Unhappy 5 Week Old

sounds like he has gas on the stomach. My son was like that, i can't remember the name of the over-the-counter meds his pedi perscribed - but i know you can get it at walmart & it's specifically for gas for infants. Meanwhile, what will help is to rub his tummy after each feeding, that will help to pass the gas bubbles. Now as for the acne...it may not be that at all - it could be eczema desguised as acne...if it was me, i would go ahead and call the doc, and get it properly diagnosed and instructions on how to treat it. Maybe he can perscribe a cream to help clear that up. Good luck...

If you breast feed try cutting not only dairy, but caffein as well, and gluten. There is also a product called "little tummies" that is non-medicated that worked wonders with my son. Be careful about soy formulas (only use as a last resort), soy is full of a form of estrogen and is not the best thing for growing boys. You can do an elimination diet for yourself and once he seems better start adding things back in slowly one at at time to watch for reactions.

Be careful of soy because it's genetically engineered - if it's conventional.
Plus, it's full of estrogen.

I would try getting off of dairy. Give it a week and see if it works...Dairy used to cause major gas and constipation w/ me. I am off of it.

Check w/ an occupational therapist about sensory issues.

Oh, mama, I can empathize as my daughter was the same way and she was my first so I was completely clueless! I remember my usually helpful pedi calmly telling me that "Babies cry from 4 to 20 hours per day" and me wondering why I got the one that cries for 21 hours per day?!?!?!??!?! And let me tell you, my darling girl had some lungs on her! At the time it seemed mine never slept for more than 30 minutes...Which, of course, meant mama never slept for more than 30 minutes. Like yourself, my husband worked really long hours and we were new to the area so I had no family or friends that could give me a break. I felt trapped in the house as going out anywhere with a baby who was wailing 80% of the time was not much of an escape. Whenever my husband would return from work, I would immediately dash for the door to run to Target or anywhere for just a few minutes. Husband's big joke used to be "You're coming back, right?" I was so exhausted and mentally frazzled I thought I was going crazy.

IT GETS BETTER! It sounds like your lo has a combination of GERD/Acid Reflux and colic and both will pass eventually, but I never found much that sped up the process or seemed to make it better. At various times, I cut out just about everything - dairy, caffeine, broccoli, you name it- with limited improvement. The Zantac helped some.

What seemed to be most effective for me was to keep my daughter upright as much as possible - wearing her in a baby sling, in her car carrier, an electric swing when she got a little bigger. I even slept sitting up with her resting on my shoulder just to get a few minutes sleep. Being upright keeps that acid reflux from bubbling up as much. At about 3 months we started seeing some marked improvements and it was uphill from there.

As you can see, I don't have a whole lot of constructive advice aside from keeping baby upright, I just wanted you to know that you're not alone and that there is a light at the end of the tunnel! You'll make it there with your sanity mostly intact :) My "baby" just turned 10 so my memories of those trying months are a little hazy, but I wouldn't trade them or her for anything in the world. A big virtual hug to you, mama. Hope you get an opportunity for a nap soon!

My DD could not tolerate fish when I was nursing. We later found out she coudln't have apples and I wonder if my eating apples was causing her problems as a newborn.

You might also try another hold. Do you have an overactive letdown? My DD was trying to drink from a firehose and would cry when it was too much. My LC was a godsend.

Here's another random thought: My friend's son had intussuception. http://www.medicinenet.com/intussusception/article.htm and had similar symptoms. She also was breastfeeding and thought it was her. Finally someone at the children's hospital properly diagnosed him. He was a bit older than your son, but it's worth asking about.

It sounds like a gas bubble. You could try burping him more often say after every 2 oz or half the bottle. You could also try switching to Soy based formula. That helped my daughter.

Also, for yourself, be sure to take a shower and put on fresh clothes each day. It doesn't matter if it is at 8a , 8p or 2a. I found that following this simple thing helped my stress alot. When you are showered and dressed you can take on the day, run errands, etc.

Also, when you fell stressed, a quick 10 min shower can do wonders.

