Fussy

I haven't read any of the posts, but one tip I have from my mistake was running into my daughter's room way too fast. I wish I would have waited a few minutes before goint in there, seeing if she would sooth herself back to sleep. (also I wish I had the video monitor to see what she was really doing! ;))

good luck!

Is he overtired? Kids seem to be more fussy when they are overtired and believe it or not, one of the problems is that they can't sleep. Try putting him to bed 30 mins earlier. Give him a warm bath and try to soothe him and make him comfortable. Fill his belly and have everything quiet and reaady for him to sleep. Could it be gas? Milicon drops are very good for that and are not dangerous if you over use them.
Some kids just fight sleep and if that is the case, you will have to have a routine like the bath then feeding and holding him while singing. You don't want to start a habit of holding him while he falls asleep though or he won't be able to fall asleep on his own. As he gets sleepy, lie him down in a soothing room whether it is w/ low music or a white noise machine. Dark but with a night light so he does not get scared. you can pay his bottom or rub his back while you sing to him and teach him to fall asleep on his own.

Good luck, W.

try wakeing him up during the day and playing/talking to him. babies can get their days and nights mixed up. also babies need to cry. they get frustrated and they need to get it out. the best time to do this is during the day so you can sleep at night. if he is feed and clean then he is just doing some working things out. of course if he ever runs a fever or gives you an indication that he is in pain than he may have an ear infection but then he would cry day and night. i feed my babies (6 total)on a every 3 hour schedual. starting the time whenever i "began" a feeding. then at night i would feed my babies at 11pm and put their jammies on swaddle them in a blanket like they do at the hospital and put them to bed for the night. they would slowly sleep longer and longer each night until they would finally sleep through the night. it worked for me to keep them on a schedual and keep then awake some during the day and let them cry things out some during the day so they were more relaxed at night and ready to go to sleep.

My daughter was like that when she was around that age. It was very stressful for me bc I had no idea what to do for her. I was breast/formula feeding at that time. Everything was normal for her except the crying at night. A friend of mine suggested that she may have gas and told me to try Mylicon drops.(any store brand does the same so don't spend too much on the name brand.) I would give her some before and after her bottles and that helped. Some nights would sleep and other nights she would wake up crying all night. After 3 months of that I couldn't take it anymore! I stopped giving her breastmilk. After that she would sleep 4-6 hrs at a time. The gassiness went away and I finally got some rest! If you would like a natural way that helps let me know, I have some recipes that do wonders.

All infants cry, and most seem to have spells at night (that can last for a few minutes to a few hours!!) for no apparent reason. From my own experience (2 boys ages 2 and 4, one more on the way) and what I've read, crying and wakefulness peak at 6 weeks and then things start to calm down a bit from there. You can probably expect the nighttime fussiness to be gone entirely around 3 months, give or take. Hang in there! It gets better!!!

I second the harvey karp recommendation. it could be "colic" it could be over-stimulation, it could simply be an adjustment period. OR it could be that he still has days and nights mixed up. i remember having really tough evenings with my LO at that age. we did the 5 S's and usually that would settle her to sleep for bit until she woke up again to nurse. if you think it is gas, you my want to try this stuff called "colic calm" that you can order online. i didn't use it for mine until she was having bad gas from what we later discovered was a dairy intolerance when she was a little older, and we still use it from time to time if she has an upset tummy. it seems to work well. it's a homeopathic remedy. good luck. it will be over soon. it's totally, totally normal.

he might have reflux, Call the DR. See if he will sleep better with his head elevated (like in his car seat and see if it makes a difference)

Have you tried taking him to bed with you? Does he wake like this if he is on or near you?

A month old is still really young to sleep for long. And his tummy is still so tiny and efficient. Nursing every 2-4 hours is not uncommon. Night is the same to him as the day time and both last forever, his sense of time hasn't developed yet. 5 minutes is a very long time to a newborn.

HTH!!

