Fussy Newborn

My son was the same way. He did grow out of it but it took until he was around 4 months old. I can't say anything in particular helped to get him to stop but he eventually grew out of it. Playing the same music each night helps him now.

HI there and congrats on baby!!! he may just be adjusting to life outside the womb, I remember my son who is just 1 did the same thing it could be colic do you swaddle him up? ALso my son slept in his swing untill 9 months and now he sleeps with me! Anyways good luck and you know what some babies like mine just dont sleep much!!!

I was breastfeeding and my son did the same thing. I had to cut out all food besides unseasoned chicken, unseasoned steak, and salad with no dressings, and some vegetables (not onions or garlic) for the first 3 months because he was very sensitive. My diet was very boring but at least we got some sleep!

We used to use the hair dryer for white noise. That worked well. My husband used to take him for drives which worked well too. Also, for a last resort, I have a song that I sing as I hold him and rock him until he falls asleep.

Good luck and congratulations!

Weird as it sounds, have you tried a vaccum cleaner switched on? Sometimes you can use the radio turned between stations. I've heard of a method where you swaddle tight, and shush loudly, unfortunately I forget what all it entails, but I know it worked for my friend. I just got my boys used to listening to some music at bed time, I use a cd player that plays mp3 so I can burn a long playing disc.

First of all I would make sure he is getting all his gas out with good burps after feedings. Second I would try putting him on his side with a rolled up blanket behind him. And try a classical radio station, helps the brain develop too.

It sounds like the baby has gas or some kind of reflux. To get rid of the gas you can do some exercises on the baby.

Move his legs like he is running and then push them into his tummy. Of course you want to be gentle, but make sure you are using enough force to get the bubbles in his tummy moving. You can also massage his tummy and then do the running with him. This really works I promise.

I would ask you ped about the reflux.

Like the other mom suggested I think the happiest baby on the block was a great book - the four or five S's. We swaddled my son tightly until he was four months old! He wouldn't sleep well unless he was swaddled and couldn't move. He napped in the papasan swing a lot and only slept four hours at a time until six months old. I would really recommend swaddling. I think it made him comfortable. I think some type of white noise would be good too. We used a humidifier and it was pretty loud. You also might want to move him to his own room where it is quiet and every little noise doesn't keep you up. I moved my son to his nursery at six weeks.

Hey R.,

I don't know what your parenting style is, but I'll tell you that co-sleeping worked great for us. Both of my kids slept longer and more soundly in bed with us. My daughter refused to sleep in a crib,and we didn't even set it up for our son. Your boy is teeny-tiny, and he needs to wake up to eat frequently throughout the night. There shouldn't be anything like a schedule for him, unless it's one he sets for himself. Also, you might try putting him on his side to sleep, between those baby "chocks." Of course,if he's in bed with you, you can just spoon him-the best, most delicious feeling ever. I know you are tired, and maybe you don't consider yourself to be a co-sleeping type, but I'm telling you that it saved my sanity and gave me more sleep and allowed me to be all the more close to my babies. Check out Dr. Sears' website for more info. Good luck and remember that these days do not last forever. You'll make it through!

Al

R.,
Are you tired of the advice??? :) My son did the same thing--but he started not eating. We finally figured out he was constipated. (We could only get him to sleep in his car seat). My husband would use an infant glycerin suppository on my son. He would IMMEDIATELY poop like nobody's business--and then be fine. We had to do this once or twice a week for a few weeks--then his system worked fine on it's own. We tried all the other things mentioned--the gas drops, swaddling, walking, the dryer etc. His tummy was just full. He was a new kid. I hope this helps--because it's an easy remedy and you'll see immediate results.
K.

Sounds like cholic to me...just something he will have to outgrow, but internet may have some suggestions for soothing, etc.

Congratualtions! New babies are so amazing, but they do give their parents a lot to think about. It sounds like colic, and if you are lucky it will only last a few weeks. You have a lot of great suggestions here, but one I used that wasn't mentioned is a hot water bottle. I had a miniature-baby hot water bottle--about 5" x 8" and I would fill it with warm water and lay it on my lap and lay the baby face down over my lap onto it. The heat helps the baby's tummy break up the gas and eventually it does enough to let the baby relax and fall asleep. It needs to be fairly warm--not so warm to burn skin of course, but it has to get through a lot of layers of clothing and diapers etc. Good luck!

I think co-sleeping is the greatest thing. It has the potential to fix a lot of sleep issues really fast. But if it is not for you...Dr. Karp's Happiest Baby on the Block is my next favorite source of help. (You are doing one of his suggestions - the white noise - but you may have to add movement (the bouncer) or swaddling.
Another good book is Baby Matters by Linda Palmer. There is good chapter called crying and caring. (The chapter before it on bonding is great too.) This book could be at the library (published 2001). I am sure Karp's is. (I think there may be a video too)

Hi R.. Even though we now know that it is best for babies to be on their back unfortunately the message hasn't yet filtered down to the baby. Some babies just don't like being on their back all the time. Try swaddling him and then putting him on his side with some very tight rolled up receiving blankets either side but well away from his face, or you can buy the kits that have the removable wedges of covered foam so that you can customise them to your baby and his position. Also i don't know if you are doing this or not, but don't make the place all quiet and hush hush when he goes down to sleep. Keep the noise level as normal as possible. When i had my two babies in the 70s i thought a lot of stuff that we were hearing was all hippy new age rubbish but some of it acutally works, like the womb noises, and also like you said, white noise. You can get CDs and tapes at most baby places or if not look on Amazon. Being only 11 days old as well he hasn't had time to adjust to the outside world. Try some of the different things by trial and error. If you think about how your baby was laying in the womb he wasn't flat on his back, so i would try putting him on his side first and see how he goes. Don't give up if it doesn't work the first night, as much as you need some sleep you have to persevere. My granddaughter would only settle to sleep when she was put into her swingseat. They would keep it going for as long as needed, also it was in the room that had the TV in and where everybody congregated so she also got used to sleeping around noise.
It doesn't matter how you get them to sleep as long as you get them to do it enough for you to get some rest and let the little guy find his rythm too.

Good luck.

S..

I am a Newborn Care Specialist and we work with newborns all the time. We do the night duty. If you are not swaddling your son. He needs to be swaddled...tightly. His hands need to be down at his sides. You may get the Miracle blanket it is amazing. Babies need to be safe and secure and the womb is the place they feel the best so we try to recreate that scenerio. Swaddling, white noise - NOT MUSIC it is to disorganized for them and when they sleep is the only time they grow so you do not want anything their brain has to listen to. The white noise should be loud. Babies have differnet biological clocks than we have so he should be down no later than 7 or 7:30. Also do not try and keep him awake during the day. Sleep begats sleep at this age and 40% of all babies are sleep deprived because of overstimulaion. AS soon as your baby shows sleepy signs and that could be as simple as staring off in the distance or not looking at you, you need to swaddle them up and put them down, even if it is only 10 mins. after they ate.
Good luck. I guarentee this will work, if you swaddle properly and tight enough.

R., congrats on your new blessing! I know these long nights are frustrating and hard! Your little boy is about the same age as one of our twins was when we learned he had reflux. I was very much against putting such a small baby on a prescription medicine, but I did it anyway and it worked wonders. We also were told to keep him upright to help gravity keep the food/acid where it needs to be. That said, he slept in his swing for the naps and nights for six months :) Don't feel bad if he likes to sleep upright, if that is what works, then go with it, of course following the basic common sense rules of nothing by his face, etc. You can google acid reflux in infants and see if you think he has some of the symptoms and discuss it with your ped, but also remember, his little body is still very very young and everything is still completely new to him. He has gone from basically being warm and with you 24/7 to being expected to sleep away from you etc. Every sensation and feeling is new to him and at this age, the way they react is to cry, their cries don't have a 0-10 scale, it is all or nothing. We quickly learned with our four that the golden rule of "This too shall pass" is so true. Do what you need to to get some sleep right now, even if that means letting him sleep in his swing or bouncy. Personally I wouldn't give him anything beyond mylicon with out consulting your ped first, but that is just me, i know many people believe strongly in herbal or otc tricks.

Hello R.!

Congratulations on your new bundle of joy!

I know this time is so overwhelming especially with 2 kids. Sleep seems to be a novelty. I have a 6 month old and a 2 1/2 month old and I have been in the same situation. I thought, oh, this is my second child I should totally be able to hand this and I should be am to limit the crying to a minium.

Our 6 month old woke up a lot too. So, we started a routine, with bath (have you tried one of those baths that are similar to a bouncer in the regular bath tub-that always relaxes our 6 month), quiet place sing and read and then feed and sleep. However, the most important final step make sure you have all the burps off the baby. Even if you think there isn't any, there always is. Just keep trying to get them off, move the baby around pat the back, move the legs. Trying anything to get the baby to go pooh-pooh or to burp because after each feeding it is completely neccessary and it will make things a lot easier.

Also, by the baby's two month appt talk with you pediatric about getting on a program to get your baby to sleep - if the baby is 8weeks and over 8lbs - they can sleep through the night if you teach them. It was a lifesaver with our second baby.

If you have any other questions let me know. Both my sons sleep through the night and it is terrific as well as on the same nap schedule it is nice - not that it is still not demanding, just has made it more managable.

Good luck - you'll get there.

Best wishes, K.

