14 months, hardly eats, hardly sleeps!

[AliDoolally]

My baby Barnabas was born at 31 weeks. He is now 14 months (or 12 months corrected age). He has always had severe GERD. It got a lot worse when he had bronchiolitis at 4 months and never really settled afterwards. For the first six months of his life he would fight his milk bottle about 80% of the time we tried to feed him. It could take 20 minutes of screaming and crying before he would finally take it. We had to keep trying because he was also crying in hunger. We could never feed him in public or around other people (which our relatives never understood and were not very sensitive about).

Now its the food that's the issue. He will still often fight his milk especially during and after a cold. But he's a lot calmer about it now than he was. But he barely eats anything solid. We've done BLW (baby led weaning) because putting a spoon near his mouth completely freaked him out. He eats a variety of food, but we have to try up to eight different things each mealtime till we finally find something he wants. Maybe its a breadstick, maybe its cheese, maybe its bran flakes. Sometimes he eats nothing at all. Usually he eats a couple of mouthfuls, like a tiny lump of cheese and two bran flakes. I get really upset when I see his younger cousin scoffing down a whole bowl of pasta, sauce and peas followed by a whole pot of fruit puree followed by a few biscuits etc.

He can get really upset about food/milk, showing obvious signs of anxiety. He also gets really bad pain and discomfort, arching his back etc. And then of course there's all the vomiting. I get so sick of people saying 'all babies are sick'. He used to projectile vomit his milk two metres across the room. Now his whole highchair tray can be full of sick.

When he wakes (day or night) he usually cries out, like he's in pain. The pain has woken him up so he rarely ever sleeps enough. If we don't rush to him he will be sick in his cot. Crying or laughing a lot can make him sick (it breaks my heart to see him giggling his head off and then puking everywhere cos he was laughing too much). At night time he wakes every four hours or so wanting milk. He drinks quite a lot so he's obviously hungry and not just comfort feeding. We assume its because he's hardly eating food and so is genuinely hungry. He eats little and often during the day because that's all he can cope with, and this pattern seems to continue at night. I don't think he ever sleeps enough (and neither do we!). If we try to just rock him back to sleep he continues to cry for ages and ages, and if he does eventually fall back asleep he wakes up half an hour later crying again.

We do believe that its a case of riding this and hoping it settles down. But it gets on top of us, seeing him so uncomfortable and sick all the time, the stress of mealtimes (especially as we try to stay so positive and cheerful for Barnabas), the exhaustion of sleepless nights still, the battles at milk feeds, etc.

Barnabas is generally a content baby. He's staying on his weight centile (he's very small but still growing steadily). He enjoys playing with other babies. He likes people generally. He's developing well (especially considering his prematurity). He's walking now. He laughs lots etc. So doctors and everyone else tell us everything is fine because he looks fine. But for us everything is not fine. We just need some understanding and advice and help. We've just managed to get a referral back to a paed and hope to get referred to someone who can help and advise us a bit more. He's also been prescribed ranitidine which we're about to start.

I don't really know what I want, except maybe some understanding, some reassurance from people who understand. Does anyone else have these issues with lack of eating and lack of sleeping? How do you manage? I'm chronically sick myself which makes it all so much harder. I physically can't cope with his fighting the bottle as my body is too weak. I can hardly get out the house which doesn't help mine or Barnabas's stress levels.

Bla bla bla I'll stop now.

Ali

[Callysmommy]

Hey Ali!

[AliDoolally]

Thanks for your response. It does sound similar. Though Barnabas is so much better now with his milk. I wish we could've had some help sooner so we didn't have to go through such a tough time with him with no support or advice. That colic calm sounds great.

We saw a paed last week who has referred us to a paed dietician so I'm hoping for some good advise. Do you give your baby finger food? We couldn't give ours puree, he wouldn't accept it, so we've done baby-led weaning which has been much better. He chooses what to put in his mouth, so he chooses what textures he likes the feel of. But the paed couldn't believe how little he eats. She didn't believe us at first till I showed her a pot I'd put together of a typical day's food. She practically fell off her chair! It was a relief to be taken seriously at last.

We've started to make sure he has no milk for a long while before he goes to bed which helps loads with his sleep. He still wakes a couple of times, and we still have to give him a night feed, but its much better than it was.

Thanks for your understanding.

[momoftwo378]

Your son sounds a lot like my son was...He was born 3 weeks early.   All the little guy did was scream in pain.  He would take 2 hours two eat 2 oz bottle, 1 hour to burp and it wasn't a baby burp it was manly.  He would maybe sleep for 1/2 hour.  He would throw himself back, bring his legs up to chest and just scream.  We tried switching formulas form Enfamil lipil to good start-didn't work.  He couldn't digest and we ended up in hospital at less than month old.  We put him on Enfamil Soobee.  Didn't really help much either.  Had him to dr several times to figure out what was going on.  Finally they said Acid Reflux and digestive issues.  They put in on medicine.  That didn't fix the problem right than and there.  It was more long term fix.  So I did some research of my own .  This is a posting I did below.  from page 3 labeled To all with children that have acid reflux.   I was lucky to find this stuff.  Plus my son finally has out grown it.  He is 10 months old now.  The only problem we still have with him is getting him to eat step 3 foods or people food that I put through baby grinder-he gags.  The Dr said give it til he is a year and than if still does it will run tests on him.  Not sure if it is from the acid -maybe damaged his throat.


