Help, baby doesn't sleep....

Hi!  I'm hoping someone will please help me.  My daughter is 5 months old this coming Thursday.  She doesn't sleep!!!  The most I get is 2 hours in every 24 hour period.  She has acid reflux, and she's on two medicines...prevacid, once a day, and pepcid twice a day.  I was exclusively breastfeeding up until 3.5 months and then decided to try some formula to see if that would help with sleep.  Apparently, nothing is helping.  She eats constantly and doesn't sleep...and when so she does...she's restless and I have to give her a nuk to keep her calm.  I don't know what to do anymore.  I'm so tired of hearing other mothers say that their babies have been sleeping through the night since they were 6-8 weeks old!!!!  She is baby #2 and my toddler keeps me super busy so I am worn out....I feel like I should stop nursing completely and just do a bottle....I don't know what to do.....any advice??  (recap: baby eats constantly, and doesn't sleep... acid reflux)

  BEYOND TIRED MOM....

[jd1419]

Have you had her tested for an allergy yet.  It could be something you are eating or something in the formula that is making her even more upset than a normal baby.  I hope you find releif soon.

[wonderme]

How much does she eat at a feeding?  It sounds to me like she is very hungry and not getting enough at a feeding...do you burp her frequently during feedings?  I'm sure you've tried everything, but sometimes the obvious escape us.  I know my kids ate about 6-8 ounces at about 6 months -- and slept through the night -- any less and they would wake up hungry.

Is her reflux controlled?  Any possiblity that one of the medications, or the combination of them, has this side effect?  Also, is she eating any solids?  

Also, when my kids were about this age, I added a wee bit of cereal to the bottle -- it was still very runny -- AND, I know, I know, a lot of people disagree with this -- and it seemed to keep them full longer.  Not every bottle, but when the hunger seemed to wake them up too soon.  My ped. was okay with it -- it has been a lot of years though.

Just some suggestions -- I know how tough sleep deprivation is -- and that makes it even harder to sort out.  Good luck!!

[Mommy of K & N]

Thank you jd1419 & wonderme....

How would I have her tested for an allergy?  That is such a good idea.  They've tested her stool for blood, and it came back negative.

I'm not sure how much she eats when she nurses....but typically when she drinks from a bottle, she eats between 2-4 oz....so very little!  She has to burp all of the time, and when I go to feed her again whether it be breast or bottle...she is so upset, and doesn't want to eat.  I'm not sure if being hungry could be a side effect of the meds...that's definitely a good question to pose...I never thought of that.  I was just given the go ahead to give her a little bit of cereal.....but I've done it by spoon and it doesn't work super well yet.  How much would I add to a bottle if I were to do that?

Thank you both for your thoughts!!!

[wonderme]

As for the allergies -- your ped should be able to refer you to an allergist -- preferably a pediatric one.

I had to take my dd when she was 8 months and they did the skin ***** -- she was fine with it, and did have an allergy -- that she later outgrew.

Perhaps feed her a bigger bottle (6 oz.) -- burp her every 2 ounces, wait 'til she calms down and then try feeding more.  If she's upset she may not take more even if that's what she wants -- so give her a chance to settle -- and it may take a bit longer to feed, but then you make get a bit longer to rest in between. : )

I don't remember how much cereal I put in (it's been a lot of years), but I started out very runny.  So start really runny to make sure she can handle it and see if she seems more satisfied.  I know my kids were just really, really hungry...they still are all these years later...and for the record, my kids are NOT overweight, nowhere near it.  They are perfectly healthy -- even though I supplemented with formula and then exclusively with formula -- and even with the cereal.

Let us know how you make out...hope she feels better soon -- and you get some much needed rest!!

[wonderme]

Oh, and make sure the hole in the nipple is allowing the cereal/formula or cereal/breast milk combo through -- you don't want it coming too fast or she'll gag, but make sure something is coming out.

Take care...

