Advice needed

cd07

Our 3 week old is really stressing myself and my wife out. We were feeding her sma gold up until two nights ago when she started to really gulp the bottles to the point that she was in bits with what we think was wind. My sister has a new baby the same age give or take and she had the same problem so she changed to cow and gate comfort. So we said we`d try our baby on the same to no avail. She now takes maybe one or two ounces of the bottle then after being winded goes mental and wont take the rest of the feed. We spoke to the hospital and the public health nurse today and they suggested changing the bottles to dr.browns and to try infant gaviscon. Neither seems to be working and im pulling me hair out at this stage! Im going to bring her to the doctor in the morning but until then has anyone experienced this or have any sound advice? We`re back using the tommee tippee bottles again as the gaviscon mixed with the feed wont come out the new bottles so they arent worth a damn!

2xj3hplqgsbkym

When I switched my baby to comfort milk she was upset because she couldn't get the milk out quick enough. It is much thicker than normal milk, you need bigger teats on the bottle (it says this on side of carton in tiny writing). If you have a 1 change to a 2. I sometimes even had to use a 3 until she got used to it, it used to spill all over her but at least she was getting fed. I tried the dr. brown bottles first to no avail before I realised it was a teat problem. I also gave her infacol before her bottle to help with wind.

I know it is very upsetting, so hope this works.

traineeacc

Try not to stress at 3 weeks old they are only finding their way still,your making too many changes together and confusing her. They say not to change to comfort before 4-6 weeks without medical advice. We had very similar problem with my now 1 year old. I stuck to same bottle and formula that he was used to and just gave him a drop of infacol before a feed,give that a few days before doing anything else. I winded him really well after each feed and did the leg cycling thing to help the wind. My son was the exact same as your little girl at that age and phn explained that they need time to adjust and get used to things,she advised against too many changes so soon. Remember what works for one may not necessarily work for another.

Congrats on newbaby and it sounds cliched but it does get easier with each week as you both get to know each other

cd07

Thanks for the reply we tried the bigger sized teats and infacol too!! Im really at my wits end at this stage I really dont want her to go hungry and at the same time the feed is obviously hurting her. Im guessing its reflux but maybe we just need something stronger than th gaviscon

January

Slow down and take it easy. Too many changes can be confusing for her at this stage too and she can probably sense that you and your partner are a bit stressed out and is reacting to that.

One change at a time and try to give it a few days to work. I know it's hugely stressful to see your baby look like they are in pain. Definitely bring her to the doctor if you are still worried about her.

traineeacc

I thought my little man had relux but he just hadn't settled himself into feeding properly yet,he was a poor feeder generally however about 6 weeks old he settled and started feeding well,every 3 hours with his regualar formula and infacol. Its trial and error to get it right but don't forgot how tiny and delicate their tummies are

cd07

Thanks for the replies guys Ill bring her to the doc in the morning anyway just to be on the safe side

traineeacc

For the peace of mind do take her,good luck and trust me was in your position this time last year with all the same feeding concerns,know I have a crazy 13 month old who eats me out of house and home!!!

Gordy6040

Ok, sounds like it could well be acid reflux. I'm not a Dr. And not trying to remote diagnose your baby. My advice is ,go to a childrens hospital, bypass your gp if possible. They may prescribe lo-sec or something similar. Get it done ASAP before your baby associates the bottle with pain. That's a whole other world of problems.
been through this myself...twice. good luck.

Moonbeam

could it be a milk allergy? see what the doctor says an prescribes and good luck:)

yellow hen

Moonbeam wrote: »

could it be a milk allergy? see what the doctor says an prescribes and good luck:)

Was just going to say this. Out little fella was the same and we moved him to lactose free and he was a different baby!! Definitely ask your doc about changing formula. For what it's worth out boy hated the comfort too.

Good luck and as others have said, IT WILL GET EASIER!!!

Vorsprung

Gordy6040 wrote: »

Ok, sounds like it could well be acid reflux. I'm not a Dr. And not trying to remote diagnose your baby. My advice is ,go to a childrens hospital, bypass your gp if possible. They may prescribe lo-sec or something similar. Get it done ASAP before your baby associates the bottle with pain. That's a whole other world of problems.
been through this myself...twice. good luck.

Advising someone to go straight to an emergency dept is terrible advice. First port of call for non emergencies should always be the GP, and if you're not satisfied with your current GP you should consider switching.

traineeacc

As a person involved in the sector myself I couldn't have worded it better myself Vorsprung.

How did you get on Cd07?

sarkozy

Shouldn't the heel prick test identify if the baby has lactose intolerance?

Our little fella is 3 months now, mostly breastfed, but with formula top-ups from birth for the first month and a half or so. It was a bit of a rollercoaster ... lots of indigestion and gas, crying, sleepless nights, but gradually things settled down. It's a two-way thing, both baby and parents are working out what works best together.

