so very frustrated and need advice..AGAIN. :(

[mom2ariana]

i know this is a pregnancy forum and i ask alot of baby questions..and im sorry!! i just don't know where else to ask this and yall are always so helpful so here goes:
Ariana is constantly hungry, as most of yall know lol. she will take 4 ounces and then an hour to 2 hours later is hungry again. i know its hunger because she is rooting, screaming, sucking on her hands and fingers. and we try the paci..she'll spit it out often and we'll put it back in...we play this game for about 30 minutes...and then we dont feed her until it is to the point where she will NOT take the paci anymore and is screaming.

the past couple days though she is wanting to eat nonstop. and she has been spitting up a lot more than usual. and by a lot i mean she probably spits up 1/4th of what she eats every feeding (so about an ounce)...and i have noticed she arches her back sometimes when i lay her down and shes crying. but when she is upright she is the most soothed. granted if shes really hungry this ceases to work but sometimes if she's just fussy and wanting to eat a little keeping her upright will work for awhile.

i'm beginning to suspect reflux..i think she might be wanting to eat for comfort and then is spitting up so much lately because we are overfeeding her not knowing what else to do. but keep in mind she does not have all the symptoms of reflux..she is not in pain constantly. she ONLY really acts like she wants to eat constantly and that is whats bothering her.

i placed a call to her pediatrician and you know what he told me (GRR) he told me she is supposed to be eating every 4 hours..OKAY. i know that. he's said that before. but its just NOT gonna happen.. 2 1/2 isn't working for her..and i would wanna shoot myself if i had to stretch it out to 4. i would have to leave the room because she would be screaming bloody murder..and i just can't let her scream that much i feel like its bad for her. and she has little tears and it just breaks my heart..anyways point is 4 hours is never going to happen. but then the real thing that got me. is he said to DECREASE the amount of ounces shes taking. so that means he wants me to feed her 2 1/2 ounces (WTF) every 4 hours...and then slowly increase the ounces blablabla  (we've already done this as she is now 6 weeks old..4 ounces is normal)...i dont see HOW almost halfing the amount shes taking and doubling the time shes taking it is going to help anything.

i need better suggestions; because the doctor's suggestion is just not going to happen and im not even going to attempt it. oh and i should have mentioned it takes her about an hour to finish a bottle.

SO with all that info should i try a faster nipple so she drinks faster and is fuller longer? should i use a different formula (like maybe similac reduced spit up?) or if it truly is reflux and shes eating for comfort and spitting up from overfeeding what do i do? the doctor didn't seem concerned about that possibility so now i need yalls help. please; any suggestions are welcome because idk what to do.

[connorethansmom]

Oh my, I so feel for you!  My little girl had reflux, started at 2 weeks old.   That lead to colic at around 3 months until around 7 months (screaming straight from 1PM-4/5PM everyday).  I was miserable!  It was hard on her, hard on me and my husband and I fought all the time.  I was nursing so I was constantly feeding, cleaning up puke, and feeding again.  I also had a toddler at the time.  Ahhh, I am reliving it right now in my head it was horrible!!!!

My advise...  we were told to feed her more frequent smaller meals.  With nursing that was difficult and like you she would just scream for more.  I think in a way the milk helped sooth her throat.  We ended up putting her on prescription zantac (didn't work, but works for most) and then prilosec.  That did the trick - she stopped screaming in pain from the acid coming back up, but that didn't stop it from coming.  She could easliy create 1-2 LOADS of laundry a day by herself. I had to push my doctor that something was seriously wrong, that I needed to try something.  He wasn't very receptive at first so I just kept pushing.   If you do get on some meds, you'll have to keep an eye on the dose as they grow so quickly that the dose is always changing.  

He also suggested that I stop eating for 24 hours to see if she was allergic to stuff or try a few sensitive formulas (can't remember the names, I think one started with an N - maybe someone else knows).  We opted for none-eating and it didn't stop it.

The good news is, we were off meds at 10-11 months (I know it sounds like forever to you now, it was a living he(# when I was in it too.)  It does get better.  

My daughter is still a difficult child, still crys a lot, still throws up easily, etc.  We did the ultrasound test and found that it wasn't severe, so no surgery, but the waiting for her stomach muscle to "grow up" if you will was awful. You you really feel something is not right, push the doctors.  It's hard if you are a first time mom, I remember with my first them not listening to me fully, so keep at them.

[martikadragoon]

What works for us is using cereal in the formula. we added it to masons since he was 2 months old, it makes it just thick enough so that it won't come up otherwise both my boys will end up throwing up ALOT

[mom2ariana]

i think we are going to try feeding her smaller meals more frequently. that is what the nurse originially suggested until she talked to the doctor.
as far as switching pediatricians idk...im still in denial that he's not a good one because he was my pediatrician when i was young and i just love him..he's the sweetest man ever, hardly charges a copay, and we are personally good friends with him. :( id like to give him more of a chance first.
martikadragoon: were going to try the cereal. i know people say don't do it. but i think she might be suffering from reflux and the nurse said you can put cereal in their bottle if they are. DH's parents are keeping her saturday night (it's our 6 week hotel stay to enjoy ourselves)..and she is going to start her on it for us since she is experienced with it so hopefully that will help; i think it will.
i have something very interesting to bring up...let me know what yall think. just now she was screaming..and i remembered from the other day that when i put her on her tummy she went right to sleep (this has happened twice now) so i handed her to DH and told him to place her on her tummy in her crib and she's out like a light. no more crying; nothing. why do you think this is? i think its VERY interesting.

[smjmekg]

Hmm...maybe her being on her back stretches out her tummy and it hurts her, or maybe she just doesn't like laying on her back...I know all the stuff they say about how to lay them down to sleep, but Elijah wouldn't sleep unless he was on his tummy...if it works, just keep an eye on her incase she spits up...

[raquelplus2]

when my baby had that back in feb beg of march i switched to enfamils gassy n fussiness its a lavender can of formula worked wonders. my also use the mam pacifier n my baby loves that i wouldnt feed her 2 ounces at 4 hers! shes only 6 weeks n my dr say every 2 to 3 hrs they need a feed n my son n previous would eat bout 3 or 4 ounces evry 2 or 2 n half. hrs. when he would get fussy i would jus constantly have to bounce rock him put pressure on his belly n i also gav him that med gasx 4 infants. all combined it helped n within a month it was over when she crys jus hold her close rock her pat her

[raquelplus2]

oh also i noticed enfamil made a new formula saids colic n reflux on it n its very exspensive mayb try alil can n see if that works too!!!