Big Baby Fussy Most of Day

Could be allergy to formula, she could just be colicky. My first cried every day for 6 months, always from 5 to 10 at night, and fed every 2 hours 24 hours a day. I carried her in a sling which helped a lot - she would stay calmer and I could get things done. If it is colic, it will go away on its own. I would check with the doctor for advice, but getting a sling might help. Baby can lay down and sleep or sit up more (later when older) instead of those Bjorn type carriers where they have to sit up all the time.

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When you feed her, just let her have an ounce or so and burp her, then another ounce, and burp, and so on. Then dont lay her down after eating for a while. Use a swing or vibating seat to keep her head higher than her tummy. Hold her as often as you can/want, but if you need to put her down, make sure she is upright a bit. It might help. If its hot where you are, make sure shes not dressed too warm and uncomfortable. Not too much loud or visual stimulation helps too. Also when you lay her on her back to sleep, roll up a small blanket and put it under her legs so she feels more snuggled. Or swaddle her if she wont be too warm.

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Hi N.,
Have you tried babywearing? Look into the Moby Wraps- they are around $40 and are fantastic. There is a learning curve but you can go to youtube.com and they walk you thru the different kind of holds. Once you practice a few times it will become 2nd nature to do the wrap. My dd is 5 weeks and I carry her in my moby all the time while I'm doing things around the house.

Good Luck!

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Could be.

(Certain kinds of formula made my son violently ill... other kinds made him super cranky. In the end the only one that worked for us was Enfamil Lipl PREMIXED. Oy. Just *had* to be the expensive one, didn't it kiddo?)

Also could be gas.

Also could be she's still hungry.

(My 10lb baby ate apx 20oz per feeding from 2 weeks - 9mo, and then switched to formula and he ate 12oz of formula per feeding... As a newborn he took half an hour to eat it, 45-60 minutes of marathon burping*, went 2 hours, and then ate again and went to sleep)

Now... 20oz is an outlier, but when you're dealing w/ a 10lb baby... that's the size of a lot of 6mo olds. They tend to eat a LOT more than a 6lb baby (typically about twice as much).

* My son gulped air when he ate AND was a 'spitter'. AKA would lose half an ounce or so at the least provocation. Tried 'everything', but nothing really helped. Maybe a little, but not enough to be noticeable. On accident one night my fussy baby turned into the world's happiest baby. I was exhausted at some oh-dark-thirty feeding, and was reading a book to stay awake. When he finished eating I put him over my shoulder and just started patting. Well, it was an exciting part of the book. I just kept rocking and patting his back and wasn't paying attention when an hour later BwwwwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaRRRRRP! Dinosaur Burp!

Oh. My. God. How did that much air come out of you??? Anyhow... learned the trick of marathon burping right then and there. In the first few minutes he'd get a 'normal' burp, usually with a little spitup, but if I just kept on for another 30-60 minutes he'd have a dinosaur burp.

After that, no more fussy baby. At least, as long as I fed him whenever he started licking his lips. If for any reason I couldn't feed him right then and there he'd get *snarky* and then refuse to eat 10min later when I COULD feed him. I think similar to being overtired. I'd actually have to squirt milk into his mouth over his full body protests, and then he'd latch and get super happy again.

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Gas

For gas, use Mylicon Infant Gas Drops.

Burp her often.

However, my daughter was like that, and RARELY burped or farted, though I tried.
It made her very fussy.
The Mylicon helped a lot.

When babies are uncomfortable or in pain, (ie: maybe from gas pain) they do get 'clingy' and want Mommy. It is their only way of getting help.
My Daughter was like that too. I had to hold her constantly and she was very fussy.
My daughter as an infant, was also very sensitive to the environment and to noises. Even a toilet flushing down the hall, would wake her screaming.

Each baby is different.
My son was very easy, compared to my daughter.

Try feeding her formula, a little at a time.
Maybe she cannot yet, because she is so young, she cannot calibrate how much she is taking in. Since bottles are by gravity.

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Sometimes when babies spit up after eating they are just overflowing, eatng too fast at one time and taking in too much air. Be sure to burp her frequently during the feeding. As long as sh is just spitting up and not vomitting I would say "no worries". Just feed her more slowly and give her more burps. Congrats! Also, since she want s to be held all the time and you have 2 other kids, I suggest a front carrier. She just wants her mom! Front carriers are really helpful.

