Screaming baby

[Walker1992]

My baby is nearly 6 weeks old and since thursday has screamed none stop and really unsettled the health visitor is a was of time and her answer to everything even before screaming was to change her milk and i took her to the hospital and all they can say is babys scream and blaming the health visitor for all the milk changes which i totally get but shes clenching up her knees like shes in pain and they are just fobbing me off i dont know what to do and wish i could take all the problems away

[Flounder84]

Sorry to hear your having such a hard time - I think 6-8 weeks is the peak of crying and it’s so hard when you’ve a baby who cries a lot. It sounds like you’ve got her checked over medically - have you spoke to your gp too, to gain some advise as sometimes they can look into other things that may cause discomfort eg reflux?

Does anything seem to soothe her at the moment? It’s extra hard in this heat though isn’t it

This is a helpline / website too might be worth looking at if everything’s checked out medically as just to get support from others who’ve experienced crying babies cry-sis.org.uk

My little boy cried / screamed a lot and sometimes went very red faced scrunched up his knees. There was no reason medically for us. It really just suddenly eased up when he was 12 weeks old.

[Seb9]

Have a look up on purple crying and the fourth trimester, I found learning about these helped a lot in knowing what behaviour was normal for this age and made me feel a bit better about everything. It's so difficult because all you want is to make them happy, I remember walking round our house for hours day and night just holding baby and singing to her because she'd just cry non stop. All that really helps is time but it feels endless when you're going through it.

I found putting her in a sling and walking round helped and trying to get out for a walk everyday.

My husband would also take over to give me a break when he got in from work and get up early work baby before he went to work in the morning so I could catch up on some sleep or have a shower. Plus my mum would have her sometimes too for an hour or so. I would definitely say get as many people to help you as offer and don't turn any help down.

At 6 weeks any first milk should be fine for them as they're all really highly regulated, unless they get diagnosed with an actual cows milk allergy or any thing like that, the first stage milks should all be very similar. Unless baby is diagnosed with allergies or reflux then I'd stick with a first stage milk.

Good luck with everything xx

[Oliversmum]

I know you’re probably sleep deprived but you need to try and look for triggers.

I remember my little girl pooping during her bottle so I laid her down to chance her nappy and she went wild! And actually burst a blood vessel in her eye. I couldn’t even get her nappy back on. Then she starting pulling faces like she was tasting something bad- silent reflux. I was also giving her infracol to help with wind but that was causing the reflux.

We changed milks a lot and she finally settled on similac alimentum (not that she used to drink loads of it) as she was milk and gluten intolerant. Poop will give you the answers here. Slimy, mucus or black flecks (blood) are all red flags. Also constipation, watery/runny or awful smelling poos are also another good sign to look for.

Restless sleep (constant moving) also tells you things aren’t right. Hopefully your gp is supportive and so is your partner. It took 9 months for my daughter to settle hopefully it will be something and nothing with yours.

Biggest thing is ALWAYS TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS! and never let a dr etc fob you off.

Wishing you both lots or love and luck.

[Walker1992 in reply to Oliversmum]

Thank you i've been reading up on this silent reflux last night i think i am going to try her on reflux milk. Can i ask when you say smelly poo was that due to the reflux or the milk intolarance xx

[Rainy2018 in reply to Walker1992]

It could be the milk intolerance. I even used to give her lactose muller free yogourt. I would only do a lactose intolerance one xtreme cases. It's just gas that's causing it smelly and runny. With the lactose free we never had any problems with it.

[Rainy2018 in reply to Walker1992]

I even use gripe water now it's great if your kid is constipated because it's better than lactulose that the Dr prescribe.

[Walker1992 in reply to Rainy2018]

Thank you i've give her gripwater the last few days and i've just been to get some reflux milk to see how she goes, the prescription milk she has been given to see if she has a milk intolorance is no good she wont drink it really and its 2 watery and shes bringing it back up in lumps so i'm.guessing its curdling on her larl stomac.

[Oliversmum in reply to Walker1992]

I would say the smelly poo was more about the food intolerances. Maybe instead of switching her milk again, just keep her upright for 20 minutes after a feed or you could try baby gavison. But bewarn gavison or reflux milk can cause constipation, which brings it own problems. Like I said patience patience patience. 🙂

[Oliversmum]

Sorry I wanted to add, sometimes things are just trial and error. Be patient with the whole situation, it’s hard but you will get there.

