Increased fussiness at 6 weeks?

vsuji33 · October 2014

In the last 3 weeks our now 6 week old baby boy has gotten inexplicably fussy; harder to soothe/louder crying, is this par for the course or are we missing something? I check diapers, offer feeding, 5 s's...any guidance is much appreciated

brittneyandadam · October 2014

Google "wonder weeks" and "purple crying"...your LO might be starting a developmental leap and the wonder weeks site will help explain all that as well as how to help LO through.

nienot · October 2014

@vsuji33 we hit this a couple of days ago right at 6 weeks. It was like our really great baby all of the sudden couldn't be put down and needed to eat 24/7. It was like every cue from him was hunger, but he wouldn't always want to eat, if that makes sense. From the info we gathered online, we just held him a lot more, fed him whenever he wanted and just sort of dealt with it. Not a lot worked except warms baths that sort of vegged him out a little. He was also awake a LOT during the past few days...awake way more than normal...even long nursing sessions didn't knock him out like normal.

Then, this morning, he woke up for his 3am feed and was a different child. He has been socially smiling for a week or so, but this morning he was really smiling and really interacting. I thought it was maybe a fluke, and then he woke up at 7:30 and was the same way...super easy going and smiley. So, hopefully we are out of it and it was just the 6 week growth spurt...hoping that's all it is for you too! Good luck!

conradraging · October 2014

Hoping its a growth spurt!

Daisy1232 · October 2014

Oh wow I just posted about this too! I'm hoping it's a growth spurt too!!

kmbk27 · October 2014

FWIW, my LC told me crying peaks at 6 weeks (crying an average of 3 hours a day) and at 7 weeks that duration is halved (crying an average of 1.5 hours/day).

How accurate that is, IDK. But we've been going through the same thing as you since he hit 6 weeks last Thursday.

doglover31 · October 2014

DS has been acting different since he turned 6 weeks too. He's was very tough to get to sleep at night and would cry a lot more. There is a growth spurt that happens around 6 weeks. Hang in there hopefully it's just a phase!

JanisBaby14 · October 2014

My perfect little bug at 6 weeks totally changed on me at that time. More fussy, didn't like life, nothing made him happy. It was a couple times a day for a couple days.

Now he is so social. He just loves to babble and make noise. He does cry more than he ever did but I think he's figured out he gets held/bottle/attention when he does it. It's incredible how smart they are at such a young age. He even has this fake cry/yell he does now and usually smiles after when I tell him I know what he's doing.

I downloaded the Wonder Weeks app for my iPhone-1.99. And it help a lot to understand what happened that week. He is 7w2days today. And I'm a FTM so I instantly brought him to the clinic that week going something is wrong he changed overnight. Pedi suggested the book/app and other reading and explained where he is at during week 6.

JustCricket · October 2014

I think 6w is one of those turning points. It could be growth spurt, leap, reflux can start presenting around now, along with increased gassiness and their as my ped said 'intestines waking up'.

Bella2425 · October 2014

Fussiness peaks at 6 weeks. Hang in there, it should get better in a week or so!

JessicaEckhaus · October 2014

Exact same thing... My baby turned 6 weeks yesterday... I read that they can get extra fussy weeks 6-8.

nienot · October 2014

JanisBaby14 said:

My perfect little bug at 6 weeks totally changed on me at that time. More fussy, didn't like life, nothing made him happy. It was a couple times a day for a couple days. Now he is so social. He just loves to babble and make noise. He does cry more than he ever did but I think he's figured out he gets held/bottle/attention when he does it. It's incredible how smart they are at such a young age. He even has this fake cry/yell he does now and usually smiles after when I tell him I know what he's doing. I downloaded the Wonder Weeks app for my iPhone-1.99. And it help a lot to understand what happened that week. He is 7w2days today. And I'm a FTM so I instantly brought him to the clinic that week going something is wrong he changed overnight. Pedi suggested the book/app and other reading and explained where he is at during week 6.

Was your LO born on or very close to his due date? I only ask because I want to use the Wonder Weeks app/book as a guide, but it is telling me that I need to use my LOs due date to gauge what leap he is in, and not his actual birthday. He was born 3 weeks early due to preeclampsia, so that's a pretty big difference. Just curious!

mana8503 · October 2014

Is there a difference between a growth spurt and a leap week? Like is one physical and the other mental development?

JanisBaby14 · October 2014

wpatx said:

JanisBaby14 said:

My perfect little bug at 6 weeks totally changed on me at that time. More fussy, didn't like life, nothing made him happy. It was a couple times a day for a couple days.

Now he is so social. He just loves to babble and make noise. He does cry more than he ever did but I think he's figured out he gets held/bottle/attention when he does it. It's incredible how smart they are at such a young age. He even has this fake cry/yell he does now and usually smiles after when I tell him I know what he's doing.

I downloaded the Wonder Weeks app for my iPhone-1.99. And it help a lot to understand what happened that week. He is 7w2days today. And I'm a FTM so I instantly brought him to the clinic that week going something is wrong he changed overnight. Pedi suggested the book/app and other reading and explained where he is at during week 6.

Was your LO born on or very close to his due date? I only ask because I want to use the Wonder Weeks app/book as a guide, but it is telling me that I need to use my LOs due date to gauge what leap he is in, and not his actual birthday. He was born 3 weeks early due to preeclampsia, so that's a pretty big difference. Just curious!

