Fussy 3 Month Old That Can't Be Pleased!!! :)

Congrats on being a Mommy again :)

I went through the same thing wiht my liitle guy, whi is now 7!!! I changed by diet and went down to eating plain chicken and rice and he was still fussy. We ended up switching to soy formula and that REALLy helped. (ome to find out he was allergic to my milk! Those anit-gas drops did help while I was still breastfeeding, but only small amounts of releif. I know that switching to formula might not be what you want to do, but if you baby isn't happy and seems uncomfortable it might be worth a try!?! Good Luck!

Hi A.,
I was having a similar issue with my daughter who is now 6 months old. I noticed once I started taking her on a walk for either her mid morning nap or afternoon nap she became calmer. As well once I began to stick to a similar schedule everyday, she would recognize what time naps were, when to play, when story time was etc....

Believe me I tried everything as well.

I also noticed if we took an afternoon walk and then came home and gave her a bath, she would fall asleep around 5 pm each day and wake up about 12 hours later. (of couse she'd feed through the night).

As well my daughter eats a lot. If your daughter is above average on her growth cart, as my daughter is- 97%, I understand this gives way to frequent eating. I began giving her organic soy formula in the morning. - about 2oz. This seemed to fill her up.

Hope it can help.
I wish you the best.
A.

That's funny, I had forgotten until I read your request that my oldest, who was the one who wanted to be held all the time,also preferred that I was standing.
Some of them are just easier than others. Keep trying all the tricks, she'll grow out of it sometime. I know you'll get lots of good ideas from everyone.

Could something be making her in pain, such as gas or ear infection. My daughter had a fussy stage at 3-4 months, but we found out it was dairy in my diet and regular formula and we had to switch to Soy Formula.

3 month olds are not excessively fussy or inconsolable for no reason - and the wanting to eat constantly is a sure sign and symptom of acid reflux. The fact that she is also soothed by being held in an upright position, both on your shoulder and in the shower that seems to calm her, is ALSO a sure sign of acid reflux. She wants to eat constantly because the composition of your breastmilk soothes the burning of her esophagus, just like pepto bismol or mylanta soothes heartburn in adults - a baby with acid reflux cannot be happy or rest in a reclining position because it allows the stomach acid to more easily creep up her esophagus. So yes, your feeding is the only way for you to calm her at this point because it IS the only thing that soothes her heartburn. She is in discomfort!
At about 3 months old, my daughter started acting the exact same way as yours is now - she wasn't sleeping well, wanting to nurse constantly, and just generally unhappy and inconsolable. She also spit up after every feeding, sometimes projectile, sometimes not. The fact that you have tried everything you know of to soothe her and nothing has worked leads me to believe that it is something medically wrong with her that all normal soothing methods are exhausted - just like with my daughter. Your experience is just too alike with that of my daughter and her acid reflux --- take the baby to the pediatrician, and tell him/her whats been going on. He/she can give you a more definitive answer by listening to her tummy and talking to you more in depth about her behavior lately.
In the meantime, put her to sleep in a more upright position - my daughter lived in her baby swing until she grew out of her reflux at 6 months, and I often let her nap in the infant seat set in a more upright position.

Babies of 3 months do not tie eating to emotions like older children and adults do. They may want to nurse or eat (more like suck) for comfort, but it's not about the food but the sucking and closeness to the caregiver. She probably is feeling some other kind of discomfort that requires more than typical soothing.

My son was realy fussy when he hit 3 mo. and I was goin out of my mind because all he wanted to do was nurse and be held. After about 2 weeks I realized that he was fussy #1 because he started teething early (his #1st 4 teeth cut through @ 4 mo). The second thing was that i was eating foods that were too gassy and gave him horrible gas (Mylecon drops did not work). So for the teething lots of cold teething toys, and these little mesh rings that I put frozen fruit and ice in for him to teeth on. For the gas, I had to massage his belly and back to move the gas, and with hold from the gassy foods (if your using formula-try a different brand).

My daughter was really fussy when she was that age too. I use to take her for walks. We would walk anywhere and everywhere. She hated the car, didn't like the swing, the bouncy seat, any of those wonderful gifts we got at the shower. Walking worked, I'd put her in the stroller and hit the town...I miss those days =0)