Baby constantly crying

xzanti

My baby son is 3 weeks old and he cries an awful lot literally if he's not sleeping or eating he's howling his head off.. We can't find any reason for it..

He's a very hungry baby, we had to change him from the SMA gold to the blue tin for the hungrier babies and he's taking 5 oz every 3 hours.. this is what the District Nurse advised.. He'll usually leave a drop in the bottles so I don't think he's still hungry after feeds..

My OH has had to go off out with him in the pram to try and sooth him this evening.. that's the only reason I have time to write this post

I don't think he has colic, my Mother told me that colic babies will bring their knees up to their chest with the pain, but he doesn't do that... instead he goes completely rigid and straightens his legs out so we can't even cradle him in our arms. (he's very strong for a 3 week old). we have to put him on our shoulder to try and comfort him..

He is sleeping at night... he only wakes up once during the night and then again at around 6am... this seems to only be a problem during the day.. We are left scratching our heads here..

Any advice will be greatly appreciated

louloubelle

Xzanti is it mostly after feeding that he is crying. It could be reflux or trapped wind. As far as I know colic tends to be at a certain stage during the day but i could be wrong on that. My son had horrendous colic from 4pm to nearly 10pm every night for about 3 months. It was the hardest part of motherhood i must say. I don't know much about reflux but it sounds like the poor little thing is in some sort of pain especially if he is straightening out his legs and going all rigid. Cranial Osteopathy might also help.

xzanti

Hi louloubelle,

No, it's not just after feeds it's any time that he's not asleep.. and to get him asleep I'll usually have to take him out in the pram between feeds..

We are spending ages winding him and he'll always give a few good burps.. he doesn't spit up much, he's only done that once or twice..

We're losing our marbles

What's cranial osteopathy?

louloubelle

I can well imagine how hard it must be especially as you just can't see what might be wrong with the little mite. Maybe have another chat with the health nurse. Generally at this age they should be sleeping more than they're awake and crying which would make me wonder is there something wrong.

RoundyMooney

Congrats xzanti.

Is it possible he's suffering from bowel cramps?

xzanti

RoundyMooney wrote: »

Congrats xzanti.

Is it possible he's suffering from bowel cramps?

Thanks Roundy

Anything is possible.. is there any way of knowing if he has bowel cramps?

January

How are his poo's??

Cranial Osteopathy, I was thinking this myself... my daughter is a very bad sleeper.... but she was a c section baby (after about 7 hours of labour) would it help? She's two?

pokerface_me

Xzanti, sounds exactly like my daughter when she was a baby. She is now 20 months. Everything you say happened and we discovered it was the bowel, basically her passage wasn't big enough to pass her stools. She had a small job done to widen the passageway and never looked back. I feel your partners pain as that was me for 3-4 months, my wife got quite down after the birth so i did everything i could, babies crying never bothered me so it was no problem.

We went ti our ladys with her, explained what was going on and within a week it was sorted and only 24 hours in hospital. Get it checked you won;t regret it.

Cat Melodeon

Has he been like this every day xzanti or is it intermittent? If it's 3 days or so in a row and then a couple of days of calm, it could be as simple as growth spurts (my lad had them at 3 days, 9 days and 3 weeks, then every 3 weeks). The best way to deal with them is to feed smaller feeds more often (try every 2 hours rather than every three). His tummy is still tiny, he may not be able to cope with bigger feeds.

If it's constant crying every day, it could be a number of things, from colic to lactose intolerance to the hungry baby formula being too difficult for him to digest. Personally, I'd look at the last one first - the milder the formula the better. Could you switch back to a gentler one and try feeding him more often? It might help to try and replicate a normal feeding pattern as much as possible, feeding him when he's hungry (and attempting to feed him every time he cries) rather than sticking to a schedule not based on his tummy. Once he settles down in a couple of weeks and the feeds stretch out, you could try and initiate a routine that suits you better, but maybe go with him for now. Popping him in a sling between feeds might help a bit too, it's very good for fussy or colicky babies and leaves you free to do things too (especially if you get your other half to do the carrying!).

