Hellobee Boards

@mrsbookworm: @JoJoGirl: DH came home from work one night and I was bouncing on the yoga ball holding the baby and pumping at the same time. Oh, and we were both crying.

I promise you it gets so much better. When I think about her infancy now it's like a fuzzy memory of a nightmare. That sounds horrible, but I would do it over and over again if it meant that I could have THIS child. In the beginning I would have traded her in for a baby who didn't scream all the time. Now I feel like that was just what I had to go through to get this independent, spirited, silly, happy girl. I wouldn't trade her for the world, but I seriously get the "standing on a ledge" feeling.

@JoJoGirl: The diagnosis Acid Reflux is a red flag for me. Also, what you're describing is vomit, not regular spit up, and my baby did that, too. She would vomit multiple times per day and soak us both. Have you looked into tongue tie? It's kind of a misnomer because it really just means the tongue is sort of "anchored" to the bottom of the mouth and can't form a proper latch.

My LO screamed for the first 6 months of her life, straight. Wouldn't nurse without kicking and screaming, arching, biting and flailing, wouldn't sleep unless I held her--seriously had to hold her all day long. Rocked, walked, bounced, and cried with her because she just wouldn't stop. No swing or bouncer worked; it was miserable. I got a bathroom break when my husband came home at lunch or I had to try and balance her on my lap because even being put down for a second caused inconsolable screaming. She was looked at by 2 LCs and 3 pediatricians who all said it was acid reflux, and she was put on medication. After months on Zantac, nothing changed and one day, at 5 months old, she flat out refused to nurse. At all. I did my own research, found information about tongue tie, and started crying. I knew that was it, because I fit every single symptom as a breastfeeding mother, and she fit every single symptom as a colicky, "refluxy" baby.

We rushed her to our pediatrician who told us that she didn't have a tongue tie, and that her upper lip tie shouldn't cause problems, but I knew in my heart she was tongue-tied, and had read that certain tongue ties are hard to diagnose, so I found a specialist and drove her the hour there. Sure enough, she was diagnosed with a class 4 posterior tongue tie and an upper lip tie. IF they even diagnose it properly, some pediatricians will tell you that ties shouldn't affect feeding--that is old information and completely untrue. We had her ties revised and I'm telling you that very same day, the multiple vomits per day completely stopped (and haven't returned, she's 14 months old), she nursed calmly and willingly, she stopped---finally stopped---the screaming, and she slept. My God, she slept alone, and willingly. She also went from nursing every 1.5 hours to every 3, because she was finally able to get enough down, and keep it down. My entire family marveled at what a different baby she had become overnight. She was all of a sudden happy, settled, smiley and content.

I'm telling you, it changed our lives and I urge you to have it checked--it's super common and many, MANY babies diagnosed with "acid reflux" actually have a tongue tie causing them to swallow air while they feed, and the acid reflux and terrible gas are secondary issues. You can read a ton of great info at kiddsteeth.com, in the articles section. It's a website by Dr. Kotlow, who is kind of the leading authority on the issue. Here's a great one about reflux and colic caused by TT and LT: http://kiddsteeth.com/articles/aerophagia_2011.pdf

I feel your pain, mama. Big hugs and I hope the incessant screaming calms soon.

Another one here saying Probiotics!!!!! LO had such bad gas troubles as a newborn and we took her to the midwife for gas drops, but the midwife said we could treat the symptoms and use gas drops, or we could treat the cause and use probiotics. We started using probiotics and it was a night and day switch. I swear by them..... She still spit up all the time, but it never bothered her and I would much rather have a laundry problem than a screaming baby.

@erinpye: you should write a blog post about that! so glad you found an answer and could advocate for your LO, but sorry you both had to suffer that long

@JoJoGirl: My LO had a marked sensitivity to chocolate and all dairy, even butter in baked goods (but not soy). It caused him to be reflux-y and woke him up. I cut all that and did the probiotic drops (from Walgreens) and it made a HUGE difference. I waited until he was 6 months and now dairy/chocolate is a non-issue.

@JoJoGirl: So glad that you got some answers. Poor baby JoJo!! And Mom and Dad. I hope yall all get some sleep tonight. Chocolate would be so hard to give up.

@JoJoGirl: Hang in there! If it is a feeding issue, you may have a ton of relief headed your way!

@JoJoGirl: I personally saw a difference within 2-3 days - but he wasn't having violent reactions like I know lots of babies do so I don't think it was a severe sensitivity. I tried reluctantly at first and just eliminated cheese/milk/ice cream but didn't pay attention to butter in stuff and saw zero change. I gave up, and after another week of tears, tried again whole-heartedly and saw a marked difference within those 2-3 days.

@JoJoGirl: I'm assuming she's on a hypoallergenic formula? When we started M on Nutramigen we had a huge improvement. It's hard for me to remember how long, maybe 4-5 days? I hope you're both feeling better!