Baby arching back violently!?

[orla]

My 7 month old baby seemed exremely tired this evening and it took about 10 times putting him down before he finally went to sleep. Every time that I went to pick him up after he started crying, he wouldn't let me hold him close like I normally do and violently arched his back.
I did notice today that his 3rd little tooth is poking thru so I gave him some Highlands Tablets. That didn't help at all. I finally gave him a half dose of baby tylenol. He is finally asleep for now but it scared the hell out of me! Any ideas? Thoughts?

[USAmma]

Is there a history of reflux?

[orla]

Nope - not that I know of! He always seemed tp have inherited his Momma's iron tummy!

[apple_dumpling]

Originally Posted by orla

My 7 month old baby seemed exremely tired this evening and it took about 10 times putting him down before he finally went to sleep. Every time that I went to pick him up after he started crying, he wouldn't let me hold him close like I normally do and violently arched his back.
I did notice today that his 3rd little tooth is poking thru so I gave him some Highlands Tablets. That didn't help at all. I finally gave him a half dose of baby tylenol. He is finally asleep for now but it scared the hell out of me! Any ideas? Thoughts?

If he was screaming and crying while arching his back, that is usually a sign of pain in infants... my dd did that a lot (she has reflux issues that are still horrible at 16 months.. and she still arches her back)

Even if reflux was not a concern before, if he keeps doing it, I would seriously think about getting it looked into. Has he recently started solids? Sometimes that can aggrivate reflux in nursing babies... my dd got MUCH worse with her reflux when she started to really eat (she was very late with solids, didn't really start until 13 or 14 months eating reliably... still eats like a bird).

I also wanted to mention that up until dd started solids, she had reflux and she would throw up a lot. When she started solids, she started gaining weight well and we thought that maybe it had resolved... only to realize that she now has the "silent" type of reflux... you can hear her spit up, but she swallows it back down. Still in just as much pain though

I would just keep tabs on it for a few days... if he keeps doing it I would get it checked out. Oddly enough, when my dd went through a little stage where she was obviously in pain but we didn't think it was the reflux again, tylenol would help her too. I thought it was teeth so I would give her a little when she was crying inconsolably and nothing else worked (not even rescue remedy) and it always helped... but I would definitely not get into a habit of giving tylenol. If he is in pain quite a bit, you need to try and find out why.

[orla]

Thanks for the help....I just got off the phone w/ another mom-friend. He has just started some solids. Yesterday, he was at his Grandparent all afternoon which seems to make him ornary the next day (they are "early childhood specialists!" I've been monitering this closely because he is normally a very easy baby. I think sometimes when he gets REALLY overstimulated it makes him cranky. Then - dp gave him 2x the amount of applesauce that he has ever had - AND his 3rd little tooth just showed up.
I just didn't know if the back arching was a sign of something very specific that I was missing - scary.
He was a very traumatic birth and sometimes I feel like whenever I have a concern, people think that I am over-reacting because of this!:
Oh, my friend also said that because it was really hot out today he might be a little dehydrated? He WAS pretty sweaty tonight.
He is still nursing (big struggle - he was in NICU) but also he is still supplementing and usually gets a bottle around 11ish so she suggested making it a very weak one i.e. mostly water to make sure that he is hydrated.
Again, thanks! If anyone has any other thoughts - they are more than welcome!!
I am going to watch him closely and see what happens in the AM. It's just so scary because he has never done this before!

[EBG]

If he is sweating, he's not dehydrated. Dehydration symptoms: not sweating, no tears, dry mouth, sunken fontanel, sunken eyes, listlessness, weakness.
My DD used to arch her back and throw a tantrum around 4-6 months, before breastfeeding. I don't know why. We started solids at that time, I didn't know grains were bad so I gave ger cereal
What is he eating?
And my diet probably contributed to her feeling bad/sick/cranky/whatever was going on. She was not teething by then so it wasn't that. She had reflux around 2 months that resolved on its own by 3 months.
Also, her eczema started at around 3 months, got worse around 4months, solids again!
She stopped arching around 6 months. I'm still not sure why this happened. She has no behavioral issues now, almost 3.

[chiro_kristin]

Arching like that is a huge sign for me of meningeal stress as well as reflux. The arching can be your babe's attempt to correct it. If there is no fever or other symptomatology suggesting an ER visit, I suggest taking him to a chiropractor (which can also help with digestive issues).

[Pumpkin_Pie]

I just found this thread through a google search, and am so glad I did! My son is going through this exact same thing at 10.5 months. I was so worried that he was having seizures. He will arch and scream for 45 minutes to an hour and his eyes totally glaze over, like he can't even tell that I am there. I was so scared, and the doc said maybe it was a gut issue, as it didn't seem like a seizure to her.

I wasn't sure if I believed that it was his belly, as I can't imagine arching back if my belly hurts, when all I want to do is curl up with my knees to my chest. The info above makes sense, and I am going to make an appointment with our chiro on Monday first thing.

Not sure if the above posters are around anymore, but I am so thankful for MDC!