Unconsolable infant

Hi,

I have a newborn who is 11 days old. About 4:30pm every day, he begins a
very loud crying fit that usually continues for 4 or 5 hours. We've tried
everything to calm him (feeding, burping, changing, rocking, swaddling,
providing a calm environment, playing soft music, interacting, etc.), but
nothing seems to work during this fussy period. It seems too early for
colic (which normally starts during a baby's third week, as I understand).
BTW, not sure if this matters, but my baby is mainly fed breast milk with
some formula supplemented.

Does anyone have any suggestions for calming such a fussy infant? The only
thing that seems to work (which I *hate* doing) is giving baby a pacifier,
which someone must hold in his mouth.

Thanks!

Debbie

"dkc" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I have a newborn who is 11 days old. About 4:30pm every day, he begins a
very loud crying fit that usually continues for 4 or 5 hours. We've tried
everything to calm him (feeding, burping, changing, rocking, swaddling,
providing a calm environment, playing soft music, interacting, etc.), but
nothing seems to work during this fussy period. It seems too early for
colic (which normally starts during a baby's third week, as I understand).
BTW, not sure if this matters, but my baby is mainly fed breast milk with
some formula supplemented.

Does anyone have any suggestions for calming such a fussy infant? The
only
thing that seems to work (which I *hate* doing) is giving baby a pacifier,
which someone must hold in his mouth.

Thanks!

Debbie

First up - you are not doing anything wrong by going with the pacifier. At
this age and stage of being a new parent you do whatever works or gets you
through the evil hours. This sort of behaviour is very common. Have you
tried extra breastfeeding? Rule out if you can: hunger, pain, discomfort
from wet nappy, overtiredness and overstimulation (this was our main problem
with DD), etc. It could be colic. Try a little tummy massage or the colic
carry hold. It could also be you have a baby that wants to be carried a
lot - try a sling perhaps.

I had a very unhappy baby and someone told me that "sometimes there are
babies who just don't like to be babies!". Boy, did DD hate being a baby! It
took her over 3 months before we began to see an improvement. I think we had
to spend a lot of time getting to know her particular characteristics. And
as a toddler she has turned out to be stubborn, independent and determined
to have her way. Being a baby must have been very frustrating!

Hope this is some help. Others with more experience will be sure to have
more to offer.

Liz

First up - you are not doing anything wrong by going with the pacifier. At
this age and stage of being a new parent you do whatever works or gets you
through the evil hours. This sort of behaviour is very common. Have you
tried extra breastfeeding? Rule out if you can: hunger, pain, discomfort
from wet nappy, overtiredness and overstimulation (this was our main
problem
with DD), etc. It could be colic. Try a little tummy massage or the colic
carry hold. It could also be you have a baby that wants to be carried a
lot - try a sling perhaps.

Hi Liz,

Thank you so much for your suggestions. In terms of breastfeeding, my son
rarely latches on and stays on. (I'm seeking help from an LC.) In fact, he
gets *very* angry and often starts his lengthy fits when I attempt to
breastfeed. It seems that he really wants to breastfeed and gets frustrated
when he can't keep a latch-on going strong. (At times, he seems to have a
voracious need to suck.) Right now, I'm just trying to keep up with pumping
breast milk to feed him every 2-2.5 hours. My mother suggested the tummy
massage, too, but that is hard as his umbilical cord stump has not yet
fallen off (he's only 11 days old).

I have a Baby Bjorn carrier that I need to learn how to use. Perhaps that
will help us.


I had a very unhappy baby and someone told me that "sometimes there are
babies who just don't like to be babies!". Boy, did DD hate being a baby!
It
took her over 3 months before we began to see an improvement. I think we
had
to spend a lot of time getting to know her particular characteristics. And
as a toddler she has turned out to be stubborn, independent and determined
to have her way. Being a baby must have been very frustrating!

You must have worked hard at remaining patient! I can't imagine enduring
this extreme fussiness for another two or more months...but I suppose I will
need to just take one hour at a time and try to endure.

Debbie

I have a Baby Bjorn carrier that I need to learn how to use. Perhaps that
will help us.

That's exactly what I was going to suggest.
Debbie

"dkc" wrote in message ...

Thank you so much for your suggestions. In terms of breastfeeding, my son
rarely latches on and stays on. (I'm seeking help from an LC.) In fact, he
gets *very* angry and often starts his lengthy fits when I attempt to
breastfeed.

Just an offhand suggestion--try cutting dairy out of your diet for a
week and see if that helps. I cut everything out of my diet EXCEPT
milk and it didn't help DD's fits at feeding time, and it turned out
she was lactose intolerant and it was the breast milk (actually my
drinking cow's milk) that was hurting her! I felt so bad but now try
to tell all new moms about it hoping it will help them.

