Baby thrashing and straining all night

[mummabear]

Does anyone else have the problem I have with my lo? She's 7 weeks old and since she was about 2 weeks she has thrashed about, straining, moaning, groaning and crying out loudly all night long. She's exclusively breastfed and I have tried all the usual remedies - infacol, gripe water, cooled boiled water and tilting her bed, and Dr has tried prescribing gaviscon (which made her constipated and caused her to get very distressed) and ranitadine (zantac), but with no success. She starts off okay but gets steadily worse as the night goes on until the thrashing etc is virtually continuous. She looks and sounds like she's in a lot of pain, and although she usually (not always) sleeps through it I don't and I desperately need some sleep!

When she does wake up she'll be desperate for a feed and will often, but not always, wriggle around and fuss while she's feeding. The thrashing etc will usually settle down for a short while shortly after her feed and then start up again and get worse and worse until her next feed, which is usually 2-3 hours later.

In the mornings she's generally a happy, alert and lively baby, although she does have similar but lesser problems when she sleeps during the day, and in the afternoon and evenings she'll often be a bit colicy, crying a lot and pulling her knees up to her chest.

The Dr isn't sure what the problem is and has suggested taking her off all medication, etc for a week and then reassessing her. She has also suggested trying some watered down freshly squeezed orange juice to see if that helps, which I'll try today but don't hold out too much hope.

People keep telling me she'll grow out of any tummy problems in the next month or so but at the moment they're still getting steadily worse. Has anyone else's baby had similar problems and if so do you have any suggestions?

Thanks!

xx

 

[tori_cottier]

I'd be intrested to know if you get any advice on this. . .

What made the doctor think it was reflux? if you don't mind me asking, As i type this my Little fella is thrashing about just as you say, I throught it was just his way of keeping himself awake, never throught there would be any underlining problem

xx

 

[Little_Roo]

My lo was the same. I spoke to mw and she said it could be what I was eating/drinking that was causing it. She told me to steer clear of any fizzy drinks and try cutting down on dairy products. I did and lo does seem alot better, she does still do it sometimes but nothing as bad as before. Hope that helps x

 

[Elski]

My LO's almost exactly the same (bar being colicky in the evening). She sleeps soundly during the day but at night, starting about 3am, she squirming and straining and flailing her arms about, bashing herself in the face. The occasional fart pops out but it doesn't seem to relieve the 'discomfort' she appears to be in. Like you say, LO sleeps through it but we don't 'eh?

I've tried Infacol, baby massage, winding for ages etc. I was on Lactulose for constipation for a while and thought it might be that (upsetting her tummy through my breastmilk) but have stopped that now and it hasn't made a difference.

I've read in a few different places that young babies don't understand all the sensations they get in their tummies during digestion etc, which is why they behave like this and that it eventually settles down after a few months as they gradually adjust to the goings-on in their bellies. Not sure I believe that, but at the same time I've heard so many other people complain of the same problem and there doesn't seem to be any other explanation!

Sorry, there's no helpful advice in this post - just wanted to let you know you're not the only one!

 

[mummabear]

Glad to hear it's not just my lo!

What made the doctor think it was reflux?

Dr wasn't really sure what the problem was so tried reflux medication as a starting point. When I spoke to the health visitor he said Drs will often diagnose reflux without being certain and that it can be over-diagnosed.

I have already tried cutting out all foods that can cause reflux or gas but with no success, other than that she reacts very badly if I eat onions. The watered down orange juice didn't seem to make much difference either. It seemed to help her burp and she seemed quite cheery after having it, but night time was the same as usual and this morning she wasn't good at all until after she had been very sick and pooped loads!

The thing that's worrying me about my lo is the awful noises she makes all night. Does anyone else's lo groan and moan and shout and strain all the time? She's also getting worse as she's getting older, doing the same thing when I put her down in the day and getting a bit panicky when feeding. It's absolutely exhausting not being able to sleep at night and then not being able to put her down during the day!

I spoke to the health visitor again today and showed him a video recording of her at night. He said it's probably nothing to worry about and she'll probably grow out of it, but suggested asking Dr for a pediatrician referral just to make sure there's no underlying problem. I'll try and get back to the Dr tomorrow to ask for the referral.

xx

 

[Cattia]

My LO does this too and has done since about two weeks. I assumed it was just wind as she often farts when doing it! Would be interested to hear any follow up on this.

 

[Elski]

Yeah, my LO makes loads of noises, mainly straining/pushing noises. I'm going to the Dr this afternoon as she has a cough and sounds a bit congested so I'm going to ask his opinion on her unsettled nights too, while I'm there. I'll let you know what he says....

