11 Week Old NEVER Content!!!!

My second son was the same. My oldest was 22 months at the time. I found that if I put him in a Baby Bjorn or other upright sling, he was fine. Even now, at 19 months, he is much more likely to come and say he needs me to pick him up than his older brother was. But that's just him, and I've come to love that about him!

My youngest never took a pacifier either. I would feed him, sling him, and walk outside. While my youngest played in the yard or on the playground, I would walk. He'd fall asleep that way. Then I swaddled him very well and snugly and laid him down. If I didn't swaddle him just right, he'd wake up screaming. Swaddling really helps!

Good luck, honey. It does not last forever... thank goodness!

Have you thought about visiting a chiropractor? I've never done this, but I've talked with a lot of parents with colicky babies or other issues and they said it helped a lot. They have ones that specialize in babies and kids.

I also wanted to warn against "on being babywise." as far as I know it is the only parenting book that the American Academy of Pediatrics has actually came out with a statement against..

http://www.drmomma.org/2009/12/babywise-linked-to-babies-...

K.

ps. i second the moby wrap/ sling!!

He's still in that 4th trimester. Please take the time to google it. His behavior will make a lot more sense. Babies need/want/crave the comforts of the womb for the first few months when they are becoming acclimated to the outside world. Most of his senses don't work very well but he knows how to suckle and your smell. Those are highly comforting to him in this big scary world. Some babies just adapt better than others but he really sounds very normal. Also, check out what Dr. Sears has to say about high needs babies and tips and tricks for that.

I would highly recommend a mayawrap or a mei tai. Both will keep baby close but free up your hands. Baby will be soothed, you can get some things done without feeling frustrated and tired. I learned this after ordering my mayawrap at 2 am one morning while crying because my high needs preemie son had me worn out. Wearing him made my life and his soooo much better. And he did out grow it.

Also, start routines now for nap and nighttime. Literally do and say the same things at those times during the day. It won't click for him at this stage but it helps set in motion things that he will learn to expect and then he will learn what is expected from him. It takes time, especially given his age now, but it will make a huge difference in his sleep habits later on.

You could think of this as your son telling you that he loves you so much! He loves you so much that he wants to be with you and near to you and smell you.

I would get some comfortable baby carriers and enjoy the closeness. They grow up quickly and I really miss a little one in a backpack watching me cook and hearing the tiny breathing in my ear.

Honey, I was in your shoes a few months ago! I was sure the hospital gave me the wrong baby, LOL... I got a LOT of negative responses and I hope you don't get all that junk... My older kids were angels, my son, not so much. He is SO high maitenance. You've got to trust me on this one, IT DOES GET BETTER!! If my son had been my first, he would have been my last (and I don't feel bad about saying that!)... I am all for breastfeeding, but things finally started to turn around once we started adding in bottles of formula. Your new baby will start to grow out of this, I promise :) Hang in there honey! Send me a message if you need to vent... I completely understand your frustration :)

Do you swaddle your baby? If not, give it a try. Also I found that using a front pouch style carrier worker too. Are yo sure he isnot suffering from gas? Was he full term? I had problems with 2 of my children who needed a lot of extra comforting after they were born. It is stressful and exhausting, but within a few months, they settled back down. If this remains an issue, you may want to consult your physician.

You may have moms recommend Babywise, but PLEASE research this carefully before you try it. There are reports of babies suffering from Failure To Thrive, a difficult medical condition, and dehydration because of the rigid scheduling in this book, which was discredited and dropped by the original publisher. Mothers can become frantic trying to ignore their own nurturing instincts. There are a bazillion links on the internet outlining the medical and emotional problems created by this approach. Here are a number of eye-opening reviews by parents who have tried it: http://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Baby-Wise-Nighttime-Becomi...

I have found that The Happiest Baby on the Block (available as book and video) is a great and sensible resource to help you understand your baby's needs, and gives expert tips and techniques for creating the best possible experience for both of you. The author, Dr. Harvey Karp, calls the first 3 months the Fourth Trimester, and explains why babies that young don't take to schedules. Your son is just at the most difficult point of that trimester. If there are no complicating medical issues like reflux, he should begin to settle down more over the next few weeks, by around the end of the third month.

Some babies are not as sensitive – they are the easy ones. Some babies just seem much more acutely aware their own physical experience, and may have added problems like reflux that make their little lives even more challenging. I hope you'll relax into letting your experience with your baby simply be what it is, a unique journey unlike anything else you've experienced. It will go so fast, and your memories can be so precious. Congratulations!

MY two suggestions would be to see a lactation consultant and learn to wear your baby. A Lactation consultatnt can help evaluate that baby is getting a full feeding and not just using you to as a pacifier. My DD was not getting enough breast milk at first and was fussy unless she was at the breast. Once we got my supply up she ate more and was content to go longer between feeding. Also look at what you are eating. You may need to eliminate milk or another food from your diet.

