Help FReeper Moms! (screaming Godson)

12/29/2009 | me

[WestwardHo]

Grandmas don’t lie...I second Pepperdog. Try any substitute, formula, goat milk, but Pet Milk and a little Karo syrup to prevent constipation is the old standby.

[AZLiberty]

This sounds like food allergies. Our son had searing diaper rash periodically during first weeks until we realized he was allergic to tomatoes -- through the breast milk. Try an "elimination diet", eliminating the most common food allergens: peanuts, tree nuts (such as walnuts, pecans and almonds), fish, and shellfish, milk, eggs, soy products, and wheat.

I would also eliminate anything gas-producing, such as beans, since this could just be gas pains.

[Jemian]

Prayer!

Having said that, make sure his diapers are dry, that he is fed, that he has no pins sticking in him, then, when the crying is too much for the caretaker, pass him on to someone else, or lay him down and let him cry.

It sounds cruel. It is tough on everyone. But when you have done everything, then there is literally nothing more to do. You’re not neglecting him, but you are finite and as long as he is jeopardized (that is, in no danger) let him cry. It will stop by the time he is 18 years old.

[dnandell]

My eldest child screamed for the first 9 months of his life. What worked for him was to put him in one of those front-pack snugli things and then vacuum.

We also found that if we took him for a car ride while playing Enya REALLY LOUD it would make him fall asleep. With my son, if he fell asleep during his screaming time, it meant he’d just be up later screaming.

I’ve also heard that babies like Ricky Martin. I didn’t try that though. :-)

I also recommend reading Dr. Dobson’s book.

Good Luck!!

[FarRightFanatic]

Mom of 5 here so let me see if I can help your niece and most importantly, your godson. A few questions:

Has Mom ever tried pumping to see if she is producing enough milk? If he is almost 2 months old, he is probably needing around 2.5 oz of milk for every pound of weight. So if he’s 10 lbs, he needs about 25 oz per day. My oldest was a somewhat of a screamer and I was bound and determined to breastfeed, but by the age of 6 weeks, I had to supplement with formula. It was tough to “give up” on strictly breastfeeding, but it was the best thing for him and he was almost overnight a different baby.

How premature was he? Could his digestive system be immature so he is having a lot of pain due to that? There is a formula called Nutramigen that is specifically for digestion issues that might help if Mom will consider just supplementing a bottle or two a day.

Has she tried going to a very bland diet for a week to see if that helps? Cut out all caffeine, broccoli, beans, nuts, spicy foods, etc., and see if that helps. Also, she needs to drink lots and lots and LOTS of water every day. Even when she thinks she’s drank enough, drink another glass. Also, there is a tea called Mother’s Milk Tea that enhances milk production. It tastes terrible, but it is palatable with enough sugar :)

Has she given him Mylicon drops? Those work wonders on a little tummy. Does he get burped enough? I mean, do they make SURE he has burped once or twice?

Will he sleep on Mom’s chest? Sometimes sleeping on the tummy seems to soothe babies gas pain.

Has she tried a swing? Or letting him sleep in his carseat? Sleeping upright can do a lot to help, too.

I know, it’s a million questions, but I feel so bad for both your niece and her little baby. Let me know how things go, OK? Good luck :)

[BykrBayb]

Try a warm belly massage. Put a warm dry towel across his belly, and gently rub with the palm of your hand. Be careful not to poke with the tips of your fingers, as that will make him more tense. Especially if he’s ticklish. You can try this on his back and other areas as well.

[IYAS9YAS]

I agree with switching to formula. It sounds like it may be colic.

My son had it from about 3 weeks to three months - we got lucky it didn't last longer. We didn't find a cure until we had our daughter. She started with the same symptoms.

A theory is that the mother produces too much fore milk and not enough hind milk. The foremilk fills baby's tummy, then, because of the fore milk is digested too rapidly, it creates a lot of bubbles. The baby doesn't get enough hind milk and is also hungry.

When we switched to formula for our daughter, the symptoms went away immediately.

[MissEdie]

Have the doctor check him for problems with his adnoids (sp?), tonsils,ears, and for acid reflux. A friend of mine’s infant son screamed a lot until his doctor discovered problems with his adnoids and tonsils that made it difficult for the child to breathe comfortably. Another friend’s infant daughter screamed a lot due to what turned out to be acid reflux, and yet another friend’s son screamed because of problems with his ears.
From personal experience with my daughter who cried a lot while I was breastfeeding, is the child getting enough to eat?

[mommyq]

If it’s any consolation, babies who are colicy grow up to have the best dispositions: easy going, friendly, fun. It’s your reward for patience.

