So fussy.....help!

KelliS · March 12th, 2004, 09:05 PM

My son Jacob is 8 weeks old.

The first two or three weeks of his life were so easy. He slept all the time, ate well and hardley ever cried. I thought I was blessed with an easy baby....boy was I wrong - turns out he was jaundiced hence the reason for all the sleeping.

Since then things have gone downhill. He has been fed formula since day 1. We started with Enfamil A+ (Lipil, it's called A+ here in Canada) and had no problems. When he was about 4 weeks old he started spitting up a bit and had more trouble burping. He would get very gassy and cry a lot. We have tried gas drops and gripe water, neither work very well for him.
Around the same time he started having troubles settling down. He falls asleep in my arms no problem, but as soon as I put him down he wakes up. Or I get him down and he wakes up within 5 minutes screaming and it takes a long time to get him settled again. Usually I just get him settled from one feed just in time to feed him again.

I took him to the doctor and the doctor suggested we switch formulas so we tried Similac Advance. No change. Took him back to the doctor again and he suggested trying Lactose Free formula. I took it upon myself to try the Soy instead as I figured that would eliminate two things, a lactose intolerance and an allery. He's been on the Soy since Tuesday and there has been no improvement whatsoever so now I think that his fussiness has nothing to do with what he is eating.

He has a small umbillical hernia, but the doctor has assured me that it is not the cause for this and that the hernia shouldn't bother him at all.

His most fussy periods are in the mornings. He was up for the day at 7:00 today and cried practically all morning. I finally managed to get him settled at about 1:00 this afternoon. When he has these crying fits he acts like he is very hungry. He grabs at the pacifier like he is starved or something and when I do give him a bottle he takes it like a savage and sucks so hard for a few minutes and then settles down - he only takes about a 1/2 oz so I know he is not hungry but it soothes him enough so I can snuggle him and try to get him settled down.

I am at my wits end, I don't know what is wrong with my baby and it makes me so upset that I can't do anything to make him feel better. He is obviously in some kind of pain. I hear it in his cries, he passes a lot of gas and is generally unhappy. There are a few rare occassions during the day that I can get a few smiles out of him, otherwise he is cranky, crabby and fussy and I can't stand to see him like that.
I am sleep deprived, my house is in shambles, my 2.5 year old son watches movies all day because mommy is too busy with the baby to play with him. I am so frustrated. I thought motherhood was suppose to be easier the second time around.

Any thoughts on what could be the problem? I thought colic, but isn't the main sign of that fussiness in the evening? His most fussy time is in the mornings. I also thought of reflux. DH has a history of stomach problems/reflux so I am really leaning towards that. He has another appt. next week and I think I will see if the doc will let us try Zantac for a few days to see if that helps.

ArtsyMom · March 12th, 2004, 09:13 PM

I'm so tired right now but wanted to give you some advice.

My baby wasn't fussy but hasn't and doesn't sleep well. However, we have learned a lot in the last 6 months.

Have you tried:
-swaddling him when he is sleeping and otherwise?
-having some white noise in the room? That works great for J
-making sure he's getting adequate naps during the day?
-keeping him close to you via a Snuggli or other method?

Do you have anyone who can help you out or at the very least a nurse/aide you can call for help and pay? We did that at the very beginning and it was worth the money. I can give you the number if you like.

Have you read Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Weissbluth? I'm thinking maybe he's overtired and hence the fussiness. Also, does he take a soother?

Let me know how it goes. Good luck to you!

Kris · March 12th, 2004, 10:46 PM

Have you tried infant massage?

anniebell · March 13th, 2004, 02:39 PM

Hi Kelli, i think I mentioned before that I've been reading the Gina Ford 'Contented little baby book' and although some of her advice is very strict and some wouldn't agree with it, al the stuff about babys sleeping is good I think. She reckons that most babys can stay awake happily for around 2hrs from when the wake up, so if Jacob is waking at 7am, he should be having a nap by 9am. I start each day with Freya at 7am and find that by 8.30am she is tired and really cries to go to sleep. Maybe you just need to work on his daytime sleeps, as if he's getting overtired he will be fussy and cranky. I think at around 8weeks old she reckons they should be haivng about 4hrs daytime sleep ie between 7am and 7pm.