The important thing is to take it easy and remember no emergency is likely to occur. If your baby is passing a healthy amount of urine and stool and is gaining weight, you're doing well. Comfort them through the rough patches, burp them really well and when you change something, change only one thing at a time so you know if it's working or not.

What did help: Dr. Brown's bottles helped by reducing ingested air and slowing down feeding time; burping halfway through each feed and after; taking time to develop a burping technique that works for baby and you; Infacol did help him through a bad patch last month; sitting him up for 15-20 minutes after each feed helped reduce reflux. (You don't need to burp for ages; when you get one or two big burps up, it's enough, eventually, you just 'know'.)

It can feel distressing, seeing your baby distressed, but do remember it's not an emergency, every parent and baby have to work through this stage of life together, each time it's different.

It can't be colic, because that starts around 6-8 weeks. If it turns out to be reflux, I've found the PHNs to be really helpful resources, as well as phoning up the maternity hospital on rare occasion when things got a little scary. And don't read too many books! They all conflict with each other - choose one or two you like/have confidence in and stick to those!

It'll all work out!

nikpmup

sarkozy wrote: »

Shouldn't the heel prick test identify if the baby has lactose intolerance?

The heel prick test identifies metabolic disorders, such as PKU
http://www.hse.ie/eng/health/child/newbornscreening/newbornbloodspotscreening/PracticalGuide.pdf

Good advice sarkosy, I'm sure I'm not burping him right (my OH always seems to be able to get the burps up better than me!)

Digs

nikpmup wrote: »

The heel prick test identifies metabolic disorders, such as PKU
http://www.hse.ie/eng/health/child/newbornscreening/newbornbloodspotscreening/PracticalGuide.pdf

Good advice sarkosy, I'm sure I'm not burping him right (my OH always seems to be able to get the burps up better than me!)

Burping is a fine art! We used to swing her legs (gently) about kind of in a helicopter motion, got great wind up! Nothing more satisfying than the sweet sound of a burp though especially at 3am!

silly

Alot of people here will disagree - but i just want to throw it out there.
I brought my son - who had similar symptoms as you have mentioned, to a cranial osteopath. I brought him 3 times, i got digestive enzymes (helps break down milk) and pro biotics (fights bacteria)to from a health shop following her advice and he was a much happier baby afterwards, i gave him that stuff before every bottle for about 3 months. He had alot of wind problems, he would be puling his knees up and screaming in pain. it was heart breaking and i would have tried anything to help him.

sarkozy

I still feel it might be too early at three weeks, provided the baby is gaining weight. I wouldn't know whether it's also too early to introduce bacteria like that to a child's still-underdeveloped gut.

Gordy6040

Vorsprung wrote: »

Advising someone to go straight to an emergency dept is terrible advice. First port of call for non emergencies should always be the GP, and if you're not satisfied with your current GP you should consider switching.

Who mentioned the emergency dept? you not read this properly. In my experience the best bet is to go to the hospital and get a diagnosis from the specialist. Not everyones GP is great with small babies and the quicker these situations are sorted the better for everyone. I stand by my comment.

Vorsprung

Gordy6040 wrote: »

Who mentioned the emergency dept? you not read this properly. In my experience the best bet is to go to the hospital and get a diagnosis from the specialist. Not everyones GP is great with small babies and the quicker these situations are sorted the better for everyone. I stand by my comment.

You suggested bypassing your GP and going to a children's hospital. The only other way in apart from getting a GP referral is via an emergency dept.

Gordy6040

Vorsprung wrote: »

You suggested bypassing your GP and going to a children's hospital. The only other way in apart from getting a GP referral is via an emergency dept.

No it's not, I've had pleanty of consultants over the years in hospitals, most of them have clinics there. You back to the hospital where the child was born and speak to a paediatrician . Its pretty standard. None of this is helping the OP by the way..

sarkozy

I'll go halfway on Gordy's comments. We didn't bring ours in, but we did ring up a number given to us by the maternity hospital so that we could describe symptoms to a paediatrician in order to work out if it was necessary to go in. Especially when it was late at night (e.g. massive reflux and choking on milk).

Gordy6040

Like i said sarkozy. I've been there.. twice.
As the other posters said, it will get better. if its a reflux related issue your little one will grow out of it.
Good luck, try and stay sane :-) this is one of the toughest tests you will face - once you pass thorough it you will know you're awesome!

livinsane

I can't offer advice as I haven't reached that stage yet but don't most babies experience a growth spurt at three weeks? I've read loads about it and apparently is a few days of hell before baby returns to normal. My PHN even mentioned it to me today. From what I've read it's only a temporary phase, not necessarily indicative of a medical problem.

Look up growth spurts. There's one at 3 weeks, 6 weeks, three months and six months (sorry!)