And of course, if your gut tells you it's something more than this, go to your GP, or go back to the hospital. Visits are free until 6 weeks after the birth, make use of them if you feel the need!

xzanti

January wrote: »

How are his poo's??

Cranial Osteopathy, I was thinking this myself... my daughter is a very bad sleeper.... but she was a c section baby (after about 7 hours of labour) would it help? She's two?

His poo's are fairly regular and plenty of it tbh..

What is this Cranial Osteopathy? My baby was a C Section aswel..

January

I'm not sure but I've heard it a few times from a different forum... some parents swear by it... I'd like to hear more about it...

xzanti

Cat Melodeon wrote: »

Has he been like this every day xzanti or is it intermittent? !

It's every day.. I called my Mother the other day and described it to her and she said I was exactly the same for the first 3 months and that there's nothing I can do.. I don't buy this though.. I'm sure there's something that can be done for him..

Edit: I've just had a quick look at his cranial osteopathy stuff.. might be worth a try..

Cranial osteopathy is an absolute boon for new mothers. This most gentle form of manipulation can soothe the trauma of birth and give their babies a head-start for a healthy happy life. But what exactly is this wonder therapy and is it really such a miracle cure-all?

Cranial osteopathy is a very gentle, yet extremely powerful, part of osteopathy. While standard osteopathy is generally known for its high velocity cracks and crunches, cranial work is so gentle you would barely know you were having it. As the name suggests it involves manipulating the infinitesimal joints of the cranium or skull, known as sutures. Although these sutures are so very tiny, they can become as traumatised or restricted as any joint in the body. The osteopath seeks to ease any abnormalities, gently returning the bones of the cranium to a position of ease and comfort.

Although all osteopaths are aware of cranial work, many don’t choose to work in this way. Peter Bartlett explains that some osteopaths avoid cranial techniques because they simply cannot work at such a subtle level. ‘Put a hair under a page of a telephone directory and most people would be able to feel where it was,’ he says, ‘however the best cranial osteopaths could feel that hair through the whole telephone directory.’ Bartlett works a lot with babies who have had difficult births and says that a wide variety of behavioural and developmental problems can be ironed out with the treatment. He tells of one baby which cried incessantly, only sleeping for half an hour at a time. The parents were exhausted and worried sick. After half an hour of treatment, the baby become quiet and immediately slept for two whole hours. A few treatments later his behaviour was perfectly normal.

The treatment is so subtle and the results so powerful that many people find cranial osteopathy hard to comprehend. ‘People think it’s magic or faith healing, but it’s not,’ says Corina Petter, a cranial expert at the Hale Clinic in London. ‘This is firmly based on anatomy and physiology. It relies on fundamental science. If you know your anatomy you can feel the stress traumas within the body and release them.’

So why exactly is it so useful for babies? ‘Few births are ‘easy’ for either mother or child,’ explains Phil Parker who specialises in cranial work. ‘The mother’s pelvis and pelvic floor have to accommodate the turbulent passage of the infant, whilst the infant is forcibly squeezed (or more precisely wrung) out of the womb and then is subjected to a series of twists and turns as it passes through the birth canal to be ejected from the warm, comfortable womb into the (relatively) harsh, cold, bright lighted world.’

This is, of course, a totally natural process and in most cases the birth is fine, helped by the fact that the bones in a baby’s head are flexible and can easily overlap. However various problems can arise. At the first stage of labour, your cervix might not dilate quite enough and so the baby’s head could be forced repetitively onto the cervix and pelvic bones, causing trauma and stress.

As your baby leaves the womb it undergoes a series of twists and turns which help to mould his or her head. Problems can occur at this stage if the baby’s passage is either too fast (the head doesn’t have the time it needs to become properly moulded) or too slow (the head and body can get squashed and the baby can become very stressed).

