On our way to some sort of answer...

I finally got the nerve to call and speak with a nurse at the doctor's office.

Yesterday afternoon Sam's bucking and squealing just broke me down. Something HAD to be wrong, but what? and how to help him. It's not right for a baby so small to not want to be held & fight so much when he's fussing like a mad thing.

So I called and explained to the nurse what's going on and what I've been doing to help the little guy (frequent burping, keeping him upright for 20 minutes after feeding etc) and she said it was either reflux or the formula but it's not clear probably because it's a mild enough case either way.

She recommended I switch to a lactose free formula and give Sam until Tuesday (takes 3-4 days to see the full change she said) and if by Tuesday he's still bucking and spitting up (she confirmed the frequency is a sign of some issue) then to bring him in because it would point more to reflux and the doctor would want to check him out to then decide how best to help him.

So here's hoping he's just got a mild case of intolerance to the formula. I've switched him to a Similac formula that's lactose-free as Enfamil doesn't make one any more. Similac had two varieties. One that just said Lactose Free for fussiness & Gas and the other said R.S. for frequent spitting up (which I'm guessing is a thickened formula for babies with reflux issues). I opted for just the straight up lactose free one. If it is reflux I'm sure the doc will have us change the formula to something like that but no point is going there straight off incase it's just the lactose.

I will say the Similac get's very foaming if you're to vigorous in the shaking.

I feel better that the nurse agreed with my suspicions that this behavior that started up in Sam's 4th week werent' just normal. It just didn't feel right to me. He's not suffering colic, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have something else going on. I'm the only one who's seen when he totally looses it suddenly.

I feed him the first lactose free bottle at noon and he ate just fine. He's not only down for a nap, but napping in the bassinet! Go me, he hasn't used that in a couple of weeks... since he started only napping 20 minutes at a time in the crib or bassinet. A long nap in a proper bed and not the bouncer, that makes me happy. even if it's the only time he does it this week... right now it makes me happy.