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feeding and screaming at my wits end

Hi,

My little girl is 14 weeks old and any one who has seen my previous post will know she wasborn 36 +3 weeks and was in special care and has been investigated for lots of things she currently wears a hip brace and is on siya milk(it might help to know this i dont know).

Shes always suffered with trapped wind and at first had green nappies she was given the
soya milk and her nappies went yellow but are solid balls and she strains alot sometimes screams when she is pooing. she used to scream alot i the day which the docotor put down to colic/cow milsk intolerance. The last three weeks she has been going down at 7 (has done since 5 weeks) and then feeds at 11 (i wake her) and sleeps til 6.30 she has also become a nightmare every day. She naps irregulary could this be theproblem? Ivedone everything baby led and she has established feeding times but not sleeping times and on most of her bottles particulary her 10.30 and 2.30but she doing now with DH at 6.30 screaming when you put the bottle in her mouth, she then calms as soon as you try again she screams sometimes before she has even tried to take any.Im lost for a solution when you can finally get her to take it she takes 4-6 oz. help!!!

Shell

Replies

  • Hi Shell, if your lo is constipated, giving her cooled boiled water between feeds might help. I'm afraid I can't help with the screaming before feeding. But if she is putting on weight, then she's obviously getting enough. James only screams because he is hungry! As for sleeping as far as I'm aware babies sleep because they need to, so their sleep during the day doesn't affect their sleeping at night etc. I feed James on demand, and let him sleep when he wants. Obviously we're not in a routine, but that's my choice. Maybe your littlun just needs more time to establish herself into a sleep routine. Hope she settles soon for you. xx mithical and James 7 weeks 6 days.
  • Hi sorry you and lo are suffering like this. My dd is 15 weeks and also was screaming at her bottle, refusing to feed and being sick..a lot. in addition I have 2 to feed as she is a twin, although my ds has never had a problem with feeding.

    The doctors and hv said colic, wind, reflux etc. We were prescribed gavscon which eased the reflux but caused constipation This meant that she began refusing to feed and crying when I started a bottle. then last week I have changed to comfort milk and no gaviscon, its like I have a new baby. She is laughing and smiling and drinking on average 7oz each feed, I was struggling to get 2 oz into her before.

    I would speak to your dr ad get their advice re changing her milk.

    Hope you get it sorted it is so awful seeing your lo obviously in pain and not knowing how to make it better x
  • hi thanks for your replies, wilmie did you just change your milk on your own ive mentioned several times sma doesnt get on with her even the soya but they want to try other things first etc lactose etc but shes so unhappy and obviously very distressed at feeding times. Im not really sure what to do now?
  • have you spoken to yr HV? I am not up with FF sorry so I dont really know what to do.

    It does sound like she is constip[ated - and we all know how painful that is...and also how we cant eat when we are..so I think yr bubba is trying to tell you something.

    I wld defo speak with yr GP an nd HV again and make them give you answers!! bcos she is lactose intollerant you need to be careful what you introduce to her.....good luck xx
  • These people may be able to help??

    The Cry-sis helpline on 020 7404 5011 is for parents of babies who have sleep problems and / or who cry excessively. The helpline is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week for emotional support and practical advice.

    I found this for you:

    http://www.womenrepublic.co.uk/family_pregnancy/screaming/

    This also maybe really helpful - alot of suggestions:

    http://www.askbaby.com/talk/viewtopic.php?p=6710&sid=6a4c1aa91801e8410f8046b1acc4c25d

    xxx
  • I think she may have GERD (reflux):

    These aer the symptoms.....

    Symptoms of GERD in Infants

    Reflux occurs often in normal infants. More than half of all babies experience reflux in the first 3 months of life. Reflux can become a more serious concern in some infants, when medical attention is needed, and knowing the symptoms of chronic reflux is important.

    Common infant GERD symptoms are:

    Frequent spitting up or vomiting
    Over half of all infants will spit up at some point during their first three months of life. Referred to as "happy spitters," they usually don't require treatment, and will usually outgrow this. For some infants, however, this spitting up, or reflux, is severe and requires treatment.

    Irritability when feeding
    This irritability includes whining, crying, screaming, and fussiness, which can last for varied amounts of time. This irritability can stem from the burning sensation and pain in the esophagus when formula and stomach acid is refluxed into the esophagus.

