9 Month Old Wakes Up Writhing In Pain

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9 Month Old Wakes Up Writhing In Pain

by Paula
(Canada)

My son is 9 months old he has always had lower gas problems recently he has started sleeping only about 20-40 minutes and then he arches his back moves his legs and screams there is no gas coming out I feel terrible he writhes in pain for 20 minutes to a 1/2 hour and nothing helps. I have been to the doctor and they keep suggesting simethicone and we are now trying Prevacid but nothing seems to be helping.

Has anyone else ever experienced this, what did you find out if anything and what helped? I have tried everything, swaddling, gripe water, simethicone and now Prevacid. The only way he will sleep is when I hold him and he still wakes up screaming and writhing. Any help you can offer would be appreciated.

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9 Month Old Wakes Up Writhing In Pain

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Mar 16, 2011

A few tips to help your baby
by: Paula (Baby Help Line)

Hi Paula,

I really feel sorry for your son and also for you - you must be exhausted!

First of all, does your son suffer from acid reflux? If not, I am not quite sure why he is put on Prevacid? I am not a doctor, but as far as I know, Prevacid is aimed at mitigating acid relux, not gas. And in addition, the company producing the drug says that according studies it is not suitable for babies younger than 1 year, because it simply doesn't work for them. Also, one of the known side effects of Prevacid is stomach pain and constipation and/or diarrhea. Many parents also claim that the drug made their child more gassy. SO it might be a good idea to ask your doctor why he has prescribed Prevacid for your child.

I don't know if your son has started with solid foods and whether in that case, the diet change affected his belly in any way. If he does eat solid foods, here are a few things to try:

1) Feed him twice as often, half the amount. (Babies can often get gassy from undigested foods. If you give him less each time, he is much more likely to be able to digest everything.)

2)Give foods that are the least likely to cause allergy and/or intolerance, such as avocados, carrots, squash, pears, applesauce, apricots, broccoli, rice, sweet potatoes, and papayas.
Avoid completely: berries, citrus fruits, corn, cow's milk, egg whites, nuts, peanut butter, soy, tomatoes, wheat, and yeast.

3) Focus on foods that do not cause constipation, since constipation is often a hidden cause of gassiness. Avoid rice cereal, unripe bananas, cooked carrots, applesauce, cheese, yogurt, white bread, pasta and large amounts of white potato.
Instead serve him a lot of fruits and veggies; pears and prunes for example as well as avocado and sweet potato. Make sure he gets a lot of fluid and again, that he eats often but only small amount.

If your son still breastfeeds, consider increasing the frequency. Also take a look at your own diet, and consider removing anything that might cause gas as well. For some more foods that can make babies gassy when mom breastfeeds, click here.

In addition, consider giving him a warm bath and a tummy massage before he goes to sleep for the night.

I hope this helps,

Paula

Aug 15, 2011

poor baby
by:

first of all i am not a doctor but i suggest you ask your baby's doctor about putting your baby on lactose free milk to see if that might help, there are several different things that can cause babies to cry like this one of my nephews cried like this as a baby and continued to cry as he grew and was eventually diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis its unlikely this would be the case with your baby but just saying to make sure all avenues are covered as a baby doesn't cry like this unless there is something wrong

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