Jeannie

Just an offhand suggestion--try cutting dairy out of your diet for a
week and see if that helps. I cut everything out of my diet EXCEPT
milk and it didn't help DD's fits at feeding time, and it turned out
she was lactose intolerant and it was the breast milk (actually my
drinking cow's milk) that was hurting her! I felt so bad but now try
to tell all new moms about it hoping it will help them.

Jeannie

Thanks for the idea, but I'm lactose intolerant myself; therefore, I drink
only LactAid milk.

Debbie

dkc wrote:
Just an offhand suggestion--try cutting dairy out of your diet for
a week and see if that helps. I cut everything out of my diet
EXCEPT milk and it didn't help DD's fits at feeding time, and it
turned out she was lactose intolerant and it was the breast milk
(actually my drinking cow's milk) that was hurting her! I felt so
bad but now try to tell all new moms about it hoping it will help
them.

Thanks for the idea, but I'm lactose intolerant myself; therefore,
I drink only LactAid milk.

Argh! If there is one myth about problems with breastmilk I could eliminate
in my lifetime, it's the one about lactose intolerance (which is sadly often
perpetuated by doctors who ought to know better). It's not the lactose in
human milk that bothers babies. Human babies (in fact, mammalian babies in
general) are virtually *never* "lactose intolerant"--all milk, whatever the
source, has lactose in it (lactose just means milk sugar) and human milk is
three times higher in lactose than cow's milk. When human babies are lactose
intolerant, it is a serious disorder, in fact, it's one of the things they
check for in the heel prick test done at birth because if it's not caught
early, it can lead to serious damage.

What tends to bother human babies that's found in cow's milk isn't the
lactose, but rather the proteins, which are very large, hard to break down,
and which pass from mother to baby in breastmilk. So, even if you are
drinking LactAid milk, you are consuming dairy proteins which, in turn, may
cause your baby intestinal distress. It's fairly unusual for dairy protein
intolerance to show up this early, though, simply because the buildup in the
baby's body isn't usually high enough at this point to cause trouble. Still,
for a very sensitive infant, if *could* be an issue.
--
Be well, Barbara
Mom to Sin (Vernon, 2), Misery (Aurora, 4), and the Rising Son (Julian, 6)

Aurora (in the bathroom with her dad)--"It looks like an elephant, Daddy."
Me (later)--"You should feel flattered."

All opinions expressed in this post are well-reasoned and insightful.
Needless to say, they are not those of my Internet Service Provider, its
other subscribers or lackeys. Anyone who says otherwise is itchin' for a
fight. -- with apologies to Michael Feldman

Um, infants are NOT, as a rule, lactose intolerant. Breastmilk is
higher in lactose than cow's milk is. However, many are intolerant of
cow's milk protein, which migrates from mom's gut to her breastmilk.
Hence, drinking lactose-free milk won't make any difference to a
cow's-milk-intolerant infant, but cutting cow's milk protien out of
mom's diet can make a huge difference, often noticable within a single
day.

Just an offhand suggestion--try cutting dairy out of your diet for a
week and see if that helps. I cut everything out of my diet EXCEPT
milk and it didn't help DD's fits at feeding time, and it turned out
she was lactose intolerant and it was the breast milk (actually my
drinking cow's milk) that was hurting her! I felt so bad but now try
to tell all new moms about it hoping it will help them.


--Beth Kevles

http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html -- a page for the milk-allergic
Disclaimer: Nothing in this message should be construed as medical
advice. Please consult with your own medical practicioner.

NOTE: No email is read at my MIT address. Use the AOL one if you would
like me to reply.

"dkc" wrote in message
...

Does anyone have any suggestions for calming such a fussy infant? The
only
thing that seems to work (which I *hate* doing) is giving baby a pacifier,
which someone must hold in his mouth.

Thanks!

Debbie

I seen this Doctor on Dr Phil... Dr Harvey Karp (an associate professor of
paediatrics at UCLA)

He had 5 things that can calm a baby...
Swaddling - wrapping them up in a blanket..
Laying them on their side or stomach - this always worked for my Eldest DD
Shushing them
Rocking/moving
And they need to suck - dummy/fingers/breast

For more information about Dr. Karp and his techniques for calming crying
babies, go to
www.thehappiestbaby.com

Kelly
Mummy to Emily nearly 3 and Isabella 17mths

Thank you! I see that my library has this book and also the video. I'll
check it out!

Debbie


For more information about Dr. Karp and his techniques for calming crying
babies, go to
www.thehappiestbaby.com

Kelly
Mummy to Emily nearly 3 and Isabella 17mths