I think it's common to second guess Mom's diet, to phobically avoid certain foods that seem to cause a reaction, but I doubt that diet is the issue. Your baby has colic, a phenomenon that isn't entirely explained, but the theory is that it's similar in nature to menstral cramps. The pain might not be that agonizing, but a new baby is likely to be frightened by what seems to be the intensity of new sensations.

Have you tried reading Dr. Karp's book Happiest Baby on the Block? In summary, he encourages parents to do five things to simulate the womb:
1. Swaddling- we used a Miracle Blanket for our daughter and it worked like a charm.
2. Shooshing- we actually recorded the sound of the vacuum and played it for her and it always instantly calmed her.
3. Tummy pressure- the football hold is worth mastering.
4. Sucking- pacifiers always for babies with colic or you will scream.
5. Jiggling- last resort is a car ride but just motion in general will do the trick.

I should just assume that you know all that from your last experience. I don't know that much about reflux. When I did experience problems with spit-up, it was usually because I fed her too much or too frequently. We had a strict schedule of 3.5 oz every 3 hrs. But, that is anecdotal so take it with a salt grain.

I would think that a quicker way to see if breast milk is the culprit at all would be to eliminate the source. Keep pumping to maintain production, but only give your baby formula for a week. Our choice and preference has always been to breast feed, so I understand what might be your strong principles on the matter. But, it would be for a week, and it would be for a good cause. You might even consider doing a soy formula to see if the problem is actually lactose. I don't know.

In any case, you won't find any one answer for how a 2 month old baby should be. My second daughter slept a lot. I would say she was only awake maybe 6-8 hours a day. I was concerned, but it was normal for her.

You might want to consider mylicon drops and/ or gripe water. And watch out for too much stimulation like TV, excessive lights, and screaming 3 year olds. And a rigid nap routine. Naps in her crib only at 9am and 1pm and an early bed time of 6:30 to over-compensate for the accumulated lack of sleep. She might be over-tired.

Best of luck to you. Remember that colic usually only lasts for 3-6 months. You won't be in the shit forever. Your situation is different and my suggestions are merely what worked for me. Feel free to take it or leave it at your discretion, obviously.

We have been very fortunate with our three boys. Each baby did not have anything like colic or reflux. So, the constant crying was never an issue. However, I must say that "normal" is a huge category. Although we never dealt with the crying issue, none of our boys truly "slept through the night" until they were almost 1 yr old. With all three babies, it has always been a chain of approximately 2 hour naps at night with up to 45 minutes of awake time in-between. Tough on a breastfeeding mom, but not as bad as what you describe.

So, I am saying that "normal" can look like a lot of things. I don't think a complete end to the crying would be normal, but definitely, periods of awake happy time would be a good indicator that baby is feeling better. Sleeping at night would not necessarily be an indicator that you should expect for "normal."

My nap advice also came from my interpretations of Weissbluth's book, for what it's worth. So, that is two recommendations for Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child.

-I found the baby whisperer to be a wonderful book.
It has answers for alot of the questions your asking IMHO.

http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Baby-Whisperer-Connect-Communicate/dp/0345440900/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203799321&sr=8-1

Chef Kev

Put salt and pepper on it, if that doesn't work smother it in cheese ( marvelous cheese, so scrumptious and lovely)

My son had colic as well and the story is the same. After three months of sleepless nights and days a friend of ours suggested we try Hylands Colic tablets, and this is not a plug. It did not get rid of the colic but what it did was calm him down quickly and we were able to put him to sleep for a few extra hours per night. Check with your Doctor, ours said it was fine and it was definatly a big help. Also to aide digestion our doctor had us supplement breast milk with a soy based formula or try a lactose free formula. We mixed half / half and slowly increased the amount of breast milk. That helped also.

We did not sleep for the first two years. She had it bad and was always fussy. We tried the car rides, top of a dryer (worked pretty good), rocking in a safe recliner (because I could sleep and she would be perfectly content), and several other things.

I sang to her whatever words come to my mind, used televison and music. As time went on she grow out of it and it scared us to death the first time she slept through the night.

With my son, we did not have that trouble. Both of our kids were breastfed also, and we also went through the food allergy list trying to assess our daughter. Our Indian (from India) doctor (absolutely coolest doctor) would suggest things he knew parents to try from India but I cannot recall what the stuff was.

My father-in-law (a pharmicist) tried to get us to use goat's milk but my daughter spent most of her time spitting up whatever we gave her.

I'll say a prayer for your family that this will clear up quickly for your little girl. As you know from the first, it goes away with time. Just not very reassuring when you are only getting two hours a sleep though. Do not worry about it too much. If she is gaining weight and the doctor says she is healthy, then keep plugging along.

Also, keep talking about it. It helps get through those frustating moments when you feel absolutely helpless and feel like pulling your hair out.