please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Pink-Mummy]

Aww hun. Firstly, so sorry you're having a rough time of it, and secondly (dont hit me...) i promise it will get better. It is such a steep learning curve in those first few heady weeks, getting to know your little girl and understanding what she is trying to tell you with all her noises and actions.

I would def drop theplaytime before bed. Just cuddle, carry, swing, sing gently, stroke and generally find a nice soothing rhythm to relax her.

Personally i would go to the docs and lay out all her symptoms, just incase it is something medical like reflux/colic/intolerance to her milk brand etc.

I would change her brand of formula (if indeed ur using formula?) and try a comfort one or easy digest one, i would also try a natural colic remedy like gripe water for 3 days and see if this has any effect.

You mention that LO has trouble sleeping, whether thats in cot or in pram.... i presume shes on her back in both things? Just worth thinking about as my daughter was the same so upon medical advice and with extreme vigilance i started sleeping her wedged up on a propping cushion on her side, this worked wonders!!! But do check with HV/doc first as i know it isnt advised normally.

Lastly.... give yourself a break! Its extremely tough being a new mummy and you are doing a fantastic job. Just persever until you crack whats wrong with your LO. It might be something and nothing. I promise it will all click into place eventually and it will get much easier in the coming months. xxxxxxx

 

[Louppey]

in regards to napping how do u all do it i.e does your lo's have a certain way theyll only go down for a nap ?

ive tried our room nice n dark her pram ,her swinger n bouncer ,ive even tired getting her in my bed naughty i know she just seems way to intrested in whats going on in the world to sleep x

i'd pop her in her basket/crib/cot in your room. make it really dark for nap time, make sure she's had her bottle, clean bum etc, could try swaddling too and pop her dummy in. you may find she learns to self settle xx

WSS!

I let her nap on the couch next to me though, no TV on, so it's quiet & I pull the curtain shut on her side of the couch so she's in a bit of darkness.

I just lay her down, pop her dummy in and let her drift off. If she's really fidgety, I swaddle her really tight and keep the dummy in and maybe rub/pat her tummy whilst shhhhh-ing her.

Generally she self settles, I say that, but she did not self settle when she was 5.5 weeks - that's a relatively new thing!!!! At 5.5 weeks she would generally nap laying on my chest (so we were chest to chest) whilst I reclined on the couch. She would have her dummy in, and I would gently pat her bottom. Either that, or I would cradle her in my arms and rock her to sleep.

Generally at that age, I shouldn't have thought she should be up for more than an hour / hour and a half at the time. So if you're not seeing her tiredness cues (I am still learning the cues now!!!) then try giving her a nap after an hour of her being awake.

ETA if she'll sleep on your bed, let her sleep on your bed. Just stay with her to keep an eye on her. As my HV said to me, you just do whatever you have to do to get through the first few months...

 

[M&S+Bump]

The early weeks are just survival - don't worry about enjoying them. Just take lots of photos!

Do you have anyone who could take her for a few hours to let you get some rest? Me and OH used to do the night in shifts - I would go up to bed and he would keep Joe downstairs til about 3-4am when it was time for a feed, then bring him up to me to be fed, then it'd be my turn to take over.

As for naps, I try to make sure Joe doesn't go more than two hours before trying to get him to sleep again - if he gets too tired he's a nightmare. Sometimes he just sleeps (like now he's crashed out in my lap after a feed) but if he looks tired (yawning, rubbing eyes, or just getting grumpy and screaming for no reason) I make sure there's no other reasons he could be crying, clean nappy etc, and then swaddle him and put his dummy in and put him down in his crib or basket. If he's being really stubborn I'll push him back and forward in the pram, either in the living room or out the back and then put the pram out the back, or I'll take him for a walk if I don't have things I need to get done.

Swaddling him helps a huge amount, he usually breaks free but it settles him enough to let sleep take over.

