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#1
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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 |
#2
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Unconsolable infant
Debbie, do you feed your baby formula around the same time every day? His
stomach could be upset from the formula. If so, the best solution is 100% breast milk, but if that is not possible, switching formula brands could help. Richard Micaela's dad I don't think so. I believe the supplemental formula feeding time usually varies, though I'll pay closer attention to the actual times. Thank you for the suggestion. |
#3
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Unconsolable infant
"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 |
#4
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Unconsolable infant
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 |
#5
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Unconsolable infant
"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 |
#6
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Unconsolable infant
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 |
#7
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Unconsolable infant
In article ,
dkc wrote: 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. Does rocking have a soothing effect at all on your son? I've read that the Ocean Wonders Aquarium Swing by Fisher-Price, which rocks the baby side-to-side while semi-reclined, has been helpful for some babies with colic. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...=glance&s=toys Also, one of my girls cried quite a lot, but not at any one time of the day. Holding a pacifier in her mouth did wonders, and she didn't become dependent on it at all; doesn't use one now. My other girl, on the other hand, has always self-soothed by sucking her thumb; don't know how I'm going to wean her from that. :-) Best of luck. And sometimes, when the crying gets too much, you may have to put him in a crib and go out of earshot for an hour. Really, it won't kill him, and might save you. - marty (mom to Andie & Alex, 3-year-old-girls) |
#8
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Unconsolable infant
Marty Billingsley wrote: : In article , :thing that seems to work (which I *hate* doing) is giving baby a pacifier, :which someone must hold in his mouth. : Does rocking have a soothing effect at all on your son? I've read that : the Ocean Wonders Aquarium Swing by Fisher-Price, which rocks the baby : side-to-side while semi-reclined, has been helpful for some babies with : colic. : http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...=glance&s=toys : Also, one of my girls cried quite a lot, but not at any one time of : the day. Holding a pacifier in her mouth did wonders, and she didn't : become dependent on it at all; doesn't use one now. My other girl, : on the other hand, has always self-soothed by sucking her thumb; don't : know how I'm going to wean her from that. :-) : Best of luck. And sometimes, when the crying gets too much, you may have : to put him in a crib and go out of earshot for an hour. Really, it : won't kill him, and might save you. My baby sister would do this bit of unexaplinable crying, we didn't know what was wrong. Only, when she did, not even the pacifier would help. The doctor suggested turning on the vaccum cleaner or clothes dryer, apparently these sound like noises in the womb or something. It worked most of the time. But if the baby calms down with a pacifier take advantage of it, there is a finite amount of resources, you want to explore them all before moving on to the next one, because you might run out. -- Patricia Email: |
#9
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Unconsolable infant
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 |
#10
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Unconsolable infant
"dkc" ) writes:
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 Hi, Debbie! I know it's so hard to go through those times with your baby! Hang in there! I read that it's quite common for babies to be fussy in the evening, and that nobody really knows why. It may be a combination of tiredness, tummy ache, overstimulation and stuff like that. I have a theory that it's mostly pains in the digestive system. Babies usually eat more in the daytime than at night (I think?) and their digestive system is overwhelmed by evening; maybe stuff isn't moving along in their intestines as well as it might. I also read that a study showed that if parents were encouraged to carry their babies around more, even when they're not crying, then the babies cried less on average. One theory I have to explain this is that carrying them around helps move things along in their digestive system, so they don't get pains as much. With some babies, it helps to not give them cow's milk or cow's milk based formulas, or for the breastfeeding mother to stop having cow's milk products. Some babies are more sensitive than others; some breastfeeding mothers find they have to avoid all cow's milk, even tiny bits, while others can have small amounts of milk and there is no problem. You might want to try carrying baby around a lot, moving baby through a variety of positions and/or gently massaging baby's tummy -- perhaps now and then through the day, not waiting for baby to start crying -- to help move things along in the digestive system. Some adults go for a walk each day because the motion helps their digestive system move along; I think babies need the same thing (or more!) but we have to do the moving for them. It's good to develop a list of things that have sometimes soothed your baby, and memorize it. The crying may be from a combination of minor irritations like being too hot or too cold, too much or too little stimulation, having a slight tummy ache, etc. If you can solve some of the irritations, that may be enough to allow baby to relax. We used to run through our list, trying one thing after another. Over time we found more things to add to the list. One trick is to turn on the washing machine or dryer and put baby on it, tummy-down. This is soothing for tummy aches. The vibration is soothing. It can also help to have a small pillow under the baby's tummy, or a hot-water-bottle (not too hot!). In one of William Sears' books ("The Fussy Baby" I think it was) he describes a massage for the tummy: he called it the "I love you" massage. It's designed to help the intestines move stuff along. First you rub along the left side of the tummy, towards the legs (the letter "I"); then you go along the top of the tummy, from right to left (the letter "L"), then you rub upwards along the right, and continue with the rest of the "L" motion (the letter "U"). Sometimes it's soothing for a baby to have a change of scene: going outside or having a bath. If baby has a bit of diaper rash, spending some time with no diaper on, exposed to the air, can help. Giving the baby a bottle or pacifier will tend to make breastfeeding more difficult. You may feel it's worth it anyway. Formula or pumped milk can be given to a newborn with a cup, spoon or eyedropper, which will not interfere with breastfeeding the way artificial nipples (bottles or pacifiers) do. Even a newborn can be fed with a cup. However, it takes time and effort. You can decide whether it's worth it. You might want to consider switching the supplementation to goat's milk. Someone I knew found that her baby was much healthier on a combination of breastmilk and goat's milk than on a combination of breastmilk and formula. Goat's milk can't be used as baby's whole diet because it's deficient in folic acid. Formula can contribute to digestive problems. If it's based on cow's milk: cow's milk contains substances that encourage the growth of bacteria, and can promote diarhoea. There's a method for gradually switching from bottlefeeding to breastfeeding, involving using a nipple cover while you breastfeed, and maybe a lactaid (tube) too, and gradually cutting larger holes in the nipple cover over a number of days as baby gradually gets used to the feel of the breast. The problem with nipple confusion is usually that baby instinctively wants to feel the nipple pressing against the back of the mouth, in order to know that the positioning is right, but the artificial nipples are much firmer so when all the baby feels is the breast's nipple, it feels so soft it doesn't seem to count, so baby doesn't know it's time to suck. Baby needs to get used to interpreting the feel of the soft breast's nipple as meaning something. Some babies who are having problems with breastfeeding for one reason or another will breastfeed when they are half-asleep. It's tricky to find just the right stage of sleep and introduce the breast with the minimum of disruption, but sometimes it works. If baby has been sleeping and you can catch baby when he has just started to move around or cry a tiny bit, it might work then, for example -- perhaps lying down next to baby rather than picking him up, to disturb his sleep as little as possible while beginning to nurse. Just a chance it might work. Good luck! I hope things improve soon! Try to look after yourself too! -- Cathy |
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