I'm having a problem differentiating gas and hunger, apparently.. DS has been crying like he wants to eat every hour today and will not sleep. After eating he's satisfied for about 15 min and then gets extremely upset and won't calm down like he usually can so I nurse him because I don't know what else to do, but what if it's gas? How would I be able to tell?
At this point he's also got to be overtired. He has the most pitiful bags under his eyes and I dont know if I should soldier through the cries and keep trying to get him to sleep, or just nurse again.
Good lord, I could have written this post myself. Only for me, it's hunger, reflux or over-tiredness. Obviously I have no advice but hope it gets better for you and him.
Has your LO pooped in a while? I know mine almost always poops while eating, so sometimes she will want to eat just to work one out, if you know what I mean. If I notice she is extra fussy, especially when eating, I sit her in her bouncy chair or car seat because it positions her in a way that helps her poop with her legs kind of bent up like she is squatting.
When my LO is gassy, she is really squirmy while screaming. When she is overtired she is less squirmy but usually sucks on her hands and gets puffy red eyes. When she is hungry...well, we always start with assuming she is hungry so I'm not sure how to differentiate it.
Update: he finally conked out in my arms after feeding him 5 times between 11 and 3. Now the tough decision - keep holding him or attempt to put him down?
There was a woman on the Oprah show who had this theory about baby sounds/language, that helped me understand Declan--maybe it would help you? When he's hungry, his cry has a "neh" sound to it--the N is pretty distinctive. When he's working at something (anything from tummy time to farting, LOL) he'll keep going Eh Eh Eh, until he's really upset and starts crying, still with an Eh sound to it. If you want to watch the segment, google "oprah baby language".
I know he's tired when he plays with his hair, rubs his face or accepts his binky.
It's called Dunstan baby language. I've watched the videos but still find it hard to tell the difference between the different cries.
When M is tired she yawns and gets the glassy-eyed look. She fusses til she gets her nuk and I usually rock her til she's drowsy and she'll go to sleep.
Hungry is just a normal "wah" cry for her, or when she wakes she does a lot of lip licking and mouthing/sucking motions.
When she has gas she screams bloody murder like she's in horrible pain, moves her legs up and down and has a really tight tummy. Like PP said she usually lets loose when she's eating or we lay her on her back a firm surface so she has some counter pressure to push against and massage her tummy/bicycle her legs to try to help with the gasiness.
Has your LO pooped in a while? I know mine almost always poops while eating, so sometimes she will want to eat just to work one out, if you know what I mean. If I notice she is extra fussy, especially when eating, I sit her in her bouncy chair or car seat because it positions her in a way that helps her poop with her legs kind of bent up like she is squatting.
My dr. suggested this... and then asked if I've evr had to poop lying down (I hadn't). She said it's incredibly difficult so try sitting LO up!
There was a woman on the Oprah show who had this theory about baby sounds/language, that helped me understand Declan--maybe it would help you? When he's hungry, his cry has a "neh" sound to it--the N is pretty distinctive. When he's working at something (anything from tummy time to farting, LOL) he'll keep going Eh Eh Eh, until he's really upset and starts crying, still with an Eh sound to it. If you want to watch the segment, google "oprah baby language".
I know he's tired when he plays with his hair, rubs his face or accepts his binky.
And the Tired sounded is like "Owwww"
I can usually tell the hungry, tired and gassy sounds pretty well.
Re: difference bewteen hunger, gas, and overtired - help!
I can usually tell the hungry, tired and gassy sounds pretty well.