Wits end....need help

DD reached the 4 month mark a few days ago, and while we are still going
strong on bf, the past two nights leave me wanting to rip my hair out.

both nights were hell on wheels for both of us. She refuses to sleep, and
if she does by chance go to sleep, she sleeps for about a half hour then
wants to nurse. Fine, growth spurt is what comes to mind. I figured that
I could lay in bed, nurse her from there, everyone would be happy. Wrong.
two seconds after she latches on, she pulls off, arches her back, starts
squealing, starts kicking, and then starts looking for the breast again.
After maneuvering a very wiggly baby into the general area of my breast,
she starts all over again. after nearly 30 minutes of this, she decides to
eat a little, dozes off, and I let her nurse til she is floppy and deep
asleep, then put her back in her bed. She wakes up squealing again, and
the process is repeated. It doesn't seem to matter what breast I offer her.
I have scratch marks on both breasts where she has scratched me during her
arch back routine. My belly hurts from her kicking and looking for a
foothold. DH tried to help several times both last night and night before,
only to have her scream at him in protest. I have spent the last 4 hours
letting her "sleep" with me, only to continue in her squeal, dig, kick
routine.

I have not added anything to my diet that wasn't there a week ago save a
single 4oz glass of wine last night to celebrate the new year.

I have eliminated all dairy as of about 3 weeks ago, and drink lactose free
milk.

I'm not eating peanut butter, soy, eggs, and keeping nuts to a bare minimum
(I had a slice of pecan pie on Christmas tho).

She has no diaper rash, and her cradle cap is gone.

She has on a dry diaper, and is neither too hot nor too cold.

She is showing no signs of teething, any kind of illness (no spit up, no
runny nose etc).

I have not changed soaps, nor do I wash my nipples with anything other than
warm water.

My mom claims that its colic and advised me to let her CIO, which I'm
having a hard time believing and don't want to let her do.

Since I started typing this, she has quieted down. I put her in her car
seat and strapped her in (so she doesn't wiggle out), and she is nearly
asleep. I didn't want to put her on the couch because last night at around
8:30 she nearly wiggled off the couch and both DH and I were sitting right
there trying to get her to stay on the couch. I didn't want to lay her on
the floor because we have hardwood floors over top a crawl space, and they
get really cold. In her bed, she manages to scoot her head all the way to
the top then gets stuck bent backwards, which I don't like because it
scares me, so I haven't put her in her bed much these last two nights. Car
seat seemed like a good place for her that won't hurt her, make her too
cold, or further injure my belly and breasts (side note, I had a c-section
with her following a c-section with my first child, and she seems to find
my incision with her tiny toes, pulls down on my belly in an attempt at
arching her back and scooting herself upwards. "Hurts bad" doesn't begin
to describe it).

Please help. I'm exhausted. I hurt. My nerves are shot. I just want to
go to sleep.


Karlee in Kansas

"Karlee in Kansas" wrote in message
...
DD reached the 4 month mark a few days ago, and while we are still going
strong on bf, the past two nights leave me wanting to rip my hair out.

both nights were hell on wheels for both of us. She refuses to sleep, and
if she does by chance go to sleep, she sleeps for about a half hour then
wants to nurse. Fine, growth spurt is what comes to mind. I figured that
I could lay in bed, nurse her from there, everyone would be happy. Wrong.
two seconds after she latches on, she pulls off, arches her back, starts
squealing, starts kicking, and then starts looking for the breast again.
After maneuvering a very wiggly baby into the general area of my breast,
she starts all over again. after nearly 30 minutes of this, she decides
to
eat a little, dozes off, and I let her nurse til she is floppy and deep
asleep, then put her back in her bed. She wakes up squealing again, and
the process is repeated. It doesn't seem to matter what breast I offer
her.
I have scratch marks on both breasts where she has scratched me during her
arch back routine. My belly hurts from her kicking and looking for a
foothold. DH tried to help several times both last night and night
before,
only to have her scream at him in protest. I have spent the last 4 hours
letting her "sleep" with me, only to continue in her squeal, dig, kick
routine.

I have not added anything to my diet that wasn't there a week ago save a
single 4oz glass of wine last night to celebrate the new year.

I have eliminated all dairy as of about 3 weeks ago, and drink lactose
free
milk.

I'm not eating peanut butter, soy, eggs, and keeping nuts to a bare
minimum
(I had a slice of pecan pie on Christmas tho).

She has no diaper rash, and her cradle cap is gone.

She has on a dry diaper, and is neither too hot nor too cold.

She is showing no signs of teething, any kind of illness (no spit up, no
runny nose etc).

I have not changed soaps, nor do I wash my nipples with anything other
than
warm water.

My mom claims that its colic and advised me to let her CIO, which I'm
having a hard time believing and don't want to let her do.

Since I started typing this, she has quieted down. I put her in her car
seat and strapped her in (so she doesn't wiggle out), and she is nearly
asleep. I didn't want to put her on the couch because last night at
around
8:30 she nearly wiggled off the couch and both DH and I were sitting right
there trying to get her to stay on the couch. I didn't want to lay her on
the floor because we have hardwood floors over top a crawl space, and they
get really cold. In her bed, she manages to scoot her head all the way to
the top then gets stuck bent backwards, which I don't like because it
scares me, so I haven't put her in her bed much these last two nights.
Car
seat seemed like a good place for her that won't hurt her, make her too
cold, or further injure my belly and breasts (side note, I had a c-section
with her following a c-section with my first child, and she seems to find
my incision with her tiny toes, pulls down on my belly in an attempt at
arching her back and scooting herself upwards. "Hurts bad" doesn't begin
to describe it).