My son was like that so I put him in bed with us, and it worked wonders! I also carried him around in a wrap (www.gypsymama.com I have the bali wrap) or sling most of the day. The warmth of my body helped soothe him. Good luck!

I was always told the first 6 weeks are the hardest. I doubt I got much sleep until after this time. Was your daughter not a fussy newborn? Have you tried gas drops? I know when our son was fussy, that was one thing we gave him because you just never know. I would sometimes put my son in his swing if that was the only measure that would soothe him. You have to try different things until you find something that works in these first few weeks! I also got a heartbeat bear from Babies R US because they like to hear the sound of their mom's heartbeat like they did in the womb and that seemed to settle him down. Also, try swaddling......my son had to be swaddled for sleeping until 5 months. Remember he is 11 days old and still adjusting to the world. If he is sleeping during the day, sleep when he does. Good luck!

swaddling didn't work with our son. He liked it the first few days, then that was it. As it turned out, he has a dairy sensitivity, so as soon as I eliminated dairy from my diet, I saw an immediate improvement. I wanted to see if I could improve things by eliminating what was bothering him rather than giving him simethecone drops, baby zantac, or even gripe water. For us, it worked. I hope it is as straightforward for you and your son as it was for us. Good luck!!!

Hi R.,

When our son was about a month old, he didn't like sleeping flat on his back either. Then we bought a swing and noticed that he slept alot because of the incline. So we had to prop him up on a pillow when we put him to sleep in his crib.

Hope this helps. :o)

Have you thought he maybe waking up from gas? My kids were sensitive to milk products & they would feel it about 8 hrs. after I ate milk products.... usually evening time. If he does this every night, then, keep track of what you are eating 8 hrs. before he wakes up screaming.... see if you can eliminate something that may be bothering him.....

Don't get your baby used to using sleep props to go to sleep or else you'll have a nightmare on your hands! Buy a book called Babywise. It talks about setting up eating/sleeping patterns so that your baby can sleep better. It worked for both of my kids and they are GREAT sleepers. Great sleepers aren't born that way...they're trained that way! Trust me...buy the book! My son slept through the night at 10 weeks (breastfed), my daughter at 8 weeks (bottle fed). Want some sleep....buy the book!

Your son sounds normal to me I have a six week old daughter who is just now wanting to sleep on her back in the pack n play she has been sleeping in her car seat set in side the pack n play. Her godmother bought her a mama bear it is a stuffed bear that makes sound like what your heart sounded like in utero. It has a timmed box so it turns off after about 45 minutes she seems to like it. But, like the bathroom fan it is hit or miss. He will get used to it soon until then if he likes to sleep in the bouncer let him. It is not possible to spoil a baby under 6 months old.

Hi R., We had the same issue with our daughter at that age, The only way she would sleep was in her swing. She would be out like a rock and I would lay her down in her bassinet or crib and within 10-15 minutes she was awake and crying. So I started swaddling her really tight and TADA! She was sleeping through the night at two months and is now 2 years old and has been sleeping 12 - 13 straight hours through the night since she was about 9 months!
Good Luck!

Have you tried swaddling yet? I know this really saved us when our daughter was little and fussy between 5-7 every night. We would swaddle her and put her in her bouncy for her evening nap and it worked everytime. Also, in my opinion it is never to early to start a routine. So since it is a little later in the evening that you are having an issue try a bath with the calming wash, rocking, swaddling (the book Happiest Baby on the Block is a great resource)

Hi R.-
How often does he wake up fussy and screaming? Where does he sleep? Are you nursing him? Checking for burping, wet diaper, hunger and or need for something to suck on?

Unfortunately for your sleep, newborns do better sleeping near you, sometimes on top of your chest where they can hear your heart beat. I didn't have him sleep on his back, but on his tummy with his head to one side, then another. I propped myself at an angle going up with pillows, and laid him on my chect. I breast-fed, so I had to be very careful about my diet. He was allergic to citrus, melons, coffee and tea. He would scream with colic for as long as 24 hours after I ate those- so, of course, I didn't eat them. If you are not breastfeeding, the formula probably needs to change. He shouldn't be in this much pain. If he is terrified because he is alone, that is as it should be. Eleven days ago, he was inside you, with your heartbeat as his constant companion. Now, if he is expected to do entirely without you, it may just be too much.

White noise helps, although the best thing I found was a ride in the car when he actually got the colic because I was foolish with my diet :-)

Also, my son woke up every hour and a half through the night for the first nine months- once a night thereafter until a year and a half. He needed feeding and changing. Boys tend to need more food and changing. I was falling over asleep with my head in my plate when I tried to prepare a meal for friends (:-)) During those months, I had enough energy to either prepare it or eat it, but not both. I ate a lot of peanut butter and whole wheat sandwiches.