KelliS · March 13th, 2004, 03:16 PM

Jacob must have realized that his mommy was getting pretty frazzled because he has been, dare I say it?, GREAT today.

Last night he fell asleep in his infant carrier around 8pm and I decided to let him sleep there as I figured he would be up in a few hours. I plopped the infant carrier in his crib, turned on the monitor and went to bed at 11:00 expecting to get only an hour or so before he woke up. Imagine my surprise when he didn't make a peep till 4am!! He took 4 oz of a bottle, got changed and went right back to sleep around 4:45, this time in his crib. It was shortlived though as he was up again at 6:00, guess he had enough sleep.

He dozed a little after another bottle then around 9:00 I started working on getting him to nap. I was successful and he napped in his pack-n-play on his tummy till almost 12:30!

He had another bottle then, got changed, we played for a bit (lots of smiles today) and settled down in his infant carrier while I cleaned up the house a bit. He fell asleep around 2:30 or so and is still sleeping 45 mins later.

I really hope this is the answer to his problems. I hope that all his fussiness was due to being overtired.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

KelliS · March 22nd, 2004, 10:39 AM

I think I found the key to Jacob's fussiness......if he doesn't have at least 2 good naps a day he is sooooo fussy. I think I was missing his cues that he was tired and he got overtired and overstimulated, thus fussy.

I've been re-reading The No Cry Sleep Solution - I bought it when Josh was about a year old so I never read the newborn section.

I am committed to getting Jacob to fall asleep on his own - something Josh never did, he always needed a bottle to go to sleep and still has a bedtime bottle to this day.

I usually sit up with Jacob lying against my chest and he rests his little head on my shoulder till he starts dozing off. I then move him to the crib and he usually opens his eyes but I put him down on his tummy, pat his back a few times and he is out. He sleeps really well on his tummy. I let him nap during the day like this and check on him often. At night I always turn him over on his back before I go to bed.

March 12th, 2004, 09:05 PM	#1
KelliS Registered but not Subscribed Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 53	So fussy.....help! My son Jacob is 8 weeks old. The first two or three weeks of his life were so easy. He slept all the time, ate well and hardley ever cried. I thought I was blessed with an easy baby....boy was I wrong - turns out he was jaundiced hence the reason for all the sleeping. Since then things have gone downhill. He has been fed formula since day 1. We started with Enfamil A+ (Lipil, it's called A+ here in Canada) and had no problems. When he was about 4 weeks old he started spitting up a bit and had more trouble burping. He would get very gassy and cry a lot. We have tried gas drops and gripe water, neither work very well for him. Around the same time he started having troubles settling down. He falls asleep in my arms no problem, but as soon as I put him down he wakes up. Or I get him down and he wakes up within 5 minutes screaming and it takes a long time to get him settled again. Usually I just get him settled from one feed just in time to feed him again. I took him to the doctor and the doctor suggested we switch formulas so we tried Similac Advance. No change. Took him back to the doctor again and he suggested trying Lactose Free formula. I took it upon myself to try the Soy instead as I figured that would eliminate two things, a lactose intolerance and an allery. He's been on the Soy since Tuesday and there has been no improvement whatsoever so now I think that his fussiness has nothing to do with what he is eating. He has a small umbillical hernia, but the doctor has assured me that it is not the cause for this and that the hernia shouldn't bother him at all. His most fussy periods are in the mornings. He was up for the day at 7:00 today and cried practically all morning. I finally managed to get him settled at about 1:00 this afternoon. When he has these crying fits he acts like he is very hungry. He grabs at the pacifier like he is starved or something and when I do give him a bottle he takes it like a savage and sucks so hard for a few minutes and then settles down - he only takes about a 1/2 oz so I know he is not hungry but it soothes him enough so I can snuggle him and try to get him settled down. I am at my wits end, I don't know what is wrong with my baby and it makes me so upset that I can't do anything to make him feel better. He is obviously in some kind of pain. I hear it in his cries, he passes a lot of gas and is generally unhappy. There are a few rare occassions during the day that I can get a few smiles out of him, otherwise he is cranky, crabby and fussy and I can't stand to see him like that. I am sleep deprived, my house is in shambles, my 2.5 year old son watches movies all day because mommy is too busy with the baby to play with him. I am so frustrated. I thought motherhood was suppose to be easier the second time around. Any thoughts on what could be the problem? I thought colic, but isn't the main sign of that fussiness in the evening? His most fussy time is in the mornings. I also thought of reflux. DH has a history of stomach problems/reflux so I am really leaning towards that. He has another appt. next week and I think I will see if the doc will let us try Zantac for a few days to see if that helps.

