Fussiness/ Crying

[Snapdragon]

what to do?!!
My 6 wk old has gotten so so fussy-crying a lot! It don't thin kit is food related on my part as I am aware of the gassy foods and don't eat much of that. I do have him on a pacifier which settles him- until it falls out.
Breastfeeding is going perfectly and all so I know he isn't hungry or anything. I try to get him to sleep as much as possible as he is much happier (and am I0 when he sleeps a lot during the day. But lately it is so hard to get him to sleep in the day.
It is so mot fun though.He likes it in the bjorn so dh and I try to wear him as much as possible. But I wish in general he would sleep more easily and not cry so much when he is awake.
Right now he is in the bouncy chair with the vibration on and he is not crying but I am anticipating cries at any second.
sigh- what to do?!! Iam getting so frustrated and this crying is wiping the fun out of raising a baby right now!!
ANyone else's babby fussy? Anything that works? HOw do I get him to sleep in the day more? I walk him in the pram for hours, rock him hold him do everything when I know he needs to sleep and he will fight sleep and then fuss!

[jenfl]

Yup, fussy baby here, too. It tends to peak at week 6 and then slowly decrease. It's normal -- check out the "Evening Fussiness" thread in April for more of us commiserating!

The only thing I know of that's got some science behind it for helping with fussiness is probiotics. I've just started my 4-week old on them. http://pediatrics.aappublications.or...ull/119/1/e124

[gardenmommy]

BTDT. Doing it again. Please don't beat yourself up. If there's anything I've learned after 5 babies, it's that babies don't cry to make you miserable, so don't take it personally. Sometimes they just need to express themselves, and they really have no way to communicate except through crying. There may be something bothering them that has no obvious fix, and that's ok. Just do what you can to make them comfortable, and let the mommy guilt go.

The big things:
Clean diaper
Recently fed and burped
Comfortable clothes
Swaddled (or not, depending on what baby prefers)
Wearing the baby (if they don't like one carrier, try another)
Walking, singing, swaying, bouncing on a ball or trampoline, rocking in a rocking chair, walking outside, being in a stroller (or not).
Carrying baby in the colic carry ("drape" baby over your arm between your hand and elbow, baby's tummy to your arm)
Pacifier
Lay baby down and leave them alone. Sometimes they are just overstimulated and need a break.

I think that around 6 weeks there is a big growth spurt, as well as a developmental growth spurt where babies become more aware of their surroundings. However, they aren't really very good at making sense of that new awareness, which means that they become fussy until they figure out what is going on. And then, there are the babies that are just needier of being in arms than others. Sometimes, they just want to participate more in their environment, but can't, and it frustrates them.

I'm sorry you are dealing with this. You are a good mom, and you are best suited to take care of your baby. If you feel overwhelmed, find someone who can give you a few minutes to yourself. If there isn't anyone who can help you, put the baby somewhere safe, close the door, and walk away for 10 minutes. It is much better to let your baby cry for 5 or 10 minutes while you compose yourself, than to stay there and do something you regret later.

[Plummeting]

Maya is my second, but she's nothing at all like DD1, who required constant holding and nursed all the time (seriously, like 25 times a day - for two hours at a time sometimes and then other times she'd need to nurse for 2 minutes 4 times in an hour) but who was happy as long as you did that. Maya spends a lot of time seeming pretty unhappy. I pace the floors with her in a sling or carrier for hours sometimes, because if I stop moving she starts crying. So I really do understand how very, very stressful it can be, and even as a second timer, this is all new to me, since DD1 wasn't like this.

It might not be that getting more sleep makes him feel better, but rather that on days he feels better he sleeps more, so I wouldn't worry so much on the days he doesn't sleep a lot. There's probably nothing you can do to make him sleep, and spending a lot of time focusing on that one aspect of it all will probably stress you out more.

Mothering a newborn can be seriously difficult!!!

[Bethla]

Ds seems like he's only content when nursing or in his swing. I'm starting to feel like he doesn't like me

[Snapdragon]

Originally Posted by Bethla

Ds seems like he's only content when nursing or in his swing. I'm starting to feel like he doesn't like me

oh that is a hard feeling. Sometimes being a mom brings up all these hard feelings like that!
Someone suggested trying to get ds down for a nap at the 1st sign of sleepiness so right now, 1 hour into the day, I have him reclined in the bouncer with his paci and the vibration on. I see the eyelids drooping so let's hope!

Another thing is- more testimony to how much better it is when other loving adults or older kids are around to assist- yesterday after a long stressful lots of crying day, some relatives came over at supper time. A 12 and 10 yr old girl (ds's aunts). when he started to get fussy they had loads of energy to soothe him, had fun changing his diapers, holding him- and they weren't an exhausted burnt out touched out mom! Anyway, it is nice to have help once in a while. I figure ds probably gets bored of just me for 11 hour stretches too!