Here's the problem... Got a 6 month old who's been crying almost constantly for the past two days...

He EATS, poops, burps and all that. I think he may be teething (is happy when he's biting down on my finger, but I can't find anything coming thru right now). We've tried the frozen wash rag, Motrin, rocking, walking, etc... In the past 48 hours he MIGHT have slept a total of about 4 hours... I even let him scream for hours yesterday thinking he'd yell himself to sleep - he didn't... Pick him up and he laughs at me...

When Buddy was that age we used Paragarth (probably mispelled) and he never had a problem). What the hell do you do these days?

Last night I suggested a tablespoon of wine in his bottle (it worked on Buddy when he was fussy), but his parents VETO'd the idea (they're funny that way).

It's just not right for one little baby to wear out three grown-ups and an 8 year old (yeah Caleb has been helping out too) like this one is.

HELP!! Someone who's had a baby lately and gone thru this -- what do we do???? Caleb just didn't do this and it's been 40 years since I went thru teething with Buddy (I"m OLD - I forget stuff...)...

:-*

PS  Can Granny's get Post-Partum Depression??? :-/

Sounds like he might be gassy.  Does his abdomen seem hard and does he arch his back a lot?

Oh, and if it is teething, I used to let my kids gum an old fashioned clothes pin (the kind without the spring) to cut their teeth.

BarbaraD wrote on Apr 24^th, 2010 at 7:45am:

He EATS, poops, burps and all that.

Even if he's doing all that, I agree with Mel, he could be gassy.  There are several options here, you can take a sprite, shake it until all the fizz is gone (flat) and let him drink a little of that.  OTC medicines that are good are Mylecon drops.   And this may sound silly, but place him on your lap or somewhere else he can be slanted, place him on his belly with his back but higher than his body.  Gently rub his back, starting between his shoulders, going down toward his bottom (you can actually massage the gas out).

If he's teething, try giving him a peeled carrot (are enough for him to hold and too big for him to gnaw through) and letting him chew on that.  Another option (and mama and daddy might notlike it, but it works too), if you have some whiskey, put just a little on your finger and rub his gums in the front.

As an aside, don't let him scream/cry it out.  That just makes the problem worse, because when he's crying, he's also gulping air and that increases the problem

What about a trip to the doctor?

Brew wrote on Apr 24^th, 2010 at 9:53am:

What about a trip to the doctor?

That too.  I guess I *assumed* this would be in the cards.

Also, how long have they been living with you now?  That's a pretty big adjustment for a little baby.

When our babies were gassy Joe carried them around using the "Football hold".  Basically carried them on his forarm with their legs hanging off his elbow and head in his hand. Then he'd bounce and pat their backs, up and down the hall way.

Patty really liked the baby swing. Not the nice quiet battery operated one. She liked the windup one that click, click, click.

Had another thought. 6-months eh? Something new in his diet the last couple weeks? Switch from mama milk to formula? There's a formula called nutramagen or something like that. It's expensive, but it's what we used for 4-5 days to stablize Jeanette before trying another brand of forumula that agreed with her.

If after a Doc says it's just gassy/upset tummy, there is another old remedy that works wonders.  Both for gassy stomach, or nervous stomach. 

Take 2 measured teaspoons of caraway seeds and crush them into a cup, pour 1 cup boiling water over the crushed seeds and steep until room temp. Strain, and add a little white sugar.  Re warm to drinking temp and let him sip from a bottle. 

To this day, Megg still asks me to make caraway tea when she has an upset stomach. 

Yep, the doc is in the scenerio... she changed the formula (to a MORE expensive one) and said feed him #1 food (which he doesn't tolerate - spits it up almost immediately). BUT she hasn't run any tests (?????). The first one said just hold his legs against his chest he'd be fine - WRONG!!!

The football carry has been done (and is being done)... He likes that most of the time. I've slipped a little whiskey in when mama and daddy weren't looking (well Daddy knows about it - he said Jack Daniels works best - he snuck it in on Caleb when mama wasn't looking).

Mama's at work and Daddy is plowing the back 40 and Granny is listening to Bubble Britches yell right now. Teething stuff stops it for a few minutes, but then it starts up again. THe rings help some, but then it starts back up.

I'm about to think something is more wrong than just gas or teething... He's always been such a good baby ... But we're going on the third day.... I'm gettin' concerned....

Could he just be colicky?  Maybe lay him on your chest and let him listen to your heart beat.  My son would quiet down only when laying on my chest listing to my heart go pitter patter.

BarbaraD wrote on Apr 24^th, 2010 at 1:33pm:

Yep, the doc is in the scenerio... she changed the formula (to a MORE expensive one) and said feed him #1 food (which he doesn't tolerate - spits it up almost immediately). BUT she hasn't run any tests (?????). The first one said just hold his legs against his chest he'd be fine - WRONG!!!

Sounds like the new formula isn't agreeing with him.  I'd switch back unless there's a medical reason for the new stuff.  Also, just pressing the knees to the chest does nothing unless you do it repeatedly or bicycle the legs.  Honestly, my gut says it's the new formula he's unhappy with... :-/

As for the whiskey for teething, it has absolutely no value, especially if tylenol hasn't helped with the pain either.  There is something called Hylands Teething tablets that can be tried (lots of moms swear by it), but like I said above, I think it's due to the formula change...

BTW- it also could be the solid foods (#1's) that's causing the upset too.  A 6 month old digestive system isn't ready for it yet, but that's just my opinion.

Yea I think at 6 months it's formula, maybe some cereal....and then maybe just bananas/applesauce if he seems hungry.

A question Barb.  Has his formula been changed since he started this round or did he start the formula and then get sick? 

The formula has been changed constantly since he was born. First breast feeding, and then I don't know how many formulas...

About three or so yesterday... Granny put some KARO in a bottle and then put him on his stomach over her lap and did the "rub" down the spine - he burped up a lot. Then put him on my bed (with the vibrator on) on his tummy. HE WENT TO SLEEP for two hours and woke up only once. I turned the vibrator back on and he went right back to sleep.

He was still NOT crying when Mama got in from work and I gave him another bottle (with Karo - premixed and waiting for him) - he was a happy camper.

I premixed some bottles before I went to bed and left them in the fridge, but we had a quiet night. Except for waking up for feedings - he SLEPT last night. I got up this morning (at 5 a.m.) and Buddy was on the couch (bottle beside him) with Chase on his chest - both sound asleep.

So now I've probably given him botchulism, but he's not crying (and how come it worked on kids for all those years and is BAD nowadays?). I've been begging them to "try" him on regular milk (Buddy never could tolerate formula - had him on reg. milk when he was 6 weeks old and he did fine after that).

Guys I appreciate all the help... I've just never dealt with colic before. Back 40+ years ago we had old fashioned docs, paragoric, Karo, and honey and we just didn't have all these modern problems with babies. I can remember calling the doc at 5 in the morning when Buddy came down with the croop and wasn't breathing and he told me to steam up the bathroom and let him breathe the steam - it worked and he started breathing.. He told me the next day to either do that or walk outside and let him get a whif of cold air and laughed. Then told Bill and I we looked like hell - to go home and get some sleep! I can only imagine what the treatment would be today.

Anyhow, the house is quiet right now. Baby is asleep and mama is getting ready to go to work. Granny is going to have her coffee and get ready for the day. Chaos will start in about an hour.  :)

Luv you all..  :-*

Poor kid.  Tummy troubles with little ones are so hard to rectify.  I don't think you've given him botulism with the Karo.  Glad to hear he was able to sleep.

Good job Granny!

Karo does help settle the tummy (and it's also been used when changing from one formula to the next).  No cases of botulism with using Karo.  Try weaning him off the Karo and see what happens.

We dealt with colic when Sarah was a baby (that and she was just mad at the world), but she didn't cry constantly.  Also, she was eating all baby food at 6 months and table food in small quantities.

Paregoric, or  tincture  of opium,  Bet that quieted the little rascals.

                 Potter

LOL>> Potter!!
Paregoric WAS the solution, but the opiate derivative kinda was off-putting to some!

Being a "Modern Mother", 35 yrs ago, when Dana was teething, we did the 'modern thing'.we rubbed her gums with peach brandy......some for her, some for us.....ok, maybe more for us......point being, it DID help her some gums, and made Mommie MUCH more agreeable....
Prolly not PC nowadays, huh?

Wishing Chase PF......tummy, or teef !

Cathi :D :D

Potter wrote on Apr 25^th, 2010 at 11:34am:

Paregoric, or  tincture  of opium,  Bet that quieted the little rascals.                  Potter

LOL!  I was a Paregoric baby.  My mother used it for EVERYTHING!

I vaguely remember mama giving me paragoric when I was little.  EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW, nasty taste, but I guess that was to keep kids/people from liking it too much.

Mama also gave me a teaspoon of whiskey with sugar for coughs (found out the hard way that I was allergic to most colors/flavorings in cough syrups).  Damned glad when I was old enough to just take a shot of whiskey for the cough!

BarbaraD wrote on Apr 25^th, 2010 at 7:05am:

Granny is going to have her coffee and get ready for the day. Chaos will start in about an hour.  :) Luv you all..  :-*

uh-oh.  Sounds like a Red Hat day with the girls on the way.