also had really dry skin, awful cradle cap and frequently had rashes around his mouth due to the contact with my breast milk.

When he fed he was so uncomfortable, squirming, constant pulling way from the breast and he would feed for such little periods which the GP said is also very common. He said feeding can be a battle because the babies are hungry but at the same time they know the milk is going to cause them pain. He said my baby would be taking enough milk to satisfy his thirst/hunger and then stop so although he gained weight it wasn’t as much as would be ideal because he wasn’t having long feeds.

I removed dairy from my diet and within a few weeks he was like a different baby and by 6 weeks he was completely changed. His complexion was perfect, he enjoyed feeding again, he was gaining weight better and all the crying and screaming had stopped.

He’s 5 years old now and he couldn’t tolerate dairy in his diet until he was 2.5 years old. Even now he can’t have cow’s milk or ice cream without it causing him problems.

Dairy free milk is expensive but if you think it may be that then order yourself some off the internet and see how you go - if you see an improvement then you go back to the GP, explain what a difference it has made and ask for it on prescription.

My son was the same and it's dairy here. Same as pp, now he's older can tolerate it if cooked, but ice-cream etc not so much.
His additional symptom was acid breath and really acidic poo. He barely had any skin on his bottom bless him

He sounds very similar to my son and his was CMPA and reflux. He also struggled with wind.

Other symptoms of CMPA got us was explosive nappies that smelt very vinegary. Persistent cough and wheezing. Vomiting. Restlessness and crying a lot.

My baby has similar issues - 6 weeks today

My girl is unsettled but not every feed

Been given prescription milk which we've started today as gaviscon didn't work just made her constipated

My baby looks so uncomfortable doesn't appear settled and is sometimes sick - has the acid breath and sleeping tablets night is bad, groaning and straining

Just preying this milk helps as hate seeing her so uncomfortable! X

Hi all,
Update! I've just been on the phone to the GP - he was fantastic this time round. He called the paediatricians to discuss with them. They said to not use gaviscon and at this stage they wouldn't prescribe omeprazole and that's a last resort sort of this - as it could mess with other things like magnesium levels. They suspect is could be CMPA. They have prescribed a special formula for him that we will trial for 4 weeks, if no improvement the paediatricians will see him for a consultation. Changing anything is so hard with babies, he's been on HIPP since he was born but if this special milk helps him, I'd be over the moon. I'll be sure to keep you all updated. Thank you