Help! newborn screaming, plus intro

I've posted a few times in mkb before (and many times in mkp) but this is
just the third night for my DS, and he's screaming... DH and I can't work
out why, can anyone help?

Some background:

DS was born on Monday evening at 42 weeks, weighing just over 9lb with
apgars of 9 and 9, no apparent problems, though it was a very long hard
labour for me. The first night (in hospital) he woke a couple of times to
feed, fed and went back to sleep. The second night he woke many many times
to feed, but always fed happily and went back to sleep at least for a few
minutes! Tonight however he just keeps screaming, and though I've a couple
of times managed to get him to feed this doesn't really seem to be the
problem - sometimes it works as comfort, sometimes he'll just take a few
sucks, latch off and keep screaming. We can't work out why and are reaching
our wits' end. Most of the day he's been quite content; he's slept quite a
lot, had some quiet alert time, and fed most of the afternoon. My milk
isn't in yet but it's clear that he's getting some colostrum. He's had
several wet/dirty (meconium) nappies today, though not in the last 6 hours.
(We're using disposables while the meconium lasts; DH who has been doing
the changes thinks that the last nappy was somewhat wet, but isn't really
su it wasn't as wet as others he had earlier.)

It sounds as though maybe he's in pain - though we don't have enough
experience of newborns to really say this. His temperature is normal. He
doesn't seem to be too hot or too cold. There's nothing obviously wrong -
he isn't holding any part of his body oddly, the cord isn't infected, he
doesn't have any rash, he doesn't have a hair stuck around a finger or toe,
his nappy doesn't appear to be on wrongly. (He does have some dry flaky
skin, unsurprisingly given that he was late, but it doesn't seem sore
enough to be the explanation.) We've tried burping him. Comfort measures
like giving him a finger to suck, walking him round the flat etc. sometimes
work for a few minutes, and a couple of times we've even managed to get him
off to sleep for a little while, but we have the impression that they're
working as distractions rather than actually solving the problem: it's
never long before he's awake and screaming again. He's a bit young for
colic isn't he? In any case, he's not doing standard colic stuff like
pulling up his legs. Tonight we're cosleeping (the long term plan is to use
a bedside cosleeper but for practical reasons to do with my state after the
birth that's not possible tonight).

All I can think is that he's hungry/thirsty and that the problem will go
away when my milk comes in. If that's so I really hope it's soon, like
tomorrow! But is there anything else that we should consider? We'd really
appreciate any advice!

Sidheag
and DS Colin, Oct 27th 2003

Have you tried swaddling him very tightly?

-- Anita --


Sidheag McCormack wrote:
I've posted a few times in mkb before (and many times in mkp) but this is
just the third night for my DS, and he's screaming... DH and I can't work
out why, can anyone help?

--
SUCCESS FOUR FLIGHTS THURSDAY MORNING ALL AGAINST
TWENTY ONE MILE WIND STARTED FROM LEVEL WITH ENGINE
POWER ALONE AVERAGE SPEED THROUGH AIR THIRTY ONE
MILES LONGEST 57 SECONDS INFORM PRESS HOME CHRISTMAS.

"Sidheag McCormack" wrote in message
...
I've posted a few times in mkb before (and many times in mkp) but this is
just the third night for my DS, and he's screaming... DH and I can't work
out why, can anyone help?
snip

He was a good sized baby, chances are he is getting a little hungry now and
frustrated at the milk issue, I'm sure by the time that you read this
message your milk will have come in and shut him up good and proper!
Otherwise, just keep trying the feeding little and often and that will
encourage the milk arrival.

Good luck and enjoy your beautiful newborn.

Nikki

Humoungus congrats on baby Colins birth, well done!
Sorry I can't help on the crying thing, babies do tend to
have a cruisy first 2-3 day's as they adjust to life outside
the womb though, so maybe your honeymoon is just up ;-)
My only other suggestion is keep the breast in his mouth,
they can't cry when their mouth is full...lol


--
Andrea

If I can't be a good example, then I'll just have to be a
horrible warning.

