# crying and back arching!



## baileyann3 (May 12, 2008)

Alright I'm really starting to get worried here.

Macey is 8 months old and she has a cold. She has a runny/stuffy nose. She has been scratching at her face, back of her neck, ears, and from of her neck (throat) She is having trouble nursing, sometimes, and trouble sleeping, all the time.

What is worrying me is that when she get tired and we go upstairs to sleep or nap, she starts crying uncontrollably, wont nurse, and is violently throwing her head back and arching her back. Like, really hard, hard enough that I'm worried about her back. (not my main concern, which is why she is doing this)

Is she just sick and tired and cant nurse and this is her way of showing her frustration? Or is she in pain?

She cries harder than i Ever heard her, her eyes half close like she is falling asleep (or passing out) the only way to get her to stop is to hold her really close and bounce. or hold her in a back bend practically and bounce. (I sit indian style with her facing up and her legs around my stomach. I put her head in my hands and bounce on my butt on the bed) Then she pretty much passes out. she goes from 10 to asleep in like 2 seconds and is completely limp, just whimpering. We did this routine a few times 2 nights ago, and about once yesterday before nap. last night it was about 5 times, and twice, for both naps today.

When she is awake she is clingy but pretty much her happy playing self. then she starts to get tired and then the crying starts. It only lasts (now that i know what to do) about 10 minutes (the first few times it went on for 1/2 to 45 minutes until i tried the bouncing.

What do you think? please help us


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## baileyann3 (May 12, 2008)

Sorry it's so long..

Anyone have any ideas or advice? No ones baby has arched their backs like this? That makes me even more worried


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## Mom2Ian (Feb 7, 2008)

I certainly am no expert on this, and my son (10 mos.) has not been sick yet, but he does occasionally arch his back when he is really (over)tired and fussy. Also when he was much younger (a few months old) he would do a version of this when he would have colicky pains (he was a very colicky baby). I have heard other people talk of babies doing this when they get tired/frustrated...

So, I don't really know what to tell you, or really how "normal" it is, all I know is that my 10 month old does it occasionally. When he was colicky it did seem like a way that he dealt with the pain, so maybe it is the same for your LO since she isn't feeling well? Hopefully some more experienced mamas on here will have more experience...but I wanted to reply just to let you know that my son sometiimes does this too.

Sounds like a really hard situation - hope she feels better soon!


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## accountclosed2 (May 28, 2007)

DD used to do this when she was frustrated early on - she was frustrated a lot! Sometimes we thought she'd throw herself out of our arms backwards, it was so violent. And yes, it was scary at first. She still does it sometimes.


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## Ligeia (Jul 24, 2006)

ds does this and sometimes the ONLY way to calm him down is to wear him in the sling or mei tai. I guess it just comforts him so much that he lulls off more easily. Also, take her to a chiropractor! I did this with ds a couple times, both times when he was starting to get more fussy than usual and just because he does do the back arching and it did absolute wonders!! Both times, he fell asleep immediately like he hadn't been able to get comfortable for days.


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## Zannah (Jul 11, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *baileyann3* 
Macey is 8 months old and she has a cold. She has a runny/stuffy nose. She has been scratching at her face, back of her neck, ears, and from of her neck (throat) She is having trouble nursing, sometimes, and trouble sleeping, all the time.

What is worrying me is that when she get tired and we go upstairs to sleep or nap, she starts crying uncontrollably, wont nurse, and is violently throwing her head back and arching her back. Like, really hard, hard enough that I'm worried about her back. (not my main concern, which is why she is doing this)


I have heard that back arching is sometimes a sign of reflux as well as not wanting to eat. From what I understand the back arching helps relieve the discomfort. Poor little thing. I hope you figure it out soon. I know it gets so frustrating when you can't figure it out cause all you want to do is make them feel better.


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## spirit4ever (Nov 4, 2004)

My dd was/is doing this too mainly when she is beyond tired!

She was really really sick about ten days ago (whole other story!!) anyways brought her into the er for the bach arching and screaming, she had bad gas (putting it mildly!!!).


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## ActivistMommy (Feb 11, 2008)

Our 10m/o dd has been doing this for about a week. I know what you mean about the half-asleep seriously violent arched back. She does the EXACT same thing. It's only been since she has had a cold and I figure she is grumpy, frustrated, and just wants to sleep. Eventually she does calm down. I'm waiting it out to see if it improves when the cold goes away. This is also her first time being sick. Good luck Mama, and hold on tight when moving that little one, you don't want anyone jumping out of your arms


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## mama.rye (Aug 20, 2008)

clearly you are not alone...

my LO does this when he is super overtired. He is a reflux baby too...I am positive it has to do with some misalignment from birth.

i did just start to bring him to a Physical Therapist, and the relief in his eyes on those days is huge... the PT says he has some minor cranial and neck stuff that needs adjusting. He does some gentle touching, the baby is like putty in his hands, and we are hoping with weekly sessions he will be more comfortable. The pt says the reflux stems from this type of cranial issue. Somehow it causes him to tense his diaphragm which pushes on his tummy.

Is she teething? I think Dr. Sears says this kind of arching also happens when they teethe... I could be wrong though.

hang in there...


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## balancedmama (Feb 16, 2007)

This is just a recent thing? Sounds like she might have an ear infection. That's my bet.


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## SeekingSerenity (Aug 6, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mama.rye* 
Is she teething? I think Dr. Sears says this kind of arching also happens when they teethe... I could be wrong though.

My 6-mo is teething and he's been doing that a lot lately. I'm starting to anticipate it while nursing, so I've tried to be ready for the detach/scream/back-arch thing he's doing. I assumed it was out of frustration or pain, and while I know he's teething, I didn't attribute the arching to the teething pain. It makes sense though.

He also used to do it, though not as strongly (as he was obviously much younger), when really gassy. He was thrushy for a long time and had wicked gas during that time.


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