For the baby acne, Aveeno's Baby Calming lotion worked wonders for my daughter.

this too shall pass. 6 weeks of age is the peak on infant crying. this is a normal stage for some babies.

crying peaks at 6 weeks then gradually diminishes until 12 weeks then they are much happier and less likely to cry so much.

my daughter cried.. and cried.. we tried zantac.. it helped with some of the puking but she still cried. as she got older she cired less and once she ate baby food she didn't puke..

baby acne is no big deal. you do not have to wash it more than you wash his body.. it will go away in time. it is related to hormones that are leaving his body.. nothing you put on the outside of his skin will make it go away faster. it doesn't hurt him

try to get some help so you don't get too tired.. can grandma come by? can you get a sitter for a few hours so you can get a break.. lunch all by yourself at a little restaurant can do wonders for you..

If he is still crying with the zantac.. it is not helping him and I would stop it.. why give him a medicine that he doesn't need and it is not helping.

I didn't read all the responses, but "happiest baby on the block" may help. Even if you just google it ( bc in sure you have no time to read a book right now). Baby wearing helps baby feel more secure. Anything you can to to mimic the womb. I'd suggest a sleepy wrap/moby. There's videos on YouTube how to use wraps. This will pass even though it probably seems like it won't. Good luck mama

Do you breast feed? If so I would cut out dairy n spicy foods. To see if that helps. If you are formula feeding switch to a soy

My oldest daughter was like this and it went on for quite a while, she wanted to be held, didn't want to be held, we'd swaddle her, put her in her swing, rock her, walk w/her, drive around the world & back w/her & still nothing. Our ped said that it was colic & that it would subside w/in a few weeks, well weeks turned into a few months. She is 15 now so there wasn't too much available OTC so we did rely on Mylicon drops (they were such a blessing), we switched her bottles to Playtex & only used the orthodontic nipples (someone suggested it, we tried, it worked, bonus)! We found that if she slept in her car seat carrier she was much happier, we did whatever we could to figure it all out & to get through it. As mentioned, it may be gas, that was Sami's biggest problem, we'd put her in the kitchen sink w/some warm water & let her pass as much as she could, a warm (hot) water bottle across their belly works as well, one method we were shown for holding her helped. You place the baby face down w/their face in your palm, arms & legs dangling on side and sit on a couch or chair w/them while doing this, this will allow a lot of gas to flow & relieve them. Every time I would bring my dd for her check-up the ped couldn't believe this was still going on. I had so many different opinions of what to do, one being the Ferber method, tried it once, she threw up so badly that my husband who is a first responder refused to ever do that again for fear that she would choke on her own vomit. With something like this you have to choose your battles and do what you feel is best for you and your child. Another thing my husband would do was to use the rectal thermometer to release any of the gas or to help her pass any stool through from being constipated. I wish you the best of luck, hang in there, it's a hard thing to go through, but if you need anything you can always PM me.

Did you try the Mylicon gas drops?
Swaddling?
Baby swing?
Vibrating infant seat?
It's good you are seeing the Dr to check everything out but if it's collic there might be nothing anyone can do and you just have to let him out grow it.
My Mom tells me I cried seemingly non stop for the first 6 months of my life.
And then it was like there was a sudden off switch and I was a happy easy going baby after that.
You have to find a way to get some break time.
Have a relative or sitter come watch the baby for a few hours so you can re-charge your batteries and have some quiet cry-fee time.

http://www.parenting.com/article/4-genius-colic-home-reme...

I'm pretty darn sure your baby has colic. Everything you read will tell you that it starts at 3 weeks and ends at 3 months. While all the literature does agree on that, it doesn't REALLY know what causes it.
My daughter had it, and I'll tell you, that was a very, very dark period for me. She was not just a fussy baby; she was a seriously colicky baby -- big difference. I spent all day, every day holding her and comforting her; I could never take her anywhere. The best (and really only) thing you can do is whatever it takes to hang on and keep your sanity until it passes, which it WILL. I remember very clearly the day my husband said to me, "Hang on! We're at the half-way point!" And sure enough, at 3 months almost to the day, the colic was gone. My husband described it as if someone had come into our house in the middle of the night and switched babies on us.

Hyland homeopathic colic tablets do help. The only other thing to relieve stress for both of you is exercise. Put the baby in a front pack and walk. Getting out and moving does make both of you feel better.