Help with 4 Month Old Feeding Issues

Have you tried goats milk? I knew of a lady who had a daughter that was allergic to all formula's and the only thing she could tolerate was the goat's milk. You may think about taking her to a gastrologist for her tummy problems that she's having. I really hope something works for you. I myself had a very easy baby and the only formula that he could tolerate was SMA as his bowels would get seedy from Similac and other he would just throw it up. I am sorry that you are going throught this and I wouldn't wish this on any mother.

You might look in to a chiropractor. I never took my babies but I did take my 5 year old for tic disorder and it helped a great deal. Since that was recommended to me at this site, I hae seen other instances where chiropractors have helped infants.

Sounds like you need some help from the pediatrician. I know I have heard of babies having severe cases of acid reflux. I think they can do more than the Zantac. Talk to the doctor and them what you are going through. That is what they are there for. If they tell you to just keep doing what you are doing, go to another doctor. Good luck, and walk away and take a deep breath when you get frustrated. I know the screaming and crying can be like nails on a chalkboard sometimes. Just remember before you know it they will be 18 and going to college!

My second baby screamed for about the first 3 months of life. I really feel your pain. I would set her down and walk away just to keep myself from shaking her or hurting her. The doctor said that there was nothing wrong, but I was convinced that there was. To make a long story short, I ended up finding a chiropractor who treated infants. After the first treatment, my daughter was different. She had to go many times to fully correct the problem, but the change was so dramatic. The chiropractor said that when the mid-back is out of alignment it compresses the nerves that control the digestive tract and causes a lot of spitting up and pain. I really hope that this or something that someone else suggests helps. I know how much the entire family suffers when a baby is unhappy.

Hello L.,

I watched a program on babies with this same issue. Go to your doctor and if he/ she doesn't try to help resolve your babies issue go to another one. It sounds as if your baby is allergic to her formula. Have you tried pumping your breast milk and feeding her with a special bottle that helps with gas. She sounds like shes miserable and YOU to. I wish you luck!

Hi L.,

I know this is kind of late but I just read your request and the other responses. I remember when my oldest son was so colicky and it was terrible! I agree that it sounds like your little one is lactose intolerant and hopefully going to a different doctor will help.

This is a little thing that helped a lot with our third child -- I didn't know about it on the first so I didn't try it with him. I would sit in our rocker recliner with our daughter, she was totally nude (I just had a towel handy!) and I would just wear my big old bathrobe. I would lay her bare tummy to my bare tummy and hold her as upright as I could. She could nurse for a minute if she wanted and it seemed like the bare skin contact and breast helped to comfort her. I think the warmth and pressure on her tummy helped a lot.

I know this won't be practical if you don't have anyone else to help with your older baby and housework but I was so relieved that it really seemed to help stop the crying with our daughter.

God bless you,
A.

Hi L. - I can sympathize with you. My baby cried for the first month and spit up a lot too (projectile at times). I was told once that spilled milk looks like a lot more than it actually is. Also, verify that the doctor is satisfied with her growth. The spitting up for my baby slowed down over time and eventually stopped around 8 months. After we started her on the Zantac (about 4 weeks old), she stopped crying while spitting up. Is your doctor ok with the Karo? Mine wasn't and suggested another solution. The bottom line is that if you feel there's something else wrong with your baby, have it checked out. Get a second opinion. No one knows your baby like you do. Good luck! I feel for you and hang in there. It's so amazing how fast our little babies grow. :-)

The only thing that comes to my mind is, have you tried a formula like Neocate? It is completely milk free and soy free, so it could help you with figuring out if a food allergy might be to blame.
Take her to the doctor too to see what they think, but remember that you as her mom know her the best.

Hi L.,

This was my exact situation - I soooo feel for you! First, I will tell you to hang in there, you are stronger than you know. Secondly, I will tell you that there are moments you feel you cannot handle the crying anymore, AT ALL!!! At this point I suggest putting your baby in a bouncy seat on the floor in your bathroom, or somewhere safe where you can't hear her screaming in your ear and let her stay there away from you for five minutes, or ten minutes just so you can breathe. It's not mean, it's just to get your sanity back. Trust me, the baby at four months won't remember it and it will help you keep your wits about you.

