Fussy Baby Support

[bananaz]

Well she is hysterically crying right now. Like all-out, "oh god someone is killing me" screaming. I think I'm going to have to intervene and try to put her down for a nap, though I don't if even I will be able calm her down at this point. I can't remember the last time she was this upset

 

[lysh]

eeek....yeah, that is hard to ignore when it gets THAT bad. Thankfully my LO has not gotten THAT bad in a while. She did a few mornings with DH, but she also was not feeling well. I wish I had better advice....is there anything this babysitter can do...hold her and take her for a walk if it is nice?

 

[bananaz]

The babysitter managed to calm her down to a normal level of fussing/crying but after another 15 minutes I ended up intervening and nursed her to sleep. Of course she was so overtired and wound up already that she popped awake 5 minutes later and now the cycle has started over again I give up...

 

[MrsButterfly]

Bananaz - first off, that's a seriously cute photo. Your lo is gorgeous.

So sorry you've had to intervene. I have the same issue when my lo is with DH. He just doesn't cope when he's in a really really fussy mood and I end up having to step in and take him to calm him down. I really hate being that mum who acts like only I can soothe my baby, but that's the reality a lot of the time!!

Off to sleep now, fingers crossed for a good night sleep. Hope everyone else gets on well xx

 

[jenniferttc1]

Just needed to tell someone, there has been so much improvement the past 2 days!!
My little boy can now sit unassisted, so he will happily play with himself for a good 1-2 hours (so far) now that he can lay down, crawl, and sit up my himself
FINALLY!!!!!

 

[MrsButterfly]

Such fab news Jennifer! There's hope for us all

 

[bananaz]

That's great to hear, jennifer!! Wow, 1-2 of entertaining himself? I can't even imagine! I do think that a lot of fussy, "high need" babies are just smart kids who get frustrated with not having control over their bodies and their environments, so it makes sense that they would calm down as they become more independent.

Yesterday Elsie followed her pattern of happy in the morning, total disaster in the afternoon/evening. But I managed to get a really good feed in her a half hour before bedtime (she tooks both breasts, which barely ever happens these days because she always gets distracted or fussy) and she slept for almost 7 hours! Then she woke up, had a feed, and fell straight back to sleep for 3.5 more hours. I'm guessing it won't be happening again anytime soon but for now I feel like a new woman, lol.

Hope you all are doing well!

 

[MrsButterfly]

7 hours?! Amazing! We've been having some 4-5 hour stretches recently at night which is great but I'd love 7hours.

Things have definitely been better for us recently. Like your lo Bananaz ours is really good in the mornings generally and gets more fussy as the day goes on. I'm nervous tho as his first set of immunizations are this week and I've heard so many bad things about afterwards...

Love that theory about fussy babies being advanced and intelligent. My boy has been ahead of the game so far with development so it does make some sense actually. We've all obviously got baby Einsteins on our hands

 

[bananaz]

I'm nervous tho as his first set of immunizations are this week and I've heard so many bad things about afterwards...

It may not be as bad as you're expecting. I was really worried about my LO's first shots too but they really had no effect on her except that she slept a little more than usual that day and the injection sites seemed sore. We did make sure to give her infant Tylenol immediately afterward though, so that probably helped.

Love that theory about fussy babies being advanced and intelligent. My boy has been ahead of the game so far with development so it does make some sense actually. We've all obviously got baby Einsteins on our hands

Haha, definitely!

 

[jenniferttc1]

That's great to hear, jennifer!! Wow, 1-2 of entertaining himself? I can't even imagine! I do think that a lot of fussy, "high need" babies are just smart kids who get frustrated with not having control over their bodies and their environments, so it makes sense that they would calm down as they become more independent.

Yesterday Elsie followed her pattern of happy in the morning, total disaster in the afternoon/evening. But I managed to get a really good feed in her a half hour before bedtime (she tooks both breasts, which barely ever happens these days because she always gets distracted or fussy) and she slept for almost 7 hours! Then she woke up, had a feed, and fell straight back to sleep for 3.5 more hours. I'm guessing it won't be happening again anytime soon but for now I feel like a new woman, lol.

Hope you all are doing well!

