unsettled baby

Hi, has anyone had a problem like this? Since my son was 2 1/2 wks/o he screamed constantly all day everyday, brought his legs up in pain & never slept.I saw 4 Drs & all said he's perfectly healthy, thriving & I'm overreacting. I tried several colic relief formulas, saw chiropractor, got drops from naturopath, Alex had abdo ultrasound & took Losec for reflux & I went on a strict diet (maybe something passing through bmilk) - nothing worked! Finally got referred to specialist when he was 3 mnths. Switched to formula & he improved greatly (apparently he's intolerant to proteins in bmilk). Now he's 4 mnths & on solids as recommended by specialist(he's a very hungry baby)& he's havn same problems again. Doesn't matter what I give him (even farex)he cries & doesn't sleep. Any ideas?

Hi there
I can understand how frustrating and upsetting this is.
I had some problems with my son right from birth where he just wouldnt sleep and constantly wanted to be at the breast.
He would sometimes fall asleep at the breast and if i tried to move him to his bassinet he would wake up straight away.
People told me he just wanted to be near me all the time.
I thought i didnt have enough milk and he was hungry.
Thats why i started giving him a formula feed at night and that seemed to make him sleep.

But there was still some unsettledness.
It wasnt till he was 5 months old that i realised he had slient reflux and the doc put him on infant gaviscon he started to come right.... but then.... i noticed he was doing the legs pulling up thing, farting alot and seemed uncomfortable.
His bowel movements were infrequent,strained, and firmish.(apparently that can be normal but i wouldnt want to be like that.I reckon he was constipated and constipation can cause stomach pains and a sore bum.
So i started giving him natural prune juice diluted with water and that made him much better.

With solids i was told they will help constipation and reflux,but i never noitced it did with my son.

I only give him half a jar at lunctime so he doesnt have to digest so much at once and i use the fruit solids as it will be better for the constipation.
The rice and cereals can cause constipation too so i wouldnt use that.Veges are good tho.

My son was also was a sufferer of bad wind pain.
I found it very difficult to bring up his wind after feeds especially when he was a newborn.(They do grow out of it thank god and at about 5-8 months)
It use to take me ages to bring up one burp and he still wasnt happy.
Babies act like they are hungry when they have burps stuck for some reason and they also hate to lie down and sleep).
Infacol drops helped me a bit as they make the tiny bubbles join into one big burp and getting them to sleep kinda sitting up helped.
Wind troubles and reflux go hand in hand alot of the time too.
Gripe water is something i used alot of after his bottles.

Then theres teeth..could be coming in now?

MY friends baby had an ear infection which was causing him to be unsettled so thats something to look into aswell.Another friends baby had thrush in his mouth causing him to be a fussy eater and so on.

Anyway my son is nearly 6 months old now and as time goes on it just gets better as he sleeps well and is happier in general.

I hope ive helped a bit and i really hope your lil man settles soon as it is so sad not knowing whats wrong and not being able to make it better.
Goodluck

[Edited on 16/10/2008]

Well its nice to know I'm not the only one whos had a problem child. Everyone I know with babies have had no dramas at all. Anyway, thanks for the suggestions.

My GP said not to use infacol coz recent studies show a link to sids.
I tried gripe water & it didnt help.
His ears have been checked by Dr & are fine & there doesn't seem to be any sign of teeth yet.

I'm pretty sure the farex is constipating him too (prune juice hasn't workd either).
Fruit & vege purees give him a lot of gas & discomfort but I need something to satisfy him.
He can easily drink nearly 2 bottles of formula at a time & is putting on lots of weight.

He was born a month early (lucky for me he was 7lbs if he'd come to term he'd have probably been around 9lbs!)
He's in the top 10th percentile for his age - only 4 months old and is nearly 8kgs!

Hopefully he'll get over this soon, Dr said they normally get over this by 3months. I feel like I'm going nuts in the mean time. I thought being a mother would be a lot easier than this! I guess it will all be worth it in the end.