[Crritter]

I know how you feel!  My second baby was very colicky again, and was put on meds for acid reflux at 4 weeks, at 2 weeks they switched him to a different formula.  I was only getting about 2 to 3 hrs a night too because then my older son was up for the day.  Not a big napper either, neither one of them.  I agree that she sounds hungry.  Maybe the formula doesn't set well with her, or she just gets upset from having it taken away to burp.  My little one freaks out.  I would call the Dr. and explain what's going on.  Could be that they need to increase her medication, as they grow the dosing will change due to their increasing size, could also be the formula, or she's hungry.  I burp my little one less as he gets bigger and handles it better.  Mine is almost 4 months old, but he eats a good 8 oz. per feeding.  He's probably bigger, but sounds like she's not eating much at a time.  Once she starts to fill her little tummy she should be more restful.  At 5 months lots of little ones start eating cereal too, you don't need to put it in her bottle if she will spoon feed.  Anyway, don't listen to your friends, some people are blessed with easier babies than others.  My co-worker has 2 really easy babies, and I had 2 colicky ones with reflux and allergies to formulas, etc.  Just call your ped. and see what they can do to help you, she will be fine, but you need some rest and she needs to feel and rest better.  Good luck.

[Mommy of K & N]

You all are so great...

I have talked with the peds, and they don't know what to think at think at this point.  Your advice is better than theirs is at this point!  I think I should probably talk to a ped allergist like you suggested.  My son was colicky....so I totally feel for you on that one too.  I thought I was in the clear since she wasn't....but go figure!  In fact, he had acid reflux too, but did great with medicine and had no problem eating and sleeping.

[Crritter]

We didn't know how bad my second baby's reflux was till they saw it first hand with the barium when my son had RSV at 10 weeks.  He got little relief, but thankfully they changed and added medication too to help him.  Since he was colicky too it's hard to tell if it's the colic or if the meds aren't working.  Once we got the right formula he was happy and eating well.  I hope they find out what's going on.

[Mozartcowgirl]

you arent the only one whos baby doesnt sleep..lol.. zane was only sleeping an hour at a time.. it nearly cost me my sanity..lol.. keep your chin up.. things will change!!

[Mozartcowgirl]

i know this is going to sound out there.. but... it worked for zane... hes 4 months old now..

i bought a large massager... turned it on low.. and placed it at the end of the bed/crib... worked like a charm. he slept...lol.. he now sleeps about 4 hours straight.. before.. it was every hour to feed..

[Pearl99]

You can usually just ask the pediatrician to do a "RAST" test for the allergies so you don't have to stick him with needles. It involves only taking one sample of blood and testing all the allergens on that--safer too if he reacts badly. My son had multiple ones and never slept more than 1 1/2 hours in a row for 2 years. Plus he had the eczema on his cheeks and stopped growing as he had early on (i.e. from 50th percentile to less than 5th percentile). After removing the foods he recovered in weight and in skinhealth and began to sleep. 10 years ago no one ever talked about reflux so that was never an option for diagnosis. He was about 1 year old when we tested. He was 100% breastfed and had it even then before starting foods due to foods I was eating (not allergic to the breastmilk itself). Good luck!

[AnnieBrooke]

The painful and restless action with the feeding does sound like the baby needs a super-lot of burping, my son gets that way and flails his head around between swallows when he needs to be burped.  Good luck!

[Me2mommy2b]

Dear mommy of K&N...this sounds all too familiar as my daughter was diagnosed with reflux at the age of 3 months.  What the dosage of Prevacid that she's on?  The dose might be too low for her (it's a PPI, proton pump inhibitor) and it's weight sensetive.  Meaning, the heavier she gets, the higher dose she needs to keep it under control.  I would definitely recommend visiting infantrefluxdotorg.  They are GREAT!!  The forum is filled with mommies who went through this themselves and they are sooo knowledgable on this subject.  When it comes to allegry testing, I was told that they're inaccurate under the age of 2 (or was it 1?  don't remember).  Oh, and when it comes to reflux, breastmilk is better than formula.  Anywho, try to visit the link I provided.  Hope you'll find the much needed relief soon.

[Mommy of K & N]

Thank you to all of you for your further insight....we'll see what happens....5 months today and it feels like forever.