Does this ever happen to you? Just when you start to think how great things are - how they could hardly get any better - life smacks you in the face with some challenges? It used to happen with me and Evan all the time. Just when I thought we were blissfully happy and hadn't had a disagreement in ages - WHAM! we have a dumb blow out argument.
Anyway, this sort of happened with Jack this week. Things were great. I was thinking how we were in such a great stage - him all smiley and cute, but can't run away or talk back yet. Me feeling like I'm getting the hang of the basics of motherhood.
Then, wham, he starts being super fussy. So here's where I ask you to diagnose my child. I guess what I really want you to do is to say if you've ever had the following set of symptoms with your own child, and how it turned out. And yes, I've already called the pediatrician and a nurse is supposed to call me back, but hasn't yet.
1) 2.75 month old boy goes from generally cheery to generally fussy. In particular, he fusses when he is laid down on his side to eat. Whereas he used to ALWAYS be soothed by breastfeeding, now he refuses to put the nipple near his mouth. In fact, attempting to breastfeed either on his side or back sends him from mere fussiness to hysterics. However, he will still lie down on his back and drink a bottle of breast milk. 2) He is pretty gassy. Although he isn't easy to get to burp, he very commonly passes gas. Lately it has had more of a foul odor. 3) In the past couple of weeks he has gone from pooping one or more times per day to every other day or three. 4) When he does poop, it is a huge amount of watery orange/brown poop - very foul smelling. 5) He has two small white spots on his bottom gums where his front teeth might be coming in. They do not look like thrush. No other white spots. 6) No fever, stuffy nose or other flulike symptoms that I recognize.
So, what do you think? Is he constipated? Can someone this young use pear juice as a laxative? Is he just gassy? Does he have an earache? Is he teething?
Any advice/anecdotes of unexplained fussiness you have would be appreciated.
19 hours ago
Yes. It seems to happen to me every other week. Last week I was on cloud nine most of the time, this week I'm trying to remember why I thought Madeline was so easy! Every couple of weeks (or days) she also has issues breastfeeding and won't latch on for long or gets super fussy while eating. Sometimes it is if the milk is flowing too slow or too fast. Sometimes she has a hard time breastfeeding when we've been traveling and I've been using bottles a lot more than normal (since they are easier than breastfeeding). It may also be that if he is having trouble eating he is getting a weird balance of foremilk and hindmilk, which can cause more gassiness. Sometimes the gassiness is caused by the hysterics during breastfeeding cause they take in more air being fussy. Maybe your pediatrician will have some diagnosis, but most of the stuff I've read said that changing color poo is normal and as long as it isn't a really weird color you are OK. Keep us posted on what you hear, but I just think babies like to keep us guessing and don't let us rest on our laurels too long :)
ReplyDeleteI have the same issue! Just when I think "oh Jake is so easy, let's have 6!" something goes haywire and I decide he'll be an only child. :)
ReplyDeleteCould something in your diet be disagreeing with Jack? Spicy foods, etc?
Jake has also had some constipation issues. If he goes more than a day (like 36hrs) with no poop I take his temp. His pediatrician recommended that and it always works for us! Must stimulate something.
I highly recommend giving a digestive enzyme and maybe some probiotic. That really helped us with gassiness issues for the first year +. They sell the gelatin capsules filled with powder at healthfood stores, or the grocery store. As a newborn we opened it up and shook 1/4 a capsule twice a day right on her tongue (didn't have a gag or spitting reflex yet) and as she got older we mixed it into her bottle or food.
ReplyDeleteHang in there. The phases change so often, so this too shall pass.
I was just gonna say that about the breastfeeding vs the bottle. Bottles are easier than breastfeeding- he doesn't have to work as hard with a bottle and probably the fact that your breastfeeding pisses him off. He couls be growing teeth already. I think he's normal, your prediatrician probably hasn't called you because they are chalking it up to first time parenting and if they are GOOD prediatricians they should call you anyway. Sorry, do you know its gas because he releases it and he feels better? Try setting him on his belly too, before giving him anything and see if that works out. otherwise, he sounds pretty normal to me.
ReplyDeleteAlso after rereading this again, sounds like, he is teething. Also, if something you are eating is disagreeing with him, it is showing in his poo, and making him gassy... baby poo can change to ANY color. Docs say, as long as the poop isn't WHITE (sign of iron deficiency, liver problems) then jack is fine.
ReplyDeleteWhen I say teething- its because of his two teeth. I feel more right about the poop things.
ReplyDeletehave you read "The Happiest Baby on the Block" and read about the swaddling etc technique. Every parent I know swears by it, and it worked with miss Emily who was much, much fussier than miss myles.
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