Bad bad day

[Anonymous]

I am having a terrible day with my daughter. Actually, as my husband says, it has been a year from h*ll. Not that we don’t love and appreciate her, but parenthood has not been kind to us so far. She is now 12 months old, although she was born 3 months early so I’m not sure what stage she’s at developmentally. A few weeks ago she was finally sleeping great and actually happy/content during the day! We had also been weaning from prevacid for 2 months and finally stopped altogether. She was learning to crawl and creeping. Then last week she started working on her molars and everything has gone downhill since. She is whining, fussy, not sleeping very well, and generally a bear to be around. Also not eating/drinking. The doctor is concerned about the fact that she has never started solids, so they are sending her to feeding therapy. I have been trying solids every day for 3 months but she refuses. She also got 8 teeth during those 3 months, so I’m sure that had something to do with the refusal. She has been a terrible teether with each tooth. Does anyone know how long it takes molars to come in? I can’t see anything from looking at her gums, but she is chewing on everything back there, drooling, rubbing her cheeks, etc., so I know they are coming. Also last week she dropped from 40 oz of formula per day to just 15 oz. I am seriously questioning my decision to stay home with her as it has been so frustrating.

Thanks for listening.

marysmom2006-6-19 0:45:12

[Anonymous]

Perhaps she still needs to be on Prevacid? How did you know it was time to wean her? I’ve thought of weaning Myles a few times and each time his reflux flared up and I abandoned my plan and kept him on meds.

Teething can be a real chanllenge for babies with or without reflux. And she’s gotten so many in a short period of time. Myles is very fussy and doesn’t want to eat when he is cutting teeth. My other two were not that way at all. They were grumpy but they ate as well as when they weren’t teething. Unfortunately, molars can take weeks to come in. But, usually they teethe for a few days, get a few day’s break, teethe for a few days, get a break, etc. Then finally they cut through on one or two really bad days, and it’s finally done. At least that’s how it’s been with my kids.

Have you tried Motrin for her teething? When I give it to Myles he usually gets enough relief to eat his next meal. It lasts 6-8 hours so I give it to him with or after a meal and then by the next feeding he usually eats better. (It’s hard on the tummy, so you should give it with some food or milk). Lots of moms here use Hylands Teething Tablets and Gel. I’ve tried the tablets and they seemed to help some, but not as much as Motrin. I haven’t tried the gel, but have heard others have good results from it.

I’m sorry I don’t have more advice to offer. I know how hard it is though, to have difficult babies. I’ve had two reflux babies and it’s been like you said “h*ll” both times. However, Myles has done quite well on Prevacid and I wonder if you should re-think your position on that and maybe see if starting her on it again would help. She may be in pain from reflux as well as the teething. Just a thought.

Good luck. I hope you find some relief for her and that she starts eating and sleeping better soon.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the reply. I really don’t think it is the reflux causing her problems, just teething. We weaned on the advice of her ped GI. She is not fussy with the bottles, she just acts like she’s not hungry. She doesn’t arch her back or cry when she has a big burp or after she takes a bottle. So I guess those factors lead me to believe that the reflux is not the issue. I never knew teething could be so painful for some babies. I did have some success today – she ate 5 bites of pureed banana from a spoon – hurray! And she is eating cherrios and gerber puffs. What a diet…

marysmom2006-6-19 0:46:12

[Anonymous]

Our SLP said that she has seen babies completely stop eating from teething. Hailey does it too. Unfortunately her threshold is a bit lower to begin with, so when she reduces her intake, she basically takes nothing in. And as for the diet of cheerios and puffs, I hear you… ours is much worse, if you can believe that! Hope she gets over this soon. Glad to hear that the reflux is passed though.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, my little guy clamps his mouth shut and refuses the only two bottles he now gets each day when he is teething, too. And he’s no better with his solids. Hopefully, that’s all it is and she will be feeling better and eating better soon.

[Author]

Posts