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March 12th, 2004, 09:13 PM	#2
ArtsyMom Registered but not Subscribed Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Leaving here soon...will miss y'all Posts: 1,356	I'm so tired right now but wanted to give you some advice. My baby wasn't fussy but hasn't and doesn't sleep well. However, we have learned a lot in the last 6 months. Have you tried: -swaddling him when he is sleeping and otherwise? -having some white noise in the room? That works great for J -making sure he's getting adequate naps during the day? -keeping him close to you via a Snuggli or other method? Do you have anyone who can help you out or at the very least a nurse/aide you can call for help and pay? We did that at the very beginning and it was worth the money. I can give you the number if you like. Have you read Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Weissbluth? I'm thinking maybe he's overtired and hence the fussiness. Also, does he take a soother? Let me know how it goes. Good luck to you!

March 12th, 2004, 10:46 PM	#3
Kris Registered but not Subscribed Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Tip of the Mitt Posts: 2,074	Have you tried infant massage?

March 13th, 2004, 02:39 PM	#4
anniebell Registered but not Subscribed Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Bristol, UK Posts: 12	Hi Kelli, i think I mentioned before that I've been reading the Gina Ford 'Contented little baby book' and although some of her advice is very strict and some wouldn't agree with it, al the stuff about babys sleeping is good I think. She reckons that most babys can stay awake happily for around 2hrs from when the wake up, so if Jacob is waking at 7am, he should be having a nap by 9am. I start each day with Freya at 7am and find that by 8.30am she is tired and really cries to go to sleep. Maybe you just need to work on his daytime sleeps, as if he's getting overtired he will be fussy and cranky. I think at around 8weeks old she reckons they should be haivng about 4hrs daytime sleep ie between 7am and 7pm.

March 13th, 2004, 03:16 PM	#5
KelliS Registered but not Subscribed Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 53	Jacob must have realized that his mommy was getting pretty frazzled because he has been, dare I say it?, GREAT today. Last night he fell asleep in his infant carrier around 8pm and I decided to let him sleep there as I figured he would be up in a few hours. I plopped the infant carrier in his crib, turned on the monitor and went to bed at 11:00 expecting to get only an hour or so before he woke up. Imagine my surprise when he didn't make a peep till 4am!! He took 4 oz of a bottle, got changed and went right back to sleep around 4:45, this time in his crib. It was shortlived though as he was up again at 6:00, guess he had enough sleep. He dozed a little after another bottle then around 9:00 I started working on getting him to nap. I was successful and he napped in his pack-n-play on his tummy till almost 12:30! He had another bottle then, got changed, we played for a bit (lots of smiles today) and settled down in his infant carrier while I cleaned up the house a bit. He fell asleep around 2:30 or so and is still sleeping 45 mins later. I really hope this is the answer to his problems. I hope that all his fussiness was due to being overtired. Thanks for all the suggestions!

March 22nd, 2004, 10:39 AM	#6
KelliS Registered but not Subscribed Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 53	I think I found the key to Jacob's fussiness......if he doesn't have at least 2 good naps a day he is sooooo fussy. I think I was missing his cues that he was tired and he got overtired and overstimulated, thus fussy. I've been re-reading The No Cry Sleep Solution - I bought it when Josh was about a year old so I never read the newborn section. I am committed to getting Jacob to fall asleep on his own - something Josh never did, he always needed a bottle to go to sleep and still has a bedtime bottle to this day. I usually sit up with Jacob lying against my chest and he rests his little head on my shoulder till he starts dozing off. I then move him to the crib and he usually opens his eyes but I put him down on his tummy, pat his back a few times and he is out. He sleeps really well on his tummy. I let him nap during the day like this and check on him often. At night I always turn him over on his back before I go to bed.