My son is 8 weeks and he has a lot of the same symptoms. He has Sandifer's Syndrome, which is GERD with Torticollis...it also has some other symptoms. But, I would try switching to playtex dropins because then you can squeeze all the air out of the bottles when you give it to her. She should try and eat every 2 hours so that you aren't overwhelming her tummy with a lot of food so often. Its easier on them. I like the idea of the Dr Brown bottles, but since they are continuous flow to stop air from getting in the baby can't stop and take a breath if she needs to. Playtex also makes a natural latex nipple that seems to make a difference because it is more natural feeling, and both my kids cannot stand silicone. Gerber makes a binky/pacifer that is shaped similarly and is latex as well. This is a lifesaver!!!

As for food, try soy formula and see what happens. If she cries less, but still cries, then try a hypoallergenic formula like Similac's Alimentum. This is what I have to use for my son. Also, he was intolerant of my breastmilk and so the doctor had me stop feeding him. He is doing much better now.

Look up GERD and see if she has the symptoms, but if she does baby wearing in a sling does not work and is actually not recommended because it squishes the neck and makes the acid come up easier. For the GERD part of his problems, he takes Zantac 1ml/3x a day and Mylanta 1ml as needed. The zantac is prescription but the Mylanta isn't so try that and see what happens. You can get an oral syringe from the pharmacy for free. Try to give it to her slowly as she sucks on her pacifer. If she calms down, then the medicine is working as it neutralizes the acid.

Sleeping is hard if you are trying to lay her down flat. The ideal way to sleep is a 30 or 40 degree angle. My little guy sleeps in his Graco Sweetpeace Soother because it swings and sits him up too. A swing or soother is vital to your sanity!!!

I know this can be very frustrating, but it can be managed, but you have to be proactive for your baby. My daughter went through this also, but she wasn't diagnosed with anything and so I had to figure it out all on my own, and this time around it was easier to know what to do. I wish you luck and if you need more help or want someone to just talk to, let me know. You can get through this if you can get it undercontrol.

It sounds like the formula. It's not too late to breastfeed but you'd have to ease into it to get a full milk supply, probably pumping as well as nursing for awhile. Don't know why you decided not to do this but it's virtually impossible for babies to not tolerate their moms' milk.

GERD/Acid Reflux? Do a search and read the symptoms to see if they match. :)

Sounds like acid reflux to me as well. My son had it . After I changed to a rice base formula and started using Dr. Brown's bottles it was drastically better!!

Riley, do you really mean 20 oz/feeding? That's 2 1/2 bottles!

I agree with your info about burping. Sometimes my granddaughter is fine after the first burp and other times it takes a 1-2 more. And stopping mid feeding to burp is also important.

My granddaughter, who is now 10 weeks old and weighs around 10 lbs. only eats 12-16 oz./day. This doesn't count night time feedings. She weighed 7 lbs/2 oz at birth. She's a happy rolly polly breast fed baby. Her mom works and pumps so she's bottle fed during the day.

get her checked for acid reflux and also talk to your pediatrician she may need more but it sounds like acid reflux to me

My son was born at 10 lbs 11 oz and one of my daughters was 9 lbs 7 oz...and neither one was like that. They were both a bit pukey, though. I'm pretty sure at that age they were going about three hours between feedings. Though there were times they wanted to nurse more often. I've never bottle fed a newborn, so I'm not sure how different it would be. But some of my babies have wanted to nurse more than every three hours.

The reason I shared my babies' sizes was because I don't think it has anything to do with her size. My 7 lbs baby was my fussy one (out of my four). Some babies are just fussier than others. I'd make sure she isn't dealing with reflux issues that are bothering her. Formula can most definitely cause some upset in babies. Maybe try a different kind?

Also, someone else mentioned it, but have you tried wearing her? I carry my babies almost all the time when they are that little. I have a baby carrier I use. They love it and are usually quite content and happy. Plus, it frees up my arms to care for the other ones! Even if they are a big baby, they are still pretty little and easy to carry at that age.

Is she pooping okay? My son (the almost 11 lb one) had issues with pooping. He would fuss and cry for a couple hours. It was hard figuing out what the problem was. To make a long story short, I realized he needed to be laid down on his back to poop. My other big baby seemed somewhat similar but not as severe. My son would poop very quickly after being laid down. It seemed odd to me, but he's outgrown it and is fine. I'm not sure if big babies do that more?

Good luck!