>Mom is nursing her four month old baby. She has three other children all of
>whom she switched to formula due to colic(her words).

Hmmm. Was she a smoker back then with the other babies? This is known
for causing 'colic' in babies, so this could be a big clue.

> Baby is nursing every hour,
>but only for a few minutes. She then spits the nipple out and cries. No
>symptoms of thrush in either MOm or baby. Will not sleep during the day, but
>night is O.K. Diaper count is fine as is weight gain.

Another possibility to investigate is silent reflux. Does baby tend
to arch his back when he cries, and likes to be upright as much as
possible? Did he have an assisted birth, or a traumatic birth?

>
>I have spent several hours now with this pair, and I have never seen a baby
>so unhappy. She does not seem to like nursing at all, and fights it all the
>way.

An option I would look at, if this was my baby, is a chiropractic
assessment by a chiropractor who specialises in treating babies, to
check neck vertebrae for misalignment (subluxation). I would
certainly do this before resorting to drugs (which tends to happen
quite readily here in Australia for babies acting like this, ie with
reflux-type symptoms).

I would also consider the possibility of food intolerance, as has
been mentioned by others.

It is possible that there is a combination of factors here. These
cases can be like a 'mystery book' - good luck, Sherlock Holmes!
******************************************************************
Joy Anderson B.Sc. Dip.Ed. Grad.Dip.Med.Tech. IBCLC
Nursing Mothers' Association of Australia Breastfeeding Counsellor
Perth, Western Australia.   mailto:[log in to unmask]
******************************************************************

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