Very Fussy Baby

Hi M.,

My Pediatrician told me that month 1 and month 2 is usualy when newborns are the crankiest and cry the most.

My son doesn't cry much - born Nov 3rd but my daughter did at this age.
Swaddling helps. Also, what I do with my son when he is fussy is I put him in a playing position, propped with the boppy pillow, sideways with a mirror etc and often it is that he's "bored" of the view and wants something new or is tired of the same position.

Expect him to cry "for no reason" also. ;)

My children were extremely cranky and whiny when they had an ear infection. Congratulations on the new baby.

I did not read any of the others here so I hope I do not repeat. I gave BOTH my kids from 1 week on Colic Tablets. LORD they are wonderful. They are for a lot of things. Gas, Colic, teething......When you say he is kicking it seems to be like he has an upset tummy mine would kick and be SO MAD I would give em a tablet and BOOM they would be fine. I would only give him 1 and see how he does and do it again if not better. I STILL give my son 17 mo some before bed to be save of anything he ate. He is doing SO MUCH better sleeping now at night through the day is another story. Hope things get better for you try to get one of those sleeper pad things for him to lay on sort of on his side but not all the way. It helps them to not roll over can not think of the name of it but I had my kids on those as well. ALSO get a Happy Tummy it is good for upset tummy and works really nice also. It is a pad you warm up VERY LITTLE and put inside the pouch and wrap it around tummy for the warmth and it will help as well. Hope it gets better for you. I have been there and done that so I know what you are going through. Good Luck.... happitummys.com is the website ALSO tablets Colic ones are ALL NATURAL so they are save for him. SAHM of 2 Avery 4 and Quentin 17 mo....

Does he get fussier after taking his bottle? Does he arch his back when he is screaming? If so he may have reflux. All 3 of my girls had this. They all had a little different symptoms but the fussiness 30 minutes after feedings was the same and the arching their backs. And my oldest had hiccups all the time and the doc said that was a classic sign of reflux. None of them spit up much but they responded great to zantac. My oldest would even cry in her sleep. They tried to say it was colic but I kept telling them it was something else. But when she quit eating because she learned everytime she ate it hurt I decided to take her to childerns and that is where I learned exactly what it was. They put her on zantac and was a totally different baby. I hope this helps.

It sounds like colic. My son had a very rough time with it. His lasted 8 months. He never had trouble with passing gas or bowel movements either. Colic is when gas gets trapped in their diaphram area. It causes stomach pain until they burp away the pressure. I would recommend getting a couple of the colic bottles that allow the air to escape out of the bottle so that when he is feeding then it will be less likely that he will swallow air. These work if you are breastfeeding as well because you can pump milk and alternate between the bottle and breast. You may also consider talking to your doctor about lactose intolerance. He may have a mild intolerance that is upsetting his stomach and making him uncomfortable. Don't panic if he is lactose intolerant because most kids grow out of it in time.
Also try to feed him in smaller amounts before you burp him. Such as 1-2 ounces at a time, then wait until he burps. If he has a sensitive stomach this may ease his discomfort. Of course if you are breastfeeding then it is hard to tell. This worked for my son and he seemed to have a better time with his colic. I tried those gas drops as well and they didn't help, my son just made an awful face because they taste nasty. Yes I tried them, ewww!!
Another thing that my son's doctor suggested to me was to have him "sitting" up higher as he was feeding. Meaning as to not have him laying flat but adjusting him to a more seated position. This can be done by putting an extra pillow under your arm when he feeds. This will keep his head above his stomach and not allow as much gas to get trapped.
If he continues to have this discomfort and it gets to be more frequent for longer periods of time consider having your doctor do a complete blood work up in order to eliminate the possibility of it being something more serious. Again don't panic and remember if you are stressed then he is going to know and become stressed himself so try to make the environment as stress less as possible.

There's a book and video that might help: The happiest baby on the block. It goes through how to help fussy babies... it's probably just a phase, but you might want to call your pediatrican. Another option for a colicky baby is Hylands' colic tablets and also Colic Calm http://www.coliccalm.com/ both of which took the edge off my cranky colicky babe when she was small. Good luck, and take heart that the fussiness does pass in time, if it's just fussiness. The babe is probably just acclimating to being out of the womb. (p.s. my baby's birthday is also Dec. 2, a year ago!)

