Normal newborn behavior?

momthatlifts · June 2014

Ok please excuse me if this is a naive question. Still getting used to all this! But my DD seems to be really cranky alllllllllll the time. She doesn't exactly cry, she just fusses non stop. Just really loud, kicking her legs aggressively. If she isn't sleeping, she's fussing. I don't think it's gas because she doesn't really have the symptoms of it. She just seems unhappy. Of I don't change up whatever we are doing she seems bored and starts to get cranky, the best way I can describe it is "whiney". She gets really bored of her baby gym almost immediately if I put her down. Could it just be the need to be held? I just feel like all I hear all day is a crying baby. She has an appointment with her pediatrician tomorrow so I plan on bringing this to his attention. It's been going on for a good week or so too. It's starts as soon as she wakes up until she goes back down. I just can't stress enough how she seems to be unhappy. Like nothing I do is appealing or satisfying for her. I also want to add that all of this is followed with aggressive breathing. It would be one thing if it was for a short time of the day and random times during the day, but it's non stop

. And I know this could very much be a normal baby wanting to be held but I have to ask because it doesn't seem Normal. Edit: to add words

momo214 · June 2014

My LO is EXACTLY like this. Although not so much unhappy but just like always needs to be moving, changing what I'm doing, etc. if I'm looking at her talking she just curls up her face to fuss at me. She is also very congested and has reflux so I have written off her fussiness as a combo of gas, reflux, and just bored baby. I'm curious to know what your pedi and others say.

momthatlifts · June 2014

I'll update tomorrow for sure. I think she has a little reflux. I try to hold her up after eating. And it's on and off so I'm never completely sure if that's what it is. When I say unhappy, it's just the best way I can best express how it makes me feel. She basically does exactly like what you describe. She doesn't like when I read (or try) and I can try to bounce her for a few seconds and she hates that too. Even if I'm holding her and sitting she starts wiggling around and "yelling" at me again, lol

Soupy84 · June 2014

My LO needs a lot of stimulation. Very rarely can I put him down on a mat and let him be. You may need to try a more active approach in engaging her and hopefully she will tire herself out. Is she going through a growth spurt by chance? T is at the tail end of his and he was absolutely miserable at the start (about a week ago) - lots of gas, fussiness, spit-up, crying, etc.

I knew raising a child was going to be hard, but there have been times where I was really caught off-guard by how much energy I need to put into entertaining this little being. The Happiest Baby on the Block has been a big help in calming T and getting him to sleep (I am talking full blown purple face crying to silently awake or asleep in under 5 minutes).

yepyepsms · June 2014

My LO is like this. She is 6 weeks this week and is never "happy" or content under most conditions. She needs to be either nursing, sleeping or on the move to not cry. Usually her "best" mood is fussing but usually full on crying. On the move has to be being held while standing, bouncing and shushing. Or baby wearing. She also won't settle for anyone except me, cries if DH or others try the above. I am jealous of the moms I see or read about that are able to have their babies in a swing or go to sleep drowsy. I cannot put her down in her swing, RNP or bouncer or anywhere without her immediately crying. I would love to be able to just sit with her and look at her, talk, cuddle, etc. but doesn't happen, she just cries:(.

She will only fall asleep via on the boob or being bounced/worn. She will only sleep long stretches on me or while being worn during the day. From 6-9ish at night she has a bad crying time, screams the entire time and nothing will soothe her, if so for only 5-10 mins then back to screaming. She has one long stretch of sleep after this which is 3-4 hrs. The rest of the night she will only sleep on me.

I am exhausted:) I have tried everything. I keep praying it will turn soon and I have started to try to put her down again to try to wean her off of sleeping on me (at least for all sleep!). I have seen her pedi a couple times about all this and initially thought reflux but we have tried two meds without change so pedi thinks colic or fourth trimester temperament. She eats well, gaining like a champ, and diapers are yellow seedy. My son was also exactly like this and at three months became a much happier content baby and is perfectly healthy. Sounds bad but some days I find myself wishing the days away for her to get through these first couple months for her temperament to improve.

Lastly, two things I haven't tried: probiotics (ped recommended and we started just today) and a chiroprator (have some friends that had colicky babies and saw major improvement) but haven't decided for sure if I want to go this route.