That is so true. He is much more happy that he can move on his own. And seems to reach his milestones pretty fast cause he is so determined and not laid back. He can now grab ahold of something and stand up on his own. It's crazy! He also tries to get in standing position when he is crawling

 

[lysh]

Jennifer- That is great news!!!! I am hoping that as my LO can entertain herself she will be a bit more independent- as of now I guess we are her source of entertainment! lol

bananaz- 7 hours!!!! That is amazing!!!!! I am crossing my fingers that you get more nights like that! At least you know it CAN happen! I also like your thoughts about our babies being extra smart, would make this extra work during the early years worth it in the long run!

MrsButterfly- Our first set of shots are in a few weeks- it is nerve-wracking (mostly because I hate shots myself!)

My girl slept for two 3 hour stretches last night- which is better than the last few nights. She seemed to have an easier time going to the bathroom though which I am sure is helping. We went to my nephew's birthday party yesterday and she was actually pretty good- she slept most of the time (happily in my arms of course!), She did get sick once though and threw up all over me and herself, but I can live with that!

I see the same pattern....she has really good mornings, then at around 3-4 in the afternoon she typically gets fussier and fussier. It is about 4 now and she is napping on my chest....when she wakes up from this point forward we typically struggle with her but I keep hoping for the best!!! Maybe tonight will be a turning point (have to stay positive, right??)

 

[jenniferttc1]

Jennifer- That is great news!!!! I am hoping that as my LO can entertain herself she will be a bit more independent- as of now I guess we are her source of entertainment! lol

bananaz- 7 hours!!!! That is amazing!!!!! I am crossing my fingers that you get more nights like that! At least you know it CAN happen! I also like your thoughts about our babies being extra smart, would make this extra work during the early years worth it in the long run!

MrsButterfly- Our first set of shots are in a few weeks- it is nerve-wracking (mostly because I hate shots myself!)

My girl slept for two 3 hour stretches last night- which is better than the last few nights. She seemed to have an easier time going to the bathroom though which I am sure is helping. We went to my nephew's birthday party yesterday and she was actually pretty good- she slept most of the time (happily in my arms of course!), She did get sick once though and threw up all over me and herself, but I can live with that!

I see the same pattern....she has really good mornings, then at around 3-4 in the afternoon she typically gets fussier and fussier. It is about 4 now and she is napping on my chest....when she wakes up from this point forward we typically struggle with her but I keep hoping for the best!!! Maybe tonight will be a turning point (have to stay positive, right??)

It will happen some day, wished It happened a little sooner for us, most people talked about it getting better at 3-4 months, but it was way worse for us in that time frame! He's in his playzone for the past hour and have not cried once. I got ALOT of cleaning done just now and when he's done playing he should be having a nap since he is wore out and havent napped much today. Now this is the stage I LOVE. 6 months was way too long with a screaming baby all day long. He hated swing, bouncer, crib, play yard, bouncer, jumperoo, and his walker. Literally EVERYTHING except me holding him and bouncing him. The days were going so slow and I remember looking foward to nap and bed time just to get 30 mins peace before I went to sleep. So I'm really enjoying it now!

 

[MrsButterfly]

Oh I'm so so happy for you Jennifer - such good news. And I can only imagine how good it feels after 6 months!!

Dream feed time here so here's hoping for another decent night again.

Me and DH had a massive debate (almost argument) today about parenting. He thinks I'm too soft with lo by holding him lots etc and keeps talking about us making a rod for own backs. It drives me crazy. He has no clue - im the one caring for him all week and when DH is home as soon as lo fusses he panics and passes him to me. Yet I'm not doing a good enough job apparently?! It's one of the things I find hardest about having a fussy baby - judgment from others. My mum has been here this weekend and has been bending my ear that lo should be sleeping in his cot by now and not in with me so then I hear it from DH too. Given I'm the one who does ALL the night feeds, I think I'll decide where he sleeps actually!! And I genuinely think DH believes I love having to hold lo all the time while he's fussy. Yeah, I just love having zero time to myself!! Grrr. Sorry ladies, needed to vent today!

Xx

 

[lysh]

Jennifer- Yes, it is about time for a break for you!!!! 6 months is a long time.

MrsButterfly- Vent all you need! That is frustrating- there is enough judgement from people, it is too bad your DH cannot be a bit more understanding right now. Does he ever have times that he has to be home watching LO? What does he think you should be doing?? My MIL tends to disagree more with me.

I am grateful that for now my DH and I are on the same page, hopefully it will stay that way. We both feel she is too young to CIO (who knows if we will ever feel it is appropriate, but for now we both agree it is not) and we just have to give her what she needs. My DH tried to put her down once and that did not last long lol...the minute the cries escalated he was grabbing her out of the swing.

 

[MrsButterfly]

No he's not had to look after him alone yet. If he did one day he'd be tearing his hair out!

He thinks we should be doing CC but I am adamant that he's far too young and the only way it'll send him to sleep is by exhausting him which is awful. We've made such progress with lo over the past week - he will now sit in his swing or lie on his playmat for a good half an hour and happily look around and kick. Means we can eat dinner with two hands! So the only thing left to crack is napping. But instead of feeling good that we've made so much progress, i feel rubbish and that everyone thinks I'm "spoiling" the baby. Maybe I should get DH to have a day where he is alone - think he'd soon be a bit more understanding!!

 

[bananaz]

MrsButterfly - that is rough It sounds like your DH needs to do some reading on child development. Even the most rabid proponents of CIO wouldn't suggest trying it on a month and a half old infant! When my LO was a newborn my OH occasionally made comments about just letting her cry so she'd learn to calm herself down until I finally snapped and told him in no uncertain terms that that was completely inappropriate for such a young baby and would not be happening anytime soon. Shockingly he just said "okay" rather than arguing with me about it, lol

lysh - I'm glad the birthday party went well and that she's sleeping a bit better. I wonder what it is about the afternoon that flips all these babies' switches??

Yesterday was okay. Everything was going pretty well until we decided to go out for dinner. LO was surprisingly calm for most of the meal but she ended up missing a nap and then had a big meltdown when we got home. The end result was that she didn't get to bed until she'd already been up for over 3 hours and was really overtired, and then she woke up every 2-3 hours for the rest of the night From now on I'm sticking with the routine. I don't care if I never eat out again, I need sleep!

 

[MrsButterfly]

Problem I have is that his sister left her 3 week old to CIO (don't even get me started...) so he thinks that's usual and it's me being over anxious! Had a long chat this morning and told him to do some reading. He's agreed with me though (slightly reluctantly but whatever) so an feeling slightly better.

We had a bad night though. Lo had really bad trapped wind so we were both only really dozing from 4am. Yuck.

Bananaz - totally know what you mean about messing with the routine. It's totally not worth it. Overtiredness is one of our biggest problems and I do anything to try and avoid it. Otherwise a meltdown will always ensue!

Hope everyone is having a good day

 

[lysh]

Hi everyone!
Yes, any type of routine is important!!! I have to make sure my LO gets somewhat of a sufficient amount of naps during the day or else the evening stinks. The evening sometimes stinks regardless, but I have a better chance if she is not overtired.

Last night was a bad night though....the most she slept in one stretch was 2 hours. Then our stupid fire alarms were going off for no reason. Hoping for a better night tonight!

 

[bananaz]

Last night was a bad night though....the most she slept in one stretch was 2 hours. Then our stupid fire alarms were going off for no reason. Hoping for a better night tonight!

Oh god, that is awful! Our fire alarm went off for no reason in the middle of the night a couple weeks ago, but somehow it didn't wake LO up.

Things have been okay here. Last night was really rough since she was already being fussy and my supply was getting low which just pissed her off more. Anyway, this might be my imagination but I think that the amount of time she spends in a good mood every day is increasing, albeit very gradually (and with the occasional really horrible day thrown in for fun).

I've been trying to wean her off the swaddle but I don't think it's going to happen anytime soon. Even if I just let her have one hand she constantly flails it around until she wakes herself up, or she starts frantically rubbing her face or chewing on her fingers. I really want to transition her to her crib soon but I don't think it would be safe to have her swaddled on a flat surface now that she's rolling over. Ugh

 

[lysh]

Bananaz- Love the new profile pic! She is truly precious!!
Glad her fussiness is seemingly less!!!! My DD has been less fussy too...she still has her moments, but not as often. She is having more happier moments. She swatted at toys on her jungle gym today for about 15 minutes, she lasted 20 minutes in her car seat while I showered and spent some non crying time in her Rock n Play! And she let me walk her around the block in the stroller- still hates being put down for naps though but cant have it all!