Advice for Comforting Fussy Baby

Some babies just cry. It does not mean there is anything that you are doing wrong, or that there is anything wrong with the baby. I am the mother of fifteen children and I can tell you this truly. My oldest daughter's first baby was one who cried. I always tell my daughter that her baby cried non-stop for two months. She finally stopped crying and started cooing. I promise you this will not last, it just going through the phase that causes concern.

Like others have suggested, "The Happiest Baby on the Block" by Karp is a terrific book for soothing infants. It gives five methods, one of which will hopefully help. Good luck!

Buy or rent "The Happiest Baby on the Block," by Dr. Harvey Carp. It really helps in arming you with some techniques in calming a fussy baby. Good luck!

I'm having trouble getting my baby to sleep but during the day I would still recommend "The Happiest Baby on the Block" It encourages a lot of things but by far the most useful for me has been swaddling and a lot of movement.

It's possible he's a "high need" baby. My second (she's almost 3 now) was high need. Go to this website http://www.askdrsears.com/search.asp and check out the info on high needs babies. Basically they're just wired differently and require much more attention. The only way my daughter was happy from the moment she was born was to be held all the time. Sleeping was a nightmare! Anyway, for me it was a huge relief discovering that there were other parents out there going through the same thing with their babies! I hope this helps and you get some relief soon.

Some babies cry more than others, I would suggest a bouncy seat or a swing. These items usually will relax babies.

Or try a paci. Good luck

E. ###-###-####
LittleRocketeers.com

I would confirm the advise of reading "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer" by Tracey Hogg. I didn't read it until our first child was 4 months old but I'm using the concept on our newborn (6 weeks old tomorrow!). She's now sleeping about 7 hours during the night and is generally happy during the day--with the standard period of fussiness each evening.

Good luck!!!!

Hi!! You've gotten a lot of good advice already, but I didn't see anyone mention using a sling. I used the Dr. Sears sling (you can find it on the website) and my daughter loved it. She fell asleep instantly and would sleep in it for hours while I would be walking around, doing chores, etc... She loved the craddle position they mention. You can continue to use the sling in different ways for a long time. I still put her in it when she gets really fussy and it works miracles!! I love the Dr Sears books too... it might help to check them out...

sounds like he maybe gassy I would try Mylicon or Little Tummies

All the advice you are getting sounds great, but I have one more to add. My second child was very fussy and there were only two things that worked - the swing (which he LOVED so much that he slept in it for the first 2 months), and a warm bath. I know you have to be careful not to dry out their sweet baby skin, but we'd sometimes have 2 warm baths in one day! Just be sure to not wash the hair too much, and be sure to lotion to keep his skin moisturized. When he got older and moved to his crib he was pretty fussy again, too, and classical music really helped. Good luck!

My name is J. and i have a 2 1/2 year old and a 12 month old. My oldest daughter slept for 12 hours and was up for 12 hours no matter how much I tried to get her to sleep. My youngest daughter was a "high-maintence" baby becasue she had reflux. People think that colic and reflux are the same thing but mediaclly they have different meanings (I am not in the medical profession but this is what I ahve learned since ABigail had reflux). Colic is crying wiht no known cause or solution. reflux can be managed. The first 4-6 months were very tiering and time consuming for ABigail (now 12 months). I had to hold her A LOT and what I did after the first 2 months was I got out her milk about an hour before feeding time to get it room temp. Then I gave Abigail like 5 mils (very small amount) of Malox 30 minutes before she got her bottle. This coats her stomach so that it doesn't hurt as much when she eats. I had to make sure to burp her, sometimes purposely stopping her halfway through to burp her and then finish feeding her. Not all abbies wiht reflux spit up-Abigail did not, her stomach just hurt her incredibley. (The funny thing is that my oldest was a natural born spitter upper who ate like a horse and did not have reflux, she just spit up to do it). I had to let BAigail sleep wiht my husband and i A LOT when she was a baby baby (which I was too scared to do wiht my oldest daughter) and she still sleeps with us sometimes, but I would say that by 6 months her reflux was pretty much gone, although this is different for each baby. I hope I have helped. you can try the malox and stuiff, it won't hurt the baby. There is also medicine they can give. we tried zantac wiht Baigail but it didn't work so then we went to pilosec which was a compuond that had to be ordered from CHKD in norfolk (I live in Chesapeake). If you do need to get medicine you will probably have to go to the doctor a lot to change the dose because they outgrow their dose (they will get very fussy, you will know when this happens) and they must be weighed to change their dose/etc. LIke I sadi it is very time consuming and harder to "fit in" if you have more than one child, but your mommy instict will tell you waht to do and you will get through it :). If you want you can E-mail me: ____@____.com (just put mamsource in the subject)

J.

I think that your little one is completely normal. My daughter would cry for hours on end at that age. My husband and I tried everything. We drove around in the car, took her for walks outside, we would rock her, put her in the swing etc. Nothing seemed to make her happy for long periods of time. I thought the same thing you did-that I just had an overly fussy baby. She outgrew that stage by about 8-10 weeks old and now at almost 10 months old she is a very happy smiley baby. I would just keep trying different things to soothe your little one and just know that this stage won't last forever.

Sounds about right! Only up for a little while, calm for even less. At that age they're pretty much just sleeping all day. At 2 1/2 my daughter still sleeps 15 hours a day. Before you go giving him medications try soothing his emotional needs. I would DEFINITELY suggest The Happiest Baby on the Block. Amazing for us. That changed everything w/ our baby. Also maybe What to Expect the First Year if you don't already have it. Also, try some baby carriers, he may like them b/c they can simulate the womb which is comforting. At any rate, don't worry - his habits are totally normal and common. Good Luck
S.

Almost everyone I know starts getting a fussy baby from about 4-6 weeks on. Mine peaked about 2 1/2 months and then got a lot better. Some people call it colic -- but it is generally fussiness. I tried gas drops (Mylecon), but it didn't do much good. I was never quite sure why. I cut out dairy and tomatoes for a while since I was breastfeeding and that cut down on his (Lucas is now 7 mos) discomfort a little. You can try that but it doesn't always work.

Sometime he just cried for no apparent reason or was just moderately unhappy. It usually was in the late afternoons and early evenings. (I don't think I had a dinner uninterrupted for about 2 months.) Just know that this soon will pass. Take time outs and get someone to rock him and walk him around sometimes to give you a break.

I had a very fussy baby as well... but it turned out the reason he was fussy is because he had reflux. What I would do during his 3 hour long crying fits would be to hold him in a football hold and rub the bottom of one of his little feet. The spot on his foot actually helps relieve gas pains and other digestion pain issues. Not having enough sleep can also be a big factor in why a baby is fussy. A baby at that age should be sleeping about 16 or more hours a day including nighttime sleep and naps. I would recommend the book Healthy sleep habits, happy child by Dr. Weissbluth. The book really helped me understand my sons sleep patterns and how important regular sleep was for him. Making sure he had enough sleep really helped with his fussiness, and I began to realize that he was fussing because he was actually over tired.

Definitely talk to your doctor. Your baby could have reflux. Also, consider other "comfy" positions to sit or play. My son (and daughter) both liked to nap in the car seat or booster seat. I think it helped their digestion since they had reflux. Your doctor, no doubt, will have some good advice as well.

Most babies can only stay awake for a max of 2 hours before falling apart, so your baby may just be tired. There is a great book by Marc Weisbluth on babies/children and sleeping habits that may be helpful to you.

