wanting to stop breastfeeding!

[nadjarea]

I'm sorry mama. I've been in a similar situation. Do what's best for you...

[mommy21princess]

I'm sorry but I do also agree that there IS something wrong with a baby that CRIES all the time. Sure they are probably babies that are HIGH NEEDS and want you to do everything for them but if they are spitting up and other things going on there is probably something wrong.

For the OP: Have you ever just tried laying her down? She's probably used to you walking/letting her suck/ and bouncing her. Maybe if you'd let her lay for a couple of min. at a time she would get used to not having to be held. My dd is not a comfort nurser unless it's during the night nad I can't imagine it being an all day thing so I know that must SUCK!!! I would def. go to the doc about the spitting up she my just have a bad case of reflux. Has she been on meds? My dd did that same thing for about 3 weeks while the docs tried to tell me either that she was just colicky or that it was my bm. Well as soon as I finally got them to DO something for her after about 4 visits she was put on Zytac and she was a NEW baby.

If you aren't all up for weaning I wouldn't because it sounds like wether you are nursing or not you will be still having to deal with walking her and doing all of the other things. If I were you I would NOT let her comfort nurse all the time if it bothers you but NOT wean. HTH a little. ((hugs)) I'm sure this is soo hard on you. I hope the doctors can find something to help. Formula is not always the next best thing!

[tararaboomdeea]

Originally Posted by erin_brycesmom Like Dr. Sears, I don't think there is such a thing as "colic". If a baby is crying all the time, spitting up all the time...something is wrong. You have to cut dairy out for at least a month (all dairy) before you can rule that out. If it isn't dairy, it could be something else you are eating...wheat, tomato, etc. Have you tried infant massage? How about wrapping or some other form of BWing so that your baby can BF while you can still get things done?

I agree.

Originally Posted by ewebabymama I guess you've never had a baby that cried day in and day out for no reason whatsoever. You are very wrong in this statement. Until you have a child that cries for over a year and there is no medical reason why, then you can tell me colic doesn't exist. My child had colic. She cried constantly for over a year. She had absolutely nothing wrong with her medically. I carried her around all the time in a sling/wrap and nothing helped. The first year of her life I was a walking zombie because she cried so much and for no reason. Sometimes, sweetie, babies do cry and for no reason at all. Some babies even do it for extended periods of time. I went to tons of doctors because I was sure something was wrong, there was NOTHING wrong, she just cried.

My first daughter cried all day, every day for the first 5 months of her life and I kept taking her to Docs to find out why. They all said "colic". FINALLY someone suggested to me that she may have acid reflux. Sure enough, that's what it was. As soon as we figured that out, she was a millions times better. Yes, sometimes babies will sometimes cry to "release tension" or whatever. But babies cry because that is their only way of communicating that something is bothering them. I'm sorry the first year was so difficult for you. That must have been so hard.

To the OP-Have you talked to the Doc and asked about reflux? I'm wondering if this is the culprit. She could have "silent" reflux, which is when she just feels the burn and nothing comes up. But since you said she spits up a lot, I would think that might be what's going on. Ask for an upper GI to be done.
If you want to stop BFing, that's your choice. But if you switch to formula, these issues will stay and may even get worse. So check out all your options before you stop.

[princesspink]

I only skimmed through the responses, so I'm sorry if this is a repeat....

Have you looked into reflux and silent reflux? DS was a reflux baby and it sounds very similar, especially wanting to be on the boob all day and night and wanting to be held (upright). He litterally had to nurse every hour to soothe his throat.

Originally Posted by http://www.thelaboroflove.com/articles/what-is-silent-reflux/ If your baby suddenly begins crying during mealtime or even afterwards yet does not throw up or show any other reason for crying out then perhaps he is affected with silent reflux. The reason this condition is so painful is that the stomach acid rises into your baby’s throat burning all the way and is not expelled in vomit but instead is carried back down the throat to the stomach burning even more. This generally happens multiples times each day and obviously your baby’s throat will became raw and sore in no time. Another sign your baby might have silent reflux is if your baby has bad breath from vomiting and swallowing it without your notice, gags or chokes frequently, or burps more often than is normal.

It's at least worth looking in to. ((((HUGS)))) With silent reflux babies will still have normal weight gain and you won't notice a bunch of spit up (since they are swallowing it back down). But they will want to be nursed more to sooth the burning, they will prefer to be held or sleep in a swing (or bouncer, at an incline), they may also back arch when screaming. Zantac, Axid, or Prevacid will help.


And I wanted to say that I agree with the PP who spoke about Dr. Sear's and there's no such thing as "colic". He reclassifies "colic" as "the hurting baby". There IS something wrong causing the baby to cry like that (whether it be reflux, something in the mother's diet, or if not BFing then the type of formula...among other things). The term colic is just a cop-out for doctors who don't have an answer. I think it was when he was on Dr. Phil that he said if your baby is crying like that, then you need to go plant yourself in the Pedi's office and tell him you're not leaving until they figure out what's going on...dont take "it's just colic" as a diagnosis. Tell the doctor your baby is hurting and you want answers.

[jenjen31]

I would have to suggest looking into reflux like the pp suggested. My 11 mo sounds just like your dd and he was diagnosed with reflux at about 5 months. He is still a high needs baby but it has been much better since he has been on meds. He takes prevacid every a.m.
He still likes to bf a lot. BM is a natural anti -acid, so it soothes their tummies when they hurt!!
I know it can be so frustrating when they cry and you cannot seem to help them except when you are completely strapped to them. I have had some rough days when I thought i could not stand another minute of this boy - but it will get better.
Just hang in there

[mommy21princess]

We had to use the swing many nights when dd had reflux, it was the ONLY way we could get her to sleep. Hope things are going better for you. Please let us know. I was thinking of you and your dd.

[LadonnaKen]

I just wanted to add my experience with reflux. Both of my boys had it, but my oldest was put on medication (after I insisted several times to the doc as I knew he had symptoms of GERD even though he never spit up). I had heard about elimination diets and felt completely overwhelmed. But with my second, I read that dairy is the most common one to cause those symptoms, so I just went on a dairy-free diet. It took a good 3-4 weeks and he stopped having refluxy issues and other symptoms. I'm still dairy-free and nursing is going nice and easy at 13 months.

Hang in there, mama! You're doing great