Is it allergy related?

I dunno but s to you, sounds like you have hardly anything you can actually eat. I buy rice bread for Spencer so you could have that while cutting out the wheat.
I'm not sure how much one bottle of neocate would tell you really, when we swapped from normal formula to neocate it definitely took a few days to notice the difference.

I also tend to think something is wrong when babies are unsettled but I have read that some babies cry for no reason.

Oh no Aimee, big hugs! I have goosebumps and big tears for you coz reading your post is like reading my life when the gremlins were tiny. No dairy, no egg, no soy, no nuts and still they spilled and screamed and refluxed and didn't sleep. I too wondered if it was wheat, panicked about what else I could possibly be eating that was upsetting them, and ended up doing a weeks trial on Neocate. They were 10 weeks by that stage and had been screaming up to 20 hours per day since they were 3 weeks old. Even the Plunket nurses at Family Centre were unable to settle them and sent me back to the GP as both gremlins had such vile intestinal wind and bowel motions.

I started them on the Neocate but kept expressing every feed so my milk supply didn't drop so that if the Neocate made no difference I could put them back on breastmilk. Within two days they were different babies, by the end of the first week the reflux was almost gone and their skin, which had been rashy and exczema-y was clearing up. I then trialled Sienna back on the breastmilk (as her reflux was never as severe as Mercedes)and within 24 hours she was a screaming mess, so I got my answer - it WAS something in my milk.

I constantly wondered WHAT it was in my milk that upset them but I wasn't in a position to keep eliminating more foods from my diet coz I still needed to be able to make enough milk to feed them both, and I might never have isolated the problem.

I expected to get an answer when we weaned them onto solids/allergy tested them but they came back all clear. It *may* have been banana in my diet as Mercedes was allergic to that as a smallish baby but she quickly outgrew it and they've been fine with everything except nuts so far.

Jan Sinclair officially diagnosed them with Cows Milk Protein Intolerance at 5 mths based on their history, she said it was likely we'd never know what caused the reflux/unsettledness other than that evidence seemed to point to my breastmilk.

Good luck with the doc this week, my best advice would be to ask for an urgent referral to a paed. If the waiting list is too long in Palmy then I'd just rock up to the Emergency Dept with her and make someone listen, you and your baby don't need to be going thru this.

Are you in a position to trial the Neocate for a few days and see if it makes a noticeable difference? It may take a few days for it to be obvious as reflux causes damage to the oesophagus that doesn't heal instantly.

You could also look at reflux meds (we had Mercedes on Losec) but we found once the gremlins were on Neocate they had no need for meds.

Best of luck, I really, really feel for you, this sucks! I went thru a HUGE grieving phase for the breastfeeding too, I felt guilty that my milk made them sick and that I had stubbornly persevered with breastfeeding for weeks when if I had given up earlier I could have spared them weeks of pain, but at the end of the day it is what it is, and if this wee bub looks to be the same way I will be much more onto it much more quickly.

And at least it didn't get as bad as it did with Maya, she ended up in hospital with gastric bleeding at 10 mths from dairy in my breastmilk

Thinking of you, PM me if there's anything I can do!

Oh and interesting you mentioned they started the screaming at 3 weeks as well.

Yep Isla was pretty much like a normal baby at first,..by 2 weeks she was a shocker! She never spilt so her silent reflux wasnt diagniosed til 5 months old. It was a few months later than the allergys were diagnosed, and things started to improve.
I cant say I enjoyed her at all for at least 6 months, which is awful but tru. Its hard to enjoty something that is never happy.

Big hugs. Really hope u get some answers soon.

Yep it is a GIANT PITA! I did it for 10 long weeks and gutted as I was to have to give up the breastmilk, part of me was relieved coz formula was so much less precious, and I didn't get so upset if they didn't finish their bottles!

Glad Greer went down easier tonight, long may it continue! Have you got the end of her cot/bassinette raised? That can help a little.

oh no, Aimee... your first post is a massive flashback to when Ella was little!  And 4 months later when I found out what it all was, it was you and Emma supporting me through it with your masses of 'been there' practical advice and cyber-hugs... so you hang in there, chick, because you're an expert at this stuff already.  But my heart really breaks for you because I understand the terror of waiting to see if your child is gonna go through what your first did - friggin allergies!!!  They effect the whole family, don't they - but let's face it, hardest on the mums while the kids are little.  Hugest of hugs to you, Aimee - this stinks.  And of course, I'm hoping it's a bad phase at will be left at that.  Don't be shy about trying out different reflux meds if it is reflux - Ranitidine was a life-saver in our house, and different babies benefit from different reflux meds from what I hear, so it's worth trying different ones if the first doesn't help at all. 

I 'get' the feelings that you go through when breastfeeding isn't a good experience for baby and mum, and gotta say don't for one minute be blaming yourself here - you've gone above and beyond with your diet already and are such a trooper!  Hmmmm, I think I'll PM you to go on...

Thanks Andie - you're a gem

LOL Emma, Hannah lies next to Greer on the floor and she knows to keep her distance now after two rather unfortunate experiences!! And yep, they're spew cloths here too We have had several of those exorcist chucks lately, and coming out the nose

i have nothing to add really cause have no experience re this at all... but do want to send my love and sympathy to you both and hope you get to the bottom of it soon.
if theres anything i can do from so far away just text me...

God, I'm getting power chuck flashbacks as well.
Benjy was a projectile refluxer too, You'd hear it in his throat coming up and down and we'd be madly reaching for the cloth flats before he blew!
Go the chocolate Aimee, you so deserve it!
I really hope Neocate keeps helping wee Greer, its so heartbreaking to see them in pain and so hard to cope when nothing seems to help.
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Hmmmm, bring on that Doc's appt. 

In all seriousness, if Greer does have reflux, girl you need to go shopping - you can't have too many baby clothes (and some extra tops for yourself) if your kid is a power-chucker.  And we had around 100 bibs (I kid you not) for Ella at the time.  Oh yes, now you have a decent excuse for buying stuff!!! 

It's heartbreaking to have to chuck EBM - if you have a glass of wine with tea it mightn't be so difficult?!?  I mean, no-one wants to give their baby wine-milk, do they?! 

Hey don't go feeling guilty about finding it so hard to enjoy little Greer at this stage - I can honestly say that the times I enjoyed Ella as a newborn were few and far between, and it wasn't a reflection of her personality or anything long-lasting, it was like Kellz said - circumstances really didn't lend themselves to bonding and enjoyment.  But I know other mums on here who found the same with their littlies, and it's absolutely no reflection on their parenting or the child's temperament... it's a phase and it dissappears, thank God!  I don't want to make light of it and do the whole pollyanna thing, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel!