Is There Such A Thing As ‘Late Onset’ Colic? Super Fussy, Screaming 6 month Old! Any Input PLEASE?

 

 

Is There Such A Thing As ‘Late Onset’ Colic?

9-18-2010

6mo. 2 wks. 2 days old!

 

 

 

 Ok moms,  (Dad’s to), is there any possible way at around 5 months of age, a baby could develop, like a late onset colic?  I can’t find any information online, that that is possible.  It usually starts at a few weeks old and ends by 3-5 months tops, so I’m guessing the answers, I’ll be hearing, are NO, and I did make up the term,  late onset colic, because It was the most descriptive way I could explain what seems to be happening here, but I truly do not know what it honestly is.  It’s baffeling us.

 

My little Annaliese, has been consistently more and more cranky, since she turned 5 months old, maybe even in the high 4′s, she started getting more ‘Hard to handle’, if you will, and it’s been increasing, and increasing, and now she is just sucking up every ounce of energy, in the entire household, and the worst part is, not knowing what is wrong with her, so we can ‘Fix it’.  It’s emotionally taxing.  Is she just a really tough cookie? 

 

 Granted she has been the harder of the two since day 1, but still was always a very good baby, by comparison to my last singleton, and a lot of  babies you see.  My boys were exceptionally good, so I can’t relate there.  Plus it was years and years ago, so hard to be able to focus on the distant past, now, but I’m for sure, nothing like this had transpired.  I can say that,  with certainty.

 

 I would always tell people how the two of them together, (The twins I mean), have been far easier then my last, single baby, which I never expected, but there has been a turn, and very recently, it’s just gotten to the point of us thinking,  ‘Is there something really wrong with this child?’  Is it beyond gas, and wanting all of the attention?  Does it go beyond occasional constipation, what she is eating, and how much shes eating, which we have shifted daily, trying to figure out the perfect combination for a happy baby, unsuccessfully.  We are at a loss.  It’s increasingly gotten worse, to this past week, nearly unbearable,  if I can be honest.  By the end of the day,  we are both zonked, and my husband still needs to go off to work at night.  I worry he’ll crash his car, from getting no sleep.

 

She has been crying hours during the day, up until her bedtime.  Nights are not bad, once she finally goes to sleep, after lots of screaming, and she still mostly sleeps through the night, that is why I have felt like,  ’Who am I to be complaining about my baby, so many others would kill to have their baby sleeping through the night’, so I haven’t made much out of it, but am reaching out now, because I just have to, in case anyone can relate and help a girl out here.

 

Colic if you look up what some women, and reading sources, describe it as, is like 2-3 hours of crying, maybe at times a little more, usually worse in the evenings, 3 or more days per week, which actually sounds better then what we have got going on here.  I thought she was just more needy, so I have held her a lot, and played with her a lot.  She is much more content being held, but she wants to be held always, but some babies are like that. 

 

But then we started thinking more recently,  it could be much more, because now holding doesn’t always make any real difference, only sometimes.  Lately, you put her down,  or hold her,  and she could scream right into your face regardless, nearly blowing out your eardrums.  My kids are always telling me that she is bothering them, and to make her stop, but how can I? 

 

 It’s sad for me, to see that their lives are being disrupted so badly, and I don’t have the switch to turn off all of the chaos.  My Mikayla used to favor little Annie, over the other baby, but now calls her her ‘Nemisis’, if you can believe she actually knows what it means, but she does, and now favors, sweet Allie, as she calls her.

 

I actually encountered my first, hopefully last, super rude human being, or so I thought she was human, but now am not quite sure, who when Annie was screaming her head off yesterday, in Mc Donald’s, without anything able to console her, she said to me, ‘Can’t you give her something, to shut her up?  A pacifier or something?’.  Honestly, for the first time in my entire life, I was speechless.  YES, me…speechless! 

 

Now,  I could think of 101 great comebacks, but at the time, guess I was simply too shocked to speak.  Did she think I was enjoying the screaming?  Did she think that if I could stop it, I wouldn’t have?   Just one of the many reminders of why I want to move out of this state, people like that, although I’m certain, there is a wench or two like this, (Pardon my language), anywhere that you go. 

  

I almost couldn’t believe my ears!   ‘Sorry, but she didn’t want her pacifier, thank you.  Go and suck on something yourself  lady, to keep your own annoying trap shut!’     Sorry I’m just ticked off, in looking back, but what mother would not be?  It was blatantly RUDE!  I’d never say that to anybody, or even think it.  Babies cry, how dare she?!

 

I thought maybe Annie  just needs to be out more, and gets bored at home, like I do if I’m inside, even for a day, and she does tend to be better while out in public, hence why I take her out so much, (Pretty much daily, but we still got to come home at some point, don’t we?), and it’s definitely worse at home, but she just has this scream,  that doesn’t want to let up, and she cries these real tears, that come rolling down her cute little cheeks,  that simply break your heart to see.

