Please help.. this cant be normal..

She seriously does not stop crying. Dh and I are about to lose our minds. It seems to be way worse at night. During the day I can get her to calm down and sit in the swing for a while etc, but she is just screaming for no reason.

I wouldnt even care if she just wanted to be held or walked around or ANYTHING but she cries no matter what.

Im exhausted and feel like the worst mom ever.

Re: Please help.. this cant be normal..

Colic? Is she having stomach pain maybe? There is a product called colic calm that is supposed to work well-I have not used it. Good luck

Re: Please help.. this cant be normal..

Have you tried the 5 Ses? They worked like a charm for my DD. Also a few drops of lavender oil on her pjs...

Shushhh - make a shushing sound in her ear
Sway/swing - rocking and swaying her
Swaddle -- some babies really love it
Suck - give her a pacifier if you haven't - you can break her of the habit in a few years after you've gotten some sleep
Side/stomach - try putting her in this position when you do put her down on the bed or on you.


From MedMD:
A new system that involves the five S's — swaddling, side/stomach positioning in the parents' arms, shushing, swinging, and sucking — can calm most crying infants, Dr. Karp said. This activates the baby's calming reflex during the first three to four months of life by mimicking experiences in the uterus.

Re: Please help.. this cant be normal..

I agree about the five Ss, try that, but I'm sure you have. Some babies really do need to cry to release stress, but does she have a milk protein allergy? I feel like I read that, but it could have been someone else. It's entirely possible that this is her "witching hour" for now. It's so rough, and if you can take turns with her, definitely do. I remember it like it was yesterday. Ava ended up having a milk allergy and once she was on Neocate was a new baby.

Re: Please help.. this cant be normal..

Everyone has different opinions about this but our pediatrician feels that crying for hours without a break means that something is causing discomfort. She started us on the milk protein allergy testing as soon as we experienced this. It turns out, she was right. The best thing we did was not to wait and not to question ourselves when the baby was doing this. DS is so easygoing now, so I can say it will pass!!!

Re: Please help.. this cant be normal..

Don't have much to say beyond what everyone else has, but wanted to send you lots of to get through this time.

Re: Please help.. this cant be normal..

Jen - how old is she? Cailen started doing this at 5-6 weeks non stop - I thought I would lose my mind - I posted a similar thread. It's a storm we just had to ride. It was miserable but eventually it stopped..... I should find the thread!


ETA - Here is one link

Message edited 2/19/2009 6:20:17 AM.

Re: Please help.. this cant be normal..

does she have reflux? have you tried carrying her facing out, with her stomach pushed against your arm (kinda like hold her in your right arm like you would a paper grocery bag---can't explain it any other wat) and just bounce or sway....this is the only thing that would soothe Chase...I could NEVER sit down with him unless it was to drink a bottle.

He was then diagnosed with reflux, and 3 meds later, he is doing better.

You will get through it!

Re: Please help.. this cant be normal..

I KNOW how frustrating it is, and how crazy you are going - my daughter had the same thing - she was colic for a good 5-6 months, crying ALL day long, but it was particularly worse at night.

Try everything you can, the 5 S's, put her in the swing at night, swaddle her, noise machines, gripe water, etc.... but if it continues, it does not necessarily mean something is wrong with her or that you are a bad mom. I know it feels like there's no end in sight, but I PROMISE, with some time, she'll grow out of it.

In the meantime, take her to the Ped to be evaluated for reflux and/or allergies or aversions to certain foods. I nursed my daughter, and found that when I had anything with citric acid, or milk, it would make her fussiness 100 times worse

Re: Please help.. this cant be normal..

I don't have any advice, just hugs!!!

Re: Please help.. this cant be normal..

DS was the same way to the point that I would cry too, I was so frustrated and aggravated. DS wound up having reflux, we had to put rice cereal in his bottle and give him zantac. after that he was much better but still never 100 % until after he turned 4 months. now he is soooooo much better .

Re: Please help.. this cant be normal..

This may sound weird, but is she getting enough to eat? DS went through this AWFUL witching period for a while where he would scream from about 5:30-10:30 every night....we tried EVERYTHING. Then we just started to feed him more (I think we added an extra bottle, but only at that time....not a full one though) and those extra few ounces changed our lives forever. It is so stressful and makes you feel like you don't know what you're doing, but it will pass.

Re: Please help.. this cant be normal..

I agree with all the other girls, especially the 5s. They saved our life!

Re: Please help.. this cant be normal..

get the Happiest Baby book, that helps. My son was MISERBLE for the first six months, he just was. We learned to deal with it, and unfortunatley sometimes nothing is wrong, as was the case with my son.

It will pass...

Re: Please help.. this cant be normal..

Re: Please help.. this cant be normal..

Jenn- It could be acid reflux. Either that or the baby may still be a bit hungry.

Re: Please help.. this cant be normal..

my only advice (coming from a mom whos ds was colicy for 4 1/2 months straight) is....during this time...instead of always trying to calm this baby, who may just not calm down for alil while...try to TAKE CARE OF YOU..take a walk, while dh listens to him scream..take turns..go get your nails done, sleep, take a hot shower..i learned that the crying was there whether i was listening to it or not, and sometimes you have to just take some "you" time..i looked back when my son was about a year old, and forgot what it was like when he was so miserable..

another tip..keep reminding yourself...THIS IS GOING TO PASS...i did a calendar, up to 5 months and did a "colic countdown" it was kinda funny..
try and make light of it, i know it stinks, and you cant fully enojoy your baby right now, but i promise, it gets better and itll go away!!

Re: Please help.. this cant be normal..

The 5s's worked for us! And then the ped told us it was gas and we gave her Mylicon with each bottle. That did a world of good as well!

Hang in there!

Re: Please help.. this cant be normal..

Chelsea was the same way......we found that white noise really helped! We actually strapped her in her bouncer. put her on the dryer and turned it on. It worked!!!

Also we changed formula from Similac Advanced to Similac Sensitive and that made a huge difference.

Re: Please help.. this cant be normal..

I would call the ped and tell them what's going on. It could be anything or nothing.

Re: Please help.. this cant be normal..

Re: Please help.. this cant be normal..

I think it could be gas too. GL!!

Re: Please help.. this cant be normal..

We switched formulas after Ashley was having a lot of pain following her bottle. We switched from Similac Advance Early Shield to Similac Sensitive and it worked great!
Also, I found sometimes her appetite changes from feeding to feeding, sometimes what she ate a few hours ago wont fill her up at the next feeding, so I give her a few more ounces and she drifts happily to sleep.
I am sorry you're having a rough time, please dont feel like a bad mother.

Re: Please help.. this cant be normal..

Ava is going to be 8 weeks and until last week I had the same problem. She's been diagnosed with reflux and has been put on Axid. She's much better! She still has her "witching hour" from 4-6ish, but the rest of the day she is much better. She actually can sleep a little now, before she would not sleep at all.

Per my drs besides the 3ml of axid 3x per day we: use half breastmilk (I don't produce enough for all BM), half Good Start formula, 1 tsp of rice cereal per ounce in a Dr. Brown's bottle. We feed her 2 ounces every two hours and her last two bottle of the evening we give her 2.5 ounces. Our goal is 20-22 ounces per day.

Good luck! I sympathize - it was a nightmare but slowly getting better and her spitting up has decreased as well.

Re: Please help.. this cant be normal..

I agree with all the other ladies and their advice. Have you tried Gripe water, it really helped DD during her witching hour at night.
You are def. not a bad mommy, this will pass :)