I had a two year old daughter who was an angel, never fussy, a wonderful baby... then along came baby brother. He was colicky from exactly the time he was one month old. Every time I tried to feed him he arched his back, screaming crying. I could never get him to eat except at night when he would eat sleeping all night long, while I breastfed him. Then finally at four months I couldn't stay awake all night long and made him sleep in his crib by himself. He didn't hardly eat after that because it was so painful for him - went from 70% in weight to 20%. GI doc wanted to scope him but I wouldn't let them do it. I tried every type of formula and nothing, even nutramigen, worked. I ended up breastfeeding him until he was 15 months old. His "colic" got better at around seven months and he started to eat while not asleep when he was around six months old.

I know that it seems sooooo hard right now but you will get through it, I promise. My son was on prevacid, zantac, baby gripe water, probiotics, we even went to a chiropractor - everything a baby could try and NOTHING worked. I think he just had a very sensitive stomach, colicky and hurt all day, every day. Sounds like what you might be going thru. I wish I had some wonderful answers but unfortunately for me I never found anything that really worked - my son just finally "grew out" of it. He will be four years old next month, and he is still a very picky eater, but he's gone up to the 50% for weight and he's a happy, playful, rough and tumble boy, perfectly normal. If you really are concerned, you might try a GI doc at Children's Mercy, although it will take around four months to get in probably and they will if anything want to scope him so if you're ready for that, then that's the next step you might try...

best of luck to you - I wish I had more suggestions but at least you know there are others just like you in your same spot who have been there and I promise you, you are not over reacting, you are not an uptight mom, you just have a very difficult baby and my heart goes out to you. God bless you and hang in there!!!!

I suggest swaddling your baby.....my daughter did this with my first grandchild, who was pretty much like your little one. I was amazed at how the baby responded...she loved being wrapped up. It was something that really soothed her. I told my daughter that the baby does sense if you get upset, and to try to relax....easy to say, but hard to do. But some babies really like the security of the wrap coupled with swaying/walking/rocking and singing/music.

It wasn't a cure-all, but it did really help. My daughter was nursing, so she removed any questionable foods from her own diet. She tried all kinds of things. She also stopped giving the baby liquid vitamins--they really caused some tummy rumblings and pain.

I would also lay the baby across my thighs, as the pressure seemed to help. We also carried her across our forearms, with her head in the crook of our elbow, and her butt hanging off our hands. My husband's arms are longer, so he carried her the other way--her butt at the elbow, and her head in his hand--my husband called it the "football" hold.

Sometimes, you could literally feel her stomach rumble and gurgle, and then the pain would start. Sometimes rubbing her belly or back would help. And giving her a bath---she loved bathtime...I guess it was relaxing, and maybe the warm water helped with cramps--who knows. Many days, it was a combination of things, and some days, nothing helped. You just have to use trial and error. Then all of a sudden, the switch went off and she was fine. Today, you would never know it was the same baby!!

I feel for you. That sounds just like the issues we had with our 2nd child. We were on Nutramigin and it did help some. But sometimes you have to really push the doctor's to try different stuff. I finally switched doctor's when she was 6 months old and the new doc gave her zantac which I think helped alot. If that's not working for you you can also try Prevacid. I've heard that works much better for alot of babies. Good luck!

I'd definitely take her back to the pediatrician, and get a second opinion if you're not taken seriously. Also, they don't recommend karo syrup anymore for infants. Something about botulism or something?

Anyway, I really hope you find something that works for her. :(

wow a combo of 2 of my kids in 1.. that is rough. My first spit up a lot and I also tried bf first but that didn't help then went to formula and he did better for a few days then was back to the throwing up everytime he ate. He wasn't fussy though so we just dealt with the throwing up a few minutes after he ate. He didn't grow as fast as they wanted and I kept telling the doctors that he throws everything up after he eats but they just thought.. new mom and all babies spit up but I knew that wasn't normal.. when both of us are drenched after every feeding but at least he was a happy baby and didn't seem to bother him. Hmm interesting that nutramegen causes diahrea when that is usually the formula they recommend when your child has diahrea. As far as the horrible rash, try using bounty paper towels and water instead of baby wipes. The wipes irritate and cause the rash to get worse. I also preferred desitin creamy over the other products and put it on very lightly as heavy cream doesn't let the skin breath well. he may also need nystatin if his rash is a yeast infection which happens often with diahrea.

