Infant voice going horse

godxilla wrote: My 2 month old has been crying a lot recently. We are not sure why. But his voice is going a bit horse. Does anyone have any experience like that? is it something serious?

thanks

mommy~to~a~bunch replied: Can you explain "a lot of crying"? How long are you talking here? If your baby has cried non-stop, and he's losing his voice, there's a problem. No baby should cry like that.

A&A'smommy replied:
thats what I'm thinking....

sparkys2boys replied:
I am thinking the same thing here to.

Boo&BugsMom replied: Colic

Crystalina replied:
That's what I would say also. Take him to the doctor for a better diagnosis but if the baby is not hungry, dirty or in pain and still cries all the time I would say colic. Evan had colic and screamed from about 2 weeks after I got him home until he was about a 2 months old. I had him to the ped at least 4 times and they said colic. It's enough to make you lose your ever-loving mind that's for sure.

godxilla replied:
He cries very intensely. Sometimes for up to 15min without stopping. Nothing we do calms him. He then can be generally fussy for couple hours, until his next feeding. When breastfeeding, he starts off good, but after about 10-15mins sometimes becomes agitated and struggles, and sometimes he just falls asleep on the breast and will stop feeding altogether. In the last week, his crying periods have increased and his cries started sounding raspy, as if his voice is going horse.

Our ped says to breastfeed him for 20mins total, every 3 hours. No more than 8 times per day. the baby seems hungry in between feedings, but when we supplement the feedings with fomula, he spits up a lot (projectile vomiting).

thanks for any opinions, etc.

mommy~to~a~bunch replied:
With that information, I would quit the formula, and breastfeed him whenever he seems hungry. Schedules are useless with a newborn, and they NEED to nurse very frequently, sometimes every hour.

He could be sensitive to the formula. Get rid of it, it will only cause problems.

Boo&BugsMom replied: I would talk to your child's ped. Only a doctor can tell you what to really do since we don't know the situation first hand. And if you are that uncertain, only the doctor could accurately tell you if the formula is really causing the issues. Could be colic, gas, reflux...an endless amount of things. I'd call and ask to be seen so you can get it straightened out.

Just an FYI though...15 minutes is not a bad crying spell. All babies cry for certain periods of time. It's actually good for their lungs.

mommy~to~a~bunch replied:
Most peds are clueless about breastfeeding though. It's obvious enough that the formula is causing problems.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
Aiden had SUPER bad colic for about the first 4 months. That was rough.

And colic will appear in formula AND breastfed babies as well. Colic can be caused by many different things...postnatal distress, a misalignment of the cerivcal spine, allergies, reflux.......I'd take him in just so you can be assured.

Boo&BugsMom replied:


I would question the formula as well, but I'd still take him in to be safe and talk to the ped. Doctor's aren't all bad, they are there to help when needed. My boys have a wonderful one, and I'm thankful for that.

Jamison'smama replied: He only vomits after formula? If that's the case, I would certainly question it, why does the doctor want you to supplement?

mommy~to~a~bunch replied:
THIS is why I said the formula was causing problems, because he throws it up. No, I don't know everything, I was giving advice based on what was posted.

Crystalina replied:

I would agree with this statement 100%. It's kind of hard to tell a baby when he's hungry and not. Every mothers milk is different.

Boo&BugsMom replied: I also agree with what Crystal just said. When you are breastfeeding, or bottle feeding, you need to just feed on demand until they conform to a schedule of their own. JMO. I've never been a scheduler until they are a little older.

Mommy2BAK replied: I'm definately no expert, but I hope you are able to figure out something soon, poor baby!

coasterqueen replied: If the baby is throwing up only with formula, I really do think the formula might be causing a problem. Is your baby throwing up at all after nursing? Is the baby crying at any other time except when feeding? I'm sorry if you've answered some of these questions and I missed the answers.

If you do not want to take your baby to a PED, you can always visit a lactation consultant, which IMO is what *I* personally would do if I was in this situation as they are more versed in breastfeeding and can rule out any nursing issues first. Once they rule out that you can then see your PED for other issues such as colic, reflux, etc.

GL.

Crystalina replied:
Good idea.

Maddie&EthansMom replied: It sounds like he might have reflux. My son has reflux and he has always had a really hoarse and raspy voice. He didn't cry so much, though.

I hope you get the problem resolved. He must be so miserable.

Our Lil' Family replied: I don't necessarily believe in colic...I think a lot of times that's an easy out for dr.s....I would definitely lean towards reflux though, or a milk allergy. I think it would be best to talk to your ped. about this though. My son had reflux starting at 7 weeks, until we figured it out we were all miserable! I hope you can get it figured out soon.

Calimama replied: Poor baby. I hope you get it figured out soon.

Hillbilly Housewife replied: Well since your baby only seems to puke when you give him formula, stop giving formula and try breastfeeding again instead.

PrairieMom replied:
reflux. I would have him checked out. You could try feeing him at an incline, then holding him upright for 20 minutes after a feeding. It could also be cholic, which is really some times just a milk intolerance. When I was BF my daughter I cut milk products out of my diet (or use soy based formula when supplementing) and that really helped for us. Also swaddle swaddle swaddle. I can't stress how much that helped us.

bawoodsmall replied: Good luck. Aiden cried and puked nonstop for 9 months. That is not a joke. He was a crying puking mess. Emily would tell people Aiden cries all the time. It was a horrible time in my life...and I hate to say that. It does sound like the formula to me but I would def talk to a doctor. I am a very schedule based person so they were on a schedule but if you think he is still hungry then I would feed. My ped would not diagnose aiden with reflux and when I stopped nursing I put him on soy formula. That didnt work. Finally at 9 months I told the ped enough is enough. He got meds, at the same time I decided to put him on regular formula(enfamil). When I put him on enfamil he stopped puking. He took one dose of the meds. It could be he just grew out of it but I dont know. If you do think it is reflux I would push for a diagnosis is all I am saying. Breastfed babies have colic and spitty(projectile vomit in our case) up issues also.

Sorry I started rambling...this is an issue I can relate to.

godxilla replied: Thanks to all for their comments.

I should clarify:

The baby's pediatrician suggested this plan - nurse on both breasts for 8-12 min per side at intervals of 2-4 hours, preferably stretching to no more than 7 feeds a day. He was trying to put the baby on a schedule, so that I wasn't an all night snack bar. Sounds pretty structured huh? Well I tried that method for a few days and what a fiasco. Our baby can't wait 4 hours!

Then I talked to a pediatrician in our family who recommended nursing on demand as long as the baby wants. Hold him upright and burp often during and after feeding. So I started doing that since there was less crying involved than the first suggestion. Although crying diminished, spitting up increased a lot. In the middle of feeding I will burp him and he will spit up. When he's done BF he spits up. On the changing table, in the car seat, anywhere and everywhere, he spits up from between a tablespoon to an ounce, just from what I estimate. Sometimes it's watery BM and sometimes it's like cottage cheese consistency. Once every few days he will spit up a scarily large amount. It has even come out his nose. So one would think he's being overfed then, right?

Our pediatrician has a bit of an ego and said he wasn't happy with my trying other pediatricians methods and then coming back to him for help. So I agreed to stick to his plan for a while and then see what happened.

During BF sessions he sometimes chokes, gulps loudly, arches his back and ultimately pulls off the breast with a scream. I take this as a cue the flow is too fast. So I then nurse him laying down. This helps a great deal, but he falls asleep after 5-10 minutes. Then if I wake him up to continue, he just plays around on the breast and smiles or coos. He won't latch on. I figure he is done, but 20 minutes later he starts shrieking with what I interpret as "I wasn't done eating!!" So I have to decide, should I put him back on? Isn't that encouraging snacking?

He has many wet diapers all day and night, almost daily yellow runny bowel movements, and was 7 lbs at birth. He is now 10 lbs 12 oz. So taking that into consideration, the pediatrician thinks he's doing fine. It doesn't help when the baby is an angel at doctor's visits, masking his true wild banshee personality.

We try to follow the "Happiest Baby on the Block" method, which works only part of the time. We give him a warm bath. We put him back on the boob. We put him in the car for a ride. We try everything.

So if there are any suggestions, we are open to them, as in addition to what I have mentioned here, he has inconsolable crying bouts many times a day, sometimes immediately after feeding and always after waking up.

Our Lil' Family replied:
Arching of the back and screaming are both classic reflux behaviors. Have either pediatricians mentioned this possibility? Again I'm also thinking it could be a milk intollerance and anything you eat with dairy will ultimately pass on to baby. It might be a good idea to cut all dairy to rule that out or find out if that's the problem.

mommy~to~a~bunch replied:
Sounds like an over-active letdown. This link should help you find some help:
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/fast-letdown.html . There's tips and different holds to try.

As for the spitting up, that's normal too. My 15 month old spit up all the time too, it's just something you deal with with babies. I wouldn't rush into the testing for reflux or anything just yet.

The second doctor sounds a lot better than the first one. Breastmilk is so easily digested that it goes through baby's system pretty fast, which is why they need to feed frequently. Here's a link on newborn nursing: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/newborn-nursing.html .

HTH!

PrairieMom replied: I am sticking to my Reflux diagnosis. DOes he sound rattely or raspy when he breaths?
I also still think it is a good idea to cut dairy out. It really helped with my daughter, and it doesn't cost anything to try it. I cut absolutely everything out, (even cheese on a cheese burger) and saw an improvement in 3 days.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
Says Nurse Tara. After reading that I am even more convinced you should take him in...but I would not go to the first doctor though. That is not a how a pediatrician/doctor should act, IMO. I like the second one better from what you are describing. There are many signs of reflux from your descriptions. If it's not, then at least you ruled it out.

Kirstenmumof3 replied: My son was exclusively breastfeed and we went through the same situation. I would go to burp him and it was like the whole feeding was coming out of him. I would be soaked. We took him to see our Family Dr. who refered us to a paediatrician and we found that he had reflux. My oldest daughter wouldn't breastfeed, she was formula feed and was colicy for the first 6 mths of her life. She cried constantly. She was also lactose intolerant so we were giving her soy milk. My third child wouldn't latch until she was 3 1/2 mths old. She was bottle feed expressed breastmilk and had bouts of reflux and colic. I think your best bet would be to listen to what the other moms have said and take your baby in to have him checked for colic or reflux or something else could be causing this problem.

mommy~to~a~bunch replied: Is there an update here? How is your son doing?