I am looking for a little help and some advice. I thought that when I had my fourth child last month, I had gone through everything. My 7 week old daughter is proving me wrong. She cries almost all day. The things I have tried are: formula or breastmilk out of a bottle (mainly breastfeeding, but supplementing when needed), laying her on her stomach, swaddling, white noise, rocking, car rides, swing time, gas drops, nursing, diaper change. Not one of these things will soothe her for more than 10-15 minutes and then the crying starts all over again. She sleeps 4-6 hours at nite, so I am not going down the 'colic' road (I don't think). What I am asking is for other ideas on how you have soothed a fussy baby. Thank you in advance for any and all suggestions!!!!
Alice
So sorry to hear your newest addition is a bit on the cranky side. My two daughters responded well to the hairdryer. Also the sound of a running shower soothed my second daughter very well. Good luck, I hope you find a source that works for you.
How about the vibrating bouncy seats? My kids both loved those
I'm so sorry that you are going through this. Hopefully your baby will be like most other babies and the crying will end around 3 months. In our family, our baby slept wonderfully at night, but would cry all day long. We were told that most babies grow out of it by 3 months, so I counted down the weeks and sure enough - just like flipping a switch - the crying stopped.
Things you can try:
For Crying Out Loud - it's a cd with various 'noise' situations, so you don't have to burn out a vacuum cleaner or hairdryer. It has storms, restaurant chatter, traffic, etc. I think I got mine from Barnes & Noble or Babies R Us.
Read "The Happiest Baby on the Block" by Dr. Harvey Karp. It gives tips on how to calm a fussy baby, and the paperback version is like $7.
-Vibrating bouncy seat
-Try Dr. Browns bottles for feeding
-Make changes in your diet if you are breastfeeding (consult a lactation consultant for suggestions, but cutting out dairy and cruciferous may be a good place to start).
-If you have one of those large exercise balls or even a beach ball, place the baby face down on the ball and roll back and forth (if she has digestive issues, this pressure on the tummy can give her relief).
-Get outside: there were days when we would take 1-2 hour walks in the stroller because my baby just was fascinated and mesmerized by the outdoors. Since it is November, the mall might be good (unless all the noise and commotion is too much for her).
Good luck to you - colic is heart-wrenching and cruel, but know that it won't last forever. Make sure you also take time for yourself to get out and get a break from your kids once in a while; it'll really help you.
Hi Alice,
This is how my daughter acted before she was diagnosed with a dairy/soy allergy. I thought she was colicky, except that, like yours, she slept well at night. Once the dairy allergy was discovered, and I stopped eating dairy/soy, she was great. Good luck, and I hope that isn't what the problem is with yours, but if it is, many kids outgrow by a year. Neither my DH or I have any allergy.
Erika
You could be dealing with colic. colic doesn't just happen at night. I would rule out any allergy or medical issue first. If nothing shows then it is probably colic. I would then suggest wearing your baby. Babies that are worn cry about 50% less than those that aren't. During her fussiest times of the day, there may be a pattern, wear her in the sling or bjorn. You can still do chores and such this way (not as easily of course). My son didn't have full blown colic but was fussy and cried a lot between the hours of 4-8 PM this lasted from 6 weeks until 13. Good luck and seek support or time away from baby if it starts wearing on you!!!
I have also heard of using these noises:
running water
dryer
hair dryer
vaccuum
Try wearing her in a baby sling and see if that calms her.
Alice,
Long story short...we had a VERY VERY colicky baby in 2005 (Jacob). He was horrible and it was very stressful. We decided to have a another baby and I delivered him this August (Ryan). My DH and I were expecting the worst and we signed up for a class "Happiest Baby on the Block" towards the end of my pregnancy.
As it turns out, I delivered Ryan the day before the class, so we couldn't take it until he was about 9 weeks old. We were blessed this time with a very content baby who is comforted very easily. But, we went to the class anyway and it looks like it truly works. I would recommend finding a class in your area and sign up.