2nd child had colic for 5 1/2 months. It sounds like yours has that too and that is such a hard thing to go through. Try getting one of those vibrating bouncy seats and see if that helps calm her down. Colic is usually excess gas that builds up and tends to make babies fussy towards the evening. They don't digest their food well and causes their tummies to start cramping after half of the days feedings. She hated the swing but think it probably made her tummy feel worse. My daughter would cry everyday from around 3:30-8 pm. Sometimes holding her with her belly across your forearm helped relieve some of the gas from her tummy. Also rub her back from the lower back up to her neck. Put her in her infant seat and put her on top of the dryer but hold onto the seat so it doesn't vibrate off and cause her to fall to the ground. That was a tip someone told me after mine was over colic so not sure it works but have heard the dryer tip several times since then so maybe something to try. Have you tried the gas drops? We would give those to her a few times a day and sometimes they helped.

I am so sorry you are going through all of this. It is tough and I too was alone a lot as my hubby was in the military and gone to the field a lot..lived far away from family so didn't have help from anyone either. One thing I got from all of those months was a lot of patience. Pray that you can endure each day and it will get better. I was so glad and relieved when my daughter got passed the colic which lasted longer than normal. The doctors told me it usually lasts 3 months well I was counting down the months then 4 came, then 5, then I was crying out to God "How much longer?" and then at 5 1/2 months she quit crying all the time. Maybe the infant rice helped too I don't know but I did start them on it at around 4 months and oldest didn't spit up as much once he started eating foods. Didn't feed my daughter cereal as much because I wasn't sure it was helping and didn't want to cause her tummy to be worse but she did eat baby foods at 6 months and really did well with those. Once she got past the colic stage she was a very happy fun baby.

3rd baby was so good but he did have a little colic in the evenings but nothing compared to 2nd one and only lasted a few months. He was overall a happy/healthy baby.

Oh, L., you poor thing! It sounds like you are stressed out! I'll pray for you!
Here is what I'd suggest:
1) Have someone come over for awhile and hold the baby so you can take a shower, go for a walk, take a nap, etc.
2) Go to a chiropracter (for both you and the baby)
3) Check into soy-based formula (your baby may be milk intolerant)
4) Trust your instincts and insist that the doctor check to see if your baby has acid reflux.
Good Luck! I'll be praying for you. You CAN do it!
K.

We also had similar problems. Our daughter was eventually given Zantac and she was on Similac Soy. We also tried EVERY product available through Enfamil before switching to Similac. Our doctor told us that even though every brand has a soy product, they are all made a little differently. So, after many months of agony we made the switch to Similac, kept up with the Zantac and eventually were able to stop the gas drops (another life saver).

OMG I so fell your pain! I went throught the same thing with my second son. Have you tried Mylecon? Drs. will tell you there is no evidence that it should work, but any mom with a colicky baby will tell you it is a miracle. Also when you change formula it takes about a week or so for the baby's tummy to adjust. I found out the hard way they changing formula too much makes things worse. If there is nothing phyically wrong then the baby will grow out of it. But listen to your gut. If you thing there is something else wrong don't let the doctor pat you on the head and send you home.

Also remember if you get frustrated with the crying, put the baby in the crib and walk away for a 10 minutes. It won't hurt the baby and it will make you feel better.

Good Luck.

Is she gaining weight and growing? Make sure the doctor checks that she is absorbing the nutrients. If she isn't, then she is literally starving even though she is eating. That could be making her cry all the time.

Have you tried feeding her maybe one ounce every 30 minutes instead of a whole bottle every few hours?

Make sure you give yourself a break. Take her to a friend or daycare provider, even if for just a couple hours. You need it!

Your issue is one I am familiar with. My 2nd daughter had projectile vomiting the first year of her life. We didn't even get the chance to use burp clothes. We needed towels, great big towels, lots of carpet cleaning and we changed our own clothes as often as hers. The only thing I can say is she never cried. I am so sorry you are going through that. She finally grew out of it.

Have you tried burping your little one before each feeding and often even when not eating? All that crying is going to fill her tummy with a lot of air.

I don't know if anyone else has said this, but my daughter did some research before AJ was born and she said that Similac does not cause constipation but that all enfamil products do. It's one ingredient that is in the enfamil products that is not in Similac.