When Mel Rowe had baby Martha, the birth was easy but very fast. By the time Martha was four and a half months old, Mel was, to use her own words, ‘desperate.’ Martha was crying relentlessly and had permanent colic. She couldn’t keep down milk and never slept in the day. ‘I had heard wonderful things about cranial osteopathy and desperately hoped it would make a difference,’ says Mel, ‘but at the same time wondered if anything could.’ She took Martha to Phil Parker and after a few days Martha became much more settled. A few sessions later the problems had vanished. ‘I was more than impressed,’ she says, ‘Martha became an incredibly happy baby.’

Forceps and vacuum (Ventouse) extraction can also cause trauma. Even Caesarian delivery can present a number of problems. In all cases, the cranial osteopath can gently align the bones of the skull into their optimum position – as if the baby had experienced an ideal birth. When this essential framework is in place, so many problems simply disappear. It really does seem like magic.

However osteopathy can help far more than birth trauma. Jenny Harris had a normal pregnancy and delivery but her baby Emily was floppy. ‘Emily was just like a limp rabbit’ recalls Jenny. ‘She didn’t make a sound, not even to cry; there were no reflexes, barely any life in her at all. We were shifted from doctor to doctor but basically they said there was nothing they or we could do for her. They more or less said she’d be a cabbage.’ Fortunately Jenny knew about cranial osteopathy and she took Emily to osteopath Rex Brangwyn in Brighton. ‘He didn’t hold out much hope but as he worked on her an incredible thing happened: she cried for the very first time. I couldn’t believe it,’ says Jenny. After that, he worked on Emily intensively – several times a week to begin with – and she came on in leaps and bounds.

‘Em still has problems – it isn’t a total cure by any means and she still has special needs,’ says Jenny, ‘But I have no doubt that, but for Rex, she wouldn’t be running around and playing. Cranial osteopathy saved Emily, I’m quite sure of that.’

In an ideal world all babies would have cranial osteopathy following birth – particularly if the birth is unusual in any way. Fortunately this gentle wonder-treatment is becoming better known and recognized – many doctors are now realizing that cranial osteopathy can find solutions where drugs and orthodox medicine are unable to help. Tina Longworth was initially surprised when her GP suggested she visit Phil Parker with her baby Marcus. Marcus was suffering terrible nightmares following a meningitis scare which had put him through the trauma of a lumbar puncture in hospital. He would wake five times a night screaming and arching his back. But after the first session Marcus only had one nightmare the whole week and, after the second session, they had disappeared completely. ‘We were amazed and delighted,’ says Tina.

There is no doubt that a visit to a cranial osteopath is one of the greatest gifts you can give to your new-born baby but it could also be a perfect present for yourself as well. Osteopathy isn’t just for babies – it works wonders for new mothers too. Pregnancy and birth put undoubted stresses and strains on your body and an osteopath can help to put everything gently back into place. Best of all, cranial osteopathy isn’t just effective – it also feels absolutely divine. And the one thing every new mum needs is the feelgood factor – both for her baby and for herself.

Das Kitty

Give the PHN a ring xzanti. They'll be able to guide you properly (and for free).

Dades

Does he cry consistently all day - or more in the evening? Definitely look into reflux (and silent reflux) anyway. Our fella used to cry and strain like yours but only in the evening and it was silent reflux.

metrovelvet

There are theories that c section babies need a lot of extra touching and reassurance. It is an unnatural birth for them and in my experience, we had something like a fourth trimester if you get me which made the first six months very demanding.

I would be careful with those extra hungry formulas too [my son vomitted them regularly]. Their digestive tracks are so delicate at this stage that asking them to digest anything too rich might be too much.

If I could do it again.... a white noise machine.... and more baby slinging.

Vel

You are describing exactley how my little girl was. She is 5 months now and from Day 1 until about 8 weeks she literally constantly cried. She too was a big feeder but didn't appear to be suffering from colic either. Nothing would soothe her apart from if we constantly walked her around which we couldn't do as we also have a 2 year old. Like your son she was sleeping at night and this was more of a day time thing. We were eventually referred to the hospital by our GP as she wasn't gaining weight very well (we now know thisn was down to her burning calories from crying so much) and combined with the crying she felt it would be no harm.

By the time our hospital appointment came around at about 10 weeks she had really improved as she became more interactive and aware of her surroundings. We were asked lots of questions at the hospital and there conclusion was that she was just an unhappy baby and that some babies just are.

