ok, context - new parents in their 30s, first time parents, baby boy born 24/11/09. He's a good little boy, but at present, be it a growth spurt or the like, he is not settling, screaming a lot, high pitched sreaming, etc. Urine is fine and ditto for poo's. Bottle wise, intake is good. Change nappy, check. Feed, check. Wind, check. Still screaming and not settling.
Suggestions?? Is it a growth spurt?? I thought it may be too early, but hey, this is all new.
Its tough when they really begin to use their little voices. Maybe he has just started to realise he is in the big bad world and maybe a growth spurt too. It must be so hard for them to be nice and snug getting fed when they want in the womb then pop out they come to this bug bright world filled wiht lots of stimulation and having to cry or make noise for a feed.
Your doing a great job...do you have a sling or carrier you could use? It may help him settle if you jsut pop him in it when he gets upset? Hope he starts to settle for you.
Welcome to BB! The first 6 weeks are really tough as bubs is working out what is going on and getting used to being in the big wide noisy world.
With DD2 I found that she settled much better in a sling - we had a hug-a-bub that was fantastic. DP also used to wear it and go for walks with her in it when she was really unsettled - it worked a treat. The other thing is to lie down in bed with bubs so that he can settle with you close by. The sound of your heartbeat is soothing to them.
We have tried the sling and he didn't settle. We tried the Dad shirt off and skin contact (eg. sleeps on Dad's chest), didn't work. Laid the little fella down in the middle of the bed with Dad next to him, didn't work. We gave him another feed at his usual time when he wanted it, this didn't settle him though he did drink 120ml. Tried the dummy, didn't work. Changed his nappy, etc. etc.
Surely this has to be a growth spurt. What a challenge
Oh...and this is Dad by the way...I let Mum sleep in for a few hours this morning and thought that I would join a forum...why not!!
Congrats on your little man and great to see a daddy in here!
The other ladies have made some great suggestions but I have found that unfortunately babies can sometimes be unsettled for no particular reason, or no reason that is obvious to us. I think often they just freak out at everything around them as everything is new, every day they are bombarded with new sights, sounds and smells and it can be very overwhelming for them. At around 4 weeks I found that my little girl could start to focus her eyes on things much better and this resulted in a bit of over stimulation for her. If you think it may be colic or wind then there are some natural remedies that are suitable for little ones, just pop down to your local chemist and ask them for advice, chiro's are also supposed to work wonders for things like this. You could also try some soothing music. You can get CD's of womb like sounds which are very comforting for babies, we have a baby lullaby CD that we play each night to help our little one settle and it definitely does help.
It could be a growth spurt or developmental leap! He is 4 weeks old so is he smiling? That could be the key There is an excellent book called The Wonder Weeks which I found to be a great help when we were going through this kind of thing.
I like to call them crazy time They happen for a day or two and then bub goes back to relative calm again in comparison.
I second what Raven has said, he may be going through his first "Wonder Week" leap which generally happens between 4-5 weeks. I went through something similar with my DD at the same time, she is generally a very placid baby but I had a couple of days of just constant screaming, not sleeping and being very clingy.
If you can grab a copy of the "Wonder Weeks" book (available through Belly Belly Store) it might help you understand what is happening.
The next development leap is around 8 weeks and then another at 12 weeks. I'm lucky we have seemed to have got through the 8 week one without too much drama, so the next one for me is 12 weeks.
Yay, a man! (Why do I feel that now, should a film be made about my life, it would be done in Barbie dolls?)
I think that's about the age when my DS realised he could elicit a response from people and liked looking at what we would do if he did... I made sure I stayed calm, loads of smiles and songs, and he seemed to respond to that.
I gather it's rather warm in Australia at the moment (I'm on the other side of the world, surrounded by ice and snow). Have you tried a little bit of water as well as bottled milk? Milk straight from the breast starts off thin and ends up creamy (so you have water then soup, in a very strange way). If it's warm, baby may be needing more drinks, but the bottle is the same throughout so its filling him up too much? Just a thought. (I don't know if it's formula or expressed milk, but either way it will be homogenised by the time you give it.)
Half the time I didn't know why DS was crying, I had done all the checks three time over and still had no idea what was going on. What worked one day, didn't work the next.
My DS liked being in the sling, so I carried him during the day for about 5 months, he then started to get too heavy so worked on getting him down in the pram/cot. I did alot of walking and patting. We slowly got to know what was needed. After about 12-15 weeks DS started crying less, now he only has tantrums or cries when he hurts himself.
Could you perhaps talk some sense into my DH so he lets ME sleep?!
Congrats on the new bub, we've just had our first bub 2 months ago and we had the same problem at 4 - 5 wks, but got told by the Child Health Nurse (CHN) that it was a growth spurt.. Hope everything gets better for you soon
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4 week old baby boy & new parents
Its tough when they really begin to use their little voices. Maybe he has just started to realise he is in the big bad world and maybe a growth spurt too. It must be so hard for them to be nice and snug getting fed when they want in the womb then pop out they come to this bug bright world filled wiht lots of stimulation and having to cry or make noise for a feed.
Well done dad on letting mum have a sleep.
There is an excellent book called The Wonder Weeks which I found to be a great help when we were going through this kind of thing.
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