I am so glad to have read this because I have the exact same problem and so I got to read all the responses. I have a 6 week old baby and he only lasts about 15 minutes as well. If you are feeding a baby 7 or 8 times a day and they are suppose to sleep at least 16 hours - then I guess it probably means they have little time awake that they aren't eating or feeling tired right? The hard thing for me is to get him to sleep when he's tired. He gets fussy and I try to address it as a gas issue at first - I do bicycle legs and rub his tummy, hold him in different positions. Once I think it's not a gas issue - I try to get him to sleep. I have been letting him cry it out the last few days and it's heartbreaking! But I only let him cry 15 min and then go and get him. He falls right to sleep when I pick him up. The book, Baby Wise says that sometimes they just need to let off energy before they can fall asleep. But - I am in your same situation - first time mom on maternity leave - so I don't know what I'm doing!! :-) Good luck! I liked hearing those comments that he'll grow out of this stage and be less fussy.

Theres a good book called Health Sleep Habits, Happy Child. In it it says that infants should really only be awake for a max of 2 hours (2 hrs of wakefulness total, including feeding time)- At least with my 4 mo. old (when he was younger, and now!), he is MUCH happier when he gets all of his naps. Try soothing your baby to sleep when you know hes been awake for and hour or so, and see if that helps. Good luck, i was just there not too long ago! M.

L.,
It took my having 3 children to finally figure out how to soothe the fussy baby. I am a slow learner or perhaps my third was just less fussy. I watched a video in the doctor office waiting room about the 5 "s" from a book called the Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp. This video suggessted to do the following to initiate the calming relex in your infant:
1. Swaddling-tight wrapping
2. Side/Stomach-lying a baby on her side or stomach
3. Shushing-loud white noise
4. Swinging-rhythmic, jiggly motion
5. Sucking-sucking on anything from your nipple or finger to a pacifier

The swaddling was magic when number 3 was an infant. It helped her stay calm, cry less and sleep better. I swaddled her until she was around 5 months. Get a blanket bigger than the receiving blankets so it will stay. (my favorite was a fleece blanket from target with circles on it or the large gymboree blankets) Buy a swing if you haven't already. See if you can get your hands on that video - seeing the doctor do all those things really helped me! I was determined to get some rest and this helped so much! Good luck. Nothing is more frustrating than a crying baby when you don't know what is wrong. Been there 3 times!!

at that age I would wear my baby alot- I tried different slings but eventually she settled into a baby bjorn quite well. she settled in that while I was able to get some things done. If you think its her tummy- I used some great colic drops I got online at the recommendation of my midwife at wishgardenherbs.com

My babies always seem to like the swing and vibrating seat and it seem to help if I wanted them to stay awake during the day so they would sleep at night try it I hope that it works for you.

T. in Buena Vista, VA

Go out and get "The Happiest Baby on the Block" It comes in dvd and book format and you can get it at the library or a bookstore, and you will; be amazed!!! Also, where are you located? Check into support groups that might help!

I have found that my 8 week old baby gets fussy after being up for only about an hour. I think that is about all he can handle at a time before he needs to sleep again. Whether he sleeps again at that point or not is a different issue.
At this point I am also trying to get him to sleep on his own, and often put him down when he is still awake. Also, I have found that if he is fussing, and rocking while holding him tightly does not help, then I put him in his bed, and within a few minutes he has fussed himself to sleep. Anyway, sleep advice is hard since all babies are different. One other thing that I found that my baby loves is to bounce on an exercise ball. We often do that all evening long in order to keep him happy. Good luck.

The wisdom of a little old Italian lady who came from the mountains of Northern Italy who was poor as a church mouse was shared with me when I was the new mother of my 4th child. She listened to my little one fuss all night and bright and early the next morning she came across the hall from her apartment with a cup of (sp) Chammomile tea, hands on hips, stern look in her eye, and said give this to that baby. I did. Whithin minutes baby had settled down and slept like a ,,,,,,,,well, like a baby. I have since passed this information on to several new Mommies and it works every time. We were all astounded!!! Try it please for the sake of your sweet distressed baby. Dilute it first. Dont give the same strength as you would drink. Add a little sugar and be astounded too!

You probably don't have a naturally fussy baby. As a mother of two, I find the fussing is usually connected with some minor discomfort. Here is a list of things that made my little ones uncomfortable and when I made changes their disposition brightened:

#1 discomfort when they were teeny - "Mom, I like to be swaddled..I'm just not wrapped tight enough". I had to find the right blanket and technique.

#2 "what did you eat mom?" - my nursing diet consisted of rotisserie chicken, steak, mild seasonings (salt only), non-gassy veggies and pasta. Absolutely no onions, garlic, tomatoes or dairy. It was really a downer for me, but the kids slept better and smiled more. I ended up nursing for only six months with both kids -- I needed a varied diet!

3# "rock me back and forth and don't you dare sit down". I could only do so much for them on this one, but found a sound soother that seemed to at least partially fill this need. A bouncy seat that I could rock with my finger tips seemed to do the trick for the other part and I could read a book and at least sit down for a moment.

ties for 4th place:
i'm too hot (this outfit is cute but I'm sweating or itchy)
i'm too cold (cute mom, now take a picture and get me a blanket)
i want to be in my car seat (first child)
get me out of my car seat (second child)
break the rules and let me sleep on my tummy (second child)

If you didn't already think of these, perhaps these notes will help you out. Congratulations and if you have the blues, be nice to yourself. I had the blues pretty severely and didn't even realize it. When a friend pointed it out, it was easier for me to be kinder than usual which helped me cope. May God bless you and yours

Hello L.,

First of all, congratulations becoming a parent!

Second, get the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weissbluth. This book is a wealth of knowledge!

It does not only explain how your baby's sleeping patters change from month to month, but it gives you strategies/techniques to help you.

Just to let you know, from weeks five to six is when fusiness or crying peaks. At this age, your baby sleeps every two hours...just like eating. If your baby wakes up 2:00 pm, then she'll eat, you'll change her diaper and play with her. At around 3:15, you'll want to start soothing her to fall asleep.

I know this is a tough time, just hang in there.

Good luck

I assume you burped him. Sometimes it takes awhile to get a good burp out and of course baby feels better afterward.
We used a vibrator infant seat that also played a little tune which seemed to soothe our grandson. Sometimes laying him facedown across my knees gave him comfort. But take heart, because your little guy will be changing as each month goes by. He will probably grow out of this fussy stage soon. The baby books say that babies actually get bored because they can't do much of anything, & I think they're right. Hang in there -- you probably have a very intelligent baby who is ready to start doing things & is frustrated because his muscles won't cooperate yet!
S.

I am sure you have tried the gas drops, burping etc...so it might be something you wouldn't think of. For me it was, my son cried for about 5 hrs straight after he was born. And boy he didn't stop until about 6 mons old. I was up every 2 hrs for 7 mons straight. Whenever he was awake he wasn't happy. The doctor kept telling me it was because he was fussy. I would argue the point but the blamed my worries on being a new mom. Eventually I demanded my son be seen by a Gastro specialist. And there was something wrong, he had acid reflux. So once he was on the medicine he wasn't fussy during the day anymore. I felt so much better because he wasn't in pain anymore. I knew it wasn't in my head. Needless to say we do not use that doctor anymore. It might be something to look into.

It's true about babies, they grow when they're sleeping. Your little guy might sleep and eat like crazy because he's going through a growth spurt. This is totally normal. And he may be a baby that needs to be held a lot. If you haven't, try getting a baby carrier that holds him close to your chest. You can pick up baby slings online or front carriers at Target. I had one of each for my boys. Some days they spent all day in them. Whatever kept them happy. It's more stressful for us moms when the babies cry, but sometimes that's okay too. I remember with my first boy there were some days I didn't even get to shower because I would rather be dirty than listen to him cry. You'll learn what works best for you and your baby. And remember, there is a learning curve for both of you. You'll find your groove. Good Luck!
K.

I am a new mom too, but in my 3 months of experience, the following methods work for me comforting my baby. Mostly I just try different stuff until she stops crying.

Holding her at 45* angle - butt toward SW and head toward NE. One hand on supports butt, the other supports chest. It's a real workout for me, but I think it helps when her tummy is upset.

Looking in the mirror!!!

Listening to music & dancing to the rhythm. (I hold her in the above position and dance her around to Pachelbel's Canon. She quiets EVERY time no matter how upset she is to the Canon in D. It's like magic.)

Have you tried a pacifier???

And of course there's just good old fashioned singing.

Good luck!

I am a mom of two 10yrs nd 6yrs old. When a baby cry is usually that he is hungry, wet/dirty, or has gas. You fed him and changed the diaper, did you burp him. Once you feed a baby it takes several minutes before they start crying if they have gas. Some would burp immediately after you pick them up. Also you need to see if its the milk you are giving him. My son had a very sensitive stomach and everytime I fed him he would cry and get diarreah, until he just wouldn't drink the formula anymore. We had to changed the milk several times and ended up using a lactose free approach until he was about two yrs old. Now he is doing great and its not lactose intolerant. Another reason is that some babies like to be held more than others and need that bonding with the parent, enjoy them while they are little. Try holding him when he starts crying if he stops there is your answer, he wants to be held. Try setting a routine with him, it's not easy and should take several weeks before he figures it out. If after you have tried all this and he is still crying seek medical help. Good luck and enjoy your baby.

If gas is the issue (which it may very well be), you might want to try Mylicon (or generic "Infant Gas Drops" from Walgreen's). Our daughter (now three months) was getting really fussy shortly after she ate and these drops have been a godsend. Within two to three minutes of a dose, she was back to her happy, smiley self.

Also, swaddling has been amazing too. If nothing else would comfort her, swaddling would.

Generally, babies should be sleeping 14-16 hours a day at this age. My three month old still can only hang out happily for about an hour or two after each feeding, but sleeps through the night. If your baby isn't sleeping through the night yet, then he may not even make it that long during the day.

Congratulations on your new baby. It can be so frustrating to feel like you can't make him happy. Remember, that the womb-to-world transition is a big one, and some babies have a harder time with it than others. I've had great success with "wearing" my babies in a sling or baby carrier. The trick is to select one that is comfortable enough for you to wear it a long time and that holds the baby snug and close to you. My little ones both loved the Moby wrap. The baby tucks right in to the carrier, and is close enough to hear your heartbeat and feel your breathing. At 7 or 8 weeks, my son would sometimes take 4 hour naps (!) in the Moby. He'd also be quite content awake in a baby carrier, close to mama and watching the world go by.

The best part is that wearing your baby lets you still be up and about and getting things done while keeping him happy.

I definitely agree with Jenny G's comment about the Happiest Baby techniques- thought I'd comment so you know it works for multiple moms and babies :). I also found, if it helps, that my daughter would get fussy right before she did something "big" like smiling or growing or sleeping longer. 6-7 weeks sounds right around the time of a big growth spurt, so hang in there!

Sounds like he may have gas. You should talk to your Dr. It could be as simple as changing the formula or your diet if you are nursing. Each of my babies were different but one was especially fussy. It really takes time to learn your babies needs. I hope this helps.

I don't really think there is such a thing as a "fussy" baby. Some babies are just high need. My 5th child was high need and I got a sling. It was the thing. She liked to be held close as much as possible. It was convenient because I was able to nurse her on demand in the sling and she was a much happier baby. She is almost 4yr. now and she is doing great. bright, happy, and social. Babies come hard wired with certain personality traits it is easier to work with what they have than try to change them. There are no "bad" babies. You might look at parenting books by Dr. Sears. He also has a great website. askdr.sears.com.
Sometimes if you drink a cup of cammomile tea in the evening it will help you relax and then it will relax the baby when he nurses. I did this when one of mine was teething. Please don't fall into the trap of scheduling your baby and letting him cry it out. Babies will eventually stop crying when you do that but it is because they learn that you won't respond. They are not sleeping through the night that young they are just laying in their crib not crying because you won't answer. You are wired to respond to your baby it has a negative effect on your relationship when you ignore that.

You are so smart to ask now! I had one like that. It was food sensitivities. If you are using formula, try other brands. (Costco formula was the only one that worked for my guy.)If you are nursing, it could be something you are eating. LaLeche League is a great source for help on that. BTW, we went 10 months like that before figuring it out. I thought he was "just a fussy baby." Thas what the doctor wanted me to believe. I got a new kid at 10 months and a huge dose of guilt for letting him live his whole life aggitated. another note: I got huge help from Meridians, a family clinic in Kentlands to clear his sensitivies. Once a child is eating solids and off milk/formula, it's harder to control the diet.

Your baby is a happy calm being trapped inside a food sensitive body;)LOL
Good Luck!

This is the fussiest and one of the most active periods for your infant. It is due to a lot of hormonal things going on. Things start to tame down from this point til about 12 weeks. So, you are in the worst of it.

Make sure your baby doesnt' have anything physically wrong with him like reflux. It sounds like he is a little colicky. That is much the way my eldest son was. Do WHATEVER makes him happy until he reaches that 12 week point. Do not try to make him cry or anything like that right now. Try rocking, swaddling, pacifier, nursing, shhhing, bouncing, and those sorts of things. Try your baby carrier on your chest or baths. Look into the book "Happiest Baby on the Block" or something like that. It goes into a lot of proven methods to help colicky babies. The author was on the Oprah Winfrey show a couple years back.

Also, there is another good book called Healthy Sleep Habits Healthy Child. That is a good indicator for how they should be sleeping at each stage and ways to help them sleep well. I highly recommend these books.

At this point in time do whatever it takes to get him to sleep, and remember that b/t every 1 and half to two hours they should be napping brief periods at this stage. If you go beyond the two hour wake window you will find only trouble. Less sleep, more irritable, and general fussiness.

Please...please...please....by all means do not buy into the making him cry or making him fall asleep on his own. That did NOT work for either of my sons. It generally only works to do independence training when they are past this 3 month time frame. If you try to get him to fall asleep on his own or make him cry, you will only be torturing yourself. IT is much too early.

I agree with everything Jenny G. said! I swear by the book and swaddling and jiggling. I'm sure you've seen moms with their babies all wrapped up laying upright with their heads by the moms shoulder, the mom almost jumping up and down...that's the ticket.

I learned a tremendous amount from a GMBC Mother's Group held on Tuesday mornings from 10am-1pm. I swear by the lactation consultant who runs the group, Deedee. She's amazing. It's free and it's for moms with babies from birth to 8 weeks, though most of us stayed until at least 10 weeks. After that there's another group-8 weeks to one year. Also a life saver for me. That's held on Fridays at the same time. You can call the Lactation Station at GMBC and they'll give you all the information you need. Their number is ###-###-#### or you can send me a private message and I'll go on and on about how wonderful it is. :)

I agree with holding and swaddling. A great way to do this is with a baby carreir! You can hold baby close and get things done as well. Lots of great options out there, check out www.handsfreebaby.com for some ideas, if you are in central DE you can try some on!
Best of luck,
K.

Linday,
My 6 month old daughter, at your baby's age did the same thing. She would sleep 20 out of 24 hours sometimes. And when she was up, like you said, we had 10-20 minutes of happiness and then squawking. I found if I swaddled her up tightly, she settled down and was pleasant longer. My other two children also loved to be swaddled. They liked to fight and push against the blankets, but then would almost sigh in relief and just lie there peaceful. You might try this with your son. Also, if he REALLY doesn't like his arms swaddled (you'll know as his crying gets louder), try just wrapping the lower half of him and leave his arms free. Just remember, "this too shall pass"
A.

My daughter is now almost 4 months old and I remember when she was that age she fussed alot more than she does now. It could be that your baby is not getting enough sleep, at 7 weeks they pretty much sleep most of the day except for eating and being up for an hour at most after feedings. Babies get overtired sometimes because they don't necessarily know when they need to sleep. Also, it could be your baby's temperment and as your baby grows you will see more and more if this is it. Remember that babies have NO other means of communication other than crying, so they may cry just because! If you know all the needs have been met than don't worry, this will pass!! I saw an amazing change when my daughter turned 3 months old so hang in there!! Hope this helps.

I know what it's like! Mine was colicky/had acid reflux, or both. I still am not sure. Is acid reflux a possibility for your boy? What I've gathered from Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child and Your Fussy Baby by Marc Weissbluth is that babies hit their peak of fussiness at 6 weeks, so you're on the downhill slope! It's the worst in the evenings. He says that you can't really determine their temperament until about 4 months. If your baby is well rested, which it sounds like he is, he will probably be a lot happier then. Like everybody says, every baby and every parent is different, but some things that worked well for our baby were swaddling, shhhing in his ear (long and loud shhh's) and patting his back or bouncing him lightly, getting a change of scenery, going for drives, using the vacuum when desperate times called for desperate measures. Good luck. I know how exhausting it is. As much as you'd like it to end now, you can rest assured that it will get better!

We had the exact scenerio, exact!! I had the book Baby Whisperer Solves all your Problems and I finally got so desperate I printed out the schedule and put it on my fridge. Now my baby is a completely different baby ... much, much more happy. I realized he wasn't getting enough sleep and it was my job to make sure he got it. Right now your baby should be on a three hour schedule. For example, he wakes up and eats at 8, hang out with him awake until 9:30 and put him down for a nap until 10 (I usually start the process of swaddling, turning lights down and putting the hush baby - which is white noise - cd on about 10 minutes before naptime, so around 9:20 in this example). Then I repeat this all day. So he gets 3 1 1/2 hour naps and a catnap between 6 and 7 and a dreamfeed at 11. Once we starting doing this in a more strict fashion (not getting up if he was crying, just comforting him to really make sure he gets the naps) ... he started smiling and really becoming a happy baby. And now he sleeps most of the night at 9 weeks (we've been doing this schedule for about two weeks now and he used to wake up every night between 3 and 4). The philosophy is if the baby gets enough sleep during the day they sleep better at night and we have found this to be seriously true!!! Also, if he wakes up at 7 one morning and 7:30 the next, we have different schedules on the fridge based on the time he wakes up. So here's one scenerio: wake and eat at 8, "activity" (could be belly time, songs, bath, whatever) until 9:20, nap 9:30, eat 11:00, activity then back down at 12:30, wake and eat at 2, activity, back down at 3:30, wake and eat at 5, catnap between 6 and 7 ... usually around 40 minutes ... another tank up feed at 7:30 and down to bed at 8, dreamfeed at 11. This is the miracle schedule that has changed our lives for the better. One more thing, if you want to go on a walk or to the gym or to the store, do it during activity time, right after the feed, let him sleep during nap time (after a week of doing this at home everyday he'll naturally fall asleep during naptime) and bring a bottle if need be for the next feed. My point, always have the schedule in mind before walking out the door and how you will incorporate it. At four months of age the it moves to a four hour schedule. So at three months you start moving the three hour schedule to 3 1/2 hours. Good luck!!! Let me know how it goes, if possible :o)

Speak to your child's pediatrician immediately. Our doctor told us that there is no such thing as a "fussy baby" and that if a 6-7 week old is crying that much, there has to be an underlying problem. We went through this with our first child, and it turned out that he had colick and a severe case of acid reflux, which can harm a child's esophagus and predispose them to esphogial cancer if not treated. Your son may have a different condition that might require treatment. Even if your child merely has colick, there are things that can be done to ease his discomfort. Have you tried soy formula or Milicon drops? I would only do so with the recommendation of your child's pediatrician. Give him or her a call tomorrow and see if you can get an appointment. Good luck!

PS - Check your child's temperature just to be sure that he doesn't have a fever.

read the book healthy sleep habits happy child by marc weissbluth. it will really help.
good luck and get some sleep too.

Don't worry, your baby isn't a fussy baby, he's just a normal baby. My little one was the same way, just a high needs baby. Staying awake for 2 hours is a long time for one that young, so let him sleep when he needs it. He may just be sensitive and get overstimulated easily like my daughter, so just don't try to "play" too much or have too much stimuli for him. It will get better as he gets older and you pick up more on his cues. Cuddling and soft talking can help, as well as swaddling. Hang in there! High need babies are just very spirited, and thats a good thing.

I'd say try and get them to sleep sooner; he may just be overtired. Two hours is alot for a little one. My second child was like yours and when I put him down for a nap sooner, like after an hour of waking, he was much happier. Try getting him back to sleep as soon as he starts getting fussy. Borrow/invest in a swing as that can calm him down. My kids would pass out within moments of getting in the swing. Good luck!

Hi, i havent read all of the responses but here is my bit anyways... when my son was fussy i realized (probably a little later than I shouldve) that it was gas. he had A LOT of it. Since I was nursing I ate more bland foods and all that, it still didnt help ... the only things that helped were ... warm baths, bicycling the legs, keeping him wrapped tight, keeping him more at an up angle while feeding, changing the bottle nipple to the gerber ones that look like the pacifiers, burping, mylicon and a variety of other stuff. overall they did help... especially the bath, which I let him be in the bath every night before bed (didnt actually wash him every day, but just sit in the warm water). The thing that ended up helping the most was putting him on formula at 6 months... i couldnt take the crying anymore and he had started teething so we transitioned. He still does get gas but it isnt as bad, and when i switched from nursing to formula i noticed a significant change in digestion and happiness ... as well as sleep. Anyways, dont know if this helps, but he he has gas definately do the bath thing.

I experienced a similar situation with my child when she was that age. I found after doing some research and consulting with my child's pediatrician that my daughter had thrush and actually I had it to. It is a yeast infection of the mouth. If you are breastfeeding check and see if your child or you have any of the symptoms. Does your child have any white patches/areas in the mouth that are not milk residue? Does your child pull away from your breast or become fussy while nursing (thrush may make it painful for a baby to nurse)? Another symptom that may occur with the mother is a white patch that may occur on the nipple. I actually also heard that sometimes babies who are formula fed may also have thrush. No one really told me about thrush. I had to find out the hard way. Well I hope this information is helpful. Take care.

A friend of mine gave me her copy of "Babywise" ...http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2902098
It's a book that encourages you to feed your baby every 3 hours for 15 mins on each breast assuring a "full feeding". (Ask doc how many ounces of formula that is if necessary) but the emphasis is the full feeding. You'll hear that I think throughout the book if u're interested and it helped us a lot. When I rushed feedings, my daughter would be coming crying not soon after we'd just finished. Your babe might not b getting enough?
Hope this helps, if it's not that he's hungry I really don't know what it could be but we'll make it through whatever they bring! Good luck!

I agree with all the advice on "The Happiest Baby On the Block". Buy the DVD or rent it ASAP. It works wonders. We didn't have it until our second child and it was amazing! The book is good, but the DVD gives you all the basic info to implement right away. You will not believe how quickly you calm your baby. It takes away that helpless feeling you have when your baby cries "for no reason". Good Luck!

Sleep when he sleeps ... that will help you. Play some peaceful music ...

I know most people don't believe in the TV but that Baby Einstein really worked for me on those really desperate days, he would stopped crying right away and this was at a few weeks old. Good luck to you, I know it is frustrated.
Mother of a 37 month old boy. D.

I don't think what you're experiencing is that uncommon. Of my 4 children (now ages 12 years, 10 years, 6 years and 18 months), 2 of them were fussy like that, while the other two were not. In my case, my fussy kids tended to get gas. I started using Mylicon, which was a "miracle worker", and still use it to this day, even on some of the older kids. Also, you should be having a check-up at about 8 weeks and you should talk to your pediatrician about the possibility of the baby being allergic to either something you're eating, if you're breastfeeding, or the formula because that can cause fussiness too. Good luck!