Why Won’t He Sleep?

Written by TB1105

My husband and I have 2 amazing sons, an 8 year old and a 7 month old.  Now our 8 year old did not sleep on his own at night.  We tried every piece of advice from the doctors and family members, the kid just would not sleep through the night!  We suffered through two years of sleepless nights and we bought a full size bed and the kid slept all night.  He was all over the bed with all of his favorite stuffed animals and action figures.   We never quite figured out the answer as to why he never slept we “just got through it.”  

Now we have a 7 month old and we prayed during the pregnancy, “Lord please let this baby sleep well at night.”  Well my friends we thought we had a sleeper until around 4 months.   At 4 months we noticed our baby would wake up at night screaming inconsolably with gas, loud grumbling stomach and arching his back.  We were told he was colic and to try the gas drops and the shushing and swaying and swaddling etc.

At 5 months he had not improved he was now having all the same symptoms but now projectile vomiting included, therefore we went back to the Pediatrician.  At this visit, I asked about switching the formula, however, the Pediatrician did not want to switch the formula because our baby was already on a sensitive stomach formula (Enfamil Reguline) and they did not want to change too much at one time.  I then told the Peds about my family history of IBS, Acid Reflux, and GERD and asked could the baby have any of this going on with him or if they thought he needed a Pediatric GI Specialist.  We were told that he was having a little “silent reflux” and he was prescribed Zantac.  Peds also recommended that we put Probiotic drops in his formula to help his stomach.  Our baby was not successful with taking the Zantac.  The taste was so strong; he could not swallow it.  We called the Peds and the insurance company to explain that the baby was not able to take the medicine therefore they prescribed Prevacid.  A week later we had to rush our baby to the Emergency Room due to blood in his stools.

During our long night in the ER our baby was given an ultra sound and x-rays were taken of his stomach.  They also took stool cultures from the diaper we brought in.  After being in the ER 7 hours we were told our baby had a possible allergy to cow’s milk and problems breaking down the protein in the previous formulas he was on.  As a result, his formula was changed to Nutramigen (Enfamil).  We were also given a referral by the ER doctor to take our baby to a Pediatric GI doctor.  The Pediatric Gi doctor insisted that “colic” is overused and that our baby is not colic he also suggested we keep our baby on the Nutramigen formula (prescribed at ER), discontinue use of the probiotic and Prevacid and to feed our baby his normal foods.  He also prescribed 1ml of Hyosen before bed or 2 additional times during the day as needed. From what I understand, this medicine should help with stomach spasms and discomfort in the stomach.  The Peds GI Doctor will reevaluate our baby at 10 months to check the progress of his digestive issues     

Our baby has been sleeping a little bit better at night.  He no longer wakes up screaming in pain.  He does still have some gassy nights and congestion from time to time, however, he is able to be consoled which makes it bearable.  All in all, we’re not quite sure if we’ve gotten to the very bottom of it all but we definitely seen some improvements.       

Exodus 33:14 And he said, my presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.

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