Cranky Baby

The book The Happiest Baby on the Block - wish i would have read it when my baby was 6 weeks and not 4 months! It goes thru the 5 S's. (swaddling, side/stomach,shhh'ing, swinging-any movement...car,rocking,swing- and last suck. in that order. It really helped us. She would have her stage from about 6-10 almost every night. for weeks. I found the book at Target, but it's also online. I belong to a group Fussy Baby group that many women recommended it and there is lots of tips there!

If it isn't gas, it might be growing pains. Even my older ones will still complain about growing pains in their legs later in the evening. I think if I was growing that fast I might cry too. The only thing you can do is distract her. Dryer rides, car rides. I'd give her mylicon and then bounce her around the house, read to her, hang her upside down, give her a baby massage... I thought colic was more of an all the time crying.

Colic. Many many theories on what causes it. Most compelling explanation is gas. If you are breastfeeding, I can offer some additional ideas on how to avoid it.

What to do in the middle of a screaming fit? There IS a quick fix and if I could show you rather than tell you it will be much easier but I will try:

This worked miracles for my kids, but it only works for as long as you keep moving, we called it "the baby bounce." A lactation consultant showed me how and she will have a place in my will. Hold baby as if she is seated in a chair, back to your chest so you are both facing same way, legs sticking straight out 90 degrees. One hand under her butt, the other bracing her chest with a forefinger and thumb cradling her chin to stabilize her neck and head. Now, with your feet about shoulder width apart, bend your knees but keep your own back/posture as straight as possible. Kind of like a grand plie in ballet. But do it kind of precipitously -- baby should feel as if the elevator is dropping out from under her. Come up a little more slowly. You get extra points for keeping your heels on/near the floor. It's exhausting initially, but after a while you can do hundreds of reps. Your rear end and abs will look fabulous and your quads will be ready for a triathlon. But more importantly, properly executed, the baby bounce can silence even the most enraged screaming baby in just 5-7 bounces (but then you may have to keep going to keep them quiet.) Mine sometimes went from screaming to sleeping in a minute or two. I think it just knocks the gas right out of them if you do it right. Do it facing a mirror, baby's face can be a hoot when you see the look of amazement passing over it.

It is the witching hour... many babies & kids go through that.
It is the transition of day to night.
She will grow out of it.
And yes, it is sometimes over-stimulation... for a newborn, even 1/2 hour of something can be very tiring and too long. Even a bath at this age, is an activity.
She is only 9 weeks... most all babies go through that.
And feed her on demand... this is a growth-spurt time as well. In a newborn, growth-spurts are every 3 weeks.... then from 3 months old and on, growth-spurts are every 3 months.

all the best,
Susan

My daughter was the exact same way , it's like she could tell the time , 5pm every day without fail she would start crying and be like that for a couple of hours until she went to bed. I think it's tiredness and until they get a littl older there is not much you can do about it.

It sounds like colic to me try some colic pills you can get them at any Health store. They are all natural so they will not hurt her. They worked wonders for my daughter. Also try running the vaccum cleaner, it is a nice distraction for a little bit. Sometimes give her a nice warm bath, that might sooth her and wrap her up tight in a blanket. Just some suggestions, hope something will work.

My son went through this also. Part of it was gassiness, and once I cut out milk (I kept eating cheese, yogurt etc) the fussiness went away completely.
Try it out for a couple weeks- no milk. If it works it saves nerves! :)
Good luck :)

Have you tried the Snuggle Me Cushion?? It helps with babies that have coliv and Acid Reflux, plus more. Let me know if you want some information on the cushion.