[Knittingababy]

Hey just saw this post and not sure if helpful but when my son was crying/screaming at a similar age it turned out we had not been burping him properly and he had gas etc. We added some extra leg and winding routines in, plus the gripe water you can buy in pharmacy gripe water. We also went to see a cranial osteopath who specialises on working with infants....follow your gut and hard as it is keep a food and sleep diary (I kept one for a whole year) as my son was not eating or sleeping well for the first six months...x

[Juwee in reply to Knittingababy]

Hello.... I feel your pain my baby did the same thing. My dear old neighbor that had raised 6 kids told me I needed to take my baby to cranial osteopath ... I booked an appt for the next week and the change was just incredible. It looks like they aren't doing anything but obviously from the horrible birth my little girl was all twisted and in pain. She was like a different baby after 2 treatments. Was such a relief. I fully recommend even though I was skeptical at first.

[Susie23]

It might be trapped wind or reflux. Make sure you burp after every feed. Rotating the legs like they are riding a bike helps too. I raised one end of the cot very slightly to help with reflux but don’t do it too much or they will slide down. It’s very tempting to not burp a baby if it’s fell asleep when feeding but you have to do it or it will result in trapped wind.

[Rainy2018]

Lactose free milk is the solution it took me five weeks to read this online. Mine used to scream like crazy stop all the crazy milk changes the health visitors and even the Dr from the hospital don't know anything they will tell you to use a different milk for about month and go back to it. I used lactose free until she was one. Even now at 3 her poos are more runny so I avoid using so much butter, greasy foods and stick to semi skimmed milk. Watch out in giving so much products that have milk in it even pancakes just a little it they will grow out of it but I'm happy for mine to stick to semi skimmed milk. The Dr and health visitors because they don't have kids until really late in their life they can only tell you what they think. My sis tried some drops that you get from super drug pretty expensive and is usand Dr which breaks down the enzymes in the milk even that doesent work straight away could take months and I don't have the patience and listhen to her scream every time so I gave up and stuck with lactose free milk no hassle. You can do as many tummy rubs and move your child's legs in a bicycle way it won't work. Not every child grows out of it at 6 ks and certainly isent worth hassle and stress to put you baby through.

[Hidden]

My baby is nearly 8w but from about 6w he’s the same it’s colic trapped wind 💨 infacol, gripe water helps, moving his legs on circular motion, lying him over my knee rubbing his back, or over my shoulder usually helps. It usually starts about 5/6pm but seems to be getting easier. He’s very windy constantly farting lol

[Walker1992 in reply to Hidden]

Yeah my little girl is the same constantly farting i've been giving her gripewater, shes awake all day screaming on and off and at night time the only way to get her to fall asleep is to stand in the bathroom with the shower on. I've read into silent reflux aswell which she has a lot of symptoms of so i've swopped her milk tp reflux milk i might try readding infacol to i will honestly try anything i feel like a bad mam.

[Hidden in reply to Walker1992]

Don’t feel like a bad Mam my 1st used to scream for hours at night I honestly didn’t know what to do either but they do eventually stop. This baby is my 3rd with a 15&13 yr gap I’m glad my kids and fiancé are so hands on helping it makes life a lot easier. I keep telling them he’s only crying if he’s hungry, wet/poop, tired or full of wind eliminate each one see if he stops lol

[Knittingababy in reply to Walker1992]

Hiya have you got those sleep apps on your phone..they are free and have loads of rain shower sounds...my son is 6/7 years old almost but he still uses "dripping water" sounds on an old phone as his bedtime sleep noise. It saved our life...there is seashore and heartbeat sound etc which really helped when he was having tantrums due to being overtired xx

[Walker1992 in reply to Knittingababy]

We have a owl you press that plays water sounds she loves it i think i have just about figured out the problem she has silent reflux so i've ignored my health visitor and put her on reflux milk and she is alot more settled than she was

[Knittingababy in reply to Walker1992]

Great to hear!! Enjoy your precious time with her x

[Yz81]

I had the exact same experience with lactulose. It was no use at all. The gripe water helped a bit but it gave my little one tummy aches. A change to a non-cows milk formula made so much difference. Mine didn't cry but used to constantly strain until his face turned red. I used to sit the whole night holding him on my chest. He would strain and twist with pain all night if I put him down. I went to the hospital once and kept calling the GP until they take my suspicion of cow's milk allergy seriously and came up with solutions. I had to give up milk myself as I'm breastfeeding. I hope you get some solution. I know how painful it is to see them suffer and you can't do anything to take it away xx