CordeliaJ
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Ladies, I'm desperate, I really need your help and advice. I'm at my wits end!
This is going to be long, so I apologise in advance.
Oliver is 10 weeks old, and since about 7 weeks, he's been having terrible reflux problems (or seems to be reflux anyway). From birth to 5 weeks he was so windy and a very often crying baby, so when we got 2 weeks of normal behaviour (between 5-7 weeks), I thought we could finally settle down a bit. He seemed like a happy baby and cried for normal reasons, hunger, overtired, bit of wind, nappy etc.
The reflux started with lots of sick, about 3/4 times after every feed. This was then quickly followed by crying during and after feeding, crying when a burp came up, and gagging/choking whilst being on his back. I spent a lot of time with him over my shoulder as he refused to be in any other position. We took him to the doctors and she prescribed infant gaviscon for him. Well we used that for a little while, and it seemed to help him keep food down better, and there was less crying, but it wasn't ideal as he didn't poop regularly, every 3/4 days maybe, and he still seemed uncomfortable. He also seems to wake up in a jolt from sleep and start screaming uncontrollably, it's horrible to watch.
We went back to the docs, and she decided to put him on ranitidine and domperidone. Well, the 5 days he was on that was the worst 5 days of my life. He was off the gaviscon, and was throwing up all the time, often including the medicine, he screamed bloody murder almost all the time, and refused to feed anymore. I was terrified he wasn't getting any food, I kept trying, both boob and bottle, but he would have a few sips then scream. Then spend most of the day screaming because he was starving. After 5 days of it I couldn't take it anymore, and took him off the meds. It didn't actually make a difference taking him off, so I took him back to the docs. She told me he wasn't sick, he was a healthy baby, just very unhappy because of the reflux. She told me to put him back on the gaviscon and that he would 'grow out of it'...just what every mum wants to hear huh.
Anyway, we put him back on the gaviscon, and the following 2 days were great. He was feeding really well and keeping food down too. I thought we had finally sorted it, and vowed never to take him off the gaviscon again. BUT...after 2 days it just went back to being a complete disaster again. The one thing the gaviscon is doing now is stopping him being sick, or at least he's not throwing up entire feeds. However he has stopped feeding properly again. He pretty much only feeds when he's sleepy during the night, or when I dream feed him, then he's fine. I think that's the only real food he gets. During the day he faffs on and off the breast, occasionally crying inbetween and often crying when the boob or bottle even comes near his face! He has a few sips of the bottle then just pushes it around with his tongue refusing to have anymore. When he has a good feed (and from a bottle so I can tell) he only has about 2-3oz maximum. The doc says that's a really small amount for a baby his age and size.
I can't take the constant crying anymore, he used to go down reasonably easily for naps, now he just screams and screams until he's exhausted himself..and this includes when I'm rocking him in my arms. In 10 days he has only done 1 poop and he cried whilst doing it, and it was really thick & gunky. I know that's probably because of the gaviscon, and I have tried giving him some cool boiled water, and some watered down prune juice, but neither seem to have made any difference. I also looked up some baby massage videos to try and get things moving, but that didn't do anything either.
On top of all of this, he is having what we think are some early teething signs - sucking/chewing on his hand, biting the dummy instead of sucking etc, and fussing during his sleep.
So he's refluxy, constipated and teething most probably. But my main concern is the not eating and the screaming crying that he's doing almost constantly on and off throughout the day. I can't take him anywhere because he will scream so much, and I'm losing my mind and on very little sleep.
Just for background, we combination feed him, he doesn't have formula very often, maybe every other day he has a bottle (if he will take it), but has expressed milk usually everyday for me to put the gaviscon in (only twice a day). He is also wearing a hazelwood & amber necklace which is meant to combat the reflux & teething, but so far it's had zero effect.
A friend of mine suggested he may have a tongue tie, but I don't think it is that either. He can stick his tongue out fairly far, and I have felt and looked underneath it, and it seems fine. Plus he went through a period of latching really well, I think there's a different reason as to why he doesn't want to feed.
Hopefully I have mentioned everything, but anyway, any advice would be really really appreciated. I think the next step is to go private and see a pediatrician. We just can't go on like this with such an unhappy baby. I really don't know what else to do, and I dread my husband going to work everyday as I am so tired of dealing with constant crying all my myself.
P.s. If you've got to the end of this huge amount of info, thank you for reading. x
This is going to be long, so I apologise in advance.
Oliver is 10 weeks old, and since about 7 weeks, he's been having terrible reflux problems (or seems to be reflux anyway). From birth to 5 weeks he was so windy and a very often crying baby, so when we got 2 weeks of normal behaviour (between 5-7 weeks), I thought we could finally settle down a bit. He seemed like a happy baby and cried for normal reasons, hunger, overtired, bit of wind, nappy etc.
The reflux started with lots of sick, about 3/4 times after every feed. This was then quickly followed by crying during and after feeding, crying when a burp came up, and gagging/choking whilst being on his back. I spent a lot of time with him over my shoulder as he refused to be in any other position. We took him to the doctors and she prescribed infant gaviscon for him. Well we used that for a little while, and it seemed to help him keep food down better, and there was less crying, but it wasn't ideal as he didn't poop regularly, every 3/4 days maybe, and he still seemed uncomfortable. He also seems to wake up in a jolt from sleep and start screaming uncontrollably, it's horrible to watch.
We went back to the docs, and she decided to put him on ranitidine and domperidone. Well, the 5 days he was on that was the worst 5 days of my life. He was off the gaviscon, and was throwing up all the time, often including the medicine, he screamed bloody murder almost all the time, and refused to feed anymore. I was terrified he wasn't getting any food, I kept trying, both boob and bottle, but he would have a few sips then scream. Then spend most of the day screaming because he was starving. After 5 days of it I couldn't take it anymore, and took him off the meds. It didn't actually make a difference taking him off, so I took him back to the docs. She told me he wasn't sick, he was a healthy baby, just very unhappy because of the reflux. She told me to put him back on the gaviscon and that he would 'grow out of it'...just what every mum wants to hear huh.
Anyway, we put him back on the gaviscon, and the following 2 days were great. He was feeding really well and keeping food down too. I thought we had finally sorted it, and vowed never to take him off the gaviscon again. BUT...after 2 days it just went back to being a complete disaster again. The one thing the gaviscon is doing now is stopping him being sick, or at least he's not throwing up entire feeds. However he has stopped feeding properly again. He pretty much only feeds when he's sleepy during the night, or when I dream feed him, then he's fine. I think that's the only real food he gets. During the day he faffs on and off the breast, occasionally crying inbetween and often crying when the boob or bottle even comes near his face! He has a few sips of the bottle then just pushes it around with his tongue refusing to have anymore. When he has a good feed (and from a bottle so I can tell) he only has about 2-3oz maximum. The doc says that's a really small amount for a baby his age and size.
I can't take the constant crying anymore, he used to go down reasonably easily for naps, now he just screams and screams until he's exhausted himself..and this includes when I'm rocking him in my arms. In 10 days he has only done 1 poop and he cried whilst doing it, and it was really thick & gunky. I know that's probably because of the gaviscon, and I have tried giving him some cool boiled water, and some watered down prune juice, but neither seem to have made any difference. I also looked up some baby massage videos to try and get things moving, but that didn't do anything either.
On top of all of this, he is having what we think are some early teething signs - sucking/chewing on his hand, biting the dummy instead of sucking etc, and fussing during his sleep.
So he's refluxy, constipated and teething most probably. But my main concern is the not eating and the screaming crying that he's doing almost constantly on and off throughout the day. I can't take him anywhere because he will scream so much, and I'm losing my mind and on very little sleep.
Just for background, we combination feed him, he doesn't have formula very often, maybe every other day he has a bottle (if he will take it), but has expressed milk usually everyday for me to put the gaviscon in (only twice a day). He is also wearing a hazelwood & amber necklace which is meant to combat the reflux & teething, but so far it's had zero effect.
A friend of mine suggested he may have a tongue tie, but I don't think it is that either. He can stick his tongue out fairly far, and I have felt and looked underneath it, and it seems fine. Plus he went through a period of latching really well, I think there's a different reason as to why he doesn't want to feed.
Hopefully I have mentioned everything, but anyway, any advice would be really really appreciated. I think the next step is to go private and see a pediatrician. We just can't go on like this with such an unhappy baby. I really don't know what else to do, and I dread my husband going to work everyday as I am so tired of dealing with constant crying all my myself.
P.s. If you've got to the end of this huge amount of info, thank you for reading. x
it makes him constipated but I give him some water with a little pure prune juice everyday but if he is particularly struggling to go I use a cotton bud and plenty of Vaseline and insert the tip and gently swirl it around to help him go and it comes straight out he goes like a trooper as it doesn't hurt him and it gets rid of his wind! They are two completely different babies now. It took me a while to get it right with them though maybe you can speak to the dr we get the enfimil and carobel on prescription he will prob make you try the carobel first Mia went off the comfort milk for a while but I was reluctant to change her again as I had tried hipp 1 but it works well with the carobel! Hopefully you find something that works you could try and get carobel at the chemist and add it to his milk as see how he goes x