My mom informed me about what she (and her generation) called the 'arsenic hour(s)' when my son was about that age. He's now 11 months old and still is more cranky around that time period than any other time of day. He's always been a pretty happy baby, but it never fails that between 4 and 8pm he gets a little bit of an attitude. Not much fun for mommies, but we have the tools to adapt better than anyone, right?! It really helped me hearing about this supposed baby phenomenon, so I hope it might help you, too. I'm sure the reason is what others have posted....they're just more pooped at this time of day than any other. And we all know that a pooped baby can be a very fussy one! Hang in there, honey....this, too, shall pass. :)

It sounds like colic. Both of my kids had it and half the time I was crying with them. I was sleep deprived and felt like a horrible mommy because I couldn't comfort them. With our daughter it would sometimes help if I put something warm on her tummy. I tried gripe water with her but I'm not sure that it really helped. Massaging her tummy would sometimes help too. My sister-in-law used a baby yoga move with our niece that really worked for her and helped my kids a little too. Lay your baby on her back, grab her feet and push her knees up to her chest. Hold them there for a few seconds, release and repeat. Baby gas relief drops helped our son. I also tried a colic pad with him. It's a pad that has a small massage ball in it (like in a massaging chair). I used it a few times with him and it seemed to help. But, not long after I bought the pad he outgrew the colic. I paid $30 for it, used it only a handful of times, and couldn't return it. If you would be intereseted in trying the colic pad send me an email. Good luck! It's a miserable time but they do outgrow it.

i would bet it is gas...have your tried mylicon drops?? worked like a charm for me....also, i would put the baby stomach down on a rocking foot rest with little pressure on her back...this helps get the gas out of her tummy...once she burped or tooted, she was back to normal.

I love the previous poster's description of the baby bounce. When my new daughter went through several months of 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. colic, the only thing that helped her overwhelming misery was fairly active jogging and back patting.

Usually it worked to support her firmly with her belly against my chest, and walk and sway, landing firmly on my heels with each step. On the occasions when she was still wailing, I'd pat her back with each step. I would almost say pounding, but that's because she seemed otherwise so tiny and fragile. But it was a firm and decisive pat, and it seemed to soothe her consistently when nothing else worked.

My grandson had a very good response to the swaying and heel-jogging, too. I never needed to use the back-patting with him.

Good luck. It is exhausting, but it can really soothe your tiny new person. And talk about exercise…!

could be collick.
when my son got that way, i would wrap him tight and hold him close to me, or put him in sling and go for a walk

My youngest was like that. Try to wrap her in a snuggie (or something similar) and put her in a swing that worked for me. Also I have watched parenting videos and there are many other ways... If you want I can find my old notes and send you some stuff. Congrates on the baby!

Sounds to me like she might have a case of colic. In this situation, there are lots to be suggested, but not a guarantee that any remedy will work. My son was the same way for about 8 weeks. I bought this Colic Ease off of the internet and you give it to them up to 3 times a day. Supposed to lessen the amount of gas in their tummy's, but doesnt always work. We tried car rides, walking around with him, bouncing him.. nothing worked. Unfortunately, you might just have to ride this one out. Colic usually doens't last very long, but it can be extremely overwhelming and tiring! Another thing you could try is laying her flat on her back and taking her little legs and pushing them up against her tummy, you might get some little gas farts out, which in turn, might work.... hang in there!

Colic is usually at it's worst or can only be from 6 to 10. It is defined as being inconsolable with no medical cause basically. Sounds like exactly what you have on your hands. Don't worry though it usually goes away by 3 months worst case and you are nearly there. I feel your pain I had that but now I have a 5 month old and I look back and think it wasn't so bad. How the memory can change things but I was ready to rip my hair out because I felt like a bad mom who couldn't help my baby. But in all actuality there was nothing I could do.

Oh and we tried the gripe water, smithicone drops, swaddiling, rocking... none of it works. Everyone had a suggestion but nothing worked for us which made us even more upset because this worked for everyone why wasn't it working for us. So if all the suggestion you get don't work don't feel terrible. They don't work for everyone.

we went through that as well. I think that most babies go through that. Sometimes when it got really out of hand, we turned on white noise, like a hair dryer and it completely calmed our daughter down. Also, if you think it's colic, I'd go see a chiropractor. Both my cousin and nephew were super cranky at times and after going to the chiropractor a few times, they were cured. It's pretty amazing really. Even if it's not colic, chiropractors are really good.