Regards, Laura

Well you are having a rough time,it sounds as if yourve tried alot of things but nothing is working.

Have you had a second opinion from another doctor?

I didnt realise infacol was now linked to sids..id still use it anyway.
Im a non smoker and have a non smoking home and my son is healthy other than the growing pains hes had, so i reckon the risk would be low and worth it in my case.
But thats just me and i dont advise other people to.

What are his bowel motions like-solid,runny,watery,dry,small,large,frothy,green,sticky.?
Yourve probably been over the poo talk tho.

What kind of formula is he on?
I started with s26 gold and used that for quite a while but decided to change because i didnt like the look of his bowel motions(greeny black,solid and rubbery like).
I then tried nestle nan gold and that really made him go alot but he had stomach pain.
I then brought a reflux formula which didnt agree either as it was too heavy and thick for his senitive stomach to digest.I only used a couple of bottles to see the effects it had.I got rid of that and got s26 lactose free and that was good.Now im on s26 the regular one and thats going well too.

I know its advised not to swap brands and types of formula as that itself can be upsetting but i felt necessary to do so as i needed to find the right one for him and i was closey monitoring his reactions to the formulas.

Have you heard of the Novalac range?
They have formualas for reflux,constipation,diarhea,allergies and for hungry babies.Sweet dreams i think its called.It apparently keeps baby satisfied for longer without having to eat alot.Higher fat or carb content or something.
Novalac is sold at radius pharmacies and its pretty expensive but whatever works aye.
There are other brands that sell hungry formulas like SMA.
They are casein protein dominant, which takes longer to digest than whey protein domiant formulas such as the 'gold' types.

One more thing i have heard which is very good for babies,children and adults with gut problems is the good Bacteria stuff(probiotics).
I know that the health stores have a new product out called Primadophillus and its pretty expensive but was stressed to me that it is very good.
I didnt get any because i thought id try the Weleda colic powder first and i also didnt have the money at the time.Though i would of got some if i knew about it when he was really bad, but at this stage he was growing out of it anyway.

Pharmacies also sell probiotics of differnt brands which maybe cheaper but maybe not as good.
Who knows really, only one way to find out-by opening the wallet again.lol.Isnt it amazing the amount of money you spend buying all the differnt things to try and help ya baby..

I cant remember if i mentioned that another friend of mine had feeding problems with her son and it turned out to be thrush of the mouth.This baby from birth also had a strained neck which caused the first feeding problems to occur which soon got sorted.
I have heard that sometimes babies can have throat or oesophagus problems or even nose problems which can cause pain when eating.I dont have enough info on this so i cant really go into detail but you could maybe google some key words to do with problems with eating and throat????
Does he make sounds?
Speech therapists funnily enough have knowledge on feeding problems.

What kind of feeding bottles do you use? and do you have breaks during and wind?
Does your son have a pacifier?

I put my son in his pram which is reclined. I have him all snuggled up with nice soft warm blanket up to his neck.
He has to have his pacifier to suck and ill push him around the house or up and down and around the lounge till he nods off. The car works too.
Quite often he gets distracted by light and noise which will keep him up.I sometimes position a hat over his eyes and will sleep faster.He loves the darkness and not being able to see things so he has to close to eyes.Weird but true.

Alexander is on Novalac hypoallergenic formula which so far has worked really well its only since hes started solids that his problems have come back again. Dr suggested that I stick to this one coz other formulas such as S26 have a tendency to constipate and hes already got enough problems. The rice cereal constipates him and the fruit n vege purees make him really gassy and uncomfortable.

Not to keen on the probiotics coz id hate to stuff up his bowels even more. I should ask Dr for an opinion on that.

Paediatrician said he has overactive gastrocolic reflex (he brings his legs up and screams as soon as he starts eating or drinking) but will grow out of it eventually. Dr checked inside his mouth n all ok.

He likes being pushed in stroller n goin for car rides but as soon as I stop he starts crying again.

He does like his dummy but it can only keep him quiet for so long.

