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Infant feeding

3 month old crying during feeds

17 replies

Kerki · 16/02/2013 12:31

A few minutes into a feed, my 3 month old starts crying, turning away, arching her back and going stiff as a board. After this there is no getting her latched on again - usually it takes lots of rocking and a mini nap to start again. This is happening at most daytime feeds but curiously never in the night. She is in treatment for silent reflux which was the start of this behaviour but it seems like while her pain is gone, the behaviour hasn't. Before the reflux symptoms began at 8 weeks she was a great feeder and if nothing else the lazy type rather than fussy. Has anyone else come across this? One thing I thought was an over active letdown but because she mostly goes for a few minutes before crying I'm not sure this is it. Also there are no signs of thrush.
Thanks!!!

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Tortoiseonthehalfshell · 16/02/2013 12:33

Has this only just started happening? Or, for how long?

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Wishiwasanheiress · 16/02/2013 12:35

Sounds like colic/wind issues. Dd1 did this. Infacol really helped us. Got to use for 3 days b4 seeing improvement, I used solid for 6-8wks before it randomly stopped completely.

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Kerki · 16/02/2013 13:02

It's been happening since week 8 so it's been 4ish weeks. In the beginning the screams were like pain because of the reflux I think whilst now it's more like a shrieky narky cry, a bit like when she's overtired. She had a few normal days in between but it's getting worse now.
We did think colic initially and she used to be on infacol till she started the reflux meds...but she burps ok and her belly is soft unlike in the early days so not sure if that's it. I hope it's not some kind of Pavlovian thing she just got in her head :(
Thanks guys for replying so quickly!

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Bert2e · 16/02/2013 13:07

Are you sure she hasn't got thrush?

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Kerki · 16/02/2013 13:13

I can't see anything in her mouth, are there other ways of checking? I might take her to GP anyway. The thing that's odd is that she's perfectly fine at night so anything like thrush or teething would always hurt right?

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lasnosage · 16/02/2013 13:48

Hello Kerki, my 4 month old also has silent reflux and was exhibiting the same behaviours. It did take a while for it all to settle down. Is she on the correct dosage and medication? It took us a while to work out what was best. Ranitidine 1 hour before feed in our case. Gaviscon did not help. We also found keeping her upright as much as poss after feed, lots pf winding and letting her sleep on her tum helped calm things down a lot. I also have a fast let down which was upsetting her and making things worse - have found that as she's got bigger she's now able to cope with it better.
It is hard and I've had to just look at things closely to see what helps - even if its just a bit. Be careful with colic stuff if you are already on anti acids as I 'think' I read somewhere that they can interfere.
I hope things improve for you soon x

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CurlyBoo · 16/02/2013 13:52

My DD (now 15 months) used to do this from around the same age. Her silent reflux was caused by an allergy to dairy - once I cut it out of my diet when breast feeding she became a different child.

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Kerki · 16/02/2013 14:22

Thanks lanosage! You're probably right and I need to allow some more time for the reflux to settle. We started on Gaviscon but it wasn't helping (plus the torture of getting it into her!) so now we've been on Ranitidine three times a day for the past 2 weeks. I also found that having her upright and sleeping her on her side has really helped. I need to be more patient :)

And thanks Curlyboo too! I've been off dairy for a few days so let's see. As an aside whoever invented dairy-free cheese should be arrested! ;)

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lasnosage · 16/02/2013 15:12

When we first started on the ranitidine she was on the lowest dose as I didn't have an up to date weight for her. It worked for a little while then I noticed the reflux was slowly getting worse again. Went back to docs with her accurate weight to check the dose and have been told what the max dose is and to slowly increase till we get it right. Turns out it was only 0.2 ml more but it made the difference. Also allowing the tummy sleeping (which I agonised over for weeks but she truly hates being on her back and side) meant that she is now only waking once in the night for a feed as opposed to every 1-2 hours in a state and over feeding, again contributing to the reflux.

These are the things that have worked for us but it has taken a while to get to grips with. I'm hoping we can keep it under control until weaning is well underway without having to resort to really hefty doses of medication.

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Kerki · 16/02/2013 16:19

Good luck lanosage, sounds like you've got it worked out :) And thanks for sharing your wisdom - we're due a weighing in a coupe of days so will recheck dosage.

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tiktok · 16/02/2013 16:49

Could also be she is indicating she wants to finish that feed - this is so common in babies any time from 2-3 months old. How abput just following her lead and accepting she is done for the moment?

It's very common for night time feeds to be calmer and longer.

I think this is far more likely to be the reason than thrush, reflux or dietary issues.

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CurlyBoo · 18/02/2013 08:32

Sorry but I totally disagree with it being down to baby being ready to finish a feed, not after just a few minutes and not at every feed.

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tiktok · 18/02/2013 08:38

It's not at every feed, though, Curly. The baby is happy at night.

This is significant.

At 3 mths there is a lot for a baby to learn, look at, be interested in, and the brain is developed and developing in order to take this in.

At night the environment is different.

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tiktok · 18/02/2013 08:39

If it was dairy allergy, it would be happening at night, too, yes?

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CurlyBoo · 19/02/2013 06:33

It is exactly how my DD was, silent reflux, day time feeds very difficult but night was a dream! Her dietician paediatrician said it is because they are much more sleepy and relaxed at night - strange as it sounds! Once I cut out dairy her day time feeds matched her night time feeds. Now at 15 months she is still on a strict dairy free diet (and gluten as we discovered an intolerance to that too).

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tiktok · 19/02/2013 08:21

Not denying your experience, CurlyBoo.

Fact remains: behavioural and developmental changes are far more common (and happen to all babies to some degree) than cows milk protein allergy, and should be considered first, before any challenge to the mother's diet.

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ilovepicnmix · 19/02/2013 08:32

I remember my baby doing this. He just stopped after a while. I gave him gripe water as I could feel his tummy fizzing. It is distressing and stressful but u suspect your baby will grow out if it.

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