I love my MAYA wrap. But find a wrap or a slip that works for you. Wear that baby so you still have you hands free.

Someone else mentioned acid reflux and I wanted to suggest that you look at the symptoms for that as well. Your son sounds just like my daughter who had acid reflux. Being scrunched up in a sitting position or lying down is painful when you have acid reflux, which explains the not sleeping and not doing well for long in a car or swing.

Once we figured out it was acid reflux, I started doing the non-medication things you're supposed to do (make sure he's upright for 15 minutes after eating, elevate the head of his bed, etc.) which helped, but didn't fully take care of the problem. After my daughter was on prevacid for a few days, things got NOTICIBLY better. Please check into this for your son's sake and your own. :-)

it is definatly not you! i have a 7 month old who has been like that since birth and continues to be. i tried everything! he is constant, but has a great and fun personality! i have come to learn to enjoy every second because i'm sure when he gets older he will not want to spend so much time with me.

I have a seven week old with similar issues, my Dr. said my body just isn't keeping up with him. She had me up my calories and add more water to my diet .It has helped some. Plus she had me eliminate dairy which helped a lot. My saving grace is my Moby wrap. I can hold him and have hands free. He is swaddled and up against me and content. Dr Sears has a book out, I think it is called Attachment Parenting and it is worth the read. Good luck.

since you mentioned he feeds all the time, is it time to supplement with cereal? My boys were both put on cereal at 4 weeks! by their pediatricians. (different doctors, 9 years apart for the boys)

I know this is contrary to current belief, but it truly made my monster-eaters happy little boys!

As for my other thoughts on this, I agree that it could be intolerance to your diet making him so fussy. Try eliminating dairy & work from there.

Now for the hard part, behavior like this is quite common with breast-fed babies.....especially co-sleepers. You are his pacifier & this need is carrying over to the day hours. Put him in his own bed, toughen up on your own knee-jerk reaction to pick him up when he cries......& life will become easier for the whole family! Right now, he's in charge of this tyranny because you have allowed it......& you are the only one who can change it.

Swaddle him, teach him to self-soothe with a fav blankie.....I find the blankie works better than the pacifier! I also use soft music nonstop.....to block out the household sounds during naptime. & as for the naps & laying him down, put him in a quiet room...by himself....& he'll do better! Peace.

I didn't see anyone mention how long your little boy stays on one breast. I had this problem with my DD early on, but I read in a couple of nursing guides that this type of behavior can be caused by too much fore milk (which can lead to gas and hunger) and not enough hind milk. Depending on how fast your boy eats, he may need to stay on one side for 15 or 20 minutes to get to the rich, fattier hind milk--which is also the type of milk that keeps breastfed babies from needing to eat every hour! Once I got my daughter to eat for 20 mins per side (she was a VERY slow eater, and I would check that the side was empty before switching her), she could finally go 2.5 or 3 hours in between feedings. Stretching out that time between feedings with play, and lots of burping every time she unlatched and trying again--sometimes on the same side, really saved my sanity.

Good luck, and I hope you can find some rest while still enjoying your great little eater!

I find that people on this site attribute a lot to food sensitivities, but this sounds like a possible case to me. This wasn't my kid, but my best friend's daughter was exactly like this until she cut all possible allergens (egg, soy, dairy, wheat) out of her diet for about 4 months. Then she slowly started reintroducing them when her daughter's digestive system had matured a little more. I swear, it was amazing the difference. Her screamer really settled down. She was still a high maintanence baby, but she was just so much more content. You might want to start an elimination diet (google it or talk to your pediatrician) and see if it helps. Good luck.

Probiotics. Health food stores have Primadophilus. May be a challenge to figure out how to get it down him, unless you can mix it in with breast milk and put it in a bottle. Perhaps he'd take a bottle from Dad? My daughter was a mess after taking Penicillin for staph and strep as a 1-day-old. I wish I'd known then what I know now (she's 30 years old). I've come to believe that most of what we call colic could actually be helped by probiotics, which restore the good bacteria in the digestive tract.

Hi. I was going through the same thing with my preemie son who is now 16 weeks and a very happy baby who sleeps very well. I thought I was supposed to be feeding him all the time but that was where I was messing up. Our peditrician recommended a book called onbecoming babywise. It teaches you how to put your baby on a schedule. Caleb, I breast feed him every 3 hours for 10 minutes on each breast... keep him awake for a little bit then put him down for sleep. He began sleeping a lot more and a lot more happy. But there were still a lot of times where he was still fussy especially late in the afternoon. He had a lot of gas as well and spit up and projectiled vomited a lot. We found out he has really bad acid reflux and put him on prevacid twice a day. Now he is great!! I do supplement with formula when he acts like he doesn't get enough food off of me, we have tried almost every formula and the one that was easiest on his tummy is Enfamil Gentleease. I really do recommened the book On becoming Babywise http://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Baby-Wise-Nighttime-Becomi...
I promise it will make your life a lot more stress free and you can start getting your rest you need!! Good luck!!