Does it get easier?

amother

Sun, Feb 08 2015, 6:51 am

I BH gave birth to a beautiful girl 5 weeks ago.
But it seems she is ALWAYS crying.
Especially the past few days she is hardly sleeping, both during the day and night, and will barely let me put her down without crying again.
I BF with the occasional supplement of formula (not more than 1 bottle a day). She's putting on weight, seems healthy other than the crying.
She'll sleep in a carrier or in the car or occasionally in her stroller when we're out but all those involve me being with her.
Please tell me if this is normal?
They say it gets easier by 4-6 weeks bur so far I feel it's getting worse with no end in sight.
I feel like I'm going to be stuck at home with a crying baby for the next 6 months...

MrsMarmite

Sun, Feb 08 2015, 6:58 am

Welcome to the wonderful world of parenting! I also had a big crier for the first few weeks/months. Do you have a baby swing? I found that helped. Also, if she fell asleep in the car seat, I let her sleep in it. she also LOVED going outside and baths, do those help?
I'll just tell you that days melt into weeks pretty quickly and then into months and then years and there will be a time she'll be doing something even more annoying and you'll be remembering these early days fondly Smile

Good luck!

amother

Sun, Feb 08 2015, 10:28 am

All of my babies were major crying machines. They were seriously unpleasant people. With my 4th, la leche league told me to stop eating dairy, as that is one of the biggest sensitivities in breastfed babies. It can take 2 weeks or so for the diary to be gone from your system. I was not a believer because I was convinced that my babies were just unpleasant. Well, at just over 2 weeks off of dairy, my 4th baby started to act just kvetchy instead of full blown hysterical most of the time.

So, this is my biggest suggestion to all mothers with crying babies. If you give formula you will need to try to stop that, as it contains dairy. There are alternatives, but soy int the greatest either.

My first baby cried straight until 4 months when he seemed to suddenly feel better and stopped the hysterics. I thought he was normal until I saw my friends pleasant babies. He is almost a teenager now and rarely cries ;-)

chatouli

Sun, Feb 08 2015, 11:02 am

amother wrote:

My crying baby was lactose intolerant. (He still is.) Cutting out dairy also made a huge difference for us. But I saw results in three days! Worth a try, right?

mandr

Sun, Feb 08 2015, 11:38 am

My neighbor's baby cried all day and night. We saw the parents taking turns walking with the baby at all hours of hte day and night. She exclusively breastfed. I then noticed that the mother had very bad eczema on her face and she said the baby also had, and I immediately thought of a dairy sensitivity. I told her to go off dairy for a few days and see if she notices a difference. She did.

chani8

Sun, Feb 08 2015, 11:56 am

Babies shouldn't be crying so much. Look for the cause of the crying and seek a solution. Perhaps it's diet. Perhaps it's reflux. Perhaps it's over-stimulation.

If you determine that diet is not the cause, and baby cries while you hold her, then the solution may be to put baby down in a quiet dark room.

Just fyi on baby swings. They can be so helpful, but you should just know that a baby's body cools dramatically from the swinging, so don't swing for long periods of time, and keep baby bundled while in the swing.

MMCH

Sun, Feb 08 2015, 1:21 pm

yes it does get easier.

But have you figured out whats bothering baby?
Have you cut out dairy? Is she being burped properly?

Is she really always always screaming? Or at specific times?

Sometimes it helps to write everything down, like fed at 7, had dirty diaper at 8, cranky at 830..

and maybe youll find a pattern?

good lucj

liora25

Mon, Feb 09 2015, 2:59 am

My eldest was a screamer of note, he was very unsettled until about 1, but yes after that it did get easier!!
My second was also a screamer, she settled around 12 weeks, and from there things got easier.
I agree with the above posters that something can be bothering her, but I'v also learnt that some babies ( mine it seems) just scream , perhaps it takes some babies a bit longer for their stomachs and other things to adjust to the real world , if she's had her 6 week check up and all is fine , yes obviously try stop the screaming , but don't drive yourself mad that something is wrong and what can you do differently, because from experience some babies do just scream! It's so hard at the time, but it does pass... Good luck!!

Ms.MaryMack(inblack)

Mon, Feb 09 2015, 4:09 am

I feel for you. YOu must e going out of mind... Take her to the pediatrian and see what she says. Crying babies are NOT fun! I found "the baby whisperer" book by Tracy Hogg to be phenomenal.

FranticFrummie

Mon, Feb 09 2015, 4:16 am

BTDT. The first 4 months I thought I was going to DIE! It was just a zombie haze of non stop screaming and fussing, and I swear she never slept for more than 15 minutes at a time (and neither did I). Hypnotized

By DD, it was a combination of colic and lactose intolerance. I was BF and supplementing with a bottle, and when we switched her to Infamil Lactofree formula she got better almost immediately. At 5 months I started giving a small amount of rice mush, and more soft foods at 6 months. That was when she finally started to sleep better.

At 9yo she finally outgrew her lactose intolerance, but at 11yo she still wakes up a few times every night and needs tucked back in. Some kids are just like that, I guess.

Chaya4

Mon, Feb 09 2015, 9:24 am

The baby whisperer method helped me tons. When my babies get overtired they scream and scream and fall into a bad cycle of screaming and short naps. Baby whisprer really helped me get baby on a good routine

The Happy Wife

Mon, Feb 09 2015, 10:06 am

My first was also a big crier. Only happy being held or in swing or going for walks sometimes. I was ebf and cit everything out of my diet and had no change.
Swaddling with the miracle blanket was life changing. My baby actually slept a bit. Baby carriers also helped. Try to get out with the baby when you can. Try changing your diet, try gas drops. It can be so rough! Hang on there, it does get easier.

redroses

Mon, Feb 09 2015, 10:06 am

First of all, it absolutely does get better. Before you know it they're 6 going on 16 and you miss those tiny crying newborns.

In my experience, it was reflux (I had 2 reflux babies). It's very painful for them. If your baby is arching or bringing up food it's possible she may have reflux. We had to try a couple of different medications but once we found the right one it was a game changer.

This may not be your case, but just somethign to consider. Good luck!