Please help. I'm exhausted. I hurt. My nerves are shot. I just want to
go to sleep.


Karlee in Kansas



(((Karlee)))

I'm not sure if I have any useful advice, as every baby is different.

I do know that when Kam does that, it's because I have misread his signs, I
have thought he was hungry when in fact he was full. He also gets fed up of
being held and likes to go down.

I think she wants to suck, but gets angry because her tummy is full. She
needs something to suck on, that isn't feeding her at the same time.
She may also benefit from being swaddled tightly, so she feels more secure.

Are you sure it couldn't be teething? Kam had his first tooth at 4 months,
and has just got 2 more. When he is teething he just bobs on and off the
breast and arches his back - nothing else.

I really hope things get better for you. This is my 5th round! lol

--
Andrea mom of 5 - latest addition Kamron David 6 months still nursing strong
with 4 teeth!

"Karlee in Kansas" wrote in message
...

I have not added anything to my diet that wasn't there a week ago save a
single 4oz glass of wine last night to celebrate the new year.

I have eliminated all dairy as of about 3 weeks ago, and drink lactose
free
milk.

I'm not eating peanut butter, soy, eggs, and keeping nuts to a bare
minimum
(I had a slice of pecan pie on Christmas tho).

She has no diaper rash, and her cradle cap is gone.

She has on a dry diaper, and is neither too hot nor too cold.

She is showing no signs of teething, any kind of illness (no spit up, no
runny nose etc).

I have not changed soaps, nor do I wash my nipples with anything other
than
warm water.

My mom claims that its colic and advised me to let her CIO, which I'm
having a hard time believing and don't want to let her do.

Colic would have started much earlier than this, and would probably be over
by four months. Be assured it's not colic.

My guess is that she's undergoing a developmental leap. There's a big one
that happens around four months, usually signaled by the ability to roll
over. These shifts are accompanied by all kinds of sleep disturbances and
behavior changes. They usually end as quickly as they began. Your habits
haven't changed, but her brain has!

In the mean time, try everything. Swaddle her tightly to nurse, perhaps, or
have DH go in and walk her a bit if you think she's not hungry yet. Have
you tried a pacifier? If there are teeth on the way, the sucking might
soothe a bit.

I recall my DS having moments like this when he was exactly the same age.
The best advice I can give you is that your daughter really will outgrow it
fairly soon.

-Shannon


Since I started typing this, she has quieted down. I put her in her car
seat and strapped her in (so she doesn't wiggle out), and she is nearly
asleep. I didn't want to put her on the couch because last night at
around
8:30 she nearly wiggled off the couch and both DH and I were sitting right
there trying to get her to stay on the couch. I didn't want to lay her on
the floor because we have hardwood floors over top a crawl space, and they
get really cold. In her bed, she manages to scoot her head all the way to
the top then gets stuck bent backwards, which I don't like because it
scares me, so I haven't put her in her bed much these last two nights.
Car
seat seemed like a good place for her that won't hurt her, make her too
cold, or further injure my belly and breasts (side note, I had a c-section
with her following a c-section with my first child, and she seems to find
my incision with her tiny toes, pulls down on my belly in an attempt at
arching her back and scooting herself upwards. "Hurts bad" doesn't begin
to describe it).

Please help. I'm exhausted. I hurt. My nerves are shot. I just want to
go to sleep.


Karlee in Kansas

Hi -

If this behavior has only started recently, then your baby is probably
uncomfortable for a specific reason, such as a virus or bruise or
teething. Keep a close eye on here and see if treating with a baby pain
reliever (ie infant motrin) helps her sleep.

By the way, if you're drinking lactose-free milk then you have not
eliminated dairy. Babies react to cow's milk PROTEIN in mom's milk, not
lactose. (Breastmilk is very high in lactose and it's the rare baby who
has a problem with lactose.) There's no need for you to drink
lactose-free milk unless YOU have a problem with lactose. If you think
your baby has a problem with the milk you drink, then eliminate ALL
milk, lactose-free and otherwise.

But with the sudden onset of this problem (as you described it) I
wouldn't suspect milk to be the source. I'd be inclined to think about
teething or a mild virus.

--Beth Kevles

http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html -- a page for the milk-allergic
Disclaimer: Nothing in this message should be construed as medical
advice. Please consult with your own medical practicioner.

NOTE: No email is read at my MIT address. Use the AOL one if you would
like me to reply.

I can remember nights like this when William was small, and I never did figure
out exactly what was bothering him. In case it was teething, I would always
give him a dose of Tylenol and put Anbesol on his gums. For some reason,
propping him up against me and letting him sleep sitting up seemed to help on
these nights--maybe it was stomach pain, ear pain, or a stuffy nose? Anyway, I
know he seemed as you describe, really angry when I tried to get him to nurse.
Sometimes, after awhile of the sitting up routine, he would settle back and
nurse well.

Leslie

Try using a baby swing. Sometimes the motion can help baby relax enough to go
to sleep.
Sue



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