Holding Baby ALL DAY!

if you have the car seat carrier, try putting him in that to sleep. He may like the sense of been cuddled up. You can even set the carrier in the crib.

It's not a bad thing to let them cry it out for a bit. it's harder on you because you have to hear it, but at some point they have to learn it's okay to sleep on their own.

My second son slept in his car seat! He'd fall asleep in our arms but once he was laid down he woke up! Also, my third son loves activities. I have to constantly change the scenery. He goes from a walker, to the play pen, to his bouncer, to my arms, to a play mat on the floor...all day!

Please do not take this the wrong way, but I had to watch this video before I could take my baby home that I think has some good ideas in it about what you are talking about. It was about Shaking The Baby. Now I know you are not going to do that, but did you have to watch it too? If not, contact the hospital and see if they have a copy. One of the most important thing this movie stressed is that it is OK for you to put your baby in a safe place-crib, bassinet, car seat or with someone you trust, and let the baby cry. It should be somewhere where it wont bother YOU as much. I know this sounds cruel, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do for your owe sanity. I had to do this with baby #2 because she was extremely caulicy. It was a tough time and my son was 5 at the time and couldnt understand why I was spending all the time with the baby and not with him. It made the decision to put her in the room alone for a while easier. But whenever I could, I had a baby carrier that I put her in and then I could be on the floor with my son and she got to be held too. I recommend this movie, not because I think you are going to hurt your baby, but because it is a great resource that CAN help you get thru this time with your baby. Please know I am not trying to be offensive, just helpful. Like I said, I had to watch it before I could take the baby home from the hospital. Its a great movie and has many more hints as to how to deal with a crying baby. Good Luck!

I just wondered if you have had him checked for reflux. Maybe he is hurting and that is why he is screaming all the time. The reason I say this is because this is what our son did, but he was much younger. I guess it is worth a try!!

Pam M

My second son was the same way. We used a Moby wrap, and that was the only was I was able to take care of my 3 yr old. Now that the baby is 5 months old he is much better at entertaining himself since he can sit up. If you go to Milkworks they sell Moby wraps and will let you try it on with the baby before you decide if you want to purchase one.

Do you have a sling or a baby carrier? I can understand it would be frustrating, but he's only 3 months removed from being held all the time. Maybe he's having a longer adjustment period than your other kids?!

Good luck!

B.

My son was like this as well. What worked for us was us using a baby sling. We had a Moby Wrap,and I'd wrap him to my chest or back,and he'd be content for hours in it. I had my 3 year old daughter to care for so I understand where you're coming from.

A great site for different kind of carriers is thebabywearer.com.

I was in the same situatiom a couple of weeks ago. I have a 3 mos old son and a 3 year old daughter that I stay at home with. My son wanted to be held all the time too and one night my husband was out of town and I was out of ideas so I just put the baby in his crib and let him cry it out. He cried for a good hour, and believe me, it was hard, but it worked. I had to start doing that during the day too, to get him to take a nap and he fought it for a couple of days, but he is now starting to take naps very well in his swing. It has taken a good week to get him to nap, but I am happy to say he is napping now as I type!

I would also suggest getting a Bumbo seat if you do not already have one. If your son is strong enough to hold his head up on his own, he should be able to sit in it by himself. My son loves it because he can look around and feel like he is part of the action. During the day I put him in it on the table and I am able to sit next to him and play a board game with my daughter. It is also great during mealtimes.

I agree with Jodi. It's important to find out if your baby is milk and/or soy protein intolerant. My daugter and my sister's daughter have that, and of course if you are breastfeeding you need to eliminate those proteins from your diet. (I breastfed and used formula since I didn't have a lot of milk.) Reflux was also a problem for both of them. When they cry constantly, it can mean they are in pain. My daughter could sleep if I held her upright, but would cry if I laid her down. Even elevating one end of the crib did not work. Eventually her doctor found the right combination with Neocate formula and Prilosec for the reflux. Wish we could have used to that much sooner! It really was a nightmare until we found something that worked for her (couldn't work, couldn't sleep much, and she was obviously in pain...)

I do hope you will be able to resolve this soon and definitely understand what you are going through! Feel free to email if you need someone to chat with.

M.

I have two Ideas for you to try the fist is to swadle him in a blankent pretty tightly as you rock him to sleep then try laying him down he he will still fell like he is being held the second is to place him in a swing to sleep the rocking motion should help him stay asleep longer

Hope this helps

Drea

My son was like this until he could sit up on his own (5mo.) and then crawl around(8 months). He really just wanted to be a part of the action.

