Oh my! I know EXACTLY how you feel! Ben was soooo colic I couldn't function!! He would just cry for 2 hours straight! My 1st doc said that I was suffering from PPD (which I probably was) and it wasn't that bad - yeah ok! I was hysterical crying, I would walk out and leave him in the bassinet screaming! I walked around the house with him, tried to feed him-nothing worked. I tried soy formula, and then went to Nutramigen(That stuff smells so horrible!!) He would vomit constantly which was a lot of fun!
Finally, the 2nd doc I went to when I moved to Florida sent me to a GI specialist and Ben has Acid Reflux. He put him on Zantac which worked. He took 1/2 a pill in the am and pm until he was about a year old.
Ben was (and still is) fussy. He still needs to have visual contact of me or my husband otherwise he's right under our feet. He needs more attention than my DD ever did. But, he pretty much outgrew it.
It was very hard!!! If he was my first I don't know if I would have had another one! LOL I'm sorry you're dealing with this and I hope she gets better for you!
Ben Avi arrived Sept. 15, 2005. Big sis Cameron loves him sooo much!
MYBLESSING05
Posts: 4929
12/29/07 8:42 A
That sounds like my Hayden. We have her on Nutramigen which is a hypoallergenic formula with no milk proteins. This seemed to help for a while but not now. I am wondering if it is that at all. She is on 2 kinds of acid reflux medications now and they don't seem to be working. They are no Zantac though. She arches her back and has silent reflux. I can hear it come up but then it goes right back down so she never spits up. I heard that is almost worse. So we see the GI specialist on the 15th. I am wondering if there is something more the doctors have missed. I have heard some storied that make me think this. But hey, maybe she is just a fussy baby. I hate to think that though.
Thanks for all your tips and advice ladies. It is still rough but we are getting through it day by day. I just hope this does not last much longer. First the docs said it wouldn't go past 3 months, then 6 months...here we are and she is nearing 7 months and it is still ongoing. That's why I think it may be something more. She goes from happy to just screaming out of nowhere.
By the way...good luck with everything!! You are getting so close :)
CHELSEASP BabyPoints:5968
Posts: 805
12/29/07 8:07 A
It's been forever since I checked this board, so I'm sorry if I might be a little late with my response! Jayden was a screamer, and it drove me absolutely crazy. As soon as DH would get home, I'd hand off Jayden...but I'd only get 5 or 10 minute break before I had to take over again. It turns out, we just had a few tummy issues. First off, Jayden had acid reflux, so he was in a lot of pain for awhile. We figured this out after he was a month or two old. Basically, he was spitting up a lot, arching his back, he wouldn't let me put him down for a minute because was apparently more comfortable upright, and he was eating a lot (typically, they eat less, but I think Jayden ate more because the formula probably soothed his throat going down). So we got him on Zantac, and things began to improve immediately. We weren't through it yet though, he was still pretty fussy and acting like he was in pain at times, so I started switching around formulas. We ended up on Lactose Free formula and everything finally fell into place. I was able to breath. Basically, my advice is, see if there is a solution to your problems, maybe you do have a high maintenance baby, but maybe not. Maybe they just need a few things tweaked to make them more comfortable. I hope things get better, I know it can be the most frustrating thing in the world, but it can't last forever.
DANNO1984
Posts: 5264
12/17/07 1:34 P
oh my gosh, ladies, I'm sorry to hear about the struggles you're going through! I really hope it does pass soon, Jodi there has GOT to be some reason for it, babies don't just cry to annoy us, they cry because something is not right with them, I really hope you find it soon.
