Sunday, September 14, 2008

Desperately Seeking Advice

Miles has been in a funk for a few days now.  His pediatrician prescribed an anti-biotic, but this was over the phone.  He hasn't had a fever, and he hasn't felt clamy.  His appetite is still quite robust.  Let me list my observations, and if there any expert moms in crowd- please post your opinion.  Hopefully y'all can save us from additional frustration and co-pays. 

What little man has been going through:
-a dry cough that appears several times a day, and doesn't last for long
-a VERY difficult time going to sleep, and won't sleep for long (except in the car)
-won't sleep on his back, will curl up on his side
-extremely fussy (probably due to exhaustion)
-he chews on his hands constantly- but I don't feel any teeth bumps
-constipation, even though he's given Miralax daily
-he's eating jarred fruits and veggies with rice cereal daily
-we are using lactose free formula now
-he's give Mylicon after every feeding
-Spitting up after every feeding

Any thoughts???

3 comments:

Amber Turner said...

Hey Anna! Maybe he has a touch of reflux...Kenden had reflux BAD. If he does, the acid coming back up his throat could be the cause of that little dry cough (meaning it is burning, so it is making him cough). Also may be why he is sleeping better in his carseat...he is at an incline, and the acid can't creep back up his throat (as opposed to when he's lying down, and the acid can). You may want to slightly elevate his crib mattress with a blanket or a book so it is at a slight incline...Oh, is he fussy during his bottle feedings??? Does he pull away and then feed again? Make sure he's at an incline while feeding, not flat, so that tummy acid doesn't creep back up...

He may have more than one thing going on...he may also be teething, even if you don't feel teeth bumps. In my own experience w/ Kenden, he first started teething at 4 months, but didn't cut teeth until 6 months (and at that time, he cut BOTH bottom teeth at one time). The teething MAY also be the cause of the spitting up...the extra saliva can make them do that.

If he is sleep deprived, that is not going to help things....poor fella (and mom and dad!!). I read a quote once regarding babies and sleep, "Sleep begets sleep"....the more they get, the easier it is for them to fall asleep and the earlier they go down, the later they sleep. I have a book that has worked for me as far as sleep is concerned...let me know if you want to know what it is....I SWEAR by it (and it is not the baby whisperer, or "ferberizing").

Don't you wish they came with manuals??? Sheesh...And my mom always says, the problems don't go away, they just change...thanks mom! haha!

Hope things start to improve soon...remember to trust your "mommy" instincts!

Anonymous said...

I really think it sounds like teething. All the excess drooling could cause the coughing and the spitting up. It sometimes takes a while for the first tooth to come in, which could be why you don't feel any teeth bumps. Teething can be awful, and once it starts, it seems to go on forever.

If he sleeps better in his car seat, let him. My kids all slept in their car seats much better than their cribs when they were tiny, so I would just strap them in, and keep them by my bed or sometimes I even put the whole seat in the crib. You do whatever works.

You could be feeding him too much. How much does he spit up? My twins had this problem when they were tiny babies. They would toss their whole meal ever single feeding. It was awful. They would literally spit up this huge amount, sometimes projectile vomiting. We switched formulas, and nothing worked. The doctor couldn't find anything wrong, so we decided to give them smaller, more frequent feedings, and it worked. I had no idea we were overfeeding them, because they seemed hungry.

I hope this helps!

Cynthia said...

Poor guy sounds miserable!
It sounds like a couple things could be happening.
If he is stuffy (you said earlier you were suctioning his nose a lot) he will sleep better at an incline or in his car seat.
If it is draining down his throat, he'll cough a little.
I also thought of reflux, which is common if you have low muscle tone. If his stomach has mucus in it, that could make it upset too. Smaller upright/inclined feedings more often is a good thing to try.
If he has fluid build up in his ears, infected or not, chewing will help that feeling. Or he could be teething.
Yup, I helped a lot. (ha!) But I can sure remember going through similar times!