Hes really bad with sleeping too. I have to switch all the lights off in the house before putting him in his cot coz any light at all will distract him and keep him up. Hes lucky if he sleeps for 3 or 4 hours straight a night which is driving me insane. He only naps for a few mins during the day.

He doesnt like to be put down so i have to carry him everywhere. Cant even run to the dunny for 5 secs without him bein in hysterics when i get back. Not gettn any housework done at all n no time to myself anymore.

I feel so sorry for you...i will send good vibes your way and hope things get better real soon.

Do you have a partner or any family members that can help you...just even if someone took him for an hours walk every day just so you can have that time for yaself.

Would be nice if someone could take him for a night so you can have a good sleep.But i know that would never work.
Youd probably stay up worrying about him anyway.

Sometimes plunket or other organisations offer to look after bub while you sleep for a few hours.You dont need to worry because you can still be near ya baby but other ppl look after him.

When you mentioned s26 being constipating,im wondering if thats what is causing my sons problems atm.
He has gotten significantly worse in the last 2 days and i thought it was the solids(im using organic fruits) that was the cause.

Damn it, i didnt want to change formulas again, but maybe it would be wise too..Im just sick of his pooing pain.
Do you know if its normal for babies to get a bit gassy and constipated when changing to a new formula and do they soon come right?

If not, Should i make a complete change or should i mix and match with A new brand until all the s26 tin is used then stay with the new brand?

I actually thought it was just the s26 gold that caused constipation.

Maybe i should reconsider probiotics.
Extra good bacteria for the gut to help digestion couldnt hurt could it.I mean people already have that bacteria in the gut anyway (unless antibiotics have been taken which kill the bacteriA) its just adding more to the system making it even more effiecient.
Breast fed babies get it from mum so i guess formula fed babies must miss out on it.
That colostum powder ya can buy is the same kinda thing apparently..hmmmmm maybe thats cheaper...

Im really surprised other people havent posted any replies to you.
I suppose nobody else has had a problem baby.
It really does bite,i sometimes feel a lil jealous of ppl that have no idea how hard a lil baby can be.

I would like to have another baby one day just so my son can have at least one sibling but then i think that id rather not if it was to be the same as this baby.
Most woman get put off by the labour and birth.
Which of course i did too and i remember saying that i dont want to do that eva again lol and i still dont.
I would honestly rather adopt.
I knew having a newborn for the first time would be hard but i never expected it to be as hard as it was.
I believe ppl like me and you really got the short end of the stick,though we do love our babies and surely good things are to come.

Paedatrician said the s26 brand in general is a very good formula but does cause constipation in some babies. Might give him a ring Monday n ask a few things for us.

I was concerned about givn Alexander the probiotics coz on the bottle it says somthn about causn diarrhoea and if persists for more than 6 hrs seek medical help. Just the chance of that makn him worse scares me, but i'll ask Dr.

I used the Heinz organic and Only Organic? or Just organic? brands. Didnt mattr wot i gave him he had an issue with it. Dr gave me a booklet on fruit n veges not likely to cause problems n so far he has had a problem with everything. Both my GP and paediatrician say that he will definitely get over this, but when?!

Whenever i change baby food it takes him about 4 days to get over it. As for the formula, i was using Karicare Goat as recommended by naturopath coz the goat milk is apparantly more like human breast milk than cows milk is. He seemd ok on it, it was just the breastmilk causn the problems.

I called the 1800 number on the back of the tin when i wantd to chang from s26 to Goat n they said it wouldnt cause any problems to change completely from that formula to Goat. He didnt have any problems when i did it. I'm thinkn bout puttn him back on Goat coz i dont like keepn him on such a restrictive formula like the Novalac Hypoallergenic. Dr said its ok to keep him on it but what long term effects will it have on him bein so restrictive?

when he was 2 wks old i started comp feeding with s26 n that was when his problems started. i dont know if it was just coincidental but that was when all his screamn n fartn n pooin problems started.