MissLadyTay · June 2014

My baby is like this for six hours every evening. If he's not napping with my boob in his mouth he is fussing non stop. It drives me batty. I think for him it's that he's overtired by evening.

danagmauro · June 2014

Same! I was crying today to hubby saying I feel like she's only content when she nursing, sleeping, or in the stroller ( while its moving) no gas/reflux just a baby who needs my constant attention; not much full out crying though... Just fussy

momthatlifts · June 2014

MissLadyTay said:
My baby is like this for six hours every evening. If he's not napping with my boob in his mouth he is fussing non stop. It drives me batty. I think for him it's that he's overtired by evening.

She fusses almost all day. But the past 2 nights she has been wide awake and crying on and off for a good 4 hours or so. I also think she is over tired. She even gets frustrated when I try to nurse her.

And I also agree gyms are a little advanced for a 1 month old but I figured I could give it a shot since she seemed like she just needs to be entertained but she seems way more satisfied just laying on the bed staring at the ceiling or in my arms (obviously lol).

usernewname · June 2014

DS can be like this. And it seemed like he could be on the boob all day no problem. For us it seems to be an overtired thing.

It kinda hit around 1130 or 12 in the day. So I started putting him in my ergo or go out in the car for that time. Now he naps until about 2, so keep feed him and back into the carrier for another 2 hours. If I get lucky he will stay asleep on my attempted transfer to his bed.

Now his fussiness is minimal except in the evening if and when I run lower on BM and he clearly wants more and wants to start falling asleep for the night.

It's been wonderful. I hope it lasts.

equestrianmom · June 2014

When LO is fussy I usually just wear her or I swaddle her in an extra large shirt that smells like me. If she smells me she's fine with being put wherever, so I trick her into thinking she's with me. The shirts need to be replaced about every 48 hours. If you're not comfortable with using a shirt, just bring one of LO's blankets into bed with you and put it directly on skin to absorb the scent. If you end up sweating a bit, that's fine because that means it'll smell even more like you.

That's my advice...hope it helps!

MissLadyTay · June 2014

equestrianmom said:
When LO is fussy I usually just wear her or I swaddle her in an extra large shirt that smells like me. If she smells me she's fine with being put wherever, so I trick her into thinking she's with me. The shirts need to be replaced about every 48 hours. If you're not comfortable with using a shirt, just bring one of LO's blankets into bed with you and put it directly on skin to absorb the scent. If you end up sweating a bit, that's fine because that means it'll smell even more like you.

That's my advice...hope it helps!

Brilliant! Going to try this.

ns1 · June 2014

That's DS today. With him today i think he's overtired. I hate getting to this point because it's a vicious cycle. He needs sleep but is too crabby to sleep. I spend all day trying to get him to nap and get to enjoy a screaming baby in my arms all day.

Craved1 · June 2014

@equestrianmom‌ I did something similar to this to get our LO to sleep in his bassinet. I used one of my pillow cases to cover the mattress in his bassinet and it worked like a charm. LO previously wouldn't stay down for more than 30 min before waking up. Today we got a 3 hr stretch. Today I replaced all our pillowcases with his bassinet sheets to be able to switch them out.

bumpuser10194737 · June 2014

Maybe try wearing her? My little guy loves it and it typically calms him. He is doing better right now, but he was a lot like that for about a week when he went through a major growth spurt.

My second baby was extremely fussy and it turned out to be acid reflux. He was out on Zantac which helped a lot. The main clues that he had it were constantly fussing while nursing, arching his back and crying after every feeding, and not being able to sleep laying flat.

Hang in there mama! The first two months are the toughest. It will get better!

Xath · June 2014

I love @equestrianmom 's advice for fussiness. But a follow-up question. Is your baby actually crying, or just making loud noises? Newborns are loud. They don't have much neuron control so they make lots of noises, and their narrow nasal passages make them loud. With my first I thought he was frequently upset, but with S, I'm realizing that he's just loud, not unhappy.

momthatlifts · June 2014

Wow, sorry for going Mia. I totally forgot about this and I'm always mobile so I don't see notifications. @equestrianmomma‌ that's very cool advice and I'm going to try that, thank you! @gertiebarden‌ I should have put that in my OP that she doesn't cry. She is just loud and "talkative" . I'm glad you have experience with. Because I really did feel like she was just uncomfortable or mad about something.

momthatlifts · June 2014

Oh and pedi update: he really didn't say much about her being fussy, but with all the things and symptoms I was describing to him we went ahead and put her on Zantac twice a day. She had a really bad day last Sunday where she was spitting up every single meal. She was also screaming and arching her back after eating which was a clear indicator of reflux.

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