help! my 1 month old doesnt stop crying!

Kristi - posted on 08/18/2010

My daughter was EXACTLY the same! Here is what we did.

1. Tried a new formula - Similac. It has a thicker consistancy so it might be more filling.
2. When I needed a break from the crying I placed her in her crib and let her cry it out and I turned on the radio or TV to tune her out.
3. Carried her in a sling everywhere!
4. Ran the vacuum in her room, the shhh noise seemed to calