My name is Kimberly and I am a pediatric nurse and a mother of three. By the time my third child was born I thought I knew what to expect with a newborn. I was completely unprepared for what happened.
It seems like just yesterday when our house was turned upside down with chaos because of a screaming baby. It all started when Jeffery was about 4 weeks old. The shrill cries and the inconsolable fits, it seemed to consume every waking moment of his young life. The only pictures we have of him at that age are ones of him sleeping, which by the way he did not do much of.
The pediatrician told me it was probably just colic and suggested Mylicon (gas) drops. As you can guess that did not help. I called the doctor’s office once or twice a week for at least a month and a half. In the course of that time I tried switching from breast milk to several different kinds of formula, Enfamil, Isomil and finally Nutramagen to no avail, the screaming continued. Jeffery refused to drink 2 out of the 3 formulas that we tried. On one occasion during a crying spell, I called the doctor’s office and insisted that he listen to this baby. I wasn’t sure that he really understood what I was talking about when I said “screaming baby”. It was not just a cry but a piercing scream. Well, he heard it that day and then I knew he finally understood what I was trying to explain. The helplessness that you feel as a mother is indescribable. My husband and 2 older children were ready to move out of our house. They too, felt helpless. How could all of us including the doctor not be able to help this baby?
Jeffrey was referred to a gastroenterologist to check for something more that colic and was hospitalized for testing. He underwent an upper GI, EGD and a 24-hour pH probe study. The tests were essentially inconclusive. They thought maybe he had a mild case of gastric reflux just based on his arching back and not sleeping well while lying down flat. The GI doctor started him on combination of medications. We started reglan and Prilosec then switched to Propulsid. Because of the risks of heart problems with Propulsid Jeffrey had to have an EKG before that medication was started so once again back to the hospital we went for another test.
Despite all of our efforts, the screaming continued. One night, while I was at work in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, I received a phone call from home. Everyone around me could hear who was on the other end of the line. It was Jeffrey screaming and my husband pleading with me to come home and do something.
It was that night that someone actually listened to my nightmare. That someone was Dr. Shushunov from Lev Laboratories. He seemed to have such a simple solution to it all. He said, “5-10cc of Pediacalm with each feeding should do the trick.” “Pediacalm?” I just stared at him in amazement. Surely, he could not be for real I thought to myself. And then I said it out loud “you’ve got to be kidding me.” But of course by this time I would try anything. The very next day he gave me a bottle of Pediacalm. Dr Shushunov had given me the directions on how to use this ” miracle potion.” I followed the directions very carefully and tried the drink the next day just before feeding. After I was done nursing him, he burped and went to sleep. I absolutely could not believe it! I though this must be a coincidence. To my surprise and delight it was no coincidence. I continued to give Jeffrey the Pediacalm with each feeding for about 3 months. By the time he turned 6 months, he turned into a “new” baby. We were all so happy that the screaming fits ended I told everyone I knew about Pediacalm. I even had new moms and dads calling me to find out what turned our screaming baby into a happy healthy one.