 

[bumpty]

my lo was the same......we were on gaviscon , infacol.....but touch wood he is much better now so hopefully it will get easier for you

 

[Elski]

Right - the Dr said that babies have a very sensitive nervous system in their stomach and that all the thrashing and straining is their reaction to digestion and wind and poos etc. I mentioned up-thread that I'd heard that could be a reason and was sceptical about it but I guess it's true! He said there's not a lot you can do about it and that as the digestive system matures, it'll get better...

Doesn't bode well for us getting any sleep in the near future does it

 

[bloodbinds]

My LO thrashed about like this for over a month because of her wind. Nothing worked. Eventually i brought Dr Brown Bottles and exclusively expressed milk for about 2 weeks, and the wind just went away! I missed breast feeding though and was scared she would get too used to the bottle so put her on the breast again

What you could do is buy Dr Brown Bottles, give her expressed milk in the bottle before bed so she doesn't have have the trapped wind in the night? Might be worth a try! Good luck x

 

[mummabear]

Thanks all. That's quite reassuring, even if it does mean spending another month or so getting no sleep! I'll try the Dr Brown bottles and will also go to Dr as suggested by the health visitor. I'll let you know about any progress...

xx

 

[polaris]

My LO was exactly the same - he was so noisy! Grunting, groaning, thrashing around, farting, generally making loads of noise. I had no idea that a tiny baby could be SO noisy at night. I was always astounded that he seemed to be able to sleep through it! In the end I learned to tune most of it out and did manage to get some sleep. As he got older, he has become a much quieter sleeper but he still struggles with wind and it still takes ages to wind him. Now he only grunts and groans if he has trapped wind, but he generally won't sleep through it now, he wakes up and I have to wind him.

 

[Eve]

My LO is the same way and has got to the point I have will end up going into another room in early morning since I can't sleep through her noises at all I cut out milk from my diet and I am hoping it might make a difference in her gas. She grunts like no tomorrow!!! When we hold her though, she stops... :S I sure hope her tummy settles down soon so we can get back to sleeping all together and snuggles at night

 

[mummabear]

It's amazing how much noise they can make isn't it? I have started wearing earplugs which does at least let me get a little bit of sleep! I guess we'll just need to stick it out and hope that it settles down as they get a little older. My lo is 8 weeks today, so hopefully it won't be too much longer.

xx

 

[Per16]

OMG we have this too, I have asked a few docs and no one can help? I get no sleep nor does Annie?

 

[Cara x]

We are in the exact same boat hun. My lil Olly's been the exact same since 2weeks (now nearly 7wks). I know exactly what you mean with the thrashing and groaning and he wouldnt go down for a good 2-3 hours after a feed, by which time he was getting hungry again. He also had a period between 10pm-2am where there was no way he would sleep. Like you said we tried all the colic remedies, none of which worked. He was put on Gaviscon (2 sachets after every feed) but like you said it made him constipated, was told to reduce to 1 sachet but made him acidy again. Then he was given ranitadine (3 times daily) with the 1 sachet of gaviscon but he is still constipated. Taking him back to docs tomorrow so wll try to get on the comp and let you know.

 

[vanessayogini]

Right - the Dr said that babies have a very sensitive nervous system in their stomach and that all the thrashing and straining is their reaction to digestion and wind and poos etc. I mentioned up-thread that I'd heard that could be a reason and was sceptical about it but I guess it's true! He said there's not a lot you can do about it and that as the digestive system matures, it'll get better...

Doesn't bode well for us getting any sleep in the near future does it

yes i agree with this and my research has proved it to be very true.
my baby was just like how you are describing yours, and as predicted, she has grown out of it cause her insides are maturing. now she sleeps much more deeply.

 

[sun]

Mine was the loudest sleeper ever - he would grunt and wail and strain and thrash around continuously. We didn't give him any meds as the doc said some babies are more sensitive to the sensations of their digestive systems working. It has gotten much better since he was about 6-8 weeks old. I was worried it was colic/reflux, but he is much better. We also moved him to his own room 3 weeks ago and he and us have been sleeping so much better! He sleeps much more soundly now as well - we were always waking each other up before.

xx

 

[mummabear]

My lo is just starting to get slightly better now that she's 8 weeks old. Her first sleep of the night, which is usually reasonably long now, is starting to be fairly quiet and it's only after her first night feed that she starts thrashing, etc. This is a big improvement from before when she used to thrash all night long! I spoke again to the Dr after trying ranitidine with no effect, and we agreed to take her off all medicines & colic remedies and see whether she improves over the next few weeks or so.

I have found this discussion thread really reassuring. Before I posted the query no one I spoke to seemed to have come across this kind of extreme thrashing, etc before, but from reading the posts on here it looks like it's just one of those things that some young babies get and hopefully they'll grow out it by 3-4 months or so. Thanks all. I hope you all get a good nights sleep soon!

xx

 

[Mrs Muffin]

It's called grunting baby syndrome, not that that is any help to you.