 

In the past couple months we have tried 1 ounce of prune juice for constipation, when needed, (I have IBS I surely hope it isn’t hereditary, though she seems too young to be affected), but that has helped when needed.  We have tried moving to 2 solid meals a day, because maybe 1 wasn’t enough for her, at 4, 4:30 pm, you better be home with her solids, or look out.  She’s got that internal alarm clock in her, and knows when it’s feeding time, so we started with morning feedings as well, and  we thought this would cut down on the formula costs, just a bit anyway,  but NOPE, they still drink a full case every 2-2.5 days, which gets VERY expensive.   Oh well, we are more then 1/2 way to freedom on that one:)

 

We hold her, A LOT, it makes me feel guilty for my Allie, when no one else is around, and her sister is getting more attention.  I hope she knows, and isn’t upset or angry with me.  I know she’s only a baby, but for some reason, I always feel like they think like we do, and that breaks my heart.  Allie is so good and sweet, she she often looks up like me, like ‘I understand mom, I’m waiting for my turn, when you can get to me’.  If hub’s around at least we can take turns, but it’s a lot of holding, and a lot of sadness for big sis, Mikayla, especially.

 

Moving on, we use Mylicon for occasional,  obvious, severe,  gas symptoms.  We have baby orajel, in case she’s just really bad with pain, and it’s stemming from teething.  We switched to sensitive formula.  We have bought a zillion toys and things to try and amuse her, but she just seems miserable lately,  but yet if you look at pictures or videos, you would think it was all reverse. 

 

Allie usually doesn’t like videos and pictures, and will cry during them, and little Annaliese, is the ham bone, and flashes, that big ‘ol,  beautiful grin, so she always looks happy to onlookers, who just see pictures, or out in public, where she seems to fair better, I just can’t make heads or tails of her, and my daughter is VERY frustrated with all the screaming, and making it known, by severely acting out recently,  which makes me feel badly, because there is so much jealousy still brewing, but I’m at a loss of what more I can do.  Moms can’t FIX EVERYTHING, and I don’t like that:(

 

It’s gotten to the point of,  is there something WRONG with her physically?  We have a Dr. appt. next week, are there any tests on her, they can run, maybe on her stomach, intestines, etc. to fully check her out, more then a routine exam?  We have to have her checked from top to bottom, because I never see any other babies of this age like this, and it’s becoming more scary to me, then annoying. 

 

People always say the 1st 3 months are toughest with twins, and I highly disagree over here, in our case.  Things were much easier in my book, because Annie was not acting like she has been, and was sleeping more during the day, so I know at times she definitely gets over-tired, but only so much a mother can do, it’s really tricky, but she does get some nap time in. 

 

I feel as if I definitely need more help, and family support NOW, then I ever did to start with.  The early months were so easy in comparison.  Not as fun as now, because I just love the interaction, the smiles, and giggles, but for Annie, it’s just getting worse and worse, not better and better, or even staying the same, which concerns me, as a mom. 

 

I know the Doctor isn’t going to take me having a cranky baby very seriously, but we are talking about going from laughter and smiling,  to hours per day of crying, without little to any,  source of relief, and we are all getting drained from her.  Guess every day,  I have just been hoping it would pass, as quickly as it seemed to start, but since It’s not, I figured I would come to you, and ask if anyone has any idea of what I can try next, before seeing the Doctor.

 

We haven’t found that changing any foods, changing her diet a bit, helps in any way, and she doesn’t appear to be reacting to any of the foods she is being given.  The behavior doesn’t change regardless.  Can she suddenly need a new forumla?   She does fart a lot,  I know she has gas, but I thought these things get better with age, not worse.  Allie farts and gets gas to, but never cries over it.

 

I was praising the almighty for giving me such a pleasant 1st three months, I so feared during pregnancy, and no colic, and now it seems like I have a baby with seemingly  ’Late onset’ colic, no teeth in sight, nor clear cut definitive reasons in sight, and me and my husband are growing tired, and feeling badly for our other children.  It’d be easier if it were just us being affected, but It isn’t.

 

Has anyone else experienced such a thing, be it with a twin or singleton child, around this time?  Later then colic?  I’d say teething,  but she really doesn’t bite her hands a lot, and go crazy with teethers  much, and that doesn’t seem to relieve her, stop her, or interest her much, to bite on things lately.  It’s a combo platter of things,  or something totally unrelated, and I must admit, quite frankly I’m getting a little freaked, after losing a son after birth to illness.  I don’t want to get the brush off on the 28th, when we see the Doctor, which quite frankly, isn’t soon enough, but it’s the earliest they have.  I’m worried that is what I may get though.

 

Thanks for allowing my rant.  I thought it could only help, not hurt,  to reach out about the current situation going on here.  Good thing we are patient people, and my God,  do we all love her, it’s just getting harder and harder, instead of the opposite, and I ask strangers I converse with, but they don’t have the same experience to share.  I’m not trying to scare anybody out there, who might be pregnant with twins, or have new babies at home. I just needed to get this out, and maybe someone might help me. 

 

I know one day,  and hopefully before we know it, this will all be looked back upon,  as a memory.  A quick moment in time, soon forgotten.  It’s just hard in the moment is all, and it is a mother’s job to worry.  It’s a 24/7 one indeed!  Can’t wait to have three girls in their teeage years (GULP)  8-O   HE HE!

 

Thanks again, and a happy day to all.  Sorry so long, as usual (I gotto work on that!)

 

xoxo