That aside, someone probably mentioned the Dr Brown bottles. I can not say enough good about these bottles. I bought them the day my grandson came home from the hospital and he never once spit up until yesterday. Then it was a volcanic reaction! I am not sure what that is about. But we have tried other bottles and he spits with all of them, not the Dr. Browns.

About his volcanic spew yesterday... I think we had been offering too much food. We had gotten into the habit of coaxing him to finish the last few sips in each bottle and we had been feeding him the minute he squirms instead of waiting for him to be hungry. That's probably going to handle our issue.

I know you are tired and stressed. Babies pick up on all of that. I think you need to pull out all the stops to just keep trying different things. I would not use this Nutramagin formula since it's causing her the diaper rash. That's only going to add to her discomfort and make more work and more crying. Try to darken the windows, light some candles, put on some relaxing music and get you and her both into the best restful mood you possibly can. Do that as often as possible. Burp her constantly. Have you tried the herbal fussy drops that are sold everywhere?

Suzi

Sounds like reflux to me. I would call your pedi and ask to switch her medicine to something stronger. We had similar issues with our daughter, and once switching her to Prevacid, she was like a different child after 48 hours on the medication. Good luck!

I would take her to Childrens Mercy emergency room. I do NOT think you are over reacting and it is better to be safe than sorry. You should deffinetly get her checked out just to make sure she doesnt have a serious issue. Good luck and God Bless!!

The only suggestion I have is to find a different pediatrician. You might even look into a pediatric gastrointerologist(sp?) to find out what is going on.

Always, Always, Always follow your gut feelings! If you think there is something wrong & the dr. your baby is seeing can't seem to help then keep searching for new doctors until one of them helps & gives you a diagnosis.

Personally when I was young I went though years of pain & many doctors before my mom finally found a dr. who was able to diagnos me with FMS (fibromyalgia syndrome).

God bless!

I would request a different med than zantac. There are a few to choose from and I know they take a while to kick in. If she is resisting the bottle from the begining, and with all the crying you are describing I wouldn't take this lightly either. Be persistant and find some way to help her even if you need a second opinion.

I suggest a low iron formula.

Some infants are more sensitive to iron than others. Research "symptoms of iron overdose in infants." Of course your child NEEDS iron for normal development, but if her body is not properly processing it and an abnormal amount is building up in her body, many problems can occur.

Start with the low iron formula like Enfamil LIPIL Low. If the symptoms don't abate, get to the doctor for some bloodwork before making any further changes.

If your child is iron sensitive be aware that she may also be sensitive to aspirin when she gets older.

Good luck!

Yes, Karo syrup is only to be used as needed (3-5 days, once)...not every bottle. It contains trace amounts of heavy metals along with other disease concerns.
So, we had similar issues with our daughter--went through several formulas...I highly recommend the Similac ready-to-feed in Sensitive stomach...adding 1 tsp of rice cereal/bottle. Might eliminate the need for zantac. Our daughter had both colic and acid reflux...it just took the right combo and weighing down the formula with rice cereal to get her comfy. Now we're on Organic ready-to-feel similac, still adding rice cereal (she's 9 months) and very comfy. I do suggest discussing the risks of zantac with the doctor, as it's been known to increase the risk of lung infections in infants. This is NOT to scare you--just trying rice cereal and maybe mylicon (3 drops) per bottle MIGHT just do the trick!!! GOOD LUCK!

hi L., have you tried alimentum enfamil? i have friend whos daughter is a week older then mine and she had to use that. her daughter had an allergy that was litterally eating her insides. it was making her bleed internally, every formula she tried sing until the alimentum. not to scare you but what you are explaining sounds exactly like what my friend was going through with her little one. our daughters are now 16mos old and her daughter is doing great. the only thing they are dealing with now is a hernia on her. hope all works out. god bless, R.

Dear L.

Bless your heart and your little baby, what a challenge for a mom. My little sister had this the first few months of her life, they only relief they got was to drive her in the car, she couldn't keep anything down. The doctor said it was the whole in her stomach wasn't big enough to let food through, he told her to make her formula thicker with cereal, and after a few days she got better, she was probably 4-5 months old by then. But she is ok today and didn't have to have surgery.
Get you a good doctor that care for you and your child, a good doctor would check this out by now, I mean after you have tried that many formulas and it hasn't worked why wouldn't they be looking for the problem, I bet if the baby was with them 24 hours they would be looking for some answers. I will say a prayer for your wisdom and for your babies healing.
J.

