Grunting & Crying

Hi Ladies,

I have 8 week old g/g twins born at 35.5 weeks with no medical issues. Both of them (one more than the other) seem to have this unfortunate habit of grunting/crying a lot and we can only assume it's because they have gas or are trying to poop. It seems so painful for the babies when they are doing this and we feel bad, but when I asked the doctor about it she didn't seem to be all that concerned and didn't offer much help. One of the bad things about this grunting is that it occurs frequently at night, so it's really hard to tell if the girls are just trying to pass gas/poop or if they are crying because they are hungry so I ended up getting up a lot to check. Personally, I think they would sleep much longer through the night if they didn't have gas, etc but I'm not sure what to do to help them. Have any of you experienced this excessive grunting? What did you do to help?

Thanks,
Christine

 

Grunting was our first sign of reflux. They were so noisy in our room that I had to go out and get a white noise machine to try and get some sleep.

Other signs are crying when feeding, arching back during feeding, refusal to feed, spitting up, etc...

I would bring it up to your Ped and see what he or she says. We also tried Mylicon drops in each bottle to help with the gas. That seemed to help.

 

Hi Christine! First of all, CONGRATULATIONS! Welcome to TS!

My girls were 30wkrs and when they were first brought home from the NICU (at 6 wks old) they grunted ALL THE TIME.. Both of them! My husband and I just sat in confusion, wondering what was wrong with them. We thought maybe they were constipated or gassy.
They never had any reflux issues or any problems with feeding whatsoever. The ONLY thing we changed was their formula from Similac Neosure to Similac Sensitive, which helped with gas and fussiness. We also tried Mylicon drops (in their bottles). The grunting continued until they were about 2 months old. Out pedi, like yours, didn't seem concerned about it. Everything I've read about it , via internet searches, claimed it was completely harmless and it's something they'll grow out of. And it is more common with the premature babies. I'd say that if they have problems eating, or if they're really bad to spit-up then I'd have your pedi to look into it further. But if they're tolerating feeds well and gaining weight like they're supposed to then I wouldn't be that worried about it, especially if your pedi isn't concerned.

 

Grunting was also one of the signs my DS had for his reflux. If they seem like they are in pain when they are grunting and that's often when they are eating or laying flat, that could be what's going on. I'm not saying it def. is, but it's worth a look.

 

I have a grunter, he is now 12 weeks old. For him it wasnt reflux but colic. It has gotten better. I swaddle him and have a baby sac magique I warm and put on his tummy. It seems to help

 

Thanks for the responses, ladies. We're headed to the ped on Tuesday, so I'll bring the grunting up again with her. I do suspect it may be the formula we're feeding them before bedtime (they're breastfed the rest of the day) so I'll talk with the ped about switching to a different type. I guess it could be reflux, but she doesn't seem to spit up an abnormal amount and seems to still have issues when she's sitting upright. However, the one twin who is the heavier grunter has always been smaller than the other twin, so maybe that's the case.

Thanks again!

Christine

 

My twins were born at 35 weeks as well and my DS was a HUGE grunter! It started pretty early on and seems to have decreased with time, he's now 14 weeks. I thought it was constipation, etc, too! He has reflux, as PPs have mentioned with the grunting. It was also really bad at night which drove me crazy! We went from Similac Advance to Enfamil Gentlease but it hasn't made a huge difference. Also, he almost never spits up...he has silent (or not so silent, given the grunting) reflux.

GOOD LUCK!

 

I agree it could be reflux, my twin dd didn't spit up much but she had silent reflux. It doesn't hurt to check into it, but grunting is also pretty common with preemies! :hug:

 

Just thought I'd include an update after taking the girls to the pediatrician...The doctor did agree that our little one has reflux so she prescribed zantac and recommended using special formula for acid reflux for the 1-2 feedings a day that we use formula. Last night was the first night using both and I already saw a difference. The crying was gone, but it seems like I'll have to wait for the grunting to eventually go away on it's own!

Thanks again for all of your responses!

 

I'm so glad you're seeing a difference already. That's great. I don't know if she mentioned it or not, but Zantac is one of those drugs that needs to adjusted with weight and it stops being effective sometimes. My DS was on Zantac for a couple of months before it stopped working and we moved on to Prevacid. Just wanted to give you a heads up should you see the effectiveness change. I hope that your DD continues to feel better.