My daughter Kaylie was born 3 months premature, 2lbs 15oz and was in the hospital for 6 weeks.Shes now 3 months old. She slept alot when she came home but shes recently "woke up". She cries about 4-5hrs a day(and the drs told me she probably would for some unknown reason) and i cant soothe her at all. Ive tried talking to her, singing, playing soft music, giving her a warm bath, riding her in the car, swaddling her, rocking her, gas drops........if it can be done ive done it. On top of that i have a 22 month old which also needs my attention which isnt a problem at all. Ive tried to let Kaylie cry-it-out but she'll cry until she pukes. Ive brought her to the dr and nothing is wrong.......i know she gets gas from the preemie formula but she has to have it and i give her the drops for it and rub her tummy and lay her on me for the warmth to ease the gas. I'm not sure what it is. Also I wanted to know if anyone here has a preemie and how they have done on they're stages and development...i know all babies arent the same i'm just curious.

Jennifer:dizzy:

hi
my ds was only a month early so i can't help you as he was fine. i ws just wondering though if she is crying with colic? i am sorry she is crying so much it must be really breaking your heart. it may help you and reduce your stress and anxiety to have a break from her from time to time get your other half or someone you trust to help out. sorry i am not much use. take care

Definately I need a break sometimes. when DH comes in from work (week on week off) he helps out alot, and then my grandmother helps me with the kids. I can imagine some of the crying being because she can sense that i'm stressed and anxious. do you think she can sense that? it would make sense because she just cries and cries. well thanks for your reply and ur advice u take care of urself and of ur little one(s)

Jennifer

I'm so sorry to hear that. DS was almost 8 wks early- we had kind of a similar problem. Turns out it was acid reflux. It took his Ped weeks to figure that out. Everytime we tried to feed him he would scream for hours after. I guess the extra burping made it worse. It just burned his little esophogus and throat. DS ped- told us that the majority of preemies are born with this- as their swallowing skills are not completely developed and that muscle at the bottom of the throat isn't as well. I hope that maybe this helps you?? We went out and bought this special pillow for him to lay on and to sleep on- he also got baby zantac, wich helped alot. All we could do was walk around with him- and he happened to like being oputside alot. If we distracted him he was fine. Good Luck
Barbicus

I'm sorry to hear about the crying! When ds was younger he would have days where he would fuss and cry non-stop and it is extremely stressful, especially when you are home by yourself. I can't imagine what it is like everyday and with another child too. Definitely enlist in the help of others it makes a world of difference. I know you said that she needs to stay on that formula, but is there another one that is made for premies maybe? I have some friends who son was 2 months earlier and they experienced the same thing, but they tried switching the formula that he was on and it made a world of difference for them. How long do you need to keep her on the premie formula? I hope you find something that helps!

I know my first daughter had colic but she didnt cry as near as much as Kaylie, with Ashlyn I could atleast soothe her somehow thats the part that frustrates me is when i know theres nothing i can do to help her or make her feel better (and ofcourse everyone knows after a few hours of hearing non-stop crying is very stressful also) is there any kind of test they can do to see if it is acid reflux? Like maybe look at her throat or something? or do they just take a wild guess and give the meds and see if it helps? I have very bad acid reflux myself. and I have blankets under the head of her mattress to elevate her already (because i saw them do that in the hospital) and i made a "sling across the bottom so she wouldnt slide down even though i dont have it THAT elevated. And when she eats shes soooo hungry like acts starved but when i put the bottle in her mouth she cries and turns her head back and forth to get it out...also when she does suck on it she makes this weezing/gasping sound......dont know if its from pain or what??? i know her sucking,breathing,swallowing at the same time isnt PERFECT but that doesnt affect her that much. And the formula she is on is the ONLY one around here in the grocery stores its neosure advance....expensive.....but i have WIC so i love that. As for the frustration part....well i'm potty training my 22 month old wich takes alot of dedication and bribery ofcourse:D ........plus shes getting rebelious (terrible 2's i guess) wants to throw herself on the floor and hit me when i take something away and says NOPE to everything......while my 3 month old is screaming at the top of her lungs and throwing up so i have to hurry up and get 22 month old off the potty and pullups on get hye rin the living room to watch Dora so i can go get 3 month old and try to calm her.....the most of the time while shes crying my 22 month old wants to hold her and when i tell her no then SHE too starts screaming........whewwwwwwww sometimes i feel like i'm gonna lose my religion :dizzy: lol but i know in parenting especially with 2 babies so close in age that feeling is kinda normal....so i just step out and have a cig in those moments lol well thanks everyone for helping if yall have ANY more suggestions i'm ALLLLL EARS :p


Jennifer

I had a 31 week preemie. He was in NICU for 5 weeks, came home, happy as can be. Passive, hardly ever cried....dream baby.

He went back into the hospital 3 days after coming home, placed on the ventilator/oscillator for 4 weeks. Hard time. He was sedated and paralyzed almost that entire time. We truly thought we were going to lose him.

Once he got off of the vent, he became a VERY crabby, clingy baby who never wants to be put down, even after being home again for 3 1/2 months. Someone told us about a 6 month colic. I think that is a part of his problem. The other part is attitude problem...lol. He gets that VERY honestly

He has reflux, like most preemies do. He is on Zantac and was started on Enfamil AR formula. It is a little thicker and he seems to tolerate it better. Enfamil also makes a colic/fussy baby formula called Gentlease. It is supposed to be really good.

Is your little one still on a 22 or 24 cal formula? There are ways to make these formulas in a 22 or 24 cal recipe. You may want to discuss it with your doc. Also, Hylands makes a colic tablet that I swear by. I put it in all of his bottles. I see a difference.

Hope this helps.

Amy

Hi there! My baby was a month early - and I know she had issues with reflux/gas so we propped up her crib or cradle or anything she slept in very high and (i know, i know.... she slept on her tummy) starting around week 7-8. She went thru an extemely hard CRYING fit of a time from week 6-8 and snapped out of it on her own.

We used gas drops for her BEFORE - each bottle. So if she had 8 bottles a day - she got the drops directly in her mouth before the bottle - not in the bottle. The nurse had us switch formulas during the bad 2 week period and we went back to the original formula during the same time frame - and she was OK. But we used those gas drops on and off for a while! several months. and also - she is now 6.5 months and she sleeps on her tummy with her crib propped up - she loves it. :)

I do know how you feel -I was alone (didn't have any family to help) during this time and my husband traveled a lot - it was so hard - during that really bad 2 week time I used to cry right along with her. it was awful.

xxoo Friday

Hi,

My son was not a premie but he did have reflux. There is no real test that they can do easily. The doctor did prescribe infant zantax and it worked really well. Before he got the medicine, he would scream if he was on his back. Afterward, it got much better.

Good luck,

jen

We use gas drops as well. Somedays I feel like just crying, but Dalton just being here is a miracle in itself. I was feeling soooooooo frustrated last week, then saw a show with two women who had lost their children. I immediately picked him up and just squeezed him and sobbed. Reality check for me for real. We place Dalton on his tummy as well. I know that is a no-no, but he can turn over. Plus, preemies are on their tummies for so long in the NICU. We are taking the apnea monitor out this week. Makes me a nervous wreck, but I woke up yesterday morning and he was practically tangled up in the wires.

Another thing we did when he wouldn't sleep in his bed, was put a thin, but soft blanket over his mattress. That made a world of difference. I noticed him scratching the mattress, he hated that feeling.

It is so nice to be back in the group. After our whole ordeal, I have just lost track of EVERYTHING and am just now starting to get back into my groove.

Amy