At 5 months now, she is much improved but can still have her moments! She is a much more vocal baby than my son and demands much more attention than he did at a similar age.

So, while I'm not saying your case is the same, your mum might be right in that sometimes there is nothing medical wrong.

Be careful of yourself. It can really get to you after a while and in the last month I have been diagnosed with PND. I'm not saying I wouldn't have gotten it if she had been a less difficult baby but it has been agreed that it has contributed to it

Nevyn

It's only been 3 weeks, if your concerned bring the baby back to the hospital.
Personally I don't think he's crying more then either of mine did.
Have you tried baby wearing?
The first 4 weeks I swear both mine just wanted to be held all the time and have human warmth and contact, didn't have to be me, thier Dad would sit holding them or I was lucky to have siblings who'd call in after work/school and just sit holding them for an hour while I got things done.

Jinxi

Xanti, rigid/stiff baby even when being held says pain to me. Before you mess around with feed, try winding 3 or 4 times during a feed.
What pokerface is talking about is ploric stenosis. If babs is having lots of poos it shouldn't be a worry.
If they are holding down feeds it can rule out reflux.
So it sounds like trapped wind/colic, which there isn't much you can do except wind more often. My sis tried gaviscon but it slowed down my nephews bowels significantly. Some people recommend sugar water(no scientific proof, but it works apparently).
I would try slinging as it will give comfort and help if there is wind.
Also I have heard mothers swear by cranial ost.

Good luck

January

Jinxi wrote: »

Xanti, rigid/stiff baby even when being held says pain to me. Before you mess around with feed, try winding 3 or 4 times during a feed.
What pokerface is talking about is ploric stenosis. If babs is having lots of poos it shouldn't be a worry.
If they are holding down feeds it can rule out reflux.
So it sounds like trapped wind/colic, which there isn't much you can do except wind more often. My sis tried gaviscon but it slowed down my nephews bowels significantly. Some people recommend sugar water(no scientific proof, but it works apparently).
I would try slinging as it will give comfort and help if there is wind.
Also I have heard mothers swear by cranial ost.

Good luck

Pyloric stenosis is actually a condition which effects the stomach, not the bowels. It prevents food from entering the intestines. What pokerface_me is talking about is the back passage being too small and needing to be stretched to widen it.

xzanti, have you tried gripe water?

Kent Brockman

XZanti, tough time:(
The 1st thing you need to do is go to your GP and arrange to have a urine sample from your child tested and then cultured (this needs to be done in the hospitals lab).
This will determine if the baby has any infection etc and can also give you peace of mind if the sample is clear.
If there is an infection it can then be treated.
Best of luck, its very tough at the best of times (mans point of view lol!) but the crying and worry doesm't help.

elius

xzanti wrote: »

My baby son is 3 weeks old and he cries an awful lot literally if he's not sleeping or eating he's howling his head off.. We can't find any reason for it..

He's a very hungry baby, we had to change him from the SMA gold to the blue tin for the hungrier babies and he's taking 5 oz every 3 hours.. this is what the District Nurse advised.. He'll usually leave a drop in the bottles so I don't think he's still hungry after feeds..

My OH has had to go off out with him in the pram to try and sooth him this evening.. that's the only reason I have time to write this post

I don't think he has colic, my Mother told me that colic babies will bring their knees up to their chest with the pain, but he doesn't do that... instead he goes completely rigid and straightens his legs out so we can't even cradle him in our arms. (he's very strong for a 3 week old). we have to put him on our shoulder to try and comfort him..

He is sleeping at night... he only wakes up once during the night and then again at around 6am... this seems to only be a problem during the day.. We are left scratching our heads here..

Any advice will be greatly appreciated

Complete novice here but are little lad is 3weeks older. He was on the same amount of food well 150mm.
Although are small lad sits and goo's and ga's he dosent really cry unless he is hungry.
He is in the middle of a growth spurt at the moment so is drinking (Aptimal) 150 mm nearly every 2 hours. And with it he's crying more than not.

