How much crying is normal? (3 week old)

My DD is 3 weeks old as of yesterday and it seems like all she does is cry. I'm realistic, I know that babies are supposed to cry. But I'm wondering if there is something else going on, or if her crying is normal for her age?
Basically, if she's not feeding (she's breastfed) or sleeping, she's crying. There is almost no 'active alert' time whatsoever, maybe 10 or 15 minutes twice a day. And it's not just normal crying, it's shrieking like she's in pain. She really gets herself worked up. A lot of times we can calm her after loooong periods of rocking her in our arms, but as soon as we put her down, she cries. She hates the swing and her bouncy chair, hates to be swaddled. She's just extremely fussy. If this sounds normal to you, then please just tell me and I'll find a way to deal with it. But I just can't help but feel that something else is going on.

TIA.

Re: How much crying is normal? (3 week old)

Posted by Mere09

My DD is 3 weeks old as of yesterday and it seems like all she does is cry. I'm realistic, I know that babies are supposed to cry. But I'm wondering if there is something else going on, or if her crying is normal for her age?
Basically, if she's not feeding (she's breastfed) or sleeping, she's crying. There is almost no 'active alert' time whatsoever, maybe 10 or 15 minutes twice a day. And it's not just normal crying, it's shrieking like she's in pain. She really gets herself worked up. A lot of times we can calm her after loooong periods of rocking her in our arms, but as soon as we put her down, she cries. She hates the swing and her bouncy chair, hates to be swaddled. She's just extremely fussy. If this sounds normal to you, then please just tell me and I'll find a way to deal with it. But I just can't help but feel that something else is going on.

TIA.

Re: How much crying is normal? (3 week old)

Posted by nrthshgrl

Posted by Mere09

My DD is 3 weeks old as of yesterday and it seems like all she does is cry. I'm realistic, I know that babies are supposed to cry. But I'm wondering if there is something else going on, or if her crying is normal for her age?
Basically, if she's not feeding (she's breastfed) or sleeping, she's crying. There is almost no 'active alert' time whatsoever, maybe 10 or 15 minutes twice a day. And it's not just normal crying, it's shrieking like she's in pain. She really gets herself worked up. A lot of times we can calm her after loooong periods of rocking her in our arms, but as soon as we put her down, she cries. She hates the swing and her bouncy chair, hates to be swaddled. She's just extremely fussy. If this sounds normal to you, then please just tell me and I'll find a way to deal with it. But I just can't help but feel that something else is going on.

TIA.

It sounds normal to me, but I'm wondering how much sleep is she getting. It sounds like she may be overtired. Does she nap for long periods?

Re: How much crying is normal? (3 week old)

This of course is just my opinion, but i'm a firm believer in ' mom's know their kids'. My DD had SEVERE seperation anxiety for a while, sounds pretty similar to your DC. It was later on though, 5 months or so. Crying is normal yes, but if you really feel like it's that bad, I would bring her to the dr.

Maybe the breastmilk isnt sitting right in her tummy and causing gas? Maybe she is constipated? Maybe she has a bladder infection( which is very common in little girls)? That can cause MAJOR discomfort, where laying down can cause pain if the kidneys are involved. It could be a 1000 things. Maybe she is just wanting to be held?

Maybe just taking her to the Dr would give you peace of mind that nothing is wrong and then you will know that she is just cranky. It happens. There are days where my DD seems mad at the world, for no reason. I hope things quiet down for you and your baby finds relief in something, soon.

Do you have a Boppy Lounger? Not a boppy pillow, but the lounger..my DD would ONLY nap on it until about 4 months. The shape of it was perfect for her little body to rest in, not flat, not 'upright' but kind of cradled. BRU sells them. DD is 8.5 months and still loves to lay on it next to me. Just a suggestion. Good luck!

Re: How much crying is normal? (3 week old)

does she tend to FREAK after feeding? Emma was doing that and it was ALL about gas....

i now burp the living daylights out of her and keep her upright for at least 20 minutes after eating...and that helps a lot. (we also switched her to soy formula - but if your angel is bf'ing - then it won't apply)....

has she been pooping? that was another thing that was upsetting Em...she wasn't pooping...and once she WOULD poop - life would get much better....

hth!!!

Re: How much crying is normal? (3 week old)

My DD is 7 weeks and the only time she cries the way you are describing is when she has some kind of digestive problem like gas or constipation. Try lots of burping and push legs up toward belly to release gas.

Re: How much crying is normal? (3 week old)

Ok I'm thinking back to when my kids were that young...so my faulty memory is this:

Every 2-3 hours they eat.
Then they're up for a little bit (an hour? tops 2 hours? can't remember)
Then they start fussing, 7 mile stare, crying, looking away from stimulus...which means they want to go back to sleep.

Total sleep is ilke 14 hours or something crazy like that...

http://www.babycenter.com/0_baby-sleep-basics-birth-to-3-months_7654.bc#articlesection1

There is a lot of crying because it's the only way they know how to communicate. They cry when they're hungry, when they're bored, when they're wet, when they're tired, when they're gassy. If right after she eats, her legs are going up in the air & it's a high pitched cry along the "someone is stabbing me" lines, it's likely gas.

Re: How much crying is normal? (3 week old)

Thanks for all the responses ladies!

It's definitely not a constipation issue as she has plenty of normal looking bowel movements throughout the day. I thought maybe it could be acid reflux but I'm just not sure. I always thought it may have something to do with gas issues but there's only really so much I can do to relieve gas right? I'll definitely try all your suggestions and see where that gets us. If we get nowhere, I'll definitely be taking her in to the doctor just to see what she has to say.

By the way, thanks for mentioning the 'Boppy Lounger' also! I never even knew the Boppy Lounger existed until you mentioned it. lol DD will ONLY sleep propped up in her Boppy. Yes, she sleeps propped up in her boppy in her crib at night. lol She absolutely will not lay flat on her back. The Lounger looks like it may be perfect for what we need! Definitely going to check that out tomorrow!!

Re: How much crying is normal? (3 week old)

Posted by Mere09

She absolutely will not lay flat on her back. The Lounger looks like it may be perfect for what we need! Definitely going to check that out tomorrow!!

Re: How much crying is normal? (3 week old)

Posted by Mere09

Thanks for all the responses ladies!

It's definitely not a constipation issue as she has plenty of normal looking bowel movements throughout the day. I thought maybe it could be acid reflux but I'm just not sure. I always thought it may have something to do with gas issues but there's only really so much I can do to relieve gas right? I'll definitely try all your suggestions and see where that gets us. If we get nowhere, I'll definitely be taking her in to the doctor just to see what she has to say.

By the way, thanks for mentioning the 'Boppy Lounger' also! I never even knew the Boppy Lounger existed until you mentioned it. lol DD will ONLY sleep propped up in her Boppy. Yes, she sleeps propped up in her boppy in her crib at night. lol She absolutely will not lay flat on her back. The Lounger looks like it may be perfect for what we need! Definitely going to check that out tomorrow!!

Re: How much crying is normal? (3 week old)

Cailen was this way - I just never put him down... he started liking the swing as he got a bit older - like 6 weeks...