8Wk Old Cries ALOT!

Are you swaddling him? My little girl had very mild acid reflux, for which we kept her elevated on a sleep positioner. But she was extremely comforted by the swaddle, sushing and rocking as well as the pacifier. Or perhaps a swing? I always liked to try a variety of soothing methods so as not to rely on one in particular. I hope this is a temporary phase for you and that it does pass. Sounds like you are doing everything you can. Hang in there and I hope you get lots of helpful responses.

My son also had reflux, and we would dip his paci in Gaviscon. He became very attached to the paci, but he was off at two. Dont worry, he wont be attached to it for life, and the reflux should get better when he can sit up and/or walk. Hang in there, a paci isnt the worst thing in the world, and its just for a short time.

First I would advise you to relax about the pacifier dear. The infant is not even two months old. Very seldom see a child five or older with pacifiers, they outgrow them. Some do need them longer than others if at all.
ok...with acid reflux he could be feeling an empty sensation which makes him want his pacifier.
Five hours is a long time to sleep for less than two months old.
At eight weeks you could start nursing again and have a goodly supply of milk in no time. You could give him his bottle and then let him nurse , say, five minutes on each side to start. Gradually increase nursing time while decreasing formula. You could ask your pediatrician about how best to do this. Trust me, it does work.
In my day if we had mastitis we were advised to stop nursing and many of us coaxed our breasts to produce milk again. It does work ( I know a grammie who adopted a grandchild and was able to nurse successfully using this method)
I wonder about sleeping in the sling chair, the pressure on the spine. Has your doctor at all suggested elevating the head of a crib? Books, pieces of wood would do it. Perhaps four to six inches?
I have acid reflux and it is pretty nasty and painful. I do have an electric hospital bed ( other medical problems) and an elevation on the nights when I feel the acid rumbling keeps it from bubbling up.
I wish you the best and God bless
Grandmother Lowell

PS before there were pacifiers we were told by our mothers and grammies to make "sugar tits" take a very clean square of cloth, put teaspoon of sugar in the middle and tie it off. When they were teething we added a drop of rum. LOL seems so primitive now but pretty good at the time. Dont care so much about others opinions, do what your heart tells you is best for your baby. Tincture of time heals most everything.

My little guy is 9 weeks and very fussy too - unless there is a serious reason you can't breastfeed, I would try to relactate - formula is so, so hard to digest.
Also, check out www.coliccalm.com - this stuff is expensive but it calms our baby in minutes and is all natural and FDA approved (we decided not to use the reflux drugs, the side effects can be scarier than the reflux!).
And it's ok that he only sleeps 5 hours max - he's still little!! They aren't meant to sleep through the night this young, as hard as that is for us.

Hi T. .. just a thought, what formula do you have him on? He might be allergic to something and you might want to try switching him to a Soy Based Formula -- Lactosee Free & Milk Free. It could be an allergy to milk .. if he has a bad tummy, think about it, you would cry too! Especially since you had issues nursing, what you ate he was eating so the poor little guy is having a hard time. I have been down this road and it's not fun with my middle son, by the time he was a year old he it was determined he was allergic to eggs, milk, caisen, peanuts & other nuts. The binky, use it if it's helping you can ween him off that before he is 2 which I did with 2 out of my 3. Email me if you need to I am around all weekend if you need more help ..

My 2 daughters (now ages 6 and 9) have acid reflux. My oldest daughter was a paci kid - HAD to have her paci. Her pediatric gastro doctor told me that acid reflux kids benefit greatly from their pacifiers. The constant sucking washes saliva down their throat and soothes the burning. They recommend these kids do have pacifiers!!!! So LET HIM have his pacifier - deal later with quitting it, when he is not in pain. (My daughter didn't quit hers until she was 5, I'm sorry to say, she still needed it at night only - not during the day - finally quit when I told her that she was old enough to chew gum when she longer needed the pacifier). And tell the biddy old ladies in the grocery store who make rude comments to mind their own business !!! (I used to say "She had a medical condition and needs it, but I don't recall asking your input." They're all so high and mighty about pacifiers!) I bet you are too busy now to research any of this - I found out all kinds of things once my life got back on track and my daughter was about 3 - things I wish I had known when she was a newborn. But let me recommend that you do whatever it takes to not let him cry - acid reflux babies can't be let to "cry it out". When they cry, it makes the acid reflux worse, they cry more, acid reflux gets even worse, etc., etc. - vicious cycle that is hard to break. Don't worry - you will not spoil him by doing all you can to avoid crying fits - my daughter is not at all a spoiled child - in fact, is quite the opposite - but her young life we built around not having her cry - always home at naptime (and we had to hold her 3 hours when she napped - it was the only way - our motto was "I can hold her 3 hours while she sleeps, or I can hold her 3 hours while she cries"), never making her overtired. (I'm not saying give them candy or anything they want - but don't create situations where they will get tired and cry). Also, just so you know, when they are little, the dosage of the meds has to constantly be adjusted. They grow so fast, the dosage is always being outgrown. And since these meds take 7-10 days to get into their system, it can be a LONG time waiting for the new dosage to kick in. So you'll be tuned into him - when you notice him getting a lot fussier for a few days - bring it to the attention of your doctor that you might need the dosage adjusted - trust your instincts. Also, don't worry about the breastfeeding - for my oldest, I switched to soy - made a huge difference (and as I found out when she was about a year old, she had a mild allergy to milk). My youngest, who also has reflux, was fine with the breastfeeding - so you have to judge it kid by kid. I'm pretty sure my oldes had colic as well as reflux. The colic was aggravated by the breastfeeding. God Bless you - enjoy him - and know you do have a harder challenge than most but you can do it!

