Temperament of a 4 week old

[chysantheMUM]

I know its way too early for smiling and giggling and tbh I don't think my LO cries excessively but recently it feels like shes always grumpy She still sleeps a lot of the time and when she wakes she instantly cries for her feed, then she instantly calms down during and after the feed and appears content. But within 5 - 10 mins she'll start fussing, wriggling, making grunting noises and just generally acting like shes uphappy until she eventually starts crying and I then rock or sing her to sleep. I'm guessing theres no actual problem, otherwise she wouldn't settle so easily. But it just feels like she is either asleep, feeding or grumpy. So, I was wondering, is this just the way babies are at this stage and will her mood improve at a later stage or will I just have to accept that I have a grumpy little girl

 

[XKatX]

Could it be a growth spurt? I have literally spent the day with Tabitha attached to my boobs. No sooner has she settled than she is awake again and being unsettled. It only lasts a couple if days and will calm right down again. X x

 

[Lilly12]

theres a growth spurt around 4 weeks!
could def be it.

 

[whit.]

Sophia does the same thing when she's gassy. Do you think your LO could have some gas issues? Sophia is extra wiggly when she hasn't pooped in a while or when she needs to fart.

 

[lisaf]

sounds like gas to me too

 

[juliew2561]

It is way too early to tell. My first baby was horrendous for first 12 weeks she was always crying and screaming, she hated being naked, hated the bath, didn't like her milk, wasnt keen on being passed around, didn't like her crib, she was the most exhausting little miserable baby ever!
But she turned into the most sociable, smiley and happiest little girl of all the toddlers I know!

 

[htaylor]

my LO is like this - ive been driving myself mental constantly feeding him and hushing him and rocking him.
my mum came over today and gently rubbed his eyebrows and his temples and he sat content for about an hour then nodded off!

magic! they get trasfixed and sleep!

 

[Babyface179]

Mine was like that for the first 8 weeks too. I thought I just had a grumpy baby but he got much happier several weeks down the line (touch wood)

 

[tina3747]

Well at 4 weeks my DH nick named our LO miserable f*cker!! He was so grumpy , if he wasn't asleep he was crying. He even cried in his sleep!
I posted on here saying my baby is so unhappy and no one replied!!
So assumed it was just mine! It changed at 5/6 weeks when he started smiling, makes such a massive difference now he's always smiling and cooing!

Still has his moments, my mum calls him Jekyll and Hyde as he switches from smiling to crying within a second, it's quite weird!! Hold in there, like I said mine was awful but changed within a week!!

 

[BattyNora]

Mine was the same (and is JUST starting to cheer up now!)

Fingers crossed it's the same for you....I bloody hope it's normal!

 

[chysantheMUM]

Ah, thanks everyone for your replies, its very reassuring to know that others have thought the same but moved on to happier times. I can't wait for the giggling and cooing to start its not nice to see her so unhappy all the time.

I had considered it might be a gas problem because she is continuosly pooping , so how would I help to ease that?

 

[lisaf]

if she's grunting and uncomfortable, you can do the bicycle legs to help the gas move...
try burping during the middle of the feeds to help prevent it.. you can also try gripe water but I've heard mixed reviews (saying it didn't do anything etc), if you're bottle feeding you could try a different kind of bottle meant to reduce air (I love the playtex ones)

They do poop continuously at that age anyway though, lol. At least mine did.. his record was 15 in one day.

 

[Bec27]

It sounds like your baby cries to be fed which is normal and then after feeding the wriggling and grunting sounds like wind. It could also be a bit of silent reflux- where the stomach acids come back up and burn their throat. My advice would be to keep baby upright and wind thoroughly after feeding and see if that helps. It can be a bit of a guessing game with babies but it definitely sounds like your lo is uncomfortable- maybe check nappy too. My lo often behaves like this after a feed and then we'll get a big burp or he'll fill his nappy and we realise that's why he seemed so grumpy, sometimes he just wants more- particularly if he's burped while being winded. Best of luck, I'm sure your bubs isn't grumpy for no reason so try some of these things. HTH

 

[Bec27]

Rubbing tummy in a clockwise direction helps release wind or you could try infacol x