5 mo Help

[craftymissbeth]

I have a 5 mo dcb (my nephew) who has the most horrendous scream cry ever. His eyes bulge out of his head and his face turns beet red.

He scream cries a lot.

My routine with him is this:
7:30 arrival and he's already ready for his morning nap. He sleeps really well for his morning naps.
10:00 diaper change & 8 oz bottle (he drinks 6 oz of it)
I hold him upright after feeding him for about ten minutes and then lay him down to play on the floor. He will not roll over either direction. I've seen him do it a month or so ago, but he hasn't done it since then. DCP's say he doesn't roll over at home either. He just kind of hangs out nicely for a few minutes and then he scream cries. I know that he's fed, dry, and just woke up so I just leave him. He stops crying almost immediately as soon as I pick him up.
I try to play with him or put him in the jumperoo until lunch time.
11ish another 8 oz bottle (usually drinks 6 oz again)
11:30 afternoon nap. I swaddle him and lay him down... He sleeps maybe 30 minutes then scream cries. I had been going in and shhhhing him, but it infuriates him. So now I leave him. Right now, though, he's screaming on the playroom floor because i can't stand the screaming from the other room. Scratch that.... he's SLOWLY calming down.

Anyway, I've tried telling DCP's to stop feeding him to sleep. Stop holding him while he sleeps. Stop popping a bottle in his mouth every time he cries. She's my sister so I have the privilege of seeing how she does things when she has him and she's so lazy... she does all of the above still.

I also am starting to suspect there may be something going on with dcb... besides not rolling over yet, he's 18 lbs (as big as my 11 mo nephew), barely smiles, doesn't giggle or smile when tickled, and is very stiff.


Sorry this is so rambled... It's hard to think straight listening to this screaming!

How do I get her to fix this?

[craftymissbeth]

Also, we went to the zoo for Easter and he SCREAMED the entire 6 hours. Everyone finally believes me when I say he's a screamer.

[debbiedoeszip]

I don't have any advice (so wish I did, though), but I see the red flags as well. It's possible that he's within "normal" but if I was his mom I'd want him assessed. Since you are auntie you might be able to gently encourage sister to get this done. I don't know if there is a cost involved where you are, but here it's free and that's what I'd be pushing ("what have you got to lose. it's free and it couldn't hurt.").

[Cradle2crayons]

I have a 5 mo dcb (my nephew) who has the most horrendous scream cry ever. His eyes bulge out of his head and his face turns beet red.

He scream cries a lot.

My routine with him is this:
7:30 arrival and he's already ready for his morning nap. He sleeps really well for his morning naps.
10:00 diaper change & 8 oz bottle (he drinks 6 oz of it)
I hold him upright after feeding him for about ten minutes and then lay him down to play on the floor. He will not roll over either direction. I've seen him do it a month or so ago, but he hasn't done it since then. DCP's say he doesn't roll over at home either. He just kind of hangs out nicely for a few minutes and then he scream cries. I know that he's fed, dry, and just woke up so I just leave him. He stops crying almost immediately as soon as I pick him up.
I try to play with him or put him in the jumperoo until lunch time.
11ish another 8 oz bottle (usually drinks 6 oz again)
11:30 afternoon nap. I swaddle him and lay him down... He sleeps maybe 30 minutes then scream cries. I had been going in and shhhhing him, but it infuriates him. So now I leave him. Right now, though, he's screaming on the playroom floor because i can't stand the screaming from the other room. Scratch that.... he's SLOWLY calming down.

Anyway, I've tried telling DCP's to stop feeding him to sleep. Stop holding him while he sleeps. Stop popping a bottle in his mouth every time he cries. She's my sister so I have the privilege of seeing how she does things when she has him and she's so lazy... she does all of the above still.

I also am starting to suspect there may be something going on with dcb... besides not rolling over yet, he's 18 lbs (as big as my 11 mo nephew), barely smiles, doesn't giggle or smile when tickled, and is very stiff.


Sorry this is so rambled... It's hard to think straight listening to this screaming!

How do I get her to fix this?

Wait I'm confused... Does that say he drinks a 6oz bottle at 10:00 am and AGAIN at 11:00 am???

[craftymissbeth]

Oh no no I wrote that wrong :: he has a bottle at 10 and one closer to 12... Yes, it's only 2 hours apart, but they've got his stomach stretched out, I think, from feeding him SO often. They pop a bottle in his mouth EVERY time he cries. With them, he's eating a 6 oz bottle every 1-2 hours. Which is why he's so big.

[craftymissbeth]

And I should have added that his morning nap ends sometime between 9-10 and he gets that bottle as soon as he wakes up.then a bottle close to 12 then a bottle around 2 after afternoon nap. He's only getting 3 bottles a day here, but they're only 2 hours apart, average. A bottle is literally the only thing that gets him to stop crying other than holding him all day.