I would strongly suggest investing in a sling or a couple of different baby carriers. Your baby may be soothed by being closer to you. His strong need to suck is normal so I wouldn't worry now about the pacifier, if that helps him. But it does sound like he is a good candidate for being carried a lot and baby carriers free up your hands and help distribute the weight. If you want to learn more about this, Dr. Sears is an excellent resource on attachment parenting and has a book specifically called The Fussy Baby book (I don't like the title, but it has good suggestions in it).

My son had reflux also and we were in the same boat until we found the right meds for him. Have you spoken to your pediatrician about the fact that he is still crying/fussy a lot? And also, what kind of formula did you switch to - that can have an affect on the reflux also. We had to try 3 different meds before we found the one that worked and had to be very aware of his weight gain/growth because the dosage is based on their weight - I found that when he was starting ti get fussy again, it was usually because he had "outgrown" his dose. I can't give you any advice on the pacifier - I could never get my son to take one!

Get your hands on The Baby Book by Dr. Sears. This is absolutely the best book I have found to answer all your questions about babies! Also askdrsears.com
Good luck!

My daughter was colicky!!!! We both spent our days crying. She would sleep in her swing, or in the car. I couldn't breast feed and had her on soy formula. She used a pacifier constantly, and it helped. She gradually used it less and less, but was still using it at night until Kindergarten. We tried to wean her many times, but sleep won out. I thought she'd be going to college with it attached to her. The good news...she just stopped on her own once she went to school. Peers? Maturing? Whatever... We found that it was better to let her do it in her own time. (Like potty training) Now she is an amazing 15 year old. Confident, all honors classes, varsity track. My advice...don't sweat it. Keep him as comfortable as possible.

Good luck,
J.

i firmally believe in chiropractic adjusment my youngest has been going every couple of months since birth.... it especailly good for gastric reflux did you have a very traumatic long delivery he could be out of adjustment and your nuero and lymph system doesn't work properly good luck mother of 13 11 8 and 18mths K. d oh and by the way 3 out my 4 kids are binky kids and the one that didn;t have one was the hardest my 13 yr old gave it up at 3 1/2 so no worries....

where are you located? Find a pediatric chiropractor that specializes in working with reflux and feeding issues. It sounds like he has extreme sucking needs, this can be addressed by a chiropractor who does cranial work. check out http://www.icpa4kids.org/locator/index.php to find one in your area. There are really good ones in the Boston area and in Providence that I know of, hopefully one near you. It will help all of you feel, sleep and eat better. Good luck.

Hi T.,

Your little one may be allergic to milk and soy protien. My little one had similar problems, along with reflux and it turned out to be that the milk and soy were the cause. We took him to a pedi gastro md and she put him on a special formula (Neocate). It was a godsend. He is now doing wonderful.

I hope you find the solution for your little guy.

M. G

Have you tried having him sleep in his infant car seat? I used to put my daughters car seat right in her crib- she love it. I agree with the posts about relactating. Your diet was not to blame for his fussiness as evidenced by the fact that he is still fussy on formula. Also, babies have a physiologic need to suck. I say give the paci when he asks for it! Eventually he will find his fingers and will not need the paci. best of luck!!!

At 8 weeks keep the binkie. If that's the worst thing then choose your battles! I am on kid no. 4 and got with whatever works. Mine were bad with acid reflux, medication, etc. Prevacid works best. Keep elevated always. I am convinced that SIDS is from reflux. We tried all of the formulas, etc. Allimentum worked for us. Formula is probably better for them. At least you know that they're getting enough and you know it doesn't contain whatever you ate last night that isn't going to agree with the baby. Good luck. Make sure you see a good Pedi GI that does a barium swallow and a good GI work up.

Please take this advice as it's meant. Sometimes I have trouble expressing myself in a way that seems kind but rest assured I am not thinking mean things!