Hi there, I had the exact same thing happen with my baby right from day 1
turns out it was reflux she wasn't projectile vomiting but it was coming up
then going back down and burning her throat. I was told it was colic and it
went on for 9 weeks until they put her in hospital found the problem and put
her on medication. She is doing great now. I don't believe in the word
colic I think it is a cop out, that doctors say this when they can't find
anything wrong. Babies don't cry for no reason. Your his mother you know
best if you have no result in a week or so go to the doctors or you health
clinic and talk to them about it. I'm not saying you have the same problem
with you little one but don't let anyone say that your a neurotic mother,
over tired, have postnatal depression, give it time he's just new or it's
just colic. That's what they said to me and they were wrong.
Good luck.

Nat (Queensland, Australia)

"Sidheag McCormack" wrote in message
...
I've posted a few times in mkb before (and many times in mkp) but this is
just the third night for my DS, and he's screaming... DH and I can't work
out why, can anyone help?

Some background:

DS was born on Monday evening at 42 weeks, weighing just over 9lb with
apgars of 9 and 9, no apparent problems, though it was a very long hard
labour for me. The first night (in hospital) he woke a couple of times to
feed, fed and went back to sleep. The second night he woke many many times
to feed, but always fed happily and went back to sleep at least for a few
minutes! Tonight however he just keeps screaming, and though I've a couple
of times managed to get him to feed this doesn't really seem to be the
problem - sometimes it works as comfort, sometimes he'll just take a few
sucks, latch off and keep screaming. We can't work out why and are
reaching
our wits' end. Most of the day he's been quite content; he's slept quite a
lot, had some quiet alert time, and fed most of the afternoon. My milk
isn't in yet but it's clear that he's getting some colostrum. He's had
several wet/dirty (meconium) nappies today, though not in the last 6
hours.
(We're using disposables while the meconium lasts; DH who has been doing
the changes thinks that the last nappy was somewhat wet, but isn't really
su it wasn't as wet as others he had earlier.)

It sounds as though maybe he's in pain - though we don't have enough
experience of newborns to really say this. His temperature is normal. He
doesn't seem to be too hot or too cold. There's nothing obviously wrong -
he isn't holding any part of his body oddly, the cord isn't infected, he
doesn't have any rash, he doesn't have a hair stuck around a finger or
toe,
his nappy doesn't appear to be on wrongly. (He does have some dry flaky
skin, unsurprisingly given that he was late, but it doesn't seem sore
enough to be the explanation.) We've tried burping him. Comfort measures
like giving him a finger to suck, walking him round the flat etc.
sometimes
work for a few minutes, and a couple of times we've even managed to get
him
off to sleep for a little while, but we have the impression that they're
working as distractions rather than actually solving the problem: it's
never long before he's awake and screaming again. He's a bit young for
colic isn't he? In any case, he's not doing standard colic stuff like
pulling up his legs. Tonight we're cosleeping (the long term plan is to
use
a bedside cosleeper but for practical reasons to do with my state after
the
birth that's not possible tonight).

All I can think is that he's hungry/thirsty and that the problem will go
away when my milk comes in. If that's so I really hope it's soon, like
tomorrow! But is there anything else that we should consider? We'd really
appreciate any advice!

Sidheag
and DS Colin, Oct 27th 2003

Oh, honey, you're living my life of four years ago.

Ask your doctor if it could be reflux. It's entirely possible.

It could also be plain old colic. First thing to understand is that it's
NOT YOUR FAULT. Then, go get yourself a copy of Parenting the Fussy Baby
and High Needs Child. It has some very good tips in it.

Swaddling is good. Offer the breast frequently and often, and for as long
as he wants, even if its comfort sucking.