My DS was 36 weeks at birth and put his due date as the date he was born just to see if it would work and so far it has ... I'm fairly certain they do that for a reason for development stages but he's been right on track with it. And he's had no issues from being born four weeks early. I've gone back and changed it a few times to his due date and feel like it's still not accurate for him.

Because he's hitting all the same marks that are being recommended for a term baby anyways outside the app if that makes sense.

nienot · October 2014

@JanisBaby14 Awesome, thanks so much for sharing. That's pretty much how I feel too...he is hitting milestones on time, despite being 3 weeks early. I think I'll change his "due date" to his actual birthday too and see how it goes. Thanks!

wrightpalomo · October 2014

@mana8503‌ yes, the growth spurt is physical and the leap is developmental.

Bug's pedi said the 4-8 week stretch is really rough because they have so much going on. It's very common for them to be extra fussy, especially later in the day. She said to think of it from his perspective: at this point every day of his life is the most exciting day he's ever had because he is understanding more of the world around him than he was the day before.

niclaren · October 2014

Similar to what others have said, I asked my pedi about this today and she said that during one month of age babies cry 3-5 hours per day because they are sleeping less and do not know how to self soothe while awake. By 2 months they can figure out some self-soothing techniques and the fussiness should be much better. I fear that I'm not in the worst of it yet

. Good luck!

lmimms87 · November 2014

Ugh my LO turned 6 weeks on Saturday and for the past 3 days she has been a little monster!! She was so happy before...napping, eating and playing with consistency. She was also sleeping 4.5-6 hours at a time at night. Now she just seems so unhappy all day long unless I'm wearing her (which is the only way I have gotten her to nap in the last couple days). She is happy for about 5 minutes after waking up and eating and then she's super fussy. Also, she screams before bed, more than normal, and when we finally get her to sleep she only goes 3-4 hours. She'll be 7 weeks old tomorrow so I hope this fades away by next weekend! She did find her thumb yesterday and sucked it for about 5 seconds so maybe she's trying to self soothe? I hope so! I have the wonder weeks app and it kinda sounds like her? The 6 week fussiness on Lucie's List DEFINITELY is her. Any advice on how to soothe her other than wearing her?

ashaw512 · November 2014

lmimms87 said:
Ugh my LO turned 6 weeks on Saturday and for the past 3 days she has been a little monster!! She was so happy before...napping, eating and playing with consistency. She was also sleeping 4.5-6 hours at a time at night. Now she just seems so unhappy all day long unless I'm wearing her (which is the only way I have gotten her to nap in the last couple days). She is happy for about 5 minutes after waking up and eating and then she's super fussy. Also, she screams before bed, more than normal, and when we finally get her to sleep she only goes 3-4 hours. She'll be 7 weeks old tomorrow so I hope this fades away by next weekend! She did find her thumb yesterday and sucked it for about 5 seconds so maybe she's trying to self soothe? I hope so! I have the wonder weeks app and it kinda sounds like her? The 6 week fussiness on Lucie's List DEFINITELY is her. Any advice on how to soothe her other than wearing her?

Uh swaddle? Hold your baby? There are other threads about this, just use the search function.

Ahlome08 · November 2014

Just to let mommies of younger babies know, it does get better! LO just turned 9 weeks, and he has only recently started sleeping a little more and being ok with being awake. FWIW: he had been super fussy since 4.5 weeks.

And I second the swaddle in what @ashaw512 said. Also, sometimes there's nothing you can do @imimms87. I have just been picking LO up when he is awake, and he has only recently started letting me put him down

MelanieCSU · November 2014

My DS is now 9 weeks old and we went through the same thing for about 2 weeks starting when he was about 6 weeks old. Things are finally seeking back down with him. I learned that swaddling (I love my halo swaddle sleep sacks) and warm baths really help. Also running the vacumm or hair dryer to help them calm down works wonders.

Bella2425 · November 2014

We are in the middle of this. I. Am. Losing. My. Mind.

lmimms87 · November 2014

I do hold her. And I swaddle her at bedtime. I usually don't swaddle her during the day because she hates it and it takes forever to calm her back down. I just don't like her to scream herself into a crazed mess because I feel like there's something that should work that I'm just not thinking of.

cls0602 · November 2014

Ugh I can't remember if it was "happiest baby on the block" or "healthy sleep habits happy child" but one of those books says fussiness peaks at 6-8 weeks. I was hoping it wasn't true, DS turns 6 weeks on Sunday. And how lovely everyone on my side of the family is meeting him for thanksgiving! I pray he is our normal happy son...

herecomesthesun086 · November 2014

My LO was extra fussy last week I couldn't even put her down to get anything done ... SO couldn't soothe her either she just wanted to be held by mommy allllll day which is okay I love holding her but a mommys gotta shower she's back to her normal self this week (she's 7 weeks) so all this increased fussiness was during her sixth week

lmimms87 · November 2014

My LO seems to be her normal happy self today (she turned 7 weeks today). @herecomesthesun086‌ last week I was constantly having to hold her and wear her. Even to the point that I contemplated going to the bathroom with her strapped to me just so she didn't scream when I put her down. She was also a rough sleeper at night compared to what she was before. She slept great last night and seems content today, so I hope we're through the storm!

herecomesthesun086 · November 2014

I really think has something to do with that six week growth spurt

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