How much fussiness is normal?

missmychard · September 2015

It seems like if our little guy isn't sleeping he's fussing. There are maybe one or two times a day that he can be awake and just chill. What's worse, he fights sleep and will be up for a few hours fussing here and there and then work himself into hysterics. When he gets really worked up nursing will calm him, and he is also calmed whenever we go for a walk or a drive. The 5s's have also worked. The swing and carrier won't calm him. The worst is 5pm-10pm when he's either wailing or nursing, but it happens during the day too (although he calms easier during the day). The nights are our most calm times, as he will eat every 3 hours but is sleepy and quiet.

Sorry for the long post, but wondering if anyone is dealing with something similar. Of course I'm jumping to 'colic, dairy intolerance' conclusions but that may just be because I imagined I'd have a calm baby! Thanks in advance for any feedback!

hclzmm14 · September 2015

I was having this issue and my doctor said she is probably hungry. So when she would get fussy I'd give her an extra ounce or half ounce and make sure I gave her a good burp. This almost always works. The times it doesn't, she is usually trying to poop or push out gas.

ETA: she gets hungry because she is growing so fast. She is only 4 weeks and already eating 5 ounces. So the problem was she was capable of eating more and I didn't realize, just to clarify.

prhernandez09 · September 2015

It sounds like you are taking about my little guy, Were they separated at birth? My little man is the same, he is so fussy and nothing is worng with him he just fusses alot

irohspupil · September 2015

My LO is this way except when someone else besides me or DH is watching her

I thought maybe I wasn't giving her enough in a bottle, but she spits up any extra I give her. Usually burping or farting helps.

kettlekitten · September 2015

My DD was like this. I felt like all she did was cry and she would spend half the night awake and screaming. We looked into all the usual suspects like reflux and everything else but nothing seemed to fit. In the end it was just a case of riding it out. It was really hard and exhausting and often distressing but as she hit the major milestones (6 weeks, 3 months etc), and she got bigger and more engaged with the world, those fussy periods got less and less. Hang in there, if you have checked out all the potential issues that could be affecting baby, it might just be a case of waiting it out. some babies are just like that!

Thankfully DS is much more chilled!!!!

KateDerek · September 2015

I just had the same baby last week - the day before she turned 3 weeks until the day she turned 4 weeks she was super fussy and the only time she wasn't was about for 5 minutes in between if I could get her to sleep or if she was nursing. Her three week growth spurt threw me big time and I googled all of the same stuff. Apparently colic is when they cry nonstop as if in pain, and can't be soothed. And most babies aren't intolerant to what we are eating. But A LOT of babies are fussy especially during spurts and this is completely normal. I just made sure she was burped and changed and kept offering the breast and just hung in there. Like you evenings were the worst, but day time was still frustrating and I began to look forward to middle of the night since that was when she was not irritable.

I will say that the last three days she is definitely better although she still likes to fight sleep. I am sure her personality is coming out more now that she is a month old and part of that is a little diva, but it is nothing like it was last week! Can't WAIT until the next growth spurt!

candicejeff2013 · September 2015

hazeldagarr said:
I was having this issue and my doctor said she is probably hungry. So when she would get fussy I'd give her an extra ounce or half ounce and make sure I gave her a good burp. This almost always works. The times it doesn't, she is usually trying to poop or push out gas.

ETA: she gets hungry because she is growing so fast. She is only 4 weeks and already eating 5 ounces. So the problem was she was capable of eating more and I didn't realize, just to clarify.

Yes. They are hungry hungry hungry.

Robin910 · September 2015

My LO has been like this recently but in the late morning/early afternoon. I am basically tied to the couch with my boob out because that's all that really comforts her.

breezymeema7 · September 2015

Most babies have a "witching hour." Don't be fooled though...it's often more then an hour. DD1 would scream non stop as soon as 6pm hit and wouldn't stop until bed. DD2 would scream at 5:30pm for 45-60 minutes. I tend to nurse more frequently during these times as it soothes them and helps stock their tummies for night.

SashaDenn25 · September 2015

breezymeema7 said:
Most babies have a "witching hour." Don't be fooled though...it's often more then an hour. DD1 would scream non stop as soon as 6pm hit and wouldn't stop until bed. DD2 would scream at 5:30pm for 45-60 minutes. I tend to nurse more frequently during these times as it soothes them and helps stock their tummies for night.

This. Arya starts up around 5 and I just nurse her from around 5 to 7 to soothe her and it does stock her up I feel like. She cat naps off and on and feed after 7 until I do bath time around 9 and more feeding/comfort nursing until around 1030 when she goes down and has been giving me 5 to 6 hour sleep stretches and I absolutely feel I owe this to all the late evening nursing to calm her!

gmd88 · September 2015

Honestly I think it sounds suspiciously like colic... check out this article.. https://www.whattoexpect.com/what-is-colic.aspx?pos=1&xid=nl_YourDailyNewsletterfromWhattoExpect_20150906
I thought it was really helpful in determining if my LO had colic and it had lots of other useful advice. A fussy baby is very difficult. Good luck mama

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