We found that motion was the best calmer. I would throw DS into a Baby Bjorn
or sling and just go for a walk. A long brisk walk. As long as I was
moving, he was quiet or sleeping. You can also use a vibrating bouncy chair
to imitate movement, or place a baby carrier on top of the running washing
machine.

I can expound on this at greater length, if you want. The short story is
that our DS outgrew the screaming at 11 weeks, but graduated to fussiness.
He outgrew the fussiness when he learned to walk and has been the happiest
kid on the block ever since. I think he just wanted to be going places.

-Shannon

"Sidheag McCormack" wrote in message
...
I've posted a few times in mkb before (and many times in mkp) but this is
just the third night for my DS, and he's screaming... DH and I can't work
out why, can anyone help?

Some background:

DS was born on Monday evening at 42 weeks, weighing just over 9lb with
apgars of 9 and 9, no apparent problems, though it was a very long hard
labour for me. The first night (in hospital) he woke a couple of times to
feed, fed and went back to sleep. The second night he woke many many times
to feed, but always fed happily and went back to sleep at least for a few
minutes! Tonight however he just keeps screaming, and though I've a couple
of times managed to get him to feed this doesn't really seem to be the
problem - sometimes it works as comfort, sometimes he'll just take a few
sucks, latch off and keep screaming. We can't work out why and are
reaching
our wits' end. Most of the day he's been quite content; he's slept quite a
lot, had some quiet alert time, and fed most of the afternoon. My milk
isn't in yet but it's clear that he's getting some colostrum. He's had
several wet/dirty (meconium) nappies today, though not in the last 6
hours.
(We're using disposables while the meconium lasts; DH who has been doing
the changes thinks that the last nappy was somewhat wet, but isn't really
su it wasn't as wet as others he had earlier.)

It sounds as though maybe he's in pain - though we don't have enough
experience of newborns to really say this. His temperature is normal. He
doesn't seem to be too hot or too cold. There's nothing obviously wrong -
he isn't holding any part of his body oddly, the cord isn't infected, he
doesn't have any rash, he doesn't have a hair stuck around a finger or
toe,
his nappy doesn't appear to be on wrongly. (He does have some dry flaky
skin, unsurprisingly given that he was late, but it doesn't seem sore
enough to be the explanation.) We've tried burping him. Comfort measures
like giving him a finger to suck, walking him round the flat etc.
sometimes
work for a few minutes, and a couple of times we've even managed to get
him
off to sleep for a little while, but we have the impression that they're
working as distractions rather than actually solving the problem: it's
never long before he's awake and screaming again. He's a bit young for
colic isn't he? In any case, he's not doing standard colic stuff like
pulling up his legs. Tonight we're cosleeping (the long term plan is to
use
a bedside cosleeper but for practical reasons to do with my state after
the
birth that's not possible tonight).

All I can think is that he's hungry/thirsty and that the problem will go
away when my milk comes in. If that's so I really hope it's soon, like
tomorrow! But is there anything else that we should consider? We'd really
appreciate any advice!

Sidheag
and DS Colin, Oct 27th 2003

Sidheag McCormack wrote:
I've posted a few times in mkb before (and many times in mkp) but this is
just the third night for my DS, and he's screaming... DH and I can't work
out why, can anyone help?

First off congratulations!!

I recall DS had a very rough night when he was 3-4 days old, and the
last bits of meconium had to come out. He was really colicky and in
pain because of the gas and bowel movements. The only thing that helped
was when DH would carry him around in the colick hold (face down, head
near your elbow, belly on your hand) and rub his back slowly. Once the
meconium was out (and covering him head to toes) he was calm and slept
for 6 hours straight.

You can also try to give a few drops of gripe water, which contains
fennel, that settles crampiness without any side effects. A nice warm
bath can also be relaxing for him. If you drink fennel tea, he will
get some of it through your milk, which often helps with cramps just
after feeding, and it is good for your milk production too.

It's tough, making the change from pregnancy to parenting, don't
despair! You'll get the hang of it soon enough, and as long as you
are there to cuddle and hold him, he'll be fine, even if you don't
know what the immediate problem is.