Sounds like acid reflux,but you say the Zantac is not working. Maybe the croups. Go back to your pediatrician who may need to send you to a specialist. Good luck on her feeding issues.

I cannot offer medical advice but just to say hang in there. She really needs your patience. Stay calm and it will work out.
Take her to a specialist a gastro.

Hi L. . . I am sure its not it but it would be worth checking in to see if she has pyloric stenosis . My son had to have surgery @ 3 w.o. to cut the muscle between his stomach and intestines - the food was not getting through . . . and he too was spitting up a ton at every feeding . .

At this point - everything is worth checking into . . . good luck

You are not overreacting! I'm amazed you've kept your sanity for this long. This will sound a little kooky, but I recently met a woman who was having some similar issues with her first child (she now has four). She is a pediatric nurse and felt especially frustrated that she couldn't figure out what was wrong with her son since that was her vocation. She said for the first five months, if he was awake, he was crying. One day out of desperation, she put him in a sling she'd gotten as a shower gift and thrown in the closet and forgot about it. He stopped crying. She has since dedicated herself to learning as much about babywearing as possible. (FYI, there's a big difference amongst the various kinds of slings, so not just any will work.) Her story is fascinating and was published in a local magazine. She is at the store About Nine Months in Lenexa every third Thursday at 10am to answer questions. That's a couple of weeks away, though, so if you want to email me, I can send you her contact info. I can't imagine how you must be feeling! God bless you and your family!

I completely understand, my son was hospitalized the first time he had soy formula, he threw up so much he lost 8oz in a day (at 3 months old) and went unresponsive. We ended up using Aliemintum formula (it smells like rotten meat because it's predigested protien). My son was allergic to soy and milk protein, so this was our only option and it was 150X better than Nutramigen. Also, to prevent as much spitting up, we added a 1/2 -1 teaspoon of cereal to his bottle. This is not the same as trying to feed them cereal using their bottle, which I am totally against. It's just enough to thicken the formula and help prevent the spitting up. Also, make sure to keep her upright after a feeding for at least 10-15'. Then at night, raise the head of her bed, for my son, we took the head end of the crib and put it one notch higher than the foot, it really helps (if the acid stays down better when sleeping, it won't be there to cause as many problems when feeding). Also, try Baby Bliss gripe water, it's an all natural herbal supplement for colic, my pediatrician gave us a sample, I still use it when my son gets a stomach ache (he's still really sensitive to a lot of foods). It will help I almost promise you!! Let me know if you have any other questions. Also, for the diaper rash, until you get everything worked out, call your local pharmacy and ask if they can order you calmoseptine, it's usually not stocked, but you don't need a prescription to get it, and it's really cheaper than most stuff you can buy. My pediatrician recommended it because it really helps with what he called acid burn...the reflux is going through them on both ends and we went from blistering to not even red in like 2 days!! If you have a problem finding it, let me know and I'll see if I can find the NDCP number, I used to have it to order through CVS!! Good luck and hang in there!!

I had the same problems with my son. The first thing I would try is switching to GoodStart or Similac. I hear that GoodStart is a good one if all else fails so you might want to do that first. Changing formula brands can make a huge difference. But it will take a couple days for the old stuff to get out of her system. Also you can give her gas drops. Another thing my dr said was put a warm towel around the tummy. Not hot, not wet. Just warmed up in the dryer. not sure why but it helped. I hope this helps.

My daughter had similar problems when she was an infant (over 29 years ago); I wish I'd known then what I know now--she had horrible yeast problems. (Be aware that Nystatin can cause liver damage.) Whether your baby was given an antibiotic at birth or not (my daughter was given penicillin due to staph and strep infection), it sounds like she needs a probiotic to restore the good bacteria in her intestinal tract. The health food store will have Primadophilus Jr. for kids. You can open the capsules and mix the contents in formula. Both of my kids had formula issues, and soy-based formulas took care of that problem. I feel for you, L.. Sleep deprivation is horrible. Just be aware, too, that your daughter's intestinal problems could be a life-long issue. We began seeing a chiropractor-kinesiologist when my daughter was 10, who helped her a lot; however, she began taking Prevacid in her early 20s. Many in my family--me included--now take Restore, a probiotic in the Advocare line of products. Wonderful stuff for acid reflux issues.

