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Babies: 0 - 3 Months
krismtg
member
so much harder than I thought it would be
krismtg
member
It's craziness. Our baby is 4 days old and it seems like he is a completely different baby than he was at the hospital. Yesterday was our first day home with him and he screamed at the top of his lungs from 11:30 pm to 3:30 am. He hardly cried at all when we were at the hospital and the nurses were around to help. I think he was gassy, I tried the Soothie bottles and it seems like a lot of air got in. Poor thing I just wanted to fix it but I don't know what I am doing. He was miserable and my husband and I went on a two hour car ride to get him to sleep. We tried everything and that was the only thing that worked. Then he slept all day today and now I am terrified that tonight will be a repeat of last night. Is it normal for a baby to cry all night??? I took his temperature and it was fine.
Also I am so confused about feeding. One nurse told us to only give him an ounce at a time and then the next nurse told us to feed him as much as he wanted. We are burping him every half to an ounce. He is a big boy and he loves to eat and he super guzzles. Does anyone have any suggestions about feeding? He will eat up to three ounces on his own each feeding. What did your babies eat the first week? Is all this norma? Help!!!
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Re: so much harder than I thought it would be
Babies are usually very sleepy the first couple of days. It's normal that he is more awake now!
As far as feeding...DD was eating 2-3 oz every hour or two at that age. I was feeding her until she stopped sucking. ?
It will be okay. Yes, babies cry... sometimes a lot and for no reason at all. Could be gassy, colicy, scared of his new outside world, etc.
Feed your baby until he doesn't want anymore. Don't worry about overfeeding.
Hang in there. It gets a lot better!! Your DC is just adjusting to everything.
2
I just wanted to add that it will be get better and easier! The first few weeks I didn't know what I had got myself into! Now she is much easier! you will get the hang of it. Nothing you do is really "wrong." Go with your instinct.
Also, rent Happiest Baby on the Block and get a swaddling blanket!?
((((hugs)))) it is so true that your baby at the hospital seems completely different than the baby you bring home. i think babies just have this 2-3 day period when they're first born where they're quiet and just observe. and then it hits them, they're outside! and they just go crazy. i remember waking up to dd screaming in the middle of the night. she was crying. i was crying. i was sure the neighbors were going to call the cops on us for child abuse. but here's the thing, it DOES get better. you are all so new to each other and trying to get to know each other. so give yourself and your baby time.
i bf, so dr always said to let her eat as much as she wanted. we burped in the middle of the feeding and after. let your baby sleep as much as he wants. eventually they figure out day vs night but not for a few weeks, maybe even months. and it will take some time to learn what tricks your baby responds to when he needs to calm down. for us it was white noise. playing static on the radio as loud as dd cried always made her calm down. swaddling also worked. and mostly, she just liked to be held a lot. it's comforting to be close.
hope some of this helps and gl! time will fly by and this will all seem like a distant foggy memory.
it is absolute craziness....and I agree, much harder than you can ever anticipate.
to help with the air in the bottle...try dr. brown or avent bottles, they are really good in preventing that and not too expensive. I would try giving baby at least 2 oz., he will cry if he is still hungry after that and if he does...give him more. Baby's will stop eating once they are full...and if they overeat a little bit, they will spit it up. We were told to feed baby every couple of hours until he regained his birth weight, except for at night....every 4hours.
good luck and hang in there!! it does get better once you get the hang of it....everyone has a lot of adjusting to do:-)
The first couple of days are sort of a grace period. ?It's almost like they are in shock from the birth and that is why they are so quite. ?Soon enough though, they "wake up" and that always seems to be when folk?are going home from the hospital. ?I had my baby at home, so I can say that it happens for me too- except it all happened at home.
?Have you read anything about feeding on demand? ?I don't FF, so it might be different, but the idea is to feed the babe whenever he wants to eat- however much he wants. ?As long as he is keeping the food down, then let him eat. ?That might help with the screaming too-he might be hungry.
?Or that might be his witching hour. ?Many babies fuss at night. ?I know it is hard to believe that there is not something wrong (sick, gas, etc.), but sometimes they just cry. ?