[Heidi]

And I should have added that his morning nap ends sometime between 9-10 and he gets that bottle as soon as he wakes up.then a bottle close to 12 then a bottle around 2 after afternoon nap. He's only getting 3 bottles a day here, but they're only 2 hours apart, average. A bottle is literally the only thing that gets him to stop crying other than holding him all day.

I actually don't think that's ridiculously much to drink. 6 oz. at a crack, 3 a day, sounds ok. My one daycare boy was a lot like that; much better since eating "real" food. He can wait 3 hours now, but as soon as he sees food (10 m), he starts whining and saying "sssssnnnnnnnnnnnnk".

He was 27 lbs. at 9 months, 98th percentile, but also 85th for height, so a big guy, period.

I guess I'm saying is, if he's offered 6 oz and takes only 8, he is telling you when he's full. He's telling you when he's hungry. While you can stretch that out a bit, I would rather have a fat, happy baby than a hungry, skinny, clingy, screaming one any day.::

[craftymissbeth]

I actually don't think that ridiculously much to drink. 6 oz. at a crack, 3 a day, sounds ok. My one daycare boy was a lot like that; much better since eating "real" food. He can wait 3 hours now, but as soon as he sees food (10 m), he starts whining and saying "sssssnnnnnnnnnnnnk".

He was 27 lbs. at 9 months, 98th percentile, but also 85th for height, so a big guy, period.

Ok that makes me feel better, at least. Is it ok that he's drinking 6 oz every 2 hours all day long, though? He gets one right before he comes at 7:30 and dcm makes him a bottle for the drive home at 3:45 (she props it up with a blanket )

[Heidi]

Ok that makes me feel better, at least. Is it ok that he's drinking 6 oz every 2 hours all day long, though? He gets one right before he comes at 7:30 and dcm makes him a bottle for the drive home at 3:45 (she props it up with a blanket )

how about at night? Is he drinking several during the night?

As for the propping....I would have been guilty myself of that with my own kids when they were little, under certain circumstances. Not a regular thing, but why is it, when you take a baby to a restaurant and offer them a bottle, they only get hungry once YOUR food has arrived?

[Heidi]

3 of 4 of my kids were 19-20 pounds at 4 months, so 18 pounds at 5 months is big, but not gargantuan. Today, they are tall, healthy weighted young adults.

DCB was 8.6 pounds at birth (so was my 2nd child), ate every 2- 2 1/2 hours, and was a little late in some gross motor stuff, probably partly due to his size. He is almost as tall as the 2 16-month olds I have, and outweighs them easily. The best thing you can do is encourage independence. Help him learn to hold the bottle, get him on the floor as much as possible. I think my dcb is going to start "slimming down" pretty soon, since he's crawling, standing, and almost cruising.

[NightOwl]

He can't roll over because of his size, I bet. It's not astronomical or anything, but that's a big baby! I too have a scream crier who is only happy when being fed or held so I FEEL YOUR PAIN. The only thing that has helped is that he became mobile. Once he could get around by himself, he was slightly happier. If he's being held, he won't learn to roll over or crawl. And yes, 6oz every 2 hours on a regular basis is WAY too much. Does he sleep through the night? Assuming he does, that's 42+ oz per day. I believe the recommended for his age is 24 to 32. I'll double check that...
As hard as it is, let him CIO if he's fed, clean, not sleepy, in pain, etc. For your sanity's sake! If you can't take it, put him in his crib in an adjacent room.
Mom needs some serious talking to. She's possibly contributing to any delay he has by feeding him constantly, thus letting his weight increase, thereby decreasing his mobility.

[NightOwl]

Yes, 24 to 32 oz in 24 hours is the norm for 5 month Olds.

[craftymissbeth]

how about at night? Is he drinking several during the night?

As for the propping....I would have been guilty myself of that with my own kids when they were little, under certain circumstances. Not a regular thing, but why is it, when you take a baby to a restaurant and offer them a bottle, they only get hungry once YOUR food has arrived?

I was guilty of propping bottles when my ds was little, too, but she rarely holds him to feed him. He almost acts like he doesn't understand what I'm trying to do when I'm feeding him. She's not going to change the way she feeds him so I don't stress about it as much now that he's getting older, but it's still just annoying knowing how she does things.

He does not sleep through the night and consistently has a bottle every 1-2 hours 24 hours a day.

[cheerfuldom]

Really, without the parents support, this is going to be a looooooong exhausting journey with this little guy. i dont think there is anything else that you can do that you arent already doing. He's on a schedule, given play time, fed and napped appropriately. He may chill out around a year when he is more mobile and able to differentiate care better between you and mom. Honestly, I would not continue caring for a child that was screaming all day every day, doesnt matter if it was a relative or not.

[SignMeUp]

Is it possible that he is ready for solid food? Maybe the formula just isn't keeping him satisfied for long enough. I had a dcb who had bottles frequently like that, and once we started solids (at 5 months, most here start at 6 mo) he was a different child.
He also was somewhat delayed in motor skills, and we also think it was due to size. He's SA now and his motor skills are just fine::

As long as he doesn't 'demand' solids every two hours, it might work.