I agree with ya, everyone i know has had healthy babies with no problems. no one else knows what its like to live with this. im so sick of ppl sayn he just exercising his lungs or tryn to trivialise this, or im just overreacting coz hes my first baby. Ive been goin through hell the past 4 months and nobody but you understands. I dont know why this happened to me coz through my whole pregnancy i ate no junk food or takeaway only fresh fruit n veges, no caffeine at all n was extrememly careful not to get listeria poisoning. And i get a baby with this many problems!

My husband doesnt truly understand either. he hasnt gone without sleep for 4 months, he sleeps through all the screamin! I don't really trust other people with him yet. my hubby has offered to take him out for a while but im paranoid that they'll get in an accident or somethin. Stupid, i know!

How old is your bubby?

Everyone said most babies get over this by 3 months. Lucky us!

I'd like to have another one soon but im scared to death of havn another baby like Alexander. i couldnt handle this a second time.

Hi chick
My bub is 5 months and as i said before, as time passes he gets better.
Just yesterday it looked like he wanted to eat more.
At lunch time i gave him his usual half a jar tho he was still hungry So later on at tea time i thort id give him some more and he ended up eating the whole jar.
He slept all night without a peep.yay.
Today at morning lunch(10.30am)i gave him a whole jar again and he ate it and could of kept going probably.

Todays schedule was wake up just before 7am, bottle, stayed up for a bit,hubby took over and i went back to bed.
I dunno wot time he went back to sleep but he was given another bottle before hand.
He woke just before 10.30 and was ravenous.
After his jar i gave him 60mls, changed him, had a play and a cuddle then back to sleep(rock him in pushchair as he fights to go to sleep)He slept till about 2pm and is awake and had his usual 140mls and is outsidw with hubby for some fresh air.

If only i lived nearby as id be happy to take bub for you so you can have a rest or get some house work done or even so you could pamper yaself a bit.I go walking with my bub every week day for about an hour.I do it as i like the excerice and the pramride helps settle bub.Tho id need a double pram for that.lol

I think he is definatley ready for soilds now,also he is trying to hold his own bottle to feed himself which is cute.He holds it pretty steady and stable for a lil guy and he can do it for a good while until but he will sometimes suck in air so of course we still feed him and id never let him feed himself until he was fully able.

I found it hard to tell when he should start solids so i just guessed and tried him at 4 months.I feel he wasnt ready then due to the tummy pain and gas so i stopped and restarted at 5months which he still had some pains and so on.But now i know for sure he wants and needs solids and his stomach can handle them much better now.
I guess thats why they say wait till 6 months-Makes sense.


Maybe Alexander will start to come right when he gets to 5-6 months.Uno how they say 3 months is when they usually come right, well for our boys it could be a bit later.
Is your boy rolling ? What things does he do?
I read other mothers posts on what there babies are doing and some start doing things really early and some start later.My son doesnt like to roll,he actually loathes being on his stomach so i think he wont roll for a long time.But mentally he is pretty bright and socialble.


These stomach cramps could be what they say it it(undeveloped digestive system) and it could be related to developmental milestones so when he starts reaching them his stoamch will ripen at that same time.
Its just a matter of coping till that time comes and it does seem so far away and you probably feel he will never come right but all of a sudden out of the blue it does.

You should trust your hubby to take care of bub, i kno its hard as i was the same.
Hubby doesnt know what to do,how to handle him and how to deal with his pains and so on and your probably right. But he has to learn and bond with his son.
There only 1 way to learn and thats by letting him take bub and soon enough he will be able to handle him.
You can tell hubby how to feed him and what bub likes and doesnt like and give him the run down.
By dad having bub it will help in the future when bub is older.They will have a great secure bond and dad will be able to take him for whole days and you can go out with the girls or whatever.It will minimise bub being only attached to you and that seperation anxiety and all that stuff.Apparently babies get to a certain age where they start having emotional preferences.
A friend told me if i wanted my baby to sleep on in his own room when he gets older and not have him always trying to get in your bed.Then get bub into his own room before he starts realising your in the room with him.
So around th3 6- 7 month mark.
If you keep them in with you it becomes harder to make him stay in his own bed and you could have a 3 year old that sleeps with you every night.
Even im trying to come to grips with that as i dont know if i could be that far from him overnight.Im gonna get some montiors so i can quickly rush in if i hear he is in distress.There are movement monitors too but my son has always had good breathing.