Don't worry, it is super hard in the beginning, but won't last forever.?
It is okay! It sounds like he may be a little gassy and you may want to switch bottles. I didn't have a great experience with Soothie bottles, but I did with Dr. Brown's bottles and Mylicon drops. DD was very gassy initially and this helped.
It also sounds like he may have his days and nights mixed up, which can take a few days to straighten out. During the day, even if he seems very sleepy, keep your blinds open, lights on, music/tv playing, etc. At night, make sure it is very dark (DD sleeps in pitch black), quiet, warm enough, soothing, etc. A white noise machine may help.
I have never heard of feeding an ounce at a time. If he weighs what a normal baby weighs at 4 days, he should be taking 2-3 ounce of formula a feeding. I only burped DD after every bottle and she was okay.
To calm during a crying fit, try walking, bouncing, swaddling, swaying, making a "shhh"ing noise, holding him upright instead of a cradle hold, a paci...all these things worked when my DD freaked out at that age. Swaddling was our lifesaver.
Hang in there. The first few weeks are so hard. It does get SOOOO much easier!
DS was the exact same way!! He was an angel at the hospital, but completely changed when we brought him home after 2 nights. I think they do that so you'll take them home with you
DS would wake up screaming every night the same as your DC. Usually it was gas. We found that he would only sleep in his carseat the first few weeks. The sitting position or the small space must have made him feel better.
Feed as often and as much as your DC wants. We use Playtex Dropins which collapse so are great at reducing gas.
The first few weeks are very hard. Absolutely exhausting and a big blur. It will pass, and soon enough it will be a distant memory.
Good luck. Try to sleep when baby sleeps.
We had the same problem the first week!!! Hang in there. The 2nd week it all fell into place and he got on a schedule. Ours was the same, in the hospital he was perfect. As soon as we brought him home he was a different baby. Remember that they are adjusting to you and the new world. We found our boy was very insecure the first week and need to be held a lot and reassured. He was up all night and slept all day. Here's my tips that helped us switch this around:
1. Feed him as much as he wants. When we came home from the hospital he was feeding 1.5 oz, by a week later he was 3 oz and sleeping much better.
2. Try to keep him entertained during the day, put him under a kick and play or talk to him, look into his eyes, don't let him take long sleeps, don't let him go more than 3 hours without feeding, wake him to eat the first week until he is on a natural schedule, keeps the lights on and noise in the house so he distinguishes night from day.
3. At night turn down lights, no noise, etc. When you give him night feedings, do not entertain him, don't talk to him, don't look into his eyes, this will excite him and keep him awake.
My Mom gave me these tips, when I tried them on our 3rd night of no sleep I was thrilled that they actually worked. 4th night home, he was on a schedule!
For gas, we had to give our little guy Mylicon with each feedings (you can also get cheap store brand, it is the same active ingredient). It keeps the gas under control. When he does get it, hold him so his belly is up against your body snuggly and pat his back after giving him the Mylicon. Should help!
Don't worry it gets better I promise. I am a first time mom as well and that first week home was hard and scary. I wasn't sure how to help my DD or what she wanted. Mylicon added to the formula bottle helped my DD with gas. As for the crying, it is completely normal and my DD did it for a while from 7 - 11 every night. The only thing that worked was swaddling her and walking around the house with her in a cradle hold. As for feeding at that age let your DC eat as much as they want as often as they want. If he does over eat he will spit up the excess but mostly likely he will stop before that happens. And just like others have said for the night feeding I only use a night light. This helps DD relax and prepare for bed.
Good luck and remember it does get easier.
((hugs))
Our second night home from the hospital (the first we came home at 2AM, so it hardly counted....) DS fed from something like 1AM to 6AM. My milk was coming in at the same time. Holy hell is was miserable.
They have no idea what time it is, they're kind of startled at everything - they've just been squeezed out of the only place/feeling they've ever known.
I swear it gets better and you'll soon know exactly what he needs when you hear him make a peep!
I can't help with the feeding because we're BF, but you WILL get it figured out soon!!! All of it!