my baby is screaming her head off :(

[aliki]

She sounds like someone is doing something horrible to her..she is just inconsolable..ugh...my mom is with her right now...but it just breaks my heart when she screams like this..it totally wears me out, and makes me feel so so sad and tense. Ugh...I just had to come and vent here, since I know you guys understand. She is all swaddled up with the hairdryer on, and my mom is bouncing her on the yoga ball..we are just trying to put her to bed, which can sometimes take minutes, and sometimes hours..I pray tonight won't be one of THOSE nights. The sad thing, is she was pretty decent today..I mean, she had her moments for sure, but at least she also had some quiet and smiley moments in between too.

[mommyof2gurlies]

Oh man, I remember those moments. It was like....musical baby. Passing her around....Trying ANYTHING!!
Its not forever......you're doing the best you can, hang in there!!!
Just keep reminding yourself its not forever. That really helped me. To know that each day that passes, its one day closer to being a happy, smiley, NORMAL baby!!

[aliki]

she is STILL screaming...I just took a turn, to no avail, and am wiped out..I've now passed her back to my mom, and she is screaming just as hard...it is so maddening, and depressing and frustrating...ugh....thanks for your reply Tamara, it is hard to imagine that there are better days ahead right now.

[pamcrt]

I am so sorry Aliki. I remember those days (vaguely) mainly because I blocked them out because they were so traumatic. I honestly can't remember the first 4 months of Abby's life very well. I remember passing Abby from me to my husband and back and sitting on the couch just crying because I didn't know what the hell to do. That's the hardest part, not knowing how to get them quiet or what to do for them. Have you tried the football hold? Abby always liked my husband to do that. I couldn't (apparently my arms didn't work right) but for some reason it felt good on her tummy and soothed her and she would quiet down almost instantly.
Hang in there momma, I know how you feel.

[aliki]

she JUST went to sleep...tonight was horrid...and it wasn't about being fussy or high need..she was clearly in a LOT of pain...I will have to try the football hold..I do the colic hold a lot with her and have a sling that holds her like that (it's what finally worked tonight)...I had to bicycle her legs a lot and rub her tummy..ugh, it was so sad. I am completely flattened right now, mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Thanks for your comments ladies...I totally get that you don't remember the first 4 months, as I don't remember each day that passes as I am just in a haze!

[aliki]

you know, more and more I am thinking I should give the nutramigen a try..if something in my breastmilk is doing this to her, then it's just not worth it..the doc suggested trying it when she is 3 months if things aren't better, but maybe we shouldn't wait??

[mommyof2gurlies]

If you feel like it might be worth trying, you should.
Go with whatever you feel like is your gut instinct. Nutramigen works AWESOME for some babies...Mya (my oldest) it worked great. She was on it till 10 months old. Brooklyn, it did NOTHING for. We tried 8 different formulas. Even one that was amino based...and it did NOTHING. She was just plain ole...."nothing you can do, but get thru it" colicky. They did ultrasounds on her tummy...fecal samples, urine samples, scans...EKG's...everything to see if there was SOMETHING wrong with this child. It was to THAT point. She was THAT bad. They (numerous dr's) were convinced there was something wrong with her.
Those same doctors see her now, and say shes like a completely different baby. They say she doesnt even resemble the same kid. Her face is relaxed...shes smiley and happy and will interact with you. The first 4 months, it was like i COULDNT reach her. I felt like i never really bonded well with her till she was about 4 months and started to make NOTICEABLE differences.
All I'm saying is TOTALLY give it a shot if you think there is a chance it might help....but don't get too upset if it doesnt. Even if you switch formulas...when they are still that little NOTHING may work.
Its more like damage control. You have to do whatever you can to get thru it all, as painlessly as possible. For ALL of you.
Sleep whenever you can, wherever you can. Do whatever you have to do to get her to sleep....Swaddle, rock, shhh, bounce, whatever it is she likes. (Mya had to be in the bathroom with the shower water running) Brooklyn about 50% of the time was unreachable...You COULDNT calm her with ANYTHING. She would just have to go thru hours of screaming, and eventually pass out. We tried EVERYTHING. Being on baby #2 with colic, i figured I knew all the tricks. NO way. Each month, the older she got...certain things started working more than others. We couldnt put her in a stroller, but she would ride in a SNUGLI, facing out (being able to see everything) When she was like...3 months, if she'd scream...I'd lay her in the football hold kind of, and pat her butt...she'd calm down. I comfort fed her a lot. Stuffed that poor child more than I should have, because sometimes thats the only way she'd stop screaming.
Try different things. They always decide to pick the most random things too I've been made to look like a complete idiot, trying to calm both girls down before!!
Hang in there...
we're all here for ya to vent