[Edited on 21/10/2008]

Called paediatrician this mornin n he said his digestive system hasnt matured enough yet n to try again when hes 5 mnths. He also said that probiotics are fine and wont hurt him so i might give it a go.

Bub hates bein on his stomach also n aa a result hasnt strengthened his neck muscles enough. Hes started pickn his blanket up n putn it in his mouth although he cant quite grasp toys very well yet. He loves sitn up so he can look around but usually coms crashn forward if hes left proppd up on his own. When hes on his back i think he tries to roll over. Hes a real chatter box n i swear ive heard dim say hello a few times.

He smiles all the time. i think he tries to laugh too but ends up in a cough.

Hiya,
Hows things going?
Ive been having a bad time.lol
Yesterday and today he has been sick.I think he has a cold as he sometimes sounds a bit snuffly and he has been crying non stop and is very tired.
He has clear thin snot when he cries only and he coughs alot.
Was sneezing yestertday too.
He is also constipated again and his reflux was pretty bad today as he has alot of trapped wind.
I went into town and spent a fortune on stuff...more gripe water,ecyluptis oil anda vaporizer,nasal aspirator,teething gel,coloxyl drops and decided to try the probiotics.
I already have nurofen and thank god for that!
Once this tin of s26 is gone im thinking of going back to either 2s6 lactose free or nestle nan gold.

I hope tomorrow is better, i hate this constant full on crying sounds like he is in alot of pain.

Poor little guy, hope hes feeln beta soon. ive heard good things about the nan gold. It probably wont constipate him as much.
Alex gets his vaccination on Friday, yay! Even less sleep to look forward to!
Bubs just on formula now but its takn ages for his bowels to get back to normal.
Hope he gets over all this soon, im feeln very tired n run down.

Heya,
Just thought if check in and see how ya goin?
Did you end up getting probiotics>?
Has his bowels come right yet now its just formula?

My baby was very unsettled over the weekend with wind troubles and so on.
He was also a bit backed up still and it was high time to make him better.I had been using the coloxyl drops, i changed formula i and tried giving extra water but it wasnt helping.
I went to extremes and gave him an enema.lol
I got some 100% glycerine and a small glass eyedropper, sterlised it and squirted some glycerine up his bum.
It didnt hurt him, he didnt even notice actually.
A few seconds later he pooed and he pooed and he pooed,oh my god he pooed.
The first lot was very hard and solid but than as it went on it become normal baby poo.Since then his bowels have been awesome.He is not constipated anymore and is so happy.

I read this thing on the internet about giving babies rectal exams and suppositories so i knew it was ok to do.
I also read a really interesting post on some random website.
A woman who was an experienced baby doctor said that majority of babies with colic that came in to see her were babies with contipative colic.
She believes that colic is all to do with a tight bowel/rectum and the muscles that control the bowel.
Alot of babies are born like this.
Which is understandable considering a baby is developing and growing from a bunch of cells dividing.
This doctor would do a rectal exam using either a glass thermometer or the tip of pinky finger which she would slightly put into the anus.
This would open up or loosen the muscles for a bit which would then give baby release and much needed comfort.
There are 2 types of rectal muscles which work together to have a motion/In a baby sometimes these muscles are still learning to cooperat- one is tightening while the other is relaxing,
This can be quite a task for a lil baby to get under control.
Of course when a baby has a tight rectum and hasnt got its muscles under control, they cant manage to have a poo.
It all builds up and they get cramps, a swollen belly and become irritable.This can cause them to not wanting to eat much,they are all backed up and and they learn to associate food with pain.
Then then cry more becos they are hungry.
God i feel sorry for them.
I advise you to do a search on the net..type in "constipative colic" and see if you can find the post by this woman.