I would suggest getting or making your own baby carrier. I made my own out of some old sheets that I had (using the directions off a great website). It was the BEST thing i ever do! He was content because I was "holding" him, but i had both my hands free.

Let me know and i can email you the website.

Just hang in there! Once he gets old enough to sit up investigate things for himself, he'll be more content.

You could try scheduling his day. Give him a nap-time with whatever rituals he enjoys when you put him to sleep at night. My son does CD's. I give him kisses, put the CD on and then walk out. A couple times he had a fit, but he got over it and now he has a deep appreciation for Elliott Smith and Johnny Cash....

I know all about this A.. My second daughter was a hold-me-all-day-or-I-will-scream-my-head-off kind of baby. What made it worse was - she didn't sleep through the night until she was like seven months old. Come to find out, everything I was eating (she was breast-fed) was making her tummy hurt. When we finaly gave up trying to figure out what foods I could and could not eat, and switched her to soy formula, it turned out she was allergic to it! The we switched her to Alimentum and she was much happier and more willing to do other things besides being held.

I remember one day calling my mother, who lived an hour away and telling her that I was just about to go off the deep end because of the constant crying and need of being held. She came down and gave me about a four-hour break to just go out and about and get away. That gave me enough of a recharge that I was able to handle the stress when I returned.

Maybe someone could give you a little break - even if it's only for four hours, some times that's all it takes.

Another thing - we used to sit out on our front porch on the porch swing for hours and watch cars go by, people walk by, etc. and that would calm her down. I could bring a book to keep my mind alive, and we would just swing and swing.

My oldest daughter was seven at the time and I felt so bad for her because she was stressed out by the either constant crying or me only paying attention to the baby. I had to make an effort to have my husband stay with the baby on his day off from time to time so I could have alone time with just her.

One other point that I hope can offer you some comfort is that looking back now...I remember the stressed out feeling I had during the early moments (and they are just moments in the grand scheme of things) of her life, but it was over pretty fast. Now she's still a higher-maintenence kid (drama queen to be more specific) than my first child (who was not a crier as a baby - I don't know if that's related or not), but life just keeps getting easier. And it most likely will keep getting easier for you.

There is nothing wrong with holding your baby either, by the way. And, there's nothing wrong with setting the baby down in a safe place and walking away for a while. A baby won't get hurt from crying! If you need a break, mental or physical, this is what I would do!

There are some great front-carriers too. That will take the pressure off of and free up your arms, and most carriers now offer good support for your back too.

My daycare provider just had a baby six weeks ago, and she carries him everywhere in this great little carrier.

REMEMBER THIS TOO: Carrying a baby around with you is the best form of weight training you can do. It's constant and the baby just keeps getting bigger. Your arms and back will be so strong by the time that baby grows up!

Time goes fast. This too shall pass.

God bless.
-J.

I'm sure I'm not saying anything that you haven't already heard. There is some great advice. I was trying to breast feed my son and it just want's working out. My Dr. Wasn't much help I kept on asking could he be alirgic and he said NO that's imposable. But my gut was saying that's what it was. So we went to formula and then went to soy. That was the only thing that would help some. Still at 8 months he would cry and cry if he wasn't on a routine and had everything done just so. He's very set in his ways now, but that's not such a bad thing. He did out grow it but is a very picky eater now. With time things will get better. You would think that after doing this 3 other times you would have it down but they are all diffrent. I'm sure it will get easier.

I am a mother of four boys. They are now 21, 16, 13 and 10 and luckily don't need to be held all the time now...lol!! My second son thought he needed to be held all the time, by mommy only, I didn't even have the luxury of letting someone else take over for me. What I finally did. I had a silk shirt of mine, he loved the feel of it and evidentally the mommy smell, so when I would lay him down I would put the silk shirt in the bed with him, along with a teddy bear. The teddy bear added the weight, making him think I was right there with him still. This made my life much easier and I was actually able to move freely again.
The down side to this was, he carried this shirt till almost three, and I then had to pry it out of his arms. However, I feel it was easier to break him of that.
The up side, he is now 16 years old and we are very close. We are able to communicate about everything. I couldn't ask for a more responsible 16 year old today :). Chin up, it will pay out in the end.
Good luck hon!!
H.