OK, I need advice QUICK!?

Question

My 5 month old son will not stop screaming. We are going on day 3. I had him at the doctor Monday AND Tuesday, they find NOTHING wrong. He is normally such a happy smily baby I know he is not colicy but that is how he has been acting. He just screams for sometimes an hour at a time, then will relax for a little while then start. He doesn't want to nurse, eat cereal, is dry, burped, napped. I gave him tylenol incase its a headache or teething. I am running out of ideas. He is not constipated.. PLEASE I need suggestions!
(Don't worry I am not frustrated or going to hurt my baby, I am just tired of unconsolable crying!)

he HATES bathing... or I would. That would make him cry more.

Even if it was he has my nerves frazzled would it go on for 3 days????

Well his daddy, my husband just screams at me to quiet him down.. he is no help

OK maybe I put that bad. Yes he bathes, daily, but I know that will not calm him because he hates it. But he does get a daily bath to clean him.

Answer 1

Hi I am a paediatric nurse,I am worried about your son, too many things could be wrong, he is in pain, is he teething?has he got a temperature? does he have a rash?does he lie on his left or right side? Any chance he may have swallowed something? When you said they find nothing wrong, did they take xray? take blood test?
I would go back to the doctor or preferably straight to hospital and ask for a paediatric specialist to see him.Do not wait another day, go now. Things can go wrong so fast in babies. Any behaviour that is not normal suggest there is a problem.

Answer 2

My three year old was exactly the same way when he was a baby! I feel for you immensly - unfortunately it is a continual game of roulette, will this work, will it work again and for how long? I found that swaddling him and carrying him in a sling reduced his screaming. Also I couldn't breastfeed him if I had had any caffine or he'd be like that with no sleep for 2 days. From day one until about eight months there were times like this and now we're learning he might have an autistic spectrum disorder. If it goes on for weeks and weeks then it would be like my experience. The only time my son would stop screaming was to eat and the time he actually slept. He'd scream for hours at night too and not be actual colick, even though his doctor kept calling it that. I'm not suggesting that is what is wrong with your son, but there is probably *something* "not right" with his world right now and the challenge is figuring out what. Because he is 5 mo. old it might be that he's tired of cereal and breast milk, my daughter insisted on eating fresh mashed bananas at that age and at 5 1/2 mo she grabbed tuna helper off my plate! You can also try a bath to see if that has a calming effect on him or just hold him and hope that it will stop as soon as it started. Good luck!

Answer 3

Are you satisfied that the baby is not crying from pain. You can tell the difference in his sounds. If he is normally happy, screaming this long doesn't make sense. Take to a children's hospital and get an x-ray. He could easily have swallowed something. It only takes something small to cause problems and could easily be missed by a routine check. Demand they give you an answer. If he doesn't want to eat, could be blockage or teething. If he is teething, let them tell you and give you something to help him. Chamomile tea is always good for relaxation. (For you too) Change his diet immediately. What is he eating that's new. Maybe he's allergic to something. Change shampoos or soaps. See if that makes a difference. Itching can make him scream. Any new toys, clothes, sheets? Start on the major stuff first, i.e.hospital, then work your way through the list.

Answer 4

I know what you are going through.

You've probably already tried this, but when my daughter is unconsolable, after I've fed her, she's had a nap, she has a dry diaper, if I take her outside for a walk, she immediately stops crying. I don't put her in her stroller. I either put her in a front carrier, or just carry her in my arms, and as soon as I step out the front door, she stops crying. Even if I take her into the backyard for a while she stops. She sometimes starts back up again when we come back inside, but at least I've gotten a few minutes relief.

Answer 5

You have done all you can do. He might be teething. Have you given him some tylenol? He might have a headache. I know I would with all that screaming. Rub his gums with oral gel and it will not hurt him to put him in his crib and walk out of the room for a bit so you can take a breather.

I am watching a 6 month old doing the same thing. It is because her mouth feels weird and she doesn't like the feel of the bottle against her gums.

Answer 6

Try taking your son outside, running the vacuum that seems to calm babies down usually, if you have a bouncy seat take him into the bathroom and put him in the seat and run the shower for little while to see if that works, car rides, etc. Swaddling might even work. If none of this works I would take your son back to the doctor and if then he still doesn't think anything is wrong ask for a referral to a different doctor and get another opinion.

Answer 7

Since you've seen your doctor I'm at a loss to understand why they haven't given you a clue. Obviously something is not okay with the baby. My first thought was that he has an earache. This can be very painful. Does he pull at his ears? Even when medicine is prescribed, it takes several days for it to take effect. Your doctor would have surely checked his ears and checked to see if he had a fever. Sometimes my children had an earache without a fever. Try covering his ears with a soft cap. Did the doctor say it was okay to give him Tylenol? Don't give up trying to find what he needs. Good luck!

Answer 8

Sometimes my daughter get like that and i just have to let her cry and let her know that i am still there. Sometimes a warm bath helps to calm her down and sometimes just turning on cartoons also helps.

i know how you are feeling and it is fustrating and you ache because your baby is crying and nothing you do seems to help.

Sometimes once in a while her daddy can get her to calm down to. Just because it is something different. You could also try to take hin for a walk and let him get some fresh air.

Good luck and i hope that he feels better soon.



If it is teething try teething tablets. they are found at wal mart and other places you can buy baby stuff. They work great and desolve instantly in your child's mouth. sometimes this also works and when the crying stop he may just go to sleep because my daughter does sometimes and i asked the DR about it and he said that the pain has stopped and they just go to sleep because of the relief.

They are called HYLAND'S TEETHING TABLETS

Good luck.

Answer 9

If he won't nurse, I would take him to the ER. That isn't normal. And can be unsafe if it goes on too long.
However, it could be teething. While it is a bit early, it isn't unheard of for an infant to start teething at five months. Teething can cause extreme discomfort, sleeplessness, and loss of appetite due to discomfort. You can use Baby Orajel, or the old Mother's way, and dip your finger in whiskey or rum and rub it on their gums (it works MUCH better than Orajel). Try rubbing something on his gums, or using a cool teether. If that doesn't help, call the Dr. back. If they blow you off, take him to the ER. Especially being summer, you don't want him to stop drinking. Good luck!

Answer 10

My friend just had a baby that was really fussy and could scream for long periods of time when she was tired because she just would not allow herself to go to sleep, thus making her even more tired. The doctor told her to hold her and shhhhhh in her ear while rocking her. For some reason the shhhhhhing calms babies and this worked for her. I took a few minutes but it did work.