As long as you have ruled out medical reasons with your peditrician, this very well could be colic. Colic rears its ugly head in different ways and at different times of the day for babies. Jacob (Mr. Colic) was fine once we were able to get him to go to sleep at night and would sleep for hours at a time and would wake for a feeding ready to play and coo with us in the middle of the night. During the day, he was miserable. Not much soothed him, but here's what I found did work:
Walking around holding him (or in a sling) and bouncing.
Me singing to him (I have a terrible voice, maybe he thought it was funny, lol).
A bath always calmed him down and got him to smile. He STILL loves his baths.
"Shh, shh, shh, shhhhhh". It worked to quiet him down and we were surprised to see that taught in the "Happiest Baby on the Block" class, too.
A pacifier. I was set against them and no WAY was my child going to use one. Yeah, we just got rid of his 2 weeks ago. Lol. He needed it. The sucking soothed him and kept him content.
Good luck.
Have you noticed that she's extra fussy after you eat particular foods? I found this to be the case with my son when he was around that age (we exclusively breastfed). Otherwise, it sounds like you've tried almost everything in the book - how frustrating :(
My son LOVED it when I would wrap him up in a sling and walk with him. He liked being carried much more than riding alone in the stroller. Plus, if it's cool out you can pull your coat over the baby then. And, you can actually "wear" your baby inside the house if this is soothing to them.
You are going to think that I am absolutely crazy but my little one did the same at that age and the only thing that worked was sitting in the warm bath. We did this every night! We would sit in the bath and nurse, sing, whatever and my husband would keep us company...it was relaxing for all of us!Good luck!
You are going to think that I am absolutely crazy but my little one did the same at that age and the only thing that worked was sitting in the warm bath. We did this every night! We would sit in the bath and nurse, sing, whatever and my husband would keep us company...it was relaxing for all of us!Good luck!
Just a thought. My son was like that and we found out he was SERIOUSLY allergic to eggs (and milk and soy) and got it through my breast milk. He'd cry for approx 4-5 hrs. We used gas medicine (wouldn't always help) I would give up milk for a week (all diary/whey/casiene), then after a week see if its better. If not, give up the egg for a week, after a week see ifi ts better. We tried different types of music and believe it or not JAMES BROWN got him quiet sometimes. THat and giving him an enormous stuffed duck (we wouldn't let him sleep w/it). He now loveingly refers to him as "duckie".He still likes it : ). Other timse i'd put in the ear plugs and just rock him. I wondered if its a certain time or day or near feeding times or any bowel issues. ... good luck!
My colicky baby slept just fine at night.
No suggestions, but if it's colic it does get better after 12 weeks, just like the books say. Actually, one suggestion - later on we found out that my son has sensory integration disorder and is sensitive to sound, so it probably would have been best to hold him in a quiet, unstimulating environment during the evening Witching Hours. Instead, we would trade him off while watching TV to try to distract ourselves from the noise. If I had a colicky baby today, I'd get out the sling or baby bjorn, put on my iPod instead of TV, and walk him in a dark room.
Good luck! Also, look into milk allergies
It could very well be colic.
If you have ruled out medical reasons like GERD or milk/soy allergies it's probably colic
My daughter was the most hardcore colicky baby anyone had ever seen! REALLY! My mom is a pediatric nurse, so she's heard it all. My younger sister was colicky too, so when my mom (who would never say anything even remotely negative about my baby) said "WOW! She's exceptional!" I knew we were dealing with something serious.
It lasted for about 4 months (4 VERY long months). My DD was up numerous times at night to nurse, but generally was not the worst at night.
It was from about 5pm to 10 or 11pm every night that she screamed bloody murder non-stop. She was difficult all day, but it intensified just before dinner and just in time for my hubby to get home.