[aliki]

I was so moved by your reply...thank you for that...the compassion from the mommies here is really unbelievable..it really brings a lot of comfort during such a trying time life....I feel so much better ever since I found this board, even though Ruby is still the same...I am just so glad there is hope.
Tonight was one of those night where all the usual "tricks" weren't working, and she had to just go through it. Yoga ball, hair dryer, singing, vacuum, homeopathic drops, swaddling, pacifier, she just screamed and screamed...just when we thought we'd settled her, she would get a sudden pain and start screaming again. Poor baby...when it is happening, I have mixed feelings of feeling so awful for her and desperately wanting to help her to wishing I could return her to the store for a different item! I know it sounds awful, but I know you guys understand!
As far as the formula, I guess I feel like I'd hate to try it, and it not work, and meanwhile put my milk supply in jeopardy..at the same time, if there is a chance it could help her, I would want to know sooner than later...but ugh, pumping for 5 days while I try doesn't sound fun, though it could be for good cause.

[karime]

I'm so sorry, Aliki. I hope you were able to get some sleep! I really don't see a reason to wait to try the Nutramigen either. If it works, then that would be fantastic, and if not, then since you are planning on pumping to keep up your supply, you can go back to breastfeeding. Man, I hope you have better luck with pumping than I did (for some reason I could never get nearly as much pumped as I could from feeding Levi directly) But that's just my opinion! Hope you and Ruby have a good day.

[phxmama]

I'm so sorry about your terrible night. I so remember those days. It would take us hours to get Georgia down for the night. On a good night, she was in bed by 10 or so, but many nights she screamed until 2 or 3 am. It was horrible. She now goes down like a champ and is asleep most nights by 8:30. I never thought that this could happen back then, so hang in there. I promise it will get better.

[basy45]

I am sorry things are so tough right now, but I know where you are coming from. The longest it ever took Samuel to go to sleep was 11 hours! I remember doing everything I could think of to try and get him to sleep, and nothing would work that day. Towards the end of the day, he was so painfully tired, and while I was rocking him, he just looked up at me with this desperate, pained expression, and the look in his eyes made me feel like he was begging for help. I just started crying and felt so horrible for him, and felt like I was the worst mother in the world.

Different things seemed to work at different times for him, but after a while, the combination that seemed to work best was swaddling or wrapping him in the Moby, rocking him with a little head jiggle, and listening to Vivaldi. Vivaldi was the real clincher, and as soon as things started to get really bad, I knew that I would have to play the Four Seasons in order to calm him down. Hopefully, you will find a magic combination that will work for you too.

I completely understand your hesitation with trying the formula, but I really think that if you have any feeling that it might help her, then you should just go for it. I know how much emotion is wrapped up in nursing, and how important it is to your relationship with your daughter, but you shouldn't feel badly about potentially needing to give her formula. I went through all the same feelings before I switched, and I think I probably waited a little longer than I should have. If I had know what a difference it was going to make for my son, I would have switched right away. Hang in there, there is a light at the end of this dark, seemingly endless tunnel.

[aliki]

thank you everyone..and you know, I just had to download Vivaldi..of course it didn't work from my extra special little one!! But I have discoverd that Dancing Queen by Abba calms her down!!