[mad_as_he$$]

Lots of good advice on this thread.
Not for nothing but are you sure mom is delivering enough milk to satisfy?

My younger one would drain everything in sight and still be hungry.

[The Comedian]

Alternately, you can apply the device to yourself with similar effect:

However, this may cause trauma in the child, and cause him to attempt to convince you that he's "not the child you're looking for", and that he can "go about his business", and that he can "move along".

Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.

[elc]

I have oversupply and Over Active Let Down. That led to lots of foremilk/hindmilk problems in the beginning.

The obvious sign of this is dark green poop. An exclusively breastfed baby will have yellowish colored poop.

If this is suspected she could just pump off a bit of milk or hand express some before nursing. This will get out a lot of the foremilk and get to the good, fatty hindmilk.

[elc]

If she is concerned about the baby not getting enough to eat she should make an appointment with a lactation consultant. They can weigh the baby just before feeding and just after and see how much he eats.

If he’s gaining weight, I doubt that is the problem.

I know a lot of people on this thread recommended Dobson’s book. It’s good, I have it. But I also love Dr. Sears. And I do know a lot of his stuff is online. Not sure about Dobson’s.

Here’s Dr. Sears’s list of colic causing foods:

If your child is experiencing colic, it may be due to something in your diet that is passing through the breastmilk. Here is a list of foods that may be the culprit. You can eliminate all foods at once or just a few at a time, depending on how severe the colic is. It sometimes takes up to two weeks for a food to get out of your system, so be patient. Good luck!

Dairy products
Caffeine – coffee, tea, soda
Soy products
Peanuts
Shellfish
Chocolate (sorry!)
Citrus fruits
Wheat
Chicken
Beef
Eggs
Nuts
Corn
Prenatal vitamins (The iron may be irritating to baby. Ask your OB for an alternative if this is the culprit.)

Gassy vegetables:
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Onions
Green peppers
Tomatoes

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/8/t083301.asp

[GailA]

The mom could try adding probiotics to her diet, the kind found in Activia yogurt but in pill form since she's given up the dairy. It's all the natural bacteria found in the gut, the little one might be lacking enough of them.

We used 2 drops of peragoric (sp?) when our oldest had daily bouts with the colic, can't get it any more I don't think. The OTC stuff didn't work for my youngest, the chamolie (sp?) tea did the most good for him.

St John's Wort calms the nerves for me if that might help the mom.

[LongElegantLegs]

Is he being burped sufficiently?

[Plumres]

My son and grandson both screamed for hours at a time mainly at night. They both had ear infections that casued most of their issues. My wife came up with an idea for my grandson since I was the one staying up with him at night. Put him to bed at 9 PM and just let him cry himself out. The first night it took 43 minutes. The second night it took 43 minutes. The third night it took 18 minutes. The fourth night he did not cry nor did he cry much at night after that.

[GrannyAnn]

The baby could be starving. You never know with breast milk. Unless you know for sure that the baby is getting enough breast milk, I would try a bottle of something. It can’t hurt.

[rom]

My wife and I have 3 kids (5 yr, 3 yr, and 10 months old). All 3 kids had problems with my wife’s breastmilk. Our youngest had to be cutoff early (we went to 3 months with her). They had green poop, would get skin problems, etc. My wife tried to cut her diet of dairy, and it definetley helped.

My suggestion is to have your niece cut back on dairy, and other foods that can be gassy and that she can then continue to breastfeed — espcially with a preemie. If that fails, she may want to try formula.

[dawn53]

I googled her, and found a website dedicated to her philosophies. Amazing 111 and still kicking!!!

Once we were visiting friends in south Atlanta, and my son became ill. My friend took all her kids to Dr. Denmark, so we made the trek up to her “office.” She spent 45 minutes with us (appts. were on a first come first served basis) and when I asked her what I owed, she said $10. This was 20 years ago, but still that was an unheard of price for a dr. visit, much less a dr. visit that lasted 45 minutes.

http://www.drdenmarksaidit.com/who_is_dr_denmark.html

[KosmicKitty]

Is he getting enough when he nurses?

I tried with all four of mine, but I guess I wasn’t a good milk cow cause I just couldn’t make enough to feed them. For the oldest 3, as son as I stopped nursing, they stopped crying.

Had to put my youngest, also born on Oct 10th, on soy formula.

He was waking up hungry, I’d give him the regular stuff & he’d scream for 2 hours, sleep for an hour or 2 and we’d start the processes all over again. The soy did the trick for him.