Have hope, this, too, will end. My son is now grown, healthy, smart, and happy :-)

Hope it helps- S.

This may be a "no, no" but it worked for us with both of my boys. I swaddled both of them and put them in the cradle swing. My youngest is now 5 months and I still do it! I would like to get him to sleep in a pack a play but when I try he only sleeps an hour at the most. I'm going to start working on the transition but right now I'm so sleep deprived that I don't care! With my oldest the swing was the only way I got more than an hours sleep at a time! I also agree w/ what the other lady said about the white noise. You can buy a sound machine at Target for around $20 the one I like is by Conair. Make sure it says white noise on there. We realized this worked the hard way. Our oldest slept better with the noisy vaporizer. When we didn't need to run the vaporizer anymore he didn't sleep as well and then we got the noise machine and still use it. He's now 3! It helps block out the noise of the house when we're still awake. Good luck!

i had the same problem wiht my son. He would get fussy around the same time for awhile. They tend to grow out of it. I recently have learned infant massageand this helps with their digestive system as well as the colick. If you are interested I teach the infant massage now. Just an example before I started the massage he would sleep only 3-4 hours at a time because of his stomach. then after doing the massage he would sleep 6-7 hours a night and go to the bathroom more with out pain. We now have a happier baby ans the fussiness has also been less. Let me know if you would like to learn!!

Try letting him sleep on his tummy. It won't hurt him. ALL of my 5 kids slept on their tummy's all of the time, I never had them on their backs or sides until of course they were able to roll over on their own. It is worth a try. Also, does he use a pacifier? if not try that at bedtime as well, it may help soothe him for the long night, and when sleeping on his tummy, he won't loose it as easily. HTH!

What about simethicone? There are over the counter simethicone drops for newborns with gas and colicky symptoms, and they do seem to work. It's the same medicine as in adult strength gas-x, and it isn't absorbed into the system but just breaks down the gas in the GI tract.

There is a massage technique out there for newborns where you rub their abdomens gently in a certain pattern, but I'd suggest you do more research as I don't recall the technique exactly.

Bouncing the baby, walking him, and holding him facing out/down in your arms, and knowing this will not last forever are the best pieces of advice I can give you. It's a tough place to be, and you will get to know what works best for your child. Until this passes, nap when your kids are napping and take good care of yourself.

It sounds like you just have a caulic-e- baby.and you should ask your doctor for some suggestions maybe heating up the formula/breastmilk slightly, maybe a warm bath, maybe he don't like the bed,blanket or something you could try a light mobile that you can hang over the side railing.i'm sure it's just a phase. You might also try a pacifier. But once they're on it ,it's hard to get them off so you just have to weigh the measures on that one.hope i helped.

I think your baby is pretty normal! I just went through this too (she's almost 4 months).

PLEASE don't be tempted to put him on his tummy!! ugg I can only imagine how I'd feel if the baby died of SIDS and I hadn't done everything to protect them. anyways...

Do anything you can think of to get him to sleep (swing, carseat, vibrating chair, etc). Don't worry about problems later; these can be easily resolved. We also had ours in a co-sleeper and she'd wake up every couple of hours... I'd nurse... again and again. By the end of the night I just kept her next to me. There were several nights when she slept in the swing. It seemed like she didn't like it at first but then she started too. She'd sleep in there for hours during the days too (now I can't get more than 30-45 minute naps... hopefully that will change soon!). Check out "The Happiest Baby on the Block" helps with calming and focused on the first few months. I recently checked it out at the library (you can also have it put on hold and pick it up at your local library). White noise can help, maybe tight swaddling. I've been using the humidifer in her room for naps which started because of stuffy noses but is also good for the noise. Also "Heathly sleep habits, happy child" is a good one.

Mylicon drops - they're like a magic potion for gas.

Give your newborn babies magic tea. It will naturally soothe him from any tummy gas or other tummy related problem that is making him fussy.

your Baby Probably has colic or Acid reflex. I went thru the same thingwhen she was born. If its colic he will grow out of it as his digestive system grows. To sooth him give him cama mel sorry spelling. If its acid reflex then your dr. has to subscribe medication but trust me it helps. We also swaddled our daughter. She ha to be really tight b/c if she came undone in the middle of the night she would wake up and we couldnt get her back to sleep. She to hated sleeping on her back she had the acid reflex and laying on her tummy helped. Please dont let him sleep with you. I have heard so many times on the news about parents that are so tired they sleep with the baby and they accidently roll on top of the baby.

hope that helps
Tabby

I know this may sound funny, but take him to a chiroprator. It helps get all the organs and joints in the right place. It works wonders!!!

Have you tried swaddling him? My daughter is 6 weeks old, and very fussy. She likes to be swaddled very tightly -- we bought a special blanket with velcro. She is sleeping through the night already. Good luck.