I also couldn't live without Colief - it doesn't necessarily sound like your baby has colic but it's worth asking your HV. Is she drawing her legs up to her chest and going red when she screams, and screaming as if she's in pain? If so, I'd try colic remedies. It won't hurt to try and it might help. Different ones work for different babies - Colief is different to some of the others in that it breaks down the milk to make it easier to digest rather than working on air bubbles in the stomach or anything, and is the only one that did anything for us.

Mainly though - try to make things as easy as possible for yourself. Forget the housework and cooking etc, you can pick all that back up when this stage passes. Because it will pass - the first weeks are really hard for most of us, but it gets easier.

 

[emiliasmummy]

thanks again ladies going start give some of these tips a whirl .

my mum said other day maybe a trip to doctors to see about her milk .... think ill see if its that .... worried with milk though cause i bf for 10days and when i put on formular she had such bad constipation for 5 days its made me reluctant to try a different milk .

do babies not get so poorly if u change milk brands ? x

 

[emiliasmummy]

ive been looking for tired signs and your all guna think im mad but she does none of them she never even looks tired .... when i put her down she will lay there for 15mins or so smiling away then start crying or start crying straight away . when she does sleep at night its a very dead sleep like i can put the hoover on and she doesnt stir .... is possible that shes sleeping that hard for for 4hrs she doesnt need more ? xx

 

[Louppey]

I don't know about how babies react when you change their milk as i've never changed Coralie. I definately think it's worth a trip to the doctors though, hopefully they will be able to advise you on that

 

[M&S+Bump]

Breast milk is really easy to digest and formula is 'heavier' and takes them longer so that might explain the constipation. I wouldn't imagine it'd be as bad changing from one formula to another but Joe is breastfed so I don't know much about formula.

 

[tu123]

Definetly try the infacol or detinox and the swing.

Our daughter was like this. The night time issues turned out to be due to reflux.

But during the day i think it was due to overtiredness. They just dont know hw to get themselves to sleep. I ended up following the E.A.S.Y theory: Eat, Activity (changing bum and clothes at that age, cuddles in mummies arm, walk around the flat in the carrier, etc) and then Sleep so you can get some You time which sounds like you need! She put herself into a 90minute routine at that age and is now on 3 hours.

Do you think you recognise her tired signs yet? All babies are different and it can take a while to learn whether she is tired, hungry bored, etc?

YOU ARE NOT A BAD MUM!!!!!

 

[lauren10]

my daughter was exactly like that, except that she napped a lot in the day. She wasn't consistent with her eating, but I read that babies intake can vary a lot day to day with steady weight gain, so don't be too concerned. She also was a total nightmare from anywhere from 8pm-1am. We tried everything...and there was just nothing to be done, it was just a phase she went through. I would say maybe it was around 2 months or so things started getting a little better, and it just improved from there.

If anything you're a better mom for having to deal with all this!

 

[princess_bump]

i agree with the trip to your gp's for a chat, your hv didn't sound that helpful remember infacol takes time to build up too, so don't get disheartened. we used the mams bottles for the anti colic if that helps at all;
https://www.mothercare.com/MAM-Anti...&pf_rd_i=0&pf_rd_p=231490887&pf_rd_s=center-7
i think she does need more sleep personally, i'd keep trying. changing milks can upset them, but i'd speak to the doctor about that.
the other option is trying comfort milk, stick with which ever brand your using for that, make it up fresh as it's quite thick.
you will get there hon, i remember keep thinking about get through the first 6 weeks and it will get better, i think after the first 8 weeks we'd slowly found our routine and what works for us! xxx

 

[mumoffive]

thanks again ladies going start give some of these tips a whirl .

my mum said other day maybe a trip to doctors to see about her milk .... think ill see if its that .... worried with milk though cause i bf for 10days and when i put on formular she had such bad constipation for 5 days its made me reluctant to try a different milk .

do babies not get so poorly if u change milk brands ? x

No, they are fine. I wouldnt do it too often. I would try either cow and gate comfort or aptimil easy digest. They are much kinder on tummies. It may make all the difference. They are thicker milks so you may have to change the teat to one with a different/bigger hole.