Is this CIO?

Well if you are there with him and soothing him it is not CIO... I think CIO is more when you plop him in the crib and leave the room... like "okay, I can't deal with you and so you're on your own".

It sounds like maybe he is gassy, or just fussy. I don't know how old he is and so it is hard to say. Do you have a big yoga ball? I know that this always worked for us when our babe was young, and gassy and just couldn't settle down. You sit on it and hold the baby and bounce and bounce and bounce If you don't have one, or that doesn't work - I'm sure you have tried most of these, but what about walking in a stroller or driving in a car? A warm bath, or a tummy massage?

I think sometimes if a baby just needs to cry to let the stress out (which IMO is a real thing) it is a different kind of cry then the "oh my gosh my tummy hurts" cry... in which case the bouncey ball won't work as well. My baby only had to do this occaissionally and not every night.

Good luck.
Nancy

definately not CIO.

He has real reasons to cry, whatever they may be and should be allowed to cry. it's his only way of getting his message across. anti-CIO isn't about shutting the kid up and never allowing his to cry, its about NOT lditching them alone when their too young to understand or ask for help for you're own covience.

there is a huge difference in letting a baby cry and making a baby CIO ykwim?

FWIW, my babes both cried a lot as babies reguardless of who held them. both very colicky, gassy and refluxy. nothign I did help really. and sometimes I even did have to put them in the crib/bed/sofa alone for a bit just so I could back away for a bit and think. hearing a kid cry ALL DAY LONG and not knowing what to do will send you into a break down quickly! not for CIO purposes, but b/c I was about to fall apart and it was scaring me!

have you considered giving them gas drops? if that didn't help I'd ask a pratitioner for advice b/c he's cryign for a reason. try to figure out why. a thrashing cry isn't *usually* justa tired cry. usually it's a pain cry.... then again you'd know better b/c he's yours! =) trust your instincts over anything else.

I appreciate your opinions. Sometimes it's just so hard to hear your baby cry and cry and think that maybe there's something ELSE you should be doing. Yes, he's gassy and fussy and we've tried nearly everything. We're just waiting for him to outgrow it now.
~Wendi

mine did that until about 3 months...or slightly less-- maybe 2.75 months
dr.sears calls it "happy hour", but for us happy hour got draaaaaawn out most of the time. Now he is fine and is FINALLY letting dad soothe him successfully

Not much longer for you is my guess!

Try going for a walk outside in the evenings during his fussy period. My son was like this and the outdoors tended to soothe him.

Thank you everyone...I appreciate your help. When he gets like that, we go down a list of things to try. I can't imagine that it's anything but fussiness on his part because it's only during a certain time of day. He is gassy and poopy all day, but it doesn't bother him any other time of day. Make sense? I was so worried about it and finally just accepted that he's a sensitive baby and that we will just have to let time work it all out.
By the way, I love the "Happy Hour" quote! Too bad alcoholic drinks can't be involved!!

Wendi