I have posted several times to parents about Colic Calm.   I figured I would just do a posting by its self for everyone to read.   My son is almost 5 months old now.  We have been giving him Colic Calm twice a day now for about 2 1/2 - 3 months.   It has been a life saver.   He could only eat 1/2 oz at a time than would scream.  He would throw himself back, pull legs up to chest and just scream for hours and hours along with not sleeping.   We switched formula's think it was that at first-from Enf. Lipil to Soy.   Took to dr whom put him on Zytanx and Mylanta.  I did some research myself and found Colic Calm.  Had the Ped. look into web page to see first if it was safe to give....I got the green light.  Ever since than he is a completely different child.   First of all he is happy-coo's and laughs.   He is eating 6 oz at a time.  Doesn't scream, throw himself back or pull legs up anymore.   He is a whole different child.   I have copied and pasted info on COLIC CALM from the Web page for parents our there that might want to take a look into it.  

COLIC CALM

A Homeopathic Blend of Chamomile, Fennel, Caraway, Peppermint, Ginger, Aloe, Lemon Balm, Blackthorn and Vegetable Charcoal.  Directly off web page for Colic Calm.    Below I copied and pasted off web page.....

Chamomilla (Chamomile)
Great for easing the colic symptoms of irritability, nervous tension and anxiousness. Chamomile is one of the best and most commonly used remedies for insomnia and restlessness, especially effective when baby is hypersensitive to pain.

Foeniculum Vulgare (Fennel)
Inhibits spasms in smooth muscles, like those in the intestinal tract. Fennel has long been used by herbalists for indigestion and as a gas-relieving and gastrointestinal tract cramp-relieving agent. It also provides pain-reducing and anti-microbial actions.

Carum Carvi (Caraway)
Has been used effectively for over 5,000 years to relieve flatulence, heartburn and indigestion. Caraway is widely recognized as an antispasmodic for mild spasms of the gastrointestinal tract.

Mentha Piperita (Peppermint)
An excellent digestive aid that is well known for its ability to induce the expulsion of gas from the stomach and intestines. Peppermint also has antispasmodic effects and stimulates bile flow. As early as the Middle Ages, ancient doctors knew what modern science has confirmed – enhancing and rebalancing the body’s bile secretions are essential for the treatment of indigestion including gastric acid reflux.

Zingiber Officinale (Ginger)
An outstanding soothing natural medicine for the gastrointestinal tract. Like peppermint, ginger has been shown to beneficially influence gastric mobility while also exerting antispasmodic effects. It is also a very effective remedy for nausea.

Melissa Officinalis (Lemon Balm)
Known for its relaxing and gas-relieving (carminative) effects. Also shown to be effective in treating insomnia and improving quality of sleep. Lemon balm is frequently combined with peppermint for soothing upset stomach.

Aloe Socotrina (Aloe)
Useful for gas, rumbling in the stomach, and cramping prior to stool. Also helps relieve bloating and pain over the liver region.

Prunus Spinosa (Blackthorn)
Relieves pressure of abdominal flatulence which can cause cramp-like and aching pains in the bladder region. Also relaxes spasmodic colic and restores regularity.

Carbo Vegetabilis (Vegetable Carbon)
Recognized for its ability to eliminate toxins in the body. Provides relief from gas, indigestion, abdominal distention with cramping pains, and belching.

Carbo Vegetabilis (Vegetable Charcoal) H.U.S.P
Charcoal, or carbon as it is also called, is the most abundant element on earth. Carbon is an important element; the human body is composed of 18% carbon by weight (70% of the body is water). The form of carbon used in homeopathic medicine is Carbo Vegetabilis (Vegetable Charcoal) H.U.S.P. (Homeopathic United States Pharmacopeia), a pure, naturally-produced, non-carcinogenic vegetable carbon. This carbon that we use has been ground into a fine, black, odorless and tasteless powder. It is tested for utmost purity, and is completely safe for human consumption. It works by a process called adsorption - which means that it has the amazing ability to attract other substances to its surface and hold them there (this is scientifically different from absorption, which means to incorporate or assimilate a substance).  On its way though the digestive tract, it collects toxins and contaminants via adsorption. It also adsorbs gases, thus relieving flatulence, bloating and gas pains. It is fully excreted in bowel movements, so it will temporarily darken stools. Because vegetable charcoal is not a drug, it has no direct action on any organ of the body; it does not enter the bloodstream, nor is it absorbed into the body. All of it passes out of the body system naturally and easily, along with the gases and toxins it has collected on its journey. It is without rival as a cleansing agent and in assisting the healing process of the body as well as preventing intestinal infections. Reference – Journal of the American Medical Association