Baby Crying Advice Please....

[stoofur]

I have a daughter who will be seven weeks old in 1hr and 15 mins from now. We love her to bits. We are finding it really hard at the moment as she seems to cry so so much. We feed her when she is hungry. For the first couple of weeks she would then sleep until her next feed. Now she feeds and then continues to scream pretty much until her next feed. We try and wind her. Sometimes she burps sometimes not. But there seems to be no calming her. We recently changed our formula to lactose free formula on the advice of the doctor (two days ago) but I think this is making her worse. Any advice would be welcome.

[anneasquith]

yes.............contact health visitor. why was her formula changed ? could she still be hungry after feeding ? or colic,

[ummmm]

Try the turning the hoover on or putting her in front of the washing machine. They can find the noise quite soothing.

If it works you'll know it's a settling problem rather than her being in pain.

[stoofur]

The health visitor says that this is normal. She thinks that it is just wind. But it does seem to be getting worse. The doctor said to change the formula as the mum is lactose intolerant that maybe the baby is too. We have just made an appointment to go back to the doctor this evening. It just breaks my hear when I see her little face with that big frown and crying. Dad just wants to make it better for her.

[stoofur]

Oops I missed the "t" out in Heart.

[stoofur]

Thanks ummmm. I'll try that.

[anneasquith]

back to the docs it is then, I hope 'things' settle,

[pixie373]

It is the perfect age for colic. Does she bring her knees up to her stomach when she cries? Hopefully doctor will help. I'm not sure whether gripe water etc is still used nowadays (my friend does) and what age you can use it from.

[Sqad]

Baby taking it's bottle, no vomiting, bowels normal and gaining weight............I assume?

No problem.....some babies cry a lot........others don't.

Let me guess....this is your first baby.....?

[fairycakes69]

Have you tried swaddling, wrapping the baby up in a shawl or you can buy a swaddling blanket, some babies like the comfort from it. Other than that, it's what squad says, some babies cry more than others. Heartbreaking, but it's the way it is. I've had 5 children, two were criers.

[Mosaic]

Movement seemed to help with mine - especially being carried or in a sling, wrap up warm and take her out and about with you. And as others have said, all kinds of gentle rhythmic noises. Hang on in there, and as sqad has said if she's eating, drinking, gaining wait and filling a nappy it will all pass. It just feels like for ever when you're on your own to deal with it all.

[Mosaic]

Also your own babies cry is hard-wired to make YOU do something. The cry doesn't upset others in the same way, so if you can get someone to give you a break for an hour or two you might feel stronger.

[jd_1984]

As babys can not tell you what is wrong it can be unsettling to hear a lot of crying. But some babies just do.
As Sqad says, normal bowels and gaining weight and no obvious problems..... you probably just have a cryer. That said, for your peace of mind, see a doctor if you want to.

[chrissa1]

Do they still make Nurse Harvey's? It was a boon when my kids were born, 30 years ago. If it Is wind, boiled, cooled water in a bottle with maybe, a smidgen of sugar was wonderful for getting the wind up.

[stoofur]

Wow. Thanks for your advice everyone. Is it obvious this is our first baby? :-) I have seen gripe water in the shops. It says it can be used from 1 month. She is still gaining weight and she does take her feeds. She does bring some back up. Not lots but some. I think that is normal. I have it easy as I get to go to work but my poor better half is at home with her. TBH I think she is fine and it is just that she is one of those crying babies but we want to make sure. She does not bring her knees up to her belly. She kind of does the opposite and arches her back. Then the pain seems to go. But returns a minute or so later. Then the cycle repeats until her next feed.

[soapnumpty]

it sounds like it could be wind if she is arching her back. See what the doctor or health visitor says. Ask them if you can try gripe water. I assume you've been shown how to wind her? There are some other things you can do to ease wind such as massaging their stomach, and moving ther knees in to their chest.

How often are you feeding her? Depending on her weight she might need feeindg more often so she could be hungry. Ask the HV/doctor.

Some babies just dont like to be on their own in their cot/moses basket so assuming wind and any other problem is ruled out, have you tried just giving her a cuddle on the settee? She is still very young and she may just want to feel close to someone. I guess the world is a very scary place to a baby. I remember leaving my baby on the floor on a blanket when she was a few weeks old and she would cry after a few minutes. I think it is just too stimulating for them.

I know you probably feel like you are doing a bad job, but I'm sure you're not. Being a parent for the first time is hard. Get the HV or doctor to check you are feeding her the right amount and winding her correctly, and failing that just give her lots of cuddles.

If your other half is finding the crying a bit much, could you ask someone to come over and look after the baby for a few hours whilst she has some time to herself?

[stoofur]

Thank you for the reply. The HV has shown us about winding and feeding. I think we are doing it right. I do hold her and eventually she falls asleep. As soon as you lay her down she starts to cry again. I'd love to hold her all night long (and did last night) but I was not much use at work today. My girlfriend has asked her dad to come and stay with her from Monday which will be a big help. I have to say when people said being a parent is hard. I thought I understood. Ha ha. I had no idea. Love her to bits though. Would not want to change her for anything. Just got to get through it. I have been told the first 18 years are the worst so only 17 years 10.5 months to go! Thank you all for your replies. It is nice to know that we aren't doing it too wrong and others have gone through it.

[sherrardk]

Probably going to be unpopular but have you considered a dummy?

[Sqad]

sherradk.......stoofur would look stupid with a dummy stuck in his mouth.

[lady-janine]

even if you had a dummy i would still love you sqad. let me think about it.

[lady-janine]

one of my children was a cryer and keeping her close, talking to her and playing music - not loud - all seemed to help. some just want more contact than others.