How much does your lo cry?

jeaneich

My lo is 5 weeks old and he cries a lot- but then again, I don't know what "normal" is....

When he is awake he usually is interested and active for about 10-15 minutes and then starts getting fussy and cries. He cries any where from a few minutes to an hour. I always get him settled, but we have yet to have a time where he is awake and doesn't cry. Like I've never had the experience of him waking up- playing, eating or whatever and then going back up to sleep with no crying.

Is that normal?

How often does your lo cry?

And how do I know what is wrong? Like how do I know if he is overstimulated, under stimulated, has reflux, has a tummy ache, so on and so on....

babyciggs15

I just started to learn what she needs at 6 weeks. When she's over tired she will grab at her face (cheeks eyes and ears) she also had this special cry where it seems like she can't breathe, when she has a wet diaper she will kick her legs (looks like she's step dancing) when she's hungry she makes funny little cry sounds! I just started to go through the lists when she cried (is she hungry, does she need her diaper changed, does her belly hurt?) Eventually I picked up a few things and you will to. I'm a first time mom I just tell myself "trial and error" I'm never hard on myself. I make sure not to stress or get upset either bc I don't want her picking up that I'm nervous. Usually my LO will cry when she's overtired or gassy. Hang in there you're doing a great job!

ConstanceGoodspeed

At 5 weeks that is kind of normal. My pedi said crying peaks at 6 weeks. My LO is 8 weeks tomorrow and I do notice a drastic decrease (still likes to be held all the time but is no longer constantly crying while being held)..

It is hard for them to be under-stimulated at this point since every little thing is brand new to them. My baby stares at the shadow her crib casts on the wall. My first LO loved staring at the daylight glowing behind the curtains.

I just go through a list to try to calm her down, like diaper, feed, too hot/cold, comfy outfit, change position, burp and motions for gas pain, 5 S's, wear her, etc. if all else fails I know I can always quiet her by nursing.

Sorry you have a crier. I know how grating it gets, and how awful to think that you aren't helping your baby.

junebugjam

My baby is a crier too. Like PP said, it gets somewhat better after 6 weeks. My LO is 8 weeks today and he's still a crier, but it is better. That or I've finally figured him out.

Several books I've read said that baby should only have 1-2 hours if wakefulness between naps at this age. All babies are different but I started watching the clock and noticed after about an hour my LO starts showing tired cues (yawning, rubbing eyes, etc) so I start getting him ready for a nap before he has the chance to cry. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but it's helped my sanity during the day. He takes short naps which I think is why he usually only stays awake an hour or so, but sometimes he stretches it longer.

Try staying home a few days, no errands or anything, and see if you can figure out your baby's schedule for wanting sleep. That's what worked for me. If I try to run errands it throws him off so I usually save them for the afternoon when he stays awake a little longer.

kjjfisher

I have a somewhat different experience. Are you breastfeeding or formula? I've always had to supplement my BM with formula since I had lots of issues with supply. Around 3 weeks our situation seemed very similar to what you are describing. My LO was always upset , crying for no "apparent" reason when she was awake. She is our second and my first was a classic "good" baby so we were concerned and made a trip to the doctor. Our doctor said if could be a number of things but recommending a formula switch to rule out a suspected allergy/intolerance to cow milk proteins. We then switched to Enfamil Nutramigen and I swear my girl was completely different the next day! It was such a life saver as I was slipping into a depressive state since when she was awake I felt like all I wanted to do was get her back asleep so she would stop crying! I felt as if we weren't bonding too since there was no alert happy time. If you are formula feeding it might be a good idea to talk to you dr about possible allergy??

jeaneich

Thank you all for your posts- helps so much!!!

And my situation sounds similar- I've also had supply issues and both formula and breast feed- we recently changed formulas and it has seemed to help some.

I need to talk to the doctor about if we picked the right formula to switch too. I'm also concerned about reflux.... So much to figure out!