My baby is 3 wks old. Since he was born we noticed that he would be fussy unless he was eating or sleeping. Our first born was nothing like it, so I want to know if he will out grow this? will he ever be happy when awake?
It might be colic. If so, it usually goes away at the 12 week stage. My daughter was very colicky at 3 weeks...she's 8 weeks now. I did some research, and found that infant powder probiotics made a huge difference. In less than a week she was a happy baby. My baby likes to be held too. And who doesn't like to be held LOL!!
Hit your library or bookstore for the book/dvd "Happiest baby on the block" by Dr. Karp. Lots of good info. Babies basically just changed their ENTIRE world from warm, dark, loud/swishing, snug to OUR world - the complete opposite. Their little bodies are on information overload. If you have a baby carrier and can wear him, or a swing, that may help.
My daughter was colicky for about 5 weeks and then she was so easy going and still is (she is now 3). My son on the other hand (now 17 months) was EXTREMELY fussy!!! When he wasn't sleeping (which he didn't do very well) or eating, he was just crying/whining ALWAYS! I am not exaggerating when I say he cried all the time. I had him to specialist after specialist because I kept thinking there just had to be something wrong. Luckily, he was fine but was just a very difficult baby and very high maintenance. He finally slept through the night a week after his 1st birthday and once he started walking and I stopped nursing him, at 13 months, he became much more independent and stopped being so fussy. He is still high maintenance and a L. fussy, but so much fun! I just thank God that my daughter is so laid back! If I would have had my son first, I never would have had another child!! LOL! Just make sure you talk to your pediatrician to rule out acid reflux, colic, or illness. If you are formula feeding, maybe the type of formula isn't agreeing with him. Things will get better, it's definitely tough though. Hang in there and talk to your ped about your concerns.
My baby was very fussy too (she's now 18 months). She was calm when she was almost asleep on someone's chest, or asleep in the Moby wrap, or on the breast. Otherwise, there was a lot of crying...
But, in those first months some of her fussiness was attributed to us figuring out what she wanted. She wanted to be held a lot. The Happiest Baby on the Block talks about this (and swaddling) and the idea of the "fourth trimester" - that its about simulating the environment in the womb for some babies. It was somewhat useful and helped explain some things for us.
Another helpful tool was Dunstan Baby Language DVD (maybe you can borrow it because its way expensive for the 30 minute lesson it gives!). It helps decode the different sounds a baby makes to tell what they want. We realized our baby was gassy a lot (not hungry as my mom kept saying) and we would pat her, give gripe water, and do the different techniques to help.
For us it was about learning what she wanted but even now she is still a somewhat needy child. I think its hard to say what your son will be like from the first few months but there are things you can do to try and help the fussiness.
My DD outgrew it...
Are you breastfeeding? Your diet could be making him fussy. My DD calmed down a LOT after I cut dairy out of my diet.
Yes, definitely will grow out of it.
Eventually anyways.
My first was colicky at night, but grew out of at about 3 months, until then it was really hard. We tried everything, my diet, sleep adjustments, but then all of the sudden it got better.
Whatever the phase we are going through with my 3 little ones, I always think this too will pass. Eventually :)
might want to look into reflux and/or a dairy allergy (if you are BF you might need to cut out all dairy for a while)
I had the reverse. My first was sooooo fuusy at that age, it was really hard. My second is currently such an easy baby, I was pleasantly shocked that this is what babies could be likke! I fed and did everything the same, so for us it was just colic. It got easier eventually, but I remember it seeing really long. I think it was finally about the time he could sit up things got better. my husband read somewhere about giving babies (under a year) tons of positivity even when they are screaming at you, he was great about it, and we ended up with a very positive, happy kid. I truly think that made a difference. Hang in there, I feel for you, but it will get better!
Could it be acid reflux? We had the same experience with our daughter and that's what it turned out to be. Once we got her on zantac (and got the dose right) all was well!
He's pretty young. It's not uncommon at that age to have very little awake time. Hang in there. They do say the first 6 weeks are the hardest, especially if you're breastfeeding.
My first born was a fussy baby. He had colic and he was very needy - a "high needs child". He needed to be held almost all the time. The woman where I lived who ran all the baby and toddler classes/playgroups said he was the hardest baby she'd seen in 30 years. He was a harder than normal toddler, very sensitive, yet extremely smart. He is a very strong willed child now although still extremely smart and ahead of his peers academically. He's harder than your average kid though - he takes a lot of work every day to keep in line. My husband and I have sure learned a lot about parenting and discipline. If your baby continues to seem harder than normal I recommend the book "Raising Your Spirited Child". Then as he gets older there are many good discipline books out there. We have found "The Kazdin Method" to work well for us. Anyway...to answer your question, yes he will be happy when awake. But he may end up with a more demanding personality....more like a rollercoaster of emotions (if he is anything like our son).
You said he is fussy unless he is eating or sleeping. Every baby is different and this little one could just have a bigger appetite than your first. That was certainly the case with my two. I nursed both and my second was pretty fussy and I just learned that he was just hungry all the time. I felt like he lived on my breast and then he would spit up. Both my pediatrician and lactation consultant agreed that he had a hearty appetite and was also stimulating my milk supply to prepare for subsequent growth spurts. The happiest baby on the block book also worked wonders. I didn't have the luxury of sitting around nursing all day with an active toddler so I found keeping him close, wearing him in a sling and nursing on demand did the trick (i suspect you can do the same even if you are bottle-feeding). It seems that these practices have a lower colic rate in other cultures than we do here in the US. Try that and see if you have better results :) Good luck and congrats on your new addition! These weeks are tough but you'll be on the other side around 8-12wks :)