I'm not pretending to know your situation or judging your choices, and I believe every mother has the right to decide what works best for her family, but if it's even at all possible, maybe think about contacting a lactation consultant about relactating? Formula can be rough on any infant tummy, but esp. a baby with bad reflux. Even if you were to continue nursing a while longer, it might give his gut a chance to heal and then you could transfer back to formula at a later date.

If that's not possible I hope I have not hurt your feelings with my suggestion...it is definitely not my intention! Best of luck and I hope it all works out :)

my daughter had reflux and colic. The good news is, I read that about 50% of babies have some sort of ongoing reflux early on- it is normal, and they usually grow out of it within the first 3-5 months or so. The things that helped for us included:
1. slightly elevating the head of her basinette cushion with a wedge- this sometimes helped her.
2. I couldn't wear a sling- any position that curled her up really aggravated her. I used the Weego pack to carry her around alot. She loved it- she still likes to ride in it when we shop!
3. Try switching to a hydrolyzed formula, like Nutramigen. I breastfed my daughter, but found that the dairy (and eggs, in my case) that I was eating REALLY aggravated her symptoms. I went off of both completely for 4 months (and reintroduced to my diet at 6 months) and that improved the situation by about 75%.
4. Also, just beware of stuffing him too much at once. It might make him feel better to suck and swallow more food, but it will make the reflux worse if he already full.

I would be thankful that you have the binky as a way to soothe your baby! I have heard of babies who cry all day and have not interest in the binky. I would not feel that you have to limit it at this time, as there is nothing wrong with a baby having a binky.
I would check out the book "The Happiest Baby on the Block" as this has a lot of great tips about how to soothe a fussy baby.

no child that i know of has ever gone off to school with a binky so don't stress yourself about it. if he feels better with it, then let him have it.
as for the acid reflux, most likely he'll outgrow it in a couple months. try elevating his upper torso when sleeping, and burp him more often during feedings.
good luck.

T.,

my third child was also a very fussy baby. At his 8 week check-up I mentioned this to the doctor and he did a skin allergy test that showed he had a dairy intolerence. I was nursing so I went off ALL dairy and he stopped screaming within two days and never cried like that again. When he was one I started to give him a little cheese here and there and he did ok with it. He is now two, on rice milk and can have cheese, yogurt...in moderation. I always know if he has had too much because he gets constipated. So maybe if you try switching formulas?
Also, all three of my kids had a pacifier until they were three (at nap and bed only when they were over 1)the first two gave them up and there have been no problems because of it so I wouldn't worry about it. Babies need to suck and if it calms him I say don't stress over it!
Best of luck to you. I hope you find what works!

Hi T. at 8 weeks it is perfectly normal for him to want a pacifier. A lot of babies are soothed by sucking on something. He will not have a pacifier for the rest of his life so don't worry. When he gets older 8 or 9 months I would just start to limit the pacifier for naps and bed but for now if he needs to suck on one let him its not going to hurt him.

both my boys had terrible acid reflux and they both had binkies (pacifiers). I say if it makes him happy then let him have it. Don't worry, he won't go to college with his binky :)!!! My first baby, who is three now, would only sleep in his swing, so that's what he slept in for the first 4 months of his life...he never saw his crib until he was 5 months old and was over the worst of the reflux. Also, I found that he would drink alot, but if I fed him too much he would be fussy, and he wouldn't stop drinking by himself, because when he was drinking it made the reflux feel better, but if I let him keep drinking, he would get a belly ache!!! I remember these days like they were yesterday, but I promise you will get through it and it does get better!!!! We also put our babies on Alimentum formula and that helped a lot. We also found that they couldn't tolerate powder formula, they had to have ready to feed.

I agree with the other posters that it won't hurt for him to have his binky all he wants right now. His reflux will probably get better once he starts moving around and then he will need the binky less.

His reflux sounds pretty extreme - I wonder if it would be better if you switched formulas? It might be worth discussing with your pediatrician. Was his reflux this bad when you were breastfeeding him?

Good luck, things will get better, hopefully soon!

hi T.,

my first thought is that your baby may have a milk allergy and the formula is making him miserable. the paci may comfort him and it is maybe why he is so dependent on it. also, i wouldn't worry about pacifier dependency at 8 wks. my son who is now 2 was obsessed with his paci until 18 months. i decided to throw them all away for good and he only cried about it for a day or two. check with the pedi for milk and soy allergy with your sons next visit (blood test).

Oh wow, you hardly will have time to read all these responses, given what's cookin' at your end right now...

I have an 8 months old and a 2.75 years old. I recommend anything written on the "high need baby" by Sears & Sears. I think you would find it encouraging, helpful in the most practical sense, and comforting. I know they have some chapters on it in "the Babybook", but i think they also have written a whole volume just about high need kids. Their writing is so good, you can even read it while actually in the middle of it all -- or this is what my husband and i find.

BTW, i have never seen a 16 y o with a binky in his mouth...

Good luck!!
D.