As for you Kelli, there is this woman I saw on Oprah, and one of the mom's that was her testers on the show was actually a babyfit mom and I originally saw her post it.
http://tinyurl.com/ybje7s
check out that link to the oprah site, watch the video, read up on it. And I have another thing of stuff I copied somewhere, someone who had her dvd basically posted it all on babyfit for us to read. It's an amazing thing this woman has, and I can't wait to test it out on my kids. All the mom's were so relieved after it, and one woman, mother of twins, FINALLY after learning from this woman, managed to get in their first nap, a proper nap of like 3hrs or something! It is only for babies 0-3 months old, after 3 months their language starts to change, especially if these original cries have not been answered to, they change their language to try and communicate it.
here is a quote of what the woman posts
""" I bought the Dunstan Baby Language DVD’s.
Since I spent my $69.95 – I feel that to get MY money’s worth, I’d like to share her “secrets” with you all.
Please do not report me to the intellectual property police!!! Just kidding…
I know we’ve posted the sounds before, but I will “elaborate” on what she says in the DVD as to why / how babies make these sounds.
I've tried to re-create the entire DVD in this post!
Word #1 NEH
Neh is the cry your baby makes when she is hungry.
Background: babies SUCK either breast or bottle by pressing their tongues up to the roof of their mouth (palate). Neh is made by a baby making that sucking motion and adding sound behind it. Try it yourself – stick your tongue up on the roof of your mouth and make a word – it’s Neh – really! So when a baby wants food – they suck and sound off at the same time.
The key to “hearing” this cry is to listen for the “N” sound at the beginning.
Solution to this cry? – feed your baby
Word #2 OWH
Owh is the cry your baby makes when she is tired.
Background: babies YAWN when they are tired. Owh is the sound made by your baby putting sound behind a yawn. Again – try it yourself – yawn and vocalize! So when your baby is tired they will yawn-vocalize at the same time.
The key to this cry is actually looking at your baby – and you will see a round mouth like a yawn during the cry.
Solution to this cry? - Help them sleep – quiet room – settle down – and put them to bed!
Word #3 EH
EH is the cry your baby makes when your baby needs to burp.
Background: air bubbles in the stomach are uncomfortable and babies want them released. To burp your baby needs to tighten the upper chest muscles and get air out. EH is the sound made when your baby tightens their upper chest and vocalizes at the same time. Often the tongue is pressed down in the mouth. Again try it yourself.
The key here is to remember you baby may need to burp “whenever” – even before a feed or during or after or at play time etc. EH is actually the most common cry.
(And in a sad way – babies actually suck air in when they cry – so their air bubble gets worse before it gets better by a burp!)
Solution to this cry? – Burp your baby!
Word #4 EAIRH
EAIRH is the sound your baby makes when she has lower gas pain (colic, colon distension or needs to poop).
Background: It is made by constricting the lower abdominal muscles and vocalizing. It may be a grunting sound. It may sounds like a GRRR (as in grizzly). For adults – when we are constipated or pushing hard stool (as we all did some time during pregnancy!) – We probably made this sound.
The key here is to listen for the distinctive “R” sound.
Solution to this cry? Well – unfortunately – Ms. Dunstan says if you had paid attention to the “eh” there won’t be an “eairh.” (I laughed when she said this on the DVD because sure you could prevent air in the lower colon, but not poop issues!) Anyway – she does give some of the standard lower colic remedies like circular massage of the abdomen or bicycling your baby’s legs or changing to a held prone position.
Word #5 HEH
HEH is the sound your baby makes when they are uncomfortable – as in too hot, cold, in need of a diaper change, wet clothes from spit-up, or need a position change (i.e. lying on their arm or hand caught in a sleeve).
Background: This sound is made by using the chest and diaphragm over an open palate. Often the tongue will protrude out the mouth (like a dog panting). So stick you tongue out and squeeze your chest and vocalize – and it’s a HEH.
The key here is to listen for the distinctive “H” at the beginning.
It is very hard to tell the difference between “EH” and “HEH” – so you need some context as to what your baby is doing at the time. However, sometimes you baby’s H will be very clear.
Solution – context here! Hot / Cold / change diaper / get out of wet clothes / change position / adjust clothing etc.