Iv'e found are Hairdryer to be very good he shuts up instantly or a white noise is good but not as good as the hairdryer... Have your tried a dummy i know some people dont like them but at time's they can be very good to settle them...
Hope all works out

Nevyn

Can we please not make suggestions re medical conditions, it's against the site rules.

xzanti

Thanks for all the replies guys...

Got him some Infacol yesterday having had a talk with the Pharmasist.. there is a definate improvement so fingers crossed we've gotten to the bottom of it.. he still has his moments but not half as bad as it was..

Das Kitty

There is some sort of weird thing that happens at 6 weeks where they get accustomed to the world and vastly improve with regard to crying and sleeping. Just remember that this phase will pass.

upinthesky

Das Kitty wrote: »

There is some sort of weird thing that happens at 6 weeks where they get accustomed to the world and vastly improve with regard to crying and sleeping. Just remember that this phase will pass.

very very true!
hope you sorted things out and your little lad is feeling better

Chuchu

Hi Xzanti sorry to hear you're having a tough time and you won't want to hear or believe this.. but it will pass and you'll hardly remember it in a few months! and needless to say if not, bring him back to nurse or Doc as Mam always knows what's best, even if you're a first timer!

I thought I'd tell you a bit about our experience... don't rule out silent reflux, unlike regular reflux where it's quite obvious due to lots of projectile pukes (gross sorry!!) silent reflux goes up and back down the oesophagus and can be quite uncomfortable for the baba (like indigestion) and hard to diagnose. We were convinced ours had it, told a doc and got infant gaviscon for her and thought it made a difference for a while but to be honest between growth spurts and the digestive system just getting used to things and maturing over these first few months it's hard to know.

We did not use a hungry formula but an 'easy digest/comfort' one for a while, again may or may not have had an impact but might be worth a try. Our problem was the opposite; her not settling at night, mooching and seemingly in discomfort, but after that magic month 3 or 4 mark she settled down. She didn't cry that much though, and what you said about stiffening up does sound uncomfortable, so I'd go with your gut if you think your baba is still in pain bring them back to the Doc until you get an answer you're happy with.

Also someone else said something about c section babies suffering from the experience of an unnatural birth and can be cranky, I've actually heard the opposite as they have not had any birth canal trauma; so don't be feeling worried about that, esp as there's not much you could do about it now

Chuchu

Das Kitty wrote: »

There is some sort of weird thing that happens at 6 weeks where they get accustomed to the world and vastly improve with regard to crying and sleeping. Just remember that this phase will pass.

Just saw that after my cross post Das Kitty.... too true!!

Woops Thaedydal... just saw your post too sorry! Feel free to delete.

bryaner

Sounds exactly like our youngest (now 12). Went trough hell rigid body belly like a rock, screaming the house down.

In the end soya milk sorted the problem and we got our first nights sleep in months.

Dades

I find it hard to get my head around how the type of birth could affect a baby for the first few months of it's life.
Even if that was the case I'd have thought a c-section the least 'traumatic'.
I'm skeptical to say the least!

That said, what do I really know about birth and babies?

Greystoner

January wrote: »

Pyloric stenosis is actually a condition which effects the stomach, not the bowels. It prevents food from entering the intestines. What pokerface_me is talking about is the back passage being too small and needing to be stretched to widen it.

xzanti, have you tried gripe water?

Gripe water is fab and even better than Infacol as it brings up the wind and warms the tummy to comfort, BUT is not advised for babies under a month old.

Any worries with a young baby, go to your GP or contact your maternity hospital, thats what they are there for and you won't look like a neurotic parent, but a caring one!!

Oh and Congrats on your new arrival by the way!

xzanti

Greystoner wrote: »

Gripe water is fab and even better than Infacol as it brings up the wind and warms the tummy to comfort, BUT is not advised for babies under a month old.
!

I've been putting a little on his soother and it does help a little bit.. the box advises a 0.5ml spoonful of it.. how big would this be? a teaspoon??

He'll be 4 weeks on Thursday and he was 10 days overdue.. plus he's huge for his age..