Newborn cries constantly

mrshall10210

I am so new at this and it is really upsetting me.

BFing issues aside, LO will be 3 days old tomorrow. If she is not sleeping, which requires non stop rocking and either a finger or pacifier to suck on, she is screaming. She is never asleep for longer than maybe 45 minutes or so, and her best naps are when we do skin to skin. I wasn't expecting constant crying so soon. Will this get better when my milk comes in? Assuming that her willingness to latch improves, but that's another issue. DH and I cannot get any sleep at all and almost can't put her down. I'm crying a lot and DH is obviously getting discouraged and depressed.

Also should we just try a dose of gas drops to see if that helps anything? I'm just grasping at straws here.

laujam31

It will get better.  This is not an indication of you or your parenting.  You are a good mother.  I get the same way when DS is melting down.  It's ok if you cry. Just try to relax and not get frazzled when she is in a fit.  Call your dr tomorrow.  Good luck.  It will be ok.  

dalzien

It eventually gets better. Our LO is EBF, does not use a soother, and still has some bad fits at 8 weeks. During our first few days in the hospital (she was admitted to NICU for breathing problems) she would cry if she wasn't skin to skin. Needless to say in the 6 days we were there I got maybe a total of 10 hours sleep. It's just the newborn period. Take shifts with the hubby where you feed her then he takes her while you sleep. You'll find a routine that works and eventually the time she'll sleep without crying will be extended. Hold on.

Licia&Wayne

It will get better when she's eating more and you've gotten the hang of BFing. Your milk should be coming in soon, so hang on.

Is it possible for you and your husband to do shifts with her? 3 hours for you to rest, 3 hours for him to rest while you're getting through this time?

PepperBug

The first few days before your milk comes in are the hardest. The baby is nursing constantly to try to help your milk come in. Let her nurse as often as she needs to. If she's up all night and you need to sleep, see if your husband can soothe her for a few hours. Our nurse at the hospital did that for me one night. She used a pacifier and rocked her. My husband did that the next night at home. He put her on his bare chest with a blanket over both of them. Each time I got a four hour stretch of sleep. My milk came in the next day, and she calmed down quite a bit once that happened.

ShadyKull

Hang in there, it will get easier! The first few days were very hard for me too. Whenever little guy cried, I would just about have a panic attack. He constantly wanted to nurse for comfort and hunger. Things did get better when my milk came in (3-4 days post partum), but it still took me a while to get used to the crying spells, which are normal for newborns. My LO still wanted to nurse for comfort very often in the first few weeks and I let him.

agytay

It sounds like she is hungry. Feed her and ditch the paci and she will stay asleep longer.

Shaungela

its possible that shes hungry... if feeding more doesnt make it better it may be colic.

 

Good luck! 

mrs.jenRN

Have you seen a lactation consultant? She may help you with any BFing issues you may be having and offer some advice. You could also go to a La Leche League meeting in your area.

Eleventy11

LiciaWayne:

It will get better when she's eating more and you've gotten the hang of BFing. Your milk should be coming in soon, so hang on.

Is it possible for you and your husband to do shifts with her? 3 hours for you to rest, 3 hours for him to rest while you're getting through this time?

This. The first few days can be very rough, especially with little to no sleep.

doremi29

Hang in there Mama- it gets easier!  Once your milk comes in, it should get better, but if she has a bad latch now, it might be a frustrating few days until your milk production regulates and she nurses efficiently.  With DS is took 2 weeks for us to really click with the bf'ing and with DD it was more like 1 week.  It can be very frustrating.  DD was actually a really lazy nurser so she never latched on great in the beginning.  Finally a nurse suggested maybe we give her half an oz of formula and that it might perk her up- sure enough she started latching better. 

What is your DD sleeping in at night?  We've had great success with the RnP- I know every baby is different but it's worked really well for DD and she did not care for the bassinet at all.

ka2shaz

Your baby is just hungry. Have you considered giving the baby some formula Neil your milk comes in? Just because you supplement does not mean you won't be breatfeeding.