Two things, I aregee with the person who suggested swaddling. He might be needing to be feeling like he is still inside you and the wrapping of him will do that. NOw we just got through the holidays and being around a lot of people can pass colds, etc. He might be getting the start of a cold so just be patient this it the hardest part of the first year is the first 8 weeks. There might be a couple of times where you just sit with him and rock him to sleep and hold him the entire time. That way he can get the sleep he needs to get through this and you can have some peace for yourself. If you have a family member or a friend that lives close by during the day have them come over for an hour or two just so you can get some rest. You need to keep your health up as well.
Oh and one more thing if this still is concerning you then I would call the peditrician, they can always check him out.

It's likely the onset of a growth spurt. Both our daughters did this at about 5-6 weeks, where we couldn't feed them enough.

check for ear infections-- there are often no other symptoms. i usually put a drop of olive oil in each ear, it helps the ear drain if there is any problem.

could also be teething, although he's awfully young for that. my kids would teethe 3-4 times off and on for months before a tooth actually broke through...

my babies were fussy and LOVED bouncing on a big yoga ball on our laps-- it was way better than rocking or a swing or anything else!

I am no expert, but he may be having a growth spurt and be ready to increase his calorie intake. If your nursing it would mean needing to nurse a little more to increase your milk supply. If you feed formula it maybe time to increase the ounces per feeding. This may not be it at all but I know both of my sons got fussy around this same age due to a growth spurt. I don't know how you feel about getting on schedule but if you are at all interested, I highly recommend the book "On Becoming Babywise." It changed our lives! My first son didn't sleep all night consistently till he was 18 months. We used the Babywise schedule with my second son and he started sleeping all night at 13 weeks! Wow, sleep is wonderful! Good luck with your little guy.

Honestly, this sounds normal. When your baby wakes up, do you then feed him? And then is he happy again? Does he have a cold or did he just get over a cold? If he just got over a cold, it is very common for them to get ear infections after a cold during their first year. A sign of an ear infection is rubbing at their ear or crying when laying down. Congratulations on becoming a mommy!

He's very young but I would take him to his doctor to rule out an ear infection. I've run a daycare now for over 17 years and see this frequently. Good luck!

M.,

I am recommending an excellent tool for fussy newborn who have difficulty with sleeping. Dr. Harvey Karp pediatrician from UCLA has a program called "Happiest Baby on the Block". We used it with Jackson and it was amazing it focuses on the 5's of sloothing a crying and fussy baby. Based on The Five “S’s”Swaddling..... a feeling of pure “wrap” ture, Side (or Stomach) .....your baby’s “feel good” position, Shhhhhh...Your baby’s favorite Soothing Sound, Swinging....Moving in rhythm with your baby’s need. Sucking...The “icing on the cake!”. It is all based on newborn reflexes. It worked so well with our newborn and even now at 5 months. You can visit his website at happiestbaby.com. He has a DVD that is amazing and a book as well. He shows you all the techniquest. I found information through this website...familiesfirst-ec.org.
Dr. Karp theory is based on the newborn reflex and this method initiates that reflex. He states that it helps with colic.
C.

My son was incredibly gassy as a baby. I took him to the doc because he just didn't seem very comfortable. The doc said it was probably gas. I told him that he toots constantly, enough to clear a room! He said that it was probably gas. It can be incredibly uncomfortable. He told us to give him Mylecon drops every 4 hours until he grew out of it.
But then again I bet it's Colic! I almost forgot my son had the colic! It was awful!! There's nothing much you can do but try to comfort him. For my son if we put him in his swing he would calm down. You'll figure out what works for your baby.

I don't know if it quite sounds like colic (the other responder was right in giving the specifics of colic), but my daughter did get colic at about four weeks old. Our pediatrician recommended cutting out dairy, and it was like we had a new child! If you're breastfeeding, try no dairy for yourself, and if that doesn't seem to work, try cutting out soy. If your son is on formula, try switching to one that has no dairy. Sometimes newborns just don't have the digestive maturity to handle certain foods. We are still breastfeeding, and now at six months, I'm able to have some dairy again without it affecting her.

take him to see a chiropractor. He may be misaligned and it could be disturbing his sleep. My friend takes her new born every week right now and he is healthy and happy 24/7 .
It sounds like your baby is uncomfortable so I would definitly try a chiropractor.

I am going to suggest something I don't believe anyone else has. My baby did this and she was simply cold. I couldn't figure her out and she was my third baby and I felt terrible because I couldn't figure out why she was fussy. My dad had her one evening while we were at thier house and he snuggled with her. When she warmed up next to him, she was a very contented baby. They still like to be swaddled too. I'm sure someone has showed you how to swaddle a baby with the blanket. I would try wrapping her up and making sure she is warm enough and see what happens. It is very hard to know if a baby is warm enough or not this time of year. Our first baby was born Dec. 17 and our youngest was a 3 month old last Dec. It could be an ear infection since at that age you probably won't see them pulling at thier ears. Hang in there! You are a great mommy!!

