How long does the "I must be held or I will scream" stage last?

Pipigirl

We are currently 6 weeks (born at 36 weeks) and the girls scream 24/7 unless they are being held. It's very overwhelming. No one at the house is in a good mood. The girls cry all day and by the time my husband gets home, I am done too. I know he needs a break from work, but so do I. Please tell me this gets better over time (and hopefully soon!)

ChicagoKari

OMG, I could have written this post!  I can't offer any advice, just genuine compassion.  I am really looking forward to the responses.

RoseWhite

I would say this is the survival first few weeks...so do what you can to stay sane.

 

- Have you tried swaddling? Miracle blankets work great!

- Swing?

- Vibrating bouncy chairs?.  I would set up the two chairs side by side, so that I only had to "bounce" one using my foot and they would both bounce.  At least I had free hands this way

- Take them out for a walk? For some reason babies love being outside. 

- Are they sleeping enough?...sounds like maybe they need to sleep more? I know that was the case with my cat nappers. 

 

Try to see if you can identify any trends in their crying.  It could be reflux so you may want to ask your pedi.

Also, at the beginning mine were eating like every 1.5 hours.  It was exhausting but eventually they settled into a 3 hour cycle.

 Hang in there...eventually it gets.......different

abbzy85

I hate to tell you that that stage is just about ending for us. My boys did not enjoy bouncy seats, swings, walks , car rides, etc. etc.. Now they are finally playing with toys so I can put them in the bouncy seat with toys hanging or on their playmats. I used to have to hold them all day and deal with people telling me how fussy my kids are. Thanks btw, I didn't realize. Anyways, I don't know if you have a rocker/glider but my kids loved sitting in mine with me and we listen to music. I started music when they were very young and they love it.

Also, ditto pp with swaddling. Also try a sound machine to help them stay asleep. Good luck!

macchiatto

If they're screaming THAT much, it sounds to me like they have colic. I would google tips for dealing with that (mine had reflux but not colic so I'm afraid I don't know a ton about it other than swaddling and trying gripe water), and also consider wearing them if you can. They're still young enough you could try the twin hold in the Moby wrap. I would also check w/your pedi to make sure there are no underlying medical causes. Mine were fussy and it was rough, but not to the extreme you're describing. I'm so sorry and hope you're able to find something that helps and that this phase ends soon!

aniticipation

Have you tried papasan swings?

 

I don't have an answer for you, but had to post that the peapod picture is one of the most adorable pictures I have seen. I just showed my husband who said, "awww, why didn't we do that?!?"