I hate to say it but your son may be in the early stages of colic. I'm not an expert but when babies start getting fussy times at the same point every day I think they call it "witching hour". It may vary in severity and length of time. There's a great book "The happiest baby on the block". I think the author is Harvey Carp or Karp. Any bookstore will have it and you may even check the library. It was great. To give a piece of advice from the book - keep doing what your doing - check to see if he needs changing, feeding and all that. When all that is checked, make sure he is swaddled securely. When babies are young, like yours, they can't control their limbs and it makes them upset and they flail everywhere. Swaddling seems to be the key to calming them down as well as swaying or rocking them. Try also making the "sshh" sound. This sound mimicks the sound he heard in your womb. Just whisper that into his ear until he calms down. Many moms think their baby is constipated or gassy because they get so fussy. I know I did. But if it keeps happening the same time almost every day, I think you have a "witchy" baby. Don't freak out about this because there are remedies to try and help. Nip it in the bud in the beginning and maybe the colic stage won't be as dreaded for you. This helped me and my little one did great throughout.
If you have any more questions, just ask! Good luck!

P.

Not only is this normal behavior for a month old, it's normal if he's still this way for many months more. The sleep, fussiness, hunger, everything, is all over the map during the first year. Count your blessings that he naps well during the day. That may not last either. So take advantage of that and get some rest for yourself too. So you'll be better equipped to handle his night time needs.
Don't assume he's hungry. If he had words, he could tell you exactly what he needs. He can't, so he cries instead. He may be just telling you he wants to he held close, or he's not sleepy. Cries do not imply hunger and don't be tempted to over fill his tummy (especially with solids or cereal) just to stop the crying. Overstuffed babies do not sleep better, the sleep worse cause they're uncomfortable.

Here are some links on normal infant sleep to give you an idea what to expect in the first few months. Expect him to wake often, cry even when he's not hungry, and basically be really needy, especially at night. It's all a part of the first year bliss! But as hard as they will be on you, they will pass quickly. Congratulations on your new baby!!

Newborn Babies and Sleep
http://www.kellymom.com/pantley/pantley03.html

Sleeping Thru The Night
http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/sleep.html

8 Infant Sleep Facts Every Parent Should Know
http://askdrsears.com/html/7/T070200.asp

31 Ways to Get Your Baby to go to Sleep and Stay Asleep
http://askdrsears.com/html/7/T070300.asp

Co-Sleeping: Yes, No, Sometimes?
http://askdrsears.com/html/7/T071000.asp

Sleep Problems: Answered!
http://askdrsears.com/html/7/T071100.asp

Studies on Normal Infant Sleep
http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/sleepstudies.html

And since you mentioned you may be concerned about constipation, here are some links on poop!
Chances are he is not constipated, especially if he's breastfed.

What's Normal
http://www.mother-2-mother.com/normal.htm#NormalStools

Infant Stool Patterns
http://www.umc-cares.org/health_info/article.asp?Category...

Poop
http://www.drjaygordon.com/development/pediatricks/poop.asp

My babies liked to be played with in the evening. My husband used to come home from work and take the little one for the evening while I cooked dinner. The baby seemed to love the interaction with dad after being with mommy all day. I felt like that helped "tire them out" and sleep better at night. After they were no longer babies my husband would give them a bath at night and read them a book at bedtime. Then I would put them to sleep. It may be that your little one just needs a chance of pace and dad might be a lot of help on this one.

I agree with the other 2 moms who've commented. But, here's one more. It's possible your son is having a tummy ache-commonly called colic. Sometimes, it doesn't start till they are 4-8 weeks old. But, it's a pattern of tummy upset-caused from excess gas-that causes extreme misery and crying...for both of you. There's some great gas stuff called, Mylicon(sp?)that works wonders. (there's other stuff too, but for me this worked the best) The key for any kind of medicine for this issue is to watch his pattern at night or early evening. Give the Mylicon to him 20-30 minutes before he starts crying. Then make sure he burps really good-during the day as well. Give him a warm bath, swaddle him, sing him a little song,& begin to develop your own nighttime routine. Sometimes, this will eliminate the whole colic-y evening.:)
God Bless you during one of the first challenges in your career as mommy!

Try babies magic tea and you'll see the difference.

Hi. Congrats on your baby boy! Most of what I would say is in other's responses, but if your doctor thinks it could becolic, ask about giving gripe water. You can find it at Babies R Us. Both of my babies had colic and we didn't know to use it for our first, but it saved us with our second. The dosage amount is a little large, so we used the medicine dispenser that looks like a mini bottle. He drank it up and went right to sleep. But remember, he should still eat ever two hours, even through the night for a while. And he could very well have days and nights mixed up. However, if it is colic this should at least change your little night owl to a night playmate. Enjoy this precious time because they grow up so fast! Oh, you might also try putting a heating pad in his crib before you put him down for the night to warm it up - just be sure to remove it before you put him in.