My son had alot of ear infections when he was younger and had the same problems you are describing. I could tell that he was so tired but couldn't sleep. I knew it wasn't from being hungry and ruled out any other causes. The only thing we hadn't figured out was if he had an ear infection. When I called the pediatrician for an appointment they were leary of seeing him because he did not have a fever. Upon my insistence, they agreed to have him come in and he definitely had an ear infection. That was the start of many more to come, but fortunately I learned to read the signs and usually caught them before they got too bad. He is now 4 1/2 and hasn't had an ear infection in a couple of years.
My suggestion: Take him to the doctor!

I highly recommend the book "The Happiest Baby on the Block" by Dr. Harvey Karp, I believe. It shows all kinds of ways for soothing fussy babies such as swaddling them, bouncing them, white noise, etc. Our daughter would not sleep without the miracle blanket swaddler (www.miracleblanket.com).

If nothing works to soothe him, he may be having belly problems like a sensitivity to something in your breastmilk or his formula. Is he spitting up at all? That is a sign of reflux to look out for. My daughter was an exceptionally fussy baby, and it turned out that she had a milk protein allergy as well as severe reflux (but she was a constant spitter). If nothing works, a call to the pediatrician may be in order to rule out something more serious than simple fussiness.

Also, please know that colic is NOT a diagnosis. It is simply a word used to describe fussiness with no known cause. You have to figure out what the cause of the "colic" is to really treat it. Usually, it is a belly problem like reflux or a milk allergy. Good luck!

Hi M.,

My baby was the same way. Very fussy and some days would not sleep well and wake up whining for no reason. She was colic even though she passed gas and had bowel moments with no problem. The colic always seemed to take place in the early evening hours. We gave her gas drops, but that did not help. She outgrew this behavior around 7 or 8 weeks old. Probibly closer to 8 weeks now that I am remembering. Then she turned into an angel (until the teething started). Give it a few more weeks. I bet he will outgrow this as he is still very young yet. I know it is hard right now, but trust me it does get easier in time. Some days I would just sit and cry because my baby was so very fussy. But they do outgrow it soon enough. If you are really worried call your doctor, but I would bet that he outgrows this soon. Good luck and congrats on your little boy!

All 3 of my kids reached a very fussy stage at the 4 to 5 week point. Contrary to others, I don't think it sounds like colic. Colic is a VERY distinct period of EXTREME fussiness (ie- screaming) for at least 3 hours at a time at least 3 nights in a row, usually around the same time of day (we read alot about this with our 3rd child). HAving said this, I too recommend Colic Tablets. We used the Hyland's brand Colic Tablets (could only find them at Whole Foods) with EVERY bottle, and they were like a miracle. Just drop 2 tablets into the bottle to dissolve, easy. The instructions say to put it on your baby's tongue, but this NEVER worked for us. They didn't dissolve quick enough and our baby would gag on them.
Lastly, our pediatricia and everything I have read says that the fussiness usually peaks at 6 weeks. The exception to this would be colic- which may last a bit longer. In any case, by 12 weeks, you will think you have a whole new baby. Hang in there- and remind yourself often how quickly this precious baby time will seem to have flown by. Enjoy the quiet moments when they do come.

my daughter was like that and needed her formula switched it just wasnt sitting right and she had a belly ache now shes 7 monthes and a giggly lil wild child :) also check into colic he could be starting to have a mild case of colic i hope i could help a lil

Honestly, he sounds like a normal baby. They are mysterious creatures, and I had an especially hard time with sleep deprivation over the course of over 2 years. At his age, the onset of teething comes to mind. Try Hyland's teething tablets when he wakes up. Just slip a couple into his mouth. I would then nurse my baby back to sleep. You didn't mention your sleeping arrangements, but after trying various things, I found that the only way my baby would sleep at all was right next to me. I recommend reading Dr. William Sears' books, such as The Baby Book, Attachment Parenting, and Nighttime Parenting. Many babies will not sleep consistently through the night until the age of 2. It is normal for sleep patterns to change. Separation anxiety, temperament, illness, teething, developmental milestones, changes in routine... Any of these things and more can affect a baby's sleep. This is just how it is, and I found I coped better when I just accepted and surrendered to this, and also took naps as often as my husband could take the baby! Hang in there. It is a wonderful, agonizing journey! Blessings, R.