tell me this is a phase...

DS has been a nitemare the past 2 days.
he cries off and on all day long. I mean one minute hes on his mat happy playing and smiling and then will start crying out of nowhere..and i mean wailing..for hours off and on.

he's fed, changed, rocked, held..etc. and he was starting to get better the past few weeks and even sleeping longer stretches. hes had a GI test and its not reflux.

i hope this is just a growing phase b/c im about ready to yank my hair out.

Re: tell me this is a phase...

just colic

I'm so sorry!!!

Re: tell me this is a phase...

ugh- it is so rough when you can't stop the crying. have you tried feeding him more? last night tyler ate 5 ounces at 8:15. 9:30 comes and he was screaming uncontrollably. Nothing would stop him - and I thought to myself "He just finished eating - he can't be hungry" - anyway - gave him another bottle - he ate 3 ounces and was happy and content for the rest of the night - went right to sleep.

Re: tell me this is a phase...

I'm sorry you are going through this. My DS cries sometimes for what seems like no reason and it seems to happen right when I pick him up after work. Sometimes he just doesn't want to be held. I put him in his swing and it calms him down. Breaks my heart that he'd rather be in his swing than with me but it works.

Try a swing. I have the FP Ocean Wonders and Joshua loves it now. It has lights, music and a mobile.

What about swaddling him? Do you think maybe he's tired and needs to nap? My DS cries and gets cranky when he's tired even if at that moment he is refusing to take a nap.

Re: tell me this is a phase...

Posted by pnbplus1

I'm sorry you are going through this. My DS cries sometimes for what seems like no reason and it seems to happen right when I pick him up after work. Sometimes he just doesn't want to be held. I put him in his swing and it calms him down. Breaks my heart that he'd rather be in his swing than with me but it works.

Try a swing. I have the FP Ocean Wonders and Joshua loves it now. It has lights, music and a mobile.

What about swaddling him? Do you think maybe he's tired and needs to nap? My DS cries and gets cranky when he's tired even if at that moment he is refusing to take a nap.

Re: tell me this is a phase...

I feel like we've been going through this together...I know how you feel. Now that I'm working, I get to hear stories of all the things they did, his smiles, how he loved his bath, etc. but when I'm with him, he rarely does these things. I get the crying for no reason and the fussiness. My DS really does much better in the mornings, he's alert and happy, afternoons and evenings, not so much. Oh, and he hates the vibrating feature on the bouncy chair.

I actually think that I hit my low point week 6 or 7 - it was the day I cried with him, loudly, literally bawling with him. Looking back, now at 9 weeks, it is better, though not perfect. Hang in there. Is there anyone who can help you, you need a break. At least you are getting smiles, hold on to those to keep you going. I can't wait for the magical 3 month mark although since he was early, I've started thinking it will be 3 months AND 3 weeks, 7 weeks to go.

Re: tell me this is a phase...

Posted by Peainapod

Posted by pnbplus1

I'm sorry you are going through this. My DS cries sometimes for what seems like no reason and it seems to happen right when I pick him up after work. Sometimes he just doesn't want to be held. I put him in his swing and it calms him down. Breaks my heart that he'd rather be in his swing than with me but it works.

Try a swing. I have the FP Ocean Wonders and Joshua loves it now. It has lights, music and a mobile.

What about swaddling him? Do you think maybe he's tired and needs to nap? My DS cries and gets cranky when he's tired even if at that moment he is refusing to take a nap.

I have a fisher price swing..sometimes it works, other times he screams. I have a boppy vibrating chair..same thing. He cries when i hold him, other times he stops as soon as i pick him up. I know he's not sick or in pain b/c he does give me smiles and laughs during the day, not running a temp; and we've been to the ped numerous times and the ER. they all tell me this is normal.

I guess it is just colic. from what i read it peaks around 6 weeks and he's 7 weeks tomorrow.

ughh..i just want my baby to be happy. I feel like he's never a happy boy.

Re: tell me this is a phase...

7 weeks is a major growth spurt. That 6-8 week mark was torture with my DD. She was constantly eating, constantly fussing, sleeping poorly, etc. Your DS may be hungrier and more tired than usual. Hang in there

Re: tell me this is a phase...

Try holding him kind of like superman and walking around the house..It will get better soon

Re: tell me this is a phase...

Maybe he has an ear infection? You knwo your baby but for my kids when they couldn't be soothed it was gas or an ear infection

Re: tell me this is a phase...

My DS was like this until 4.5-5 months, and it started right around 6-7 weeks. In his case, he didn't have reflux or allergies, it was colic, which is kind of a catchall term when there is no clear cause for your child's crying.

I would talk to your pediatrician to rule out allergies or reflux, any other possibilities, but some children just cry. There is a book that's helpful, "Happiest Baby on the Block." Though some nights even that didn't work, and the only thing that did was putting him in his stroller for a walk or the car for a drive. But every night from around 4-7, he would scream. DH has no memories of this, probably because it was usually over when he got home from work. Other things that helped were swaddling (tightly, we did it too loosley initially), singing, white noise, turning on a vacuum or hair dryer.

If it is colic, it's horrible while it's happening, but it does pass. Also, if you feel you are loosing your cool, leave your baby in his crib and come back in a few minutes. They sense when you are upset and that can just feed their upset. I did this a few times with DS, and it seemed wrong, but when I came back he was calmer, and I often remembered some soothing trick I had not tried that helped. Your baby will be happy again, this is a phase.