I ended up wearing her, in a Bjorn as a newborn, and then in a BECO carrier when she hit about 13 lbs. That helped bunches. It did not "cure" her, but being snug against me and feeling the constant motion of me walking really seemed to soothe her.
When I had to put her down I'd put her in her swing and turn on the vacuum. White noise helped, the vacuum or the fan in the dark bathroom.
Also, swaddling her really tight and holding her in my arms on her belly while making kind of loud "shhhhhhh" noises right by her ears helped.
I can't offer you any other advice, but I can promise you that if it is colic IT GETS BETTER. I promise :)
My DD is 14 months old now and is such a happy and funny baby. She is EXTREMELY active, but is otherwise a very easy kid to hang out with.
Good luck to you and congrats on your new baby :)
If you want to talk, vent, whatever feel free to send me a message. I know how hard it is :)
Hi Alice.
Sounds like GURD -- baby acid reflux. Have had some friends with kids that did this as well. Very painful for the babies. Acid up and down esphogus.
Get it checked out!!
Good luck.
Solange in Lisle
Everything you are doing sounds right. "Happiest baby on the block", watch it so you are sure you are swaddling his way. You'll be doing everything that you are already doing, but maybe technique wise this will help. Also, jiggling, in the movie/book and shooshing for the white noise. Jiggling mimics what the baby actually felt in the womb. It was a life saver for me. Good luck.
I think a few people may have already mentioned it but I would consider the possibility of dairy/egg (or other) food allergies. This was the case with my daughter who I exclusively breasfed for 6 months. She was crying out in pain all the time and nothing seemed to soothe her. We sarted her on hypoallergenic formula and within a week or so she was a completely differently child. Now we are dealing with severe food allergies (dairy and egg) and she is 16 months old :(
Also, my friend's daughter cried constantly and tries all the same methods you did. Turns out her daughter had GERD. She saw an excellent DR. at Children's Hospital who thankfully was able to figure it out. Her daughter was on prescription medications but has since been weened off and she is an absolute angel. You would never think it was the same baby!
I would discuss the options with the pediatrician and maybe get some referrals from him/her.
Best wishes.
My baby was the same way EXACTLY. I had 2 older children who were the calmest, happiest babies. After going back to the ped's office several times they suggested that we take a 4 day break from nursing, while I pumped to keep up my milk supply in case I wanted/needed to go back. I tried a special hypoallergenic baby formula called nutramigen by Enfamil. It is extremely expensive, just so you are prepared! However, it is totally worth it. Within 24 hours, he was a totally different baby. He stopped crying, stopped arching his back, started sleeping and smiling. I suppose that I could have realy devoted the time and effort to eliminating foods from my diet to see what the problem foods were and gone back to nursing, but I have 2 older kids who need me and I couldn't bear the thought of going back to all that crying while we tried to find the problem food/s. So, we stopped nursing at 8 weeks and life got great. He is 7 months old now and we are going to the pediatric allergy doctor today for our first visit. I'm curious to see if he has a milk allergy. At 5 months of age, we tried to switch from nutramigen to regular formula, but it didn't take. On the bright side, our pediatrician gets free samples of nutramigen often so I stop by to pick them up whenever I can. Give it a try -- you can always go back to nursing if you keep up your milk supply. It made a world of difference! Good luck!
I went through the same thing for 8 weeks. Turned out that my daughter was 'allergic' to my breast milk as well as any formula. We tried the Nutramigen and the crying stopped. It was like a miracle. Yes, it's expensive but a little time on eBay is worth it as it can be found much cheaper and in bulk.
Good luck. It's hard when they can't tell you what's wrong.
For both of my daughters I tried soy formula when they were infants and it did seem to help a little with fussiness. They weren't necessarily lactose intolerant, but hte soy seemed to give them less gas and they cried less.
Have you downloaded or bought the cd "sleeping baby" you can get it on itunes, it has multiple sounds like the womb, a clothes dryer, vacuum, etc. One of those might soothe her as well.