Unusual crying behavior

Question

We have 2.5 months old baby. Recently We have noticed unusual crying behavior.

Usually after his feeding, we usually make him burp once and then he sleeps or usually will be silent in the flat lying position on his back.

But since from one week he is behaving strangely. The following are the changes we have noticed

• After feeding he is crying a lot unto 30 mins. He pacifies only when we start burping by giving soft kicks at back. In the flat lying position he is crying loudly. Only he feels comfortable upright or slant position. He feels comfortable and sleeps only after 3 or more burps.
• In the upright position he bents back suddenly.
• He is having mucus stools.

We don't understand is this problem or is this common behavior. If it is problem what is the root cause for it?

Answer 1

First off, make sure you talk to the pediatrician. This is a medical issue and not something we can really diagnose over the internet.

Are you being careful to make sure the baby is feeding on foremilk and hindmilk evenly? A baby eating too much foremilk can have mucousy stools and colic symptoms. See this article for more details.

Hindmilk/foremilk imbalance is caused by the baby having too much of the lower fat foremilk. Foremilk has a higher lactose content as opposed to hindmilk (which is higher in fat). The baby eats more of it faster, and ends up eating too much lactose for his/her immature digestive system.

To avoid having a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance, you should make sure the baby eats all of the milk from one breast (until it feels empty), and try to avoid letting the baby snack too much (where she/he eats only a little at a time).

Answer 2

That sounds like it might be a food intolerance or allergy. Does Mom consume:

• Dairy, especially cow's milk
• Wheat or other gluten-containing grains
• Eggs
• Soy
• Corn
• Peanuts or tree nuts

The most common food allergen in breastfed infants is cow's milk, so if Mom's drinking it, then try eliminating it, first.

If just cutting out milk doesn't work, you may want to start "backwards," by cutting out the known allergens for 2-3 weeks, then adding them back in, one by one, one a week. That way, you can get to a base point, back to where your baby is happy and not in discomfort, then figure out what causes the reaction.

Obligatory disclaimer: I'm not a doctor. By all means, consult your pediatrician.

Answer 3

I had a similar problem when I was a child, and two of my nephews have had it as well. Fairly soon after eating (immediate to 5 minutes) we experience very sharp intestinal pains. If left untreated the pain continues for hours. We found a very easy solution; have the child lie on his stomach with buttocks slightly elevated. Patting and back-rubbing helps (with the boredom if nothing else) After five minutes it is gone. Very specific, and it probably won't help many people, but it's an easy thing to try and if it works you save your child hours of pain. Apparently it has to do with air getting trapped in a particular intestinal twist and being unable to advance until you turn it just the right way.

Answer 4

This is an old thread, but in case someone else has this problem and comes here looking for ideas -- it could be an overactive let-down reflex. This means that milk gushes from the breast and the baby has a hard time keeping up. The thing to do in this case, according to La Leche League, is to nurse lying on your back, so that gravity is working against the milk flow. Also, if you're sitting up and nursing -- let's face it, you can't always lie on your back to nurse -- you can take baby off the breast shortly after getting started, and wait a minute or two until the fire hose has calmed down before putting baby back on the breast. The fountain can be absorbed by a folded cloth diaper, wash cloth or small towel.

If this is what's going on for you, take heart. In a couple of months, your gushers will have calmed down and gotten more in sync with baby.

Answer 5

The discomfort could be caused by gas. Gas can result from improper digestion. This can be due to a congenital lack of a particular enzyme or from other causes, such a failure to produce sufficient amounts of bile.

Try nursing the baby naturally for two weeks, without feeding the baby any man-made substances. Does the problem still occur?

In any case, it is a probably a medical issue, as another answer has pointed out.