Other Advice – when a baby is making more than 1 sound – pick the one your baby is making the most – and address that one 1st!
Julie’s 2 cents only – So, what did I think? It was “sort of” helpful. 1. I think she is brilliant for figuring out and breaking down the vocal anatomy and origins of baby cries – so YEAH for Priscilla Dunstan – and the fact that it made her a multi-millionaire isn’t bad either. 2. I hate to be Captain Obvious – but I know when my baby is hungry (usually) – so knowing the hungry cry wasn’t really helpful to me. She eats every 4 hours like an atomic clock! But for more difficult babies and for completeness sake – it’s good to know! 3. The one really positive thing this DVD did for me and DH was that we now really “listen” to DD cries. And we don’t perceive them as negatively as before. We hear her and really think she is speaking (which according to Ms. Dunstan she is!). And we accept her communication and have a tool that might work to break the code. I will admit that I burp DD “A LOT” more often now – and she actually burps – and things are happier from that stand point.
Hope you all enjoyed this!
*Danielle*
Lukas - Oct.2/05
Kaiya - Oct.19/08
http://www.chemicalfreehome.ca
MOUNTAINGIRL
Posts: 1274
12/14/07 2:15 A
You poor things you! Dont ever think for a moment that you both arent excellent wonderful mommies, you are! Its just the hardest thing in the world when your baby cries and wont stop and there is nothing you can do. And that is just it, there is nothing you can do, if you've tried everything sometimes you have to let them cry, and get away so you dont snap. I remember the 3 months of crying with Evabelle, it was one of the hardest things ever and I felt so helpless and like I wanted to throw her out the window sometimes just to make the crying stop. It will end, they wont cry forever. Take time for yourself, and know you are the best mommy these babies could have! Big hugs to you both.
Hanna and Johns First Blessing Baby Girl- Evabelle Mary!
Another miracle on the way! EDD Nov 1st 2009
Baby Girl- Scarlet Sebright
'8 month belly shot'
BABYCORMIER
Posts: 6581
12/13/07 9:05 A
OH NO!!!!! GIrls I agree with Jess, I so wish I could take them off your hands for a while! I never went through this so I don't know quite what to say!!!! Have they seen a Dr.?? Is it colic? For Hayden she's too old for that right!!?? Poor babies, poor mommies!!!!!!!! ((HUGS))
Proud mommy to:
Samantha Jae 9/21/2005 website: http://tinyurl.com/cqoj3
Sienna Elizabeth 3/26/2007 website:http://tinyurl.com/2rlq4d
Sloane Emerson 6/25/2009
WASHINGTONMOM2B
Posts: 965
12/12/07 10:32 P
Jodi....I'm feeling the same way about Grayson. He's been this way since week 2 and I can't stand being around him. I know this must sound horrible, but I don't feel bonded with him or a great deal of love. I don't know why and it makes me feel bad. When Matt gets home I can't wait to hand him off for the night. I try and hide in another part of the house just to get away, but Matt usually needs me to help him with the baby and I don't get a break. I don't understand why men can't do things on their own. He would have to if I wasn't around.
I hope things with Hayden get better. Grayson is only a month and I hope this screaming and fussiness doesn't last much longer. :-)
~~Kelli~~
Emerson Jo
09/04/2005
5lbs 12oz 17.5 in
Grayson Matthew
11/05/2007
6 lbs 13 oz
19.25 in
Hudson Wyatt
06/15/2010
5 lbs 1 oz
JOSMAMA
Posts: 1187
12/12/07 2:00 P
I'm so sorry you are having a rough time. I wish I was there to help you. I'd watch Hayden for you. I know how tough it can be with a screaming baby. I want to tell you that it gets better, but thats not what you need. Please be sure to take time for yourself. It helped me to get out every once in a while with out the kids. Its ok to let her scream. Trust me I did it with Calli. And shes fine. You are a great mom You are doing everything right. Please let me know what the doctor says.
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