    Refusing food or eating only small amounts
    Infants may refuse to eat if pain occurs when they swallow. This pain can be caused by the irritation in the esophagus when formula and stomach contents are refluxed back up into the esophagus.

    Arching the back while feeding
    When babies are experiencing abdominal pain or discomfort, they will often arch their backs or draw up their legs.

    "Wet" burps
    When a baby has a "wet" burp, a small amount of liquid is regurgitated as he burps.

    Frequent hiccups
    Hiccups can be triggered by the stimulation of nerves found in the upper part of the stomach or lower part of the esophagus. The vagus nerve, which runs from the brain to the abdomen, can become irritated. This irritation can come from stomach contents entering the esophagus.

    Frequent coughing
    A frequent cough may occur if refluxed stomach acid is aspirated, irritating the airways, or when the stomach acid irritates the throat.

    Poor sleep habits with frequent waking
    When an infant is sleeping and his or her head isn't elevated, this allows stomach contents to press against the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), and can cause it to open inappropriately. When stomach contents are refluxed into the esophagus, it can cause coughing and a choking sensation, which in turn can make sleeping more difficult.

    ******

    A small number of infants will experience the following less common symptoms:

    Difficulty swallowing
    Pain caused by refluxed stomach acid into the esophagus can make it difficult for infants to swallow. An obstruction in the esophagus can also make it difficult to swallow, so any signs of swallowing difficulty needs to evaluated by a physician.

    Frequent sore throat
    When stomach contents back up into the throat, it can cause irritation and a sore throat.

    Respiratory problems (such as asthma, pneumonia, bronchitis, wheezing)
    Several studies suggest a significant link between GERD and asthma. GERD can affect asthma when refluxed acid from the stomach is aspirated into the lungs, and can make breathing difficult and cause the infant to wheeze and cough. This refluxed acid can cause other types of irritation in the lungs, leading to increased odds of pneumonia and bronchitis.

    Excessive drooling
    Excessive drooling usually occurs from improper, inefficient, or infrequent swallowing. If irritation is present in an infant's throat because of refluxed stomach acid, the infant may find it difficult to swallow frequently maybe, and thus will drool more.

    Hoarse voice
    Irritation caused by refluxed stomach acid into the throat can lead to hoarseness.
  • Hi

    I had this with my little for weeks and weeks he would start of feeding and then after a few sucks would just scream and scream. I couldnt feed him out of the house of fear that he would scream and had a really bad episode at the Trafford centre where i locked myself in the breast feeding room untill he took his bottle. He would take about an hour or so to feed.
    He was on SMA gold and then i was told to try Soya and then LActose free with gaviscon.
    I was getting really down and so i just changed milk brand as they were all SMA and switched to Apitmal and this is supposed to be the nearest to breast milk. He has been on this since 10 weeks and i have had no problems since i can take him out and feed hiom aslong as his bottle is the right temp.
    I would def look at changing brand from SMA maybe speak to you HV altho mine was useless and just went on my own back to try sort the problem.

    I hope you get it sorted soon i know how hard it can be

    xxxxx
  • Does she have warm milk? She could be teething and if her milk is warm then it might hurt her gums. My lo went through this with teething so I gave him his milk at room temp.
    If it's not teething it could be silent reflux. x
  • I did speak to my hv about changing her milk but got zero advice. I was told if you think it will help do it. In the end I got so sick of noone wanting to make a decision I made it myself. My theory was that if it worked great..if notthen it was something ese I could tell the doctir I had tried and didnt work.

    I suppose I was lucky that it seems to be working. If you think it will help give it a try. I also use aptamil. Hope you get it sorted quickly x
  • Thank you for all your repliesparticulary all your info misskittyboo.

    One thing that i found particulary interesting was the cough as i keep thinking she had a cough but kept beingtold her chest wasclear. I went to the doctors this morning and demanded gaviscon haha.

    I am still wary of the soya and the sma and still think i should try a different brand but my HV keeps saying that shes never heard of a problem with sma
  • We had this and started gaviscon 4 weeks ago and it has really helped. It was as though she was scared to drink as she knew it was going to hurt so she would go MENTAL when the bottle was near her but be fine at other times.

    She's still a bit fussy with bottles and only takes about 25-30oz a day but we don't get the massive screaming and back arching etc. I think she just isn't that keen on milk really. Thank goodness we are weaning now and the bottles reduce!

    Hope things get better for you. I know how totally draining it is having to fight through every feed.

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