I wasnt sure where to put this so I'll leave it in the general section...
I dont know if there is something wrong with my DS or this is normal for newborns.
Firstly, anytime he is awake, he is crying... I think he probably spends about 30 minutes of his day awake and not crying.
At the same time, everytime I put him down in his cradle he cries. If I have let him fall asleep with me and then put him down, he wakes up in under an hour and cries.
I just cant stand to hear the crying anymore and I dont know if there is something wrong and I'm not seeing it.
Its hard hearing them cryin isnt. Have you got a carrier? Babies like to be near you especially being only 6 weeks he is still adjusting to the world. whenever my boys made a noise I would offer a feed
Good luck hun hope someone has some better help than me x
It is all very overwhelming in those first few weeks isnt it? And the crying can be very very hard I have had five now and that crying hasnt gotten any easier to hear.
The first few weeks of their little lives are such a learning experience just as much for them as us.
I totally agree with the sling and the closeness that they need. If it is becoming a bit much do you have support you can call on?
Putting him in a safe place to let him cry while you take five minutes for yourself is a must if you need to. I would put my ipod on and go out the back just to chill and breathe.
A few things you may want to look at if you are concerned
Wind - my 2nd son suffered chronic wind issues it was a nightmare! Who knew a burp could cause such issues?
Reflux - this was number 3 son. He had to be upright all the time so sleeping was basically non exisitant, again not much fun
how was his birth? My friends daughter got stuck in the birth canal and dislocated her shoulder which wasnt picked up for a few weeks.
Of course not saying he has any of this but maybe by process of elimination you could rule them out?
If you are worried dont hesitate to go see your CHN or GP. I hope you get some answers soon and hang in there it gets much easier
Last edited by Feijoa Mum; September 20th, 2010 at 03:51 PM.
There are a few possibilities - the most likely is that he's a fairly normal newborn
Definitely see your CHN if you're in need of reassurance - hopefully you have a kind, supportive one?
Sometimes it's simple stuff, like being overtired and/or overstimulated - that makes it near on impossible for them to settle without you.
Digestive issues are also very common - they're still developing and getting used to actually digesting stuff.
These sorts of things tend to resolve themselves with a bit of time, and 6 weeks is often the worst time for crying and fussiness.
If you don't have one, get a sling or carrier of some kind - they are an absolute life saver for fussy babies. They are often happy as long as they're held and having a carrier allows you to do that while still having your hands free for other things. It's ok to hold them all the tiem if that's what they need - just make sure you also get soem break time. So, for eg, when your DH gets home he can step in and take over from you. And if you have anyone else around able to help out around the house, that's great too, allowing you to focus on your baby and your own rest.
i reckon the 6 week mark is a doozer. i remember it with DD1 well....and that was 3 years ago...lol.
sounds like it could be over-tired stuff too...which is really common and very easy for a young baby to become. with dd during the day we would pop her in the pram swaddled up and rock the pram or use a rug to 'jig' it until she settled...sometimes a bit of a pain, but did give the arms a break and helped me recover from the stress.
Our little one cried all the time when she was brand new too. She had reflux which was diagnosed at 7 weeks. Does he fuss when feeding and arch his back - on top of the crying I mean?
It's hard when nothing we do seems to help.
Huge hugs coming your way.
just wanted to add my 2 cents worth. firstly, congratulation on you little boy!!!
I remember those first few weeks with DD, she wouldnt sleep unless i was right there, i had her in a sling and would just walk around the park for hours while she slept, i swear i lost kgs too but sometimes when that wouldnt work she would just cry and cry, a few times i would just hold her and cry too!!!
The most important thing to remember is that things change so quickly in the first few months! you have had great advice here! hugs to you. xx
Thanks Bec, I cried along with him the other night as well. It just got too much, and I figured if he gets to cry so do I!
Loula we've had a couple of better nights. But he projectile vomited twice the other day so I dont know what thats all about. How's the natural remedy going?
He is sleeping a bit better in the night now (well for the last 2 days anyway), waking up about 15-30mins before he is due for a feed. But between 7-9pm, he is not interested in sleep, he is always wide awake, crying and totally overstimulated. He also likes to wake at 6am... he's lucky I enjoy watching Sunrise from 6am. Lol
I think due to his prematurity, we have just had to endure a little longer of the newborn stage which has been tough. He is now 8 weeks old, adjusted age 1 week. A friend of ours whose son is 1 week older met him this week and said 'Wow, he's still got that newborn cry'. Her son was also more alert and was more keen to just lie awake without crying, because he was just happy to play with his hands etc. That made me realise that his prematurity is actually a factor. Because he has been growing so well and is such a big boy, I had kind of started to forget about his prematurity.
Huge for you Connie, the first few weeks are really hard, especially the middle of the night when your body is still adjusting to your new (lack of) sleep schedule. You are doing a fantastic job!
