lactose intolerant causing tummy pain alone?

[Stacie:Emma&Josh Mom]

I'm not sure where to post this but I'll start here and in the crying forum.  Ds is 9 weeks old today.  We've had to work to get him to sleep and usually work in order for him to stay asleep after he "woke" up from the newborn stage.  Then last week we had 3-4 really good days where we just wrapped him up and he drifted off to sleep and slept for almost 2 hours each time.  It was amazing.  And now we're back to working to get him to sleep.  I think I'm following his sleep cues and he gets swaddled still.  The problem is that he starts screaming at that point if not before.  He pulls his legs up and screams.  Sometimes he passes gas, sometimes he burps, sometimes he does nothing but scream for awhile and then get quiet.  I don't think he's screaming b/c of the swaddle cause you can swaddle him and lay him down and he'll be happy for a few mins before screaming.  He won't let you hold him tummy to tummy and sometimes flat on hos back doesn't work either.  Today I couldn't get him happy at all without the pacifier which we previously weren't really using cause he doesn't keep it in his mouth and I think it just makes him think he's hungry anyway.  Even when I got him to sleep, if I laid him down, even deeply asleep, he'd wake 10 minutes later screaming.   I couldn't lay him down at all awake or he'd start screaming.  So, I think he's hurting but I'm not positive.  I thought they outgrew the gassiness around 6-8 weeks....but he hasn't.  Or he did for a few days and now it's back.  I can't think of anything we did differently those few days and have experimented with everything I can think of to try to fix a hidden problem.  We've tried gas drops and gripe water.  My only thought is that he could be lactose intolerant and just not passing the gas as it's getting "stuck" in his tummy, but then why was he fine for a few days?  Thoughts?  It always starts around the same time after feeding, we're using Mylicon with his feeds and he doesn't pass a ton of gas like he did when he was younger (and partially bf).  Though he still squirms and screams.  I often hear his tummy gurgling as well.  I tried putting him down earlier but that didn't help.  He just won't gp into a deep sleep as he's always pulling up his legs randomly.  As a side note, he'll also eat as much formula as I'll let him as after burping, he'll always eat more if I let him.  I'm at my wit's end as my 2-year-old is watching tv all day and getting whinier and whinier cause I can't put the baby down.  Any advice would be helpful...

[Stacie:Emma&Josh Mom]

and an update from today:

So now I've narrowed it down to two things...either he really likes gripe water in the full dosage or his tummy doesn't like his formula except at night cause he doesn't wake up in pain then, but he does during the day.  This afternoon I gave him ebm twice (instead of his formula) with a Mylicon chaser and he'd already had gripe water late this morning and he took two amazing naps with little fuss.  Fell right asleep.  So it's either the gripe water works all day which I don't know if that's possible.  It is the first time he's had the full dose and he was happy 3 days last week so don't know if that's it.  Plus last week he didn't have much of it at all.  OR his tummy doesn't always like his formula and he has trouble passing the gas or getting up the burp.  I've stopped bfing and pumping for various reasons and although I have some ebm in the fridge, it will only last a few days.  I gave him formula twice this evening and he was okay though as he usually is in the evenings and nights.  Should I try a different brand of formula just to see?  Thoughts???  It was amazing how easily he went to sleep and stayed asleep.  He did need Mylicon to help him pass some gas after each feed, but he was able to do it and fell right asleep.  Could his tummy not like his brand of formula or milk-based or the lactose or something like that even though his only symptom is bouts of screaming and waking up with gas?

[louie]

MY BABY CRIED NON STOP FOR 16 MONTHS. AT SIX MONTHS SHE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH REFLUX HER SYMPTOMS WERE CRYING, CONSTANTLY FEEDING, SUCKING ON DUMMY , UNABLE TO LIE FLAT, DRAWING UP OF KNEES AND BEING VERY UNHAPPY. AS SHE WASN'T CONSTANTLY SICK AND GAINING WEIGHT THE DOCTOR KEPT TELLING ME NOTHING WAS WRONG BUT I INSISTED ON A RAPID REFERRAL TO THE HOSPITAL AS I HAD READ ABOUT SILENT REFLUX WHERE A CHILD WOULD SEEM TO BE THRIVING. SHE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH SEVERE REFLUX AND WAS PLACED ON MEDICATION WHICH SEEMED TO HELP AND I IGNORED EVERY ONE TELLING ME NOT TO AND I LET HER SLEEP ON MY CHEST AS I SLEPT SAT UPRIGHT IN BED. WHEN AN ADULT HAS SEVERE HEART BURN THE LAST THING YOU DO IS LIE DOWN FLAT. WHEN THE CHILD IS WELL YOU CAN DEAL WITH THE SLEEPING ISSUES.       MY DAUGHTER IMPROVED BUT NOT AS MUCH AS I EXPECTED I KEPT TAKING HER BACK TO THE DOCTORS SAYING THAT SHE STILL COULD NOT SLEEP NOT THAT SHE DIDN'T WANT TO IT WAS AS IF SHE COULDN'T, SHE WRIGGLED AND SQUIRMED ALL NIGHT. SHE ALSO HAD SEVERE AND FOUL DIARRHOEA FOR THE NEXT YEAR. THE DOCTORS STILL PATTED ME ON THE HEAD AND TOLD ME TO GET OUT MORE. THE EFFECT OF 15 MONTHS OF HELL WERE TAKING A TOLL ON MY 6 YEAR AND MY HUSBAND AND I. I WAS STILL ONLY GETTING 4-5 HOURS OF BROKEN SLEEP A NIGHT.   * I TOOK MY 15 MONTH OLD TO A PRIVATE DOCTOR AND AFTER A BARIUM ENEMA THEY SAW THAT HER WHOLE SYSTEM WAS IMPACTED WITH STOOLS AND THE DIARRHOEA WAS THE ONLY SUBSTANCE THAT COULD PASS AROUND THE IMPACTED STOOLS HENCE THE DISCOMFORT. ANYWAY THE OUTCOME OF THIS SITUATION WAS DUE TO A MILK ALLERGY AS SHE WAS ON FORMULA. SHE WAS PUT ON A SPECIAL FORMULA AND IT CHANGED ALL OUR LIVES. FOLLOW YOUR INSTINT AND INSIST ON TESTS AND DON'T LISTEN TO PEOPLE SAYING THAT THATS WHAT BABIES DO -CRY-

[tinytatsmom]

I agree with Louise.  My lo had the same symptoms, grunting, gas pulling the legs up, unable to lie on her back and it was making things miserable.  Most mornigs she would lie in her crib half asleep and grunting.  It only got worse as time went on.  I tried formula which she threw up, cutting caffine, nuts and berries out of my diet (ped's suggestion) nothing helped.  Everyone kept telling me that she was just a  gassy baby, and being a 1st time mom I listened even though my gut told me different.  At 12 weeks a different doc suggested lactose free formula and in 3 days I noticed a huge difference.  HE said that it might take up to 10 days.  I was like you Stacie and my lo lived off of gas drops and the gripe water did nothing.  Well no more drops and she is now 9 months old.  One doc told me she would cry all the time if ti was lactose intolerance, but she didn't.  I also thought that it might be reflux, as there is lots of similar syptoms.  I switched to lactose free enfamil/enflac and didn't try the soy.  Try your lo on it for 10 days and if no improvement you have ruled that out.  You may want to check out protein allergy as this can also cause similar symptoms apparently.  Hope this helps, good luck and let us know what happens.
tinytatsmom

[laurennsarah]

Call the Mylicon company and find out what ingred. are in it.  Went through similar experience with my daughter.  Rumor has it there is hidden soy in it.  She is milk/soy intolerant and the Mylicon was making things worse.  When the pain gets to be too bad for her, she would "pass out" asleep but still continue to cry out in pain in her sleep.