4 month old suddenly not himself at all

[OliveMoonLight]

We have gone from our baby rarely crying and being so happy in himself to him crying on and off all day, unsettled, unhappy, barely feeding in the day - he is BF and tries but starts crying and thrashing around, bad poos (can be watery, green or mucusy), waking up frequently in the night, being sick when he never was before, sometimes making him cry. He also has had dry itchy skin come up on his forehead.

I just feel so bad for him as he seems so uncomfortable and unhappy nowadays. Just seeing if anyone has experienced similar with their baby? I am planning on getting him to the drs to rule out certain things but just wanted to be prepared and do my research first.

Teeth? It's early but not impossible. I'd give him Calpol/nurofen and see if he improves.

My friends baby is exactly the same and is CMPA.. not diagnosed until 4 months old - try cut Dairy/Soy from your diet for a couple of weeks (takes a month to see a big difference)

typical CMPA symptoms includes:
Green/mucus poops
blood in poop
not gaining weight
rash
discomfort
unconsolable crying
bad sleep

also potentially reflux? My DS has reflux, she can cry inconsolably for hours, kicks herself back, refuses feeds, brings up a lot of milk.

Teeth tends to come with red cheeks, red gums, a rash on jawline, and upset tummy. Usually a bit of calpol and some teething granules helps with teeth.

Good luck, keep going, your doing an amazing job raising a tiny human :)

Aside from the potential issues mentioned above.
The 4 month sleep regression may be at play also - in terms of sleep.

@Springadorable that did cross our minds. It seems extreme for teething but this is my first so maybe it hits some babies hard, it's all new to me!

@CleverMrsFox thank you for the info, we tried him on formula with the scope of starting to combo feed one day, so this could be it. Will try that and see if it is a coincidence or not.

Possibly an allergy, given the skin and digestion issues.

Visit the GP about possible CMPA.

You need medical advice.

Have you now cut out the formula, does the formula introduction align with the change?

@RisingSunn yes it's probably a combination of things all at the same time I bet- poor babies, they go through it!

Could be teething! It's does weird stuff to babies, they get rashes, sore bums, colds and coughs etc

If this change has coincided with formula introduction the logical first step is to stop giving any formula again and see if that sorts it out. It could well be that.

If it is the formula, it may just be the difference for your baby digesting the formula vs breast milk, not necessarily allergy. Formula is harder to digest and it's a big change for your baby. My DC2 was a bit like this with formula, we swapped brands and he did better with a different brand.

That being said, around 4 months is notoriously a time for changes in behaviour. They've woke up to the world, their sleep cycles mature so they can't nap and sleep as easily as they used to and they get disturbed easier, they don't want to spend all day breastfeeding because they get disturbed and they have FOMO lol so the pulling on and off and thrashing around starts, also they don't need to feed as much/as often so you get stuck offering constantly like they're a newborn when half the time they're not even hungry but you don't know when they are and aren't etc...honestly everything youre describing sounds normal really, I have a 4 month old (my third). Just the tummy upset stuff could well be the formula, or possibly an infection - maybe he has a mild bug, that can often cause those GI symptom.

@verycloakanddaggers
@LegoHouse274
Well we only tried a couple of small bottles a few weeks ago then decided to try combo feeding when things have settled down as he had enough on his plate. Im not a big dairy eater but do eat it on and off.

@LegoHouse274 yes, he does seem to feed much better at night. Crazy how this stage affects them if it is just the notorious 4/5 month regression etc. Just feel so helpless and almost want it to be 'something' so I can fix it for him if that makes sense.

Babies change all the time OP, there isn't really a 'himself' at this age. In another two months with weaning, sitting etc they'll be completely different again. It sounds totally normal, perhaps they've got a bit of a virus they're fighting at the moment making their tummy a bit upset and that should pass. But some amount of green frothy stools sometimes can be totally normal anyway, all my kids have had this sometimes.

The better feeding at night is totally normal, they're calm, no distractions and likely they're feeding less frequently overnight so they're properly hungry then?

Do you have any breastfeeding support groups nearby you could attend? Might be helpful to chat with other breastfeeding mums who are going through this/have been through this, for reassurance.

Also with my babies at this point, if I offer the breast and they just fuss on and off for a minute or so I just put it away and conclude they're not hungry. Id try again maybe half an hour later if they're still unsettled if I don't know what else is wrong.

Feeding more at night is completely normal, as they get more aware they use awake times to observe, learn, try new skills. It's a rapud development phase.