My 4 month old daughter has been in the hospital 6 days after birth for a high fever (nothing came of it, just a virus), then she was diagnosed with reflux (now on zantac), then pediatrician changed formula to alimentum cause she was having digestion issues. That all happened in her first month of life. For the past three months she has been wonderful, sleeping through the night for a little over a month now, smiling and giggling, no problems. Here’s my concern, I think she is teething, and has been for a few weeks, but she has never been so drastically upset. For the past two days she has been screaming most of the time, refusing to eat large portions of formula (only drinking 1-2 oz at a time), and not sleeping well. I had to be up rocking and holding her for her to even get any sleep. I have only gotten a few naps here and there. I’m going crazy. I’ve given her tylenol it seems to help temporarily, but only for about an hour. Is this normal teething behavior, or is something else wrong. She is not visibly ill, and no temperature. I would appreciate any advice as what to do. (Oh and she hasn’t had any vaccines, so it can’t be a vaccine reaction.) She has a doctor appt in a few weeks, and I’m wondering if I should call and see if I can get in sooner.
Thanks
M.
Well I got her into the doctors.... No ear infection. I mentioned that I thought she might need her zantac dose increased and he didnt think that would be the cause, but we weighed her to get her new dose range and it increased almost double what she could get a day. So I've increased her dose slightly, and it worked for a couple of days, but she still is really fussy at times and doesnt want to eat only about 20 ounces a day. Tylenol and oragel seems to help at times. Still no temp. so hopefully things will continue to improve, thanks for all the advice it was great!!!
My 3 month old son is on Zantac for reflux and we just adjusted his meds. The same thing happened with him not eating and he became just miserable. We took him in to be weighed. The adjustment was pretty big and things were fine in a day or two.
I had the same thing happen with both of my kids around 4 months. I beleive it's teething. They lose their appetite, they're cranky, irritable, etc - but no fever. For me, it lasted about 3 weeks to a month. Then everything was back to normal. My son (now 7 months old) had acid reflux and it was just recently that I stopped his medicine. Now that he's eating more solids - he doesn't seem to need it anymore. He too, is on Alimentum (and so was my daughter - now 5). I hope it's nothing more serious for you and that it will pass soon. Good luck
Hi M.
It sounds like it could be teething, do you see any redness on the gums, or feel a bump or anything like a tooth coming through (usually on the bottom first)? If yes, try baby orajel, cold wash cloths to chew, cold teething rings to chew, even a clean finger to chew helps bring relief. If not, then maybe you should call the doctor just to be sure. I hope you all get some relief. Another thing to consider are her ears, not all ear infections have a fever with them and the ear pain might be worse when she lays down.
I would get her in there quick, and demand to see a real doctor, not a nursing practitioner. If the doctor doesn't solve anything, get another opinion.
I always found that when my son was teething he got an ear infection. Maybe her ears are bothering her? It's hard for babies to drink when their ears hurt. Also use Motrin at night it lasts longer.
my daughter is 2 1/2 now, but has suffered from reflux from birth. i would contact the doctor or bring her in to see if her medications for reflux have stopped working. my daughter goes through these periods when she starts feeling worse when she gains weight and the meds need to be increased. hth. good luck.
S.
she may have an ear infection. you don't have to have a fever associated with that. sucking a laying down make the pain worse. when the sleeping pattern changes suddenly like that, you should consider a visit to the drs.
M. - Take her to the doctor TODAY! Any time your baby is in such obvious distress, take her. That's waht they are there for!
My daughter has gotten ear infections with no fever or other obvious symptoms. Considering how sick she has been and if she hasn't received any of her immunizations yet, she is at risk for all sorts of things.
C.
Hi M.! It could be teeth, but I was going through the same thing with my 3 month old son. Crying alot during the day, didn't want to be put down, no tummy time, not eating very well etc. Went to the doctor yesterday for another problem and she said it could just be a phase he's going through and since I am the one staying home right now he only wants me. Its tough to deal with but hopefully this is just a phase. Keep you chin up
I would highly recommend getting an appointment ASAP and have her ears checked. As a mother of two children who have experienced ear infections early on, it sounds similar to what you are going through. Keep us posted on what the outcome is.
You will probably get numerous suggestions and here is another one. Could be a dairy allergy. My daughter had similar behavior although she was only 2 months old at the time. It had been going on a couple of weeks...not all day at first but got longer and longer. I was breastfeeding...I eliminated dairy from my diet and it went away within 24 hours. One day when she was 6 months old I inadvertently gave her formula - the milk-based kind - and maybe 12 hours later the screaming started and lasted a couple hours. I never did that again and it never happened again. I mean, she cried for other reasons but not that type of screaming like they are just in pain or something and are inconsoloble.
I'd try to get in to see the Dr. Have you noticed anything else out of the ordinary? Did they test her urine when you took her in for in digestion issues?
You don't say what's happening when she's screaming in terms of where she is. My only thought is that you wear her in a sling as much as humanly possible to give her as much closeness, comfort and support as possible. Co-sleeping might also help her get through this. You might also want to check with her pediatrician to see if you can give her Tylenol every 4 hours to ease any pain she might be having.
M.,
My first thought was an ear infection!. When they are laying down at night is the worst, because of the ear canal not being tilted to drain, and it causes pain. It also hurts when they try to drink from their bottle, because the sucking motion puts pressure on the ear again. I have 3 kids, and only one would get a fever with the ear infection. Most of the time I knew because of them not sleeping. make a Dr appt. and let us know.
good luck!
W.
Dear M. ~
My name is J. I am the mom of a 2 1/2 year old and a 1 year. Every mom knows what it feels like to be helpless. Don't worry I think it sounds like she is teething. I use Teething Tablets. You can get them at Wal-mart in the same aisle as the bottles. They are 100% Natural and I swear by them. The directions say to dissolve them under the tongue. My 2 year old can do that. But for my baby I put 2 pills on a teaspoon and dissolve them in some water then give them to her. She stops crying almost immediately. I hope they work for you.
Sincerely ~ J.
I would definately call the doctor and schedule a sick visit for her, not try to deal with all of the things that need to be done at her scheduled well visit while she is feeling this way. It's better for the doctor to tell you that it's just teeting pain then for you to wait it out at home and find out later that there's something actually wrong. I always think it's better to be safe than sorry, especially when your children can't tell you what's bugging them.
This sounds exactly the kind of fits my son would take when he was around this age-he had very bad reflux and was put on Zantac. My experienced mother even called me home from work one day b/c he was screaming so badly and was inconsolable-of course I rushed him to the Dr and he told me that it is very painful and that is why they scream. The Zantac sort of coats the lining of the esophagus and protects against gases or whatever is causing the problem. I would definitely suggest having your doctor consider if this may be the same issue with your daughter. My son only needed to stay on it for a month or two and he just turned 19 months and is perfectly fine-haven't had any other real significant problems with the reflux as far as pain is concerned. Good luck! :0)
I would definitely call the doctor. She may be having another issue that needs to be checked out.
Good Luck!