If this is a recurring problem, I'd have him checked by a ped for
allergies, reflux, or other common ailments in newborns.

--
-- I
mommy to DS (15m)
guardian of DH (32)
War doesn't decide who's right, only who's left

"Sidheag McCormack" wrote in message
...
I've posted a few times in mkb before (and many times in mkp) but this is
just the third night for my DS, and he's screaming... DH and I can't work
out why, can anyone help?

Some background:

DS was born on Monday evening at 42 weeks, weighing just over 9lb with
apgars of 9 and 9, no apparent problems, though it was a very long hard
labour for me. The first night (in hospital) he woke a couple of times to
feed, fed and went back to sleep. The second night he woke many many times
to feed, but always fed happily and went back to sleep at least for a few
minutes! Tonight however he just keeps screaming, and though I've a couple
of times managed to get him to feed this doesn't really seem to be the
problem - sometimes it works as comfort, sometimes he'll just take a few
sucks, latch off and keep screaming. We can't work out why and are
reaching
our wits' end. Most of the day he's been quite content; he's slept quite a
lot, had some quiet alert time, and fed most of the afternoon. My milk
isn't in yet but it's clear that he's getting some colostrum. He's had
several wet/dirty (meconium) nappies today, though not in the last 6
hours.
(We're using disposables while the meconium lasts; DH who has been doing
the changes thinks that the last nappy was somewhat wet, but isn't really
su it wasn't as wet as others he had earlier.)

It sounds as though maybe he's in pain - though we don't have enough
experience of newborns to really say this. His temperature is normal. He
doesn't seem to be too hot or too cold. There's nothing obviously wrong -
he isn't holding any part of his body oddly, the cord isn't infected, he
doesn't have any rash, he doesn't have a hair stuck around a finger or
toe,
his nappy doesn't appear to be on wrongly. (He does have some dry flaky
skin, unsurprisingly given that he was late, but it doesn't seem sore
enough to be the explanation.) We've tried burping him. Comfort measures
like giving him a finger to suck, walking him round the flat etc.
sometimes
work for a few minutes, and a couple of times we've even managed to get
him
off to sleep for a little while, but we have the impression that they're
working as distractions rather than actually solving the problem: it's
never long before he's awake and screaming again. He's a bit young for
colic isn't he? In any case, he's not doing standard colic stuff like
pulling up his legs. Tonight we're cosleeping (the long term plan is to
use
a bedside cosleeper but for practical reasons to do with my state after
the
birth that's not possible tonight).

All I can think is that he's hungry/thirsty and that the problem will go
away when my milk comes in. If that's so I really hope it's soon, like
tomorrow! But is there anything else that we should consider? We'd really
appreciate any advice!

Sidheag
and DS Colin, Oct 27th 2003

Hi, congratulations. We also went through this with our DS for a few days
after bringing him home. When we went to the DR, he told us to feed him
more. When we did he was a completly different baby. Granted, we have have
numerous problems with him (he has an NG tube to feed with) but he still
gets hungry just like anyother baby and when he got more food, he was so
much better!
HTH

Sidheag McCormack wrote:


All I can think is that he's hungry/thirsty and that the problem will go
away when my milk comes in. If that's so I really hope it's soon, like
tomorrow! But is there anything else that we should consider? We'd really
appreciate any advice!


I think it may well be that it goes away after your
milk comes in, but I've also had the occasional night like
that with my newborns. They'd have a night or two that
was really bad, and then get back to normal. Maybe it's
hunger, or maybe it's something else, but I think it's
likely it will go away soon. Genevieve had a night or two
like that, but I can't recall if it was before or after
my milk came in.

Good luck,
Ericka

I think this is just the way babies are, we had a good first 2 nights in
hospital, then the next 2 nights were quite bad, he screamed continually
for 2 hours both nights, don't know why, we just had to live with it.