Fussy Baby and Sleep Q

Aidge

Does anyone else have a VERY fussy baby?  DS is almost 5 weeks adjusted (born on 6/18) and is so very fussy.  He cries all day and it takes about 45 min to put him down, after which he does thankfully nap for about an hour or two.  He was STTN but not for the past two nights, which was a surprise that he was doing that so young anyway.  Have any of you had fussy babies and if so, when did it pass?  Pedi says he is colicky, but I don't know if it's related to him being a preemie or if it is simply his temperment, preemie or not.  I'm just looking for some type of light at the end of the tunnel. 

Also, kind of unrelated--- when did you start sleep training, if you did this. I was thinking 6 weeks adjusted, but not sure if this was too soon for him.  I've been reading Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child.  Thank you!

FutureMrsDenman

My DD had a very fussy period about the same time I think (it is getting harder and harder to remember the timeline now).  what worked best for us was a product called HappiTummi.  They make it for colic and gas pain relief, but it also just seems to soothe and comfort babies that are fussy without diagnosed problems.  It worked like a charm for us and was the best shower gift I ever got.  We had no idea it existed before the shower and only used it on a "we've got to try anything" kind of desperation bid.  It worked so quickly and DD was so peaceful when we used it.  You can find it online at the HappiTummi website and on the CVS website I believe.

Good luck!

TriciaJoy

Robbie is.
He has terrible reflux and sometimes it's just a nightmare. The only thing that will soothe him is to hold him on my chest and pat his back pretty firmly. And you don't dare stop patting for 5 seconds.. he screams again.

We've had a good couple of days *knocking wood everywhere* but there were several days last week that I got an hour or two hours of sleep in a whole day.. I was seriously about to lose my mind.

I can't say when it will pass.. like I said, we've had a good couple of days, but I'm not counting us out yet. He's only 3 1/2 weeks adjusted.

The one thing that hit me the other day was that years ago, they didn't know about reflux, and called everything colic.

My MIL said my husband's brother was horrible for the first 3 months. He'd projective vomit and scream no matter what she did. Then he just outgrew it..

Robbie's on Pepcid & Mylanta and they help..
I just keeping trying to believe that there IS light at the end of the tunnel.

mhop

Campbell was a verrrrry fussy baby.  She didn't have gas, her fussiness was just being over-tired and generally fussy.  It slowly started getting better around 6 weeks adjusted. 

I think 6 weeks adjusted might be a little early for sleep training.  I think at that time we were just living by Dr. Weissbluth's rule about not letting her be awake more than an hour or two.  Puting her down before she became over-tired was key.  We also learned that if she woke up from a nap before an hour, to do everything we could to put her back down.  If her naps were less than an hour, she would spend the rest of the day cranky and tired.  I think however, it's never too early to start on a bedtime routine.  Almost from the time she came home we had the same bedtime routine: bath, lotion/massage, swaddle, bottle, bed.

Good luck!!

mcdev

Some possible explanations that come to mind are.....
Reflux-keep in mind that reflux does not necessarily mean that your baby spits up a lot.  I mistakenly thought only babies who spit up a lot could have reflux and so I went nearly 2 months before asking my dr for suggestions with my oldest daughter.  She never required medicine, but simple changes like having her sleep on an incline and switching her formula worked

Growth Spurt-My youngest daughter went through her first growth spurt around this time.  She wouldn't necessarily take a bigger bottle, but needed 1-2ozs in between feedings.  It felt like all I did was feed her, but it passed within a couple of days and then she was back to normal.

Good luck!