Helen Vermilya posted and asked for input on a baby who has been crying
since 2 weeks of age, for hours every day.  She asks, 'What am I missing?
How can I help this mother and baby?'
I couldn't tell from the post how old the baby is now, but by the other
information included, it sounds as though the situation has persisted for at
least a couple of weeks, possibly longer.  I'm sure you have heard it from
her, Helen, but I can't tell from the post what the mother perceives as the
problem, and I would want to know what is bothering her most-- the crying or
the baby's bowel habits or something completely different, see below.

This passage jumped out at me:  "Baby stopped having BMs without stimulation
at 2 weeks.  Mom stimulates with thermometer every couple days."  I don't
have any idea whether this is a common practice for any of you, but I would
be concerned about damaging the baby's own gastrocolic reflex system, by
external stimulation.  Or, it could be that there is something not right
with it already, which makes it uncomfortable for the baby to move its
bowels normally.  Is mother doing this stimulation because she believes the
child to be in discomfort otherwise, or because she thinks it is important
to see BMs every couple of days?

I was also intrigued by the description of the mother's diet: does not eat
much, does not eat frequently.  This sounds odd to me given the usual robust
appetite of the lactating woman.  It even made me curious about what kind of
bowel habits she has, though I don't know why that should matter!

The other thing that attracted my notice was this: "Baby wants to nurse all
the time".  Does this mean baby wants to nurse when it cries, and if so, why
not nurse?  I mean, if it helps?  If this mother has unusual eating habits
herself, maybe her expectations of the baby's habits need adjusting?

Without knowing what has been tried and failed, since the content of the
doctor's list was not given, it is hard to make suggestions.  I would likely
let her know about other treatment modalities which have helped some babies
with similar symptoms, such as being carried in contact with mother, or
cranio-sacral therapy, chiropractic, and reflexology.  But first I would
want to be sure that she and I were working on the same problem.

good luck
Rachel Myr
Kristiansand, Norway

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