Try swaddling him in a receiving blanket. Newborns were used to being in a confined space, so having their legs and arms totally free is kind of weird. Good luck!

Hi J.,
Colic is crying that is uncontrollable in a healthy baby with no apparent reason. Most people will say colic is tummy related (like gas), but the truth is that doctors do not know what causes the crying in an otherwise healthy baby. Colic is easy to determine as it generally follows the rules of 3- Starts at 3 weeks of age, involves uncontrollable crying for more than three hours a day, for more than three days a week, and subsides at 3 months. A lot of colicky babies will start crying around the same time of day, usually in the evenings (for me, it was ALL day long). You can try drops for gas or herbal "gripe water". I found none of these worked well for me, but they might for you. I would mention his crying to your pediatrician also so that he can get looked over for anything that might be causing the crying.
If this doesn't sound like colic, then it could be that he has day/night confusion. Make sure to keep him where the action is during the day (careful not to overstimulate), let him nap in a room with a little sunlight coming in, and go about your business as usual. If it is day/night confusion, it will take about a week to sort itself out.

J., he is still so little and young I am wondering if it might be gas.. is he burping after eating?
Are you nursing? Something you eat might be causing him some tummy issues.. Although given his age, he just might want to be with you. :)

How many ounces is he eating.. he might be going through a growth spurt but if it is only happening at night.. I am not sure.

You may want to keep a written record of how much he is eating and when...

If you are nursing keep track of what you are eating and when.

At this age they do eat every 2-3 hours (most not all). So he very well may still be hungry especially if you are breast feeding. I breastfed one of my daughters for 10 months..in those first few she ate a lot!

I don't know if this will help at all, but I have a month old little girl as well (born June 5th) and we are going through the same thing. I think her issue may be gas and we have given her gas drops. They seem to help a little bit. It also just may be a faze they are going through. We also try to feed her more when she does that as well. Good luck! Please let me know if you find something that works! :o)

Hi J.,

Congratulations on your new son!!! When babies are new, they have a lot to get used to. I know my daughter had problems her first couple of months. When they are in the womb, they hear your heart beat and feel your warmth and love. When they are outside they don't know what happened to all that comfort. Get a small clock, wrap it in one of the blankets and put it near him so he can hear the ticking. Make sure he is very warm, not near any vents or divert the vent over his bed and see what happens. My daughter slept in a basinet next to my bed until she was 3 months old. Even with me so close that I could reach out and comfort her, she didn't like being away from me. The clock and extra blanket really helped her. Also, I mentioned the vent because right above her basinet, the vent blew straight down on her. I made a tent with blankets to divert that and she slept well. In fact the first night she slept all night, I woke up the next morning terrified because she didn't even wake me to nurse!!!!

Good luck with your new baby and I hope you can solve his sleeping issues soon so you can get your rest too.

E.

J.,

I would say since he is only a month old he is hungry. Try feeding him when he wakes up and he will probably go back to sleep. At this age they still need to be fed through the night. Once he gets a little older (3 or 4 months) he may not need to be fed through the night, it really depends on the child, every child is different. But it is completely normal for him not to be sleeping through the night yet that can still take several more months. And just so you know, I just found this out myself, boys eat a LOT more then girls! I have an 18mo old son and I am feeding him ALL THE TIME! My girls were not like that at all!

Take a breath! Its ok....he's a month old...it's to be expected that he might be a little upset at night. My suggestion is to keep a consistent routine, especially at night. Choose what you want to do, but you'll have to decide what works for you and your son. Our routine for our two is that we head up around 7:30/8 and get our baths, pjs, and lotion, and we read 1-2 books before we tuck them into bed. My son who is almost a year is able to put himself to sleep, sometimes it takes a little longer that other times but he is usually good. Read the book The No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley, it gives such amazing and wonderful information and advice and suggestions to get your child to go to sleep and stay asleep. If you believe it could be something more, call your pediatrician. He may have some sort of cold or congestion that may cause him to fuss at night. Swaddle him, and if you feel comfortable, research first, but try co-sleeping. Good Luck!

A.