Good Morning L.. I wish I were closer to help you, you need a break from Mama time.
Have you put gas drops in her bottles? Zane did this for a while and we started with gas drops in his month then put them in his bottles. It helped immensely! Do you have a swing to put her in for a little while?
If you think or feel their is other things at issue here please get a second opinion. I am not sure how far you are from Children's Mercy, I have heard that is the best place in MO to take children.

As for her little hinny blistering, get some A & D ointment, put a glob of it(couple of Tablespoons) in a little seal able container, add a Tablespoon of Maalox and mix it up ( will take a bit to mix it up) Put that on her little hinny and you will be amazed how well it works. Gr son's Ped nurse told us about this. Works so fast and better then another we tried before. Zane would bleed it got so bad.

God Bless you L., deep breathe, try to relax. Will be praying all will be well with your precious little Princess.
K. Nana of 5

It is so frustrating when you know your baby is in pain and you can't help! My oldest was also very collicky - for awhile she lived on weak peppermint-ginger tea(with KARO) it seemed! My mil thought I was nuts, but it did seem to help. I think I'd followup on your hunch to ease your mind if nothing else - you know this kid better than anyone, so if you feel something else may be up, go with it! Hang in there - this will pass eventually...

It sounds like you have tried all of the Emfamil brands of formula. Maybe you should experiment with brands. I have worked with many babies with feeding issues and when one brand doesn't work, we switch brands. You may still need to try a soy formula. Similac is a good brand. I also know of many that have done well on Nestle/Carnation (they had a name change and I don't remember which way it went.) GOod STart. It is supposed to be made with proteins that are easier for babies to digest. It may not be a bad idea to try an organic formula either. I would certainly get away from the Enfamil family.

I don't usually pay much attention to things I see on TV, especially medical things, but what you described sounds a lot like a show I just happened to see about a baby who had mastocytosis (it has several forms, not sure which this baby had). And I'm sure doctors get flooded with people thinking they have the same symptoms as something they've heard about, which is why I hesitate to mention it, but all the same I guess it can't hurt. Anyway, it's a rare condition but from an outsider's point of view the symptoms match. If you're going to the pediatrician this week anyway, maybe it's something you'd want to ask about. The symptoms were lots of projectile vomiting, which would get better for a few days after switching to different formula then get worse, diarrhea, horrible diaper rash, lots of discomfort eating. These are obviously common symptoms for lots of other baby issues too, but I guess you don't know until you ask. Good luck, and I hope you find an answer soon!

It sounds like your baby is lactose intolerant. Stop using the formula and switch to a soy formula. Also try feeding her rice cereal with water added no milk and see if that helps. As a baby my husband had the same problem and today he cannot tolerate cows milk.

Secondly go to a new doctor and get a second opinion, now not later.

Third coat her little behind with desitin to shield her skin from her poop and take a cold rag, place it in her pamper to give her some relief.

Fourth ask someone to babysit for a couple of hours so you can get some rest.

Get your child to a specialist as soon as possible. She seems in so much distress. My daughter had colic as a baby and yes the crying droven me crazy. She grew up to be a beautiful young lady but the first year was very difficult. Be sure to let your peditician know how serious an issue this is and get a referral. Good Luck!

We had good luck with Carnation Good Start. My second child was like yours and we tried several formulas (I also had trouble breast feeding). Good Start Soy Formula was the one that worked best for us. Good luck!

It seems like we moms always try to work through these problems, and hope they will go away. Take her to the doctor immediately (for your sake and hers), it is their job to tell us what to do when there is a problem. Be persistant with them. I have heard of something called G.E.R.D., ask your doctor about it, I think it is just a more serious version of acid reflux. I found this site that had some information. It sounded like she had the symptoms. http://www.medicinenet.com/gerd_in_infants_and_children/a...

The doctors solution is not helping, or she wouldn't be crying all the time. If you need to, go to a different doctor and get another opinion!!!

hi there! it sounds like she is allergic to milk. do you give her mylicon? she may have painful gas, my first daughter had this problem. you may want to try all the soy formulas to find the right one. I hope you both feel better soon!