Please please be reassured that it does get much better in time, my DD is 1 in a couple of days, and I tell DH that I have the best job in the world looking after her, but I certainly didn't feel that in the beginning. My LO was also one of those who hated to be put down, she was one of those babies who really needed her 4th trimester! It sounds like your little lad is similar, probably even more so from being born early.
With DD everything made her unhappy, other than snuggling on me or DH. At the time I spent ages trying to get her used to being in the bassinet/her chair/her bath etc. but if I had my time again I'd leave all that and just snuggle her like she always wanted. We had a sling that DH would have her in which worked wonders, but I didn't get on with it, so when I bought a carrier at about 8 weeks it felt like such a lifesaver - I could carry DD right next to me, where she wanted to be, and still use my hands.
Have you considered taking you little guy to bed with you? He might be a lot happier and you could get some more sleep that way too. Are you b/f him? Learning to feed lying down is a really useful one!
Have you read any Pinky McKay books? For me, they were life changing. I felt overwhelmed in the beginning by all the things I *should* be doing according to all these books and what everyone tells you. Pinky has some lovely gentle ideas to help baby settle, but above all, for me, her books gave me the confidence to go with my instincts and do what felt right with my precious little bundle instead of trying to conform to all the shoulds. I don't think I've opened any of those other books since.
Be rest assured, there are plenty of others up with you right now. BB is great for keeping you company in the wee hours... if DD is sleeping in her cot and I need to be upright and awake to feed her, I browse BB on my phone to keep me awake things always feel better in the morning too.
Hope you're getting some rest now and well done, you are a fantastic mummy, otherwise you wouldn't have been here trying to work things out.
we can sometimes get dd to self settle, but only at night because she knows what's going on there, she refuses to self settle during the day. And I don't let her cry longer than 10 seconds! This haas been going since week 10
Just wondering re you having problems putting him in his bed at night.. is it still a bit cold there at night? I know it is here! but in the colder months my kids were the same and we use to place a warm water bottle in their bed and took it out before we put them in. Putting them down in the cold sheets would wake them.
Re the self settling it was different with each child. DS didnt self settle until he was well over 6 months.. he just wanted to be held the whole time.. whereas DD self settled from the day she was home, she didnt want to be held. So i guess its just trial and error. Try putting him in his cradle when hes almost asleep and then rock the cradle or tap him until he falls asleep. If he wakes crying and wont calm down, pick him back up and do your usual settling until hes almost asleep and try it all again. Best of luck.
We use grobags - they're excellent! We don't use them with blankets, just layer up with more clothes and use the warmest grobag on cold nights.
That's just made me think though... Are you swaddling your bub? If not it might be worth a try as that can really help with settling. If you're concerned about the temperature you can add an extra layer of clothing under the swaddling, or put a blanket over the top. I didn't use one but have heard many people rave about the woombie, that might be a better investment than a grobag for such a little 'un.
I also thought after I posted... Have you tried a white noise cd? It worked well for us...
They say to just put 1 long sleeve suit under the warmest bag, but that doesnt seem like enough to me. And I get worried about his little hands being cold.
I tried swaddling, but he is one of those bubs that hates it! He used to spend so much time and energy trying to get his arms out so we gave up on it. He is much happier now with his arms out...
At 8am this morning DH fed him, and then put him into his cradle wide awake because he had to go to work. It's now 11:15 and G is still sleeping. He put himself to sleep... so he is definitely capable.
Connie, I've only started to use the growbag about 2 months ago and DS loves it. I too think it's too cold to just use the growbag over a long sleeve wondersuit, so I put a blankie or two over it. I have the bonds 'winter' growbag, it's excellent. Oh, and we got ourselves a grow egg to read the temperature in his room (he's only been in his room overnight since 3 weeks ago, he used to sleep in a cradle in our bedroom). I have an oil heater in his room so I always set it to about 21-22 degrees. I know you're supposed to have bubs sleeping between 18-20 degrees but that seems too clod to me.... My DS hated being wrapped right from the beginning so that's why the growbag is an excellent idea. I always used to put 2 or 3 on him when he slept until I got the growbag. If you're worried about his hands being cold (my DS's hands are cold sometimes too) you can always put mittens on them. Remember, just because his hands are cold doesn't mean he is cold.
Connie, when it's hard and nothign you're trying seems to work, go back to whatever is easiest and surefire - even if it's something you don't want to do long term like co-sleeping. You'll find that once he gets some decent sleep, settling will be easier, so you can stop the co-sleeping (or whatever else you do to survive) at that point.
6 Weeks Old...
Reply With Quote
Its hard hearing them cryin isnt. Have you got a carrier? Babies like to be near you especially being only 6 weeks he is still adjusting to the world. whenever my boys made a noise I would offer a feed 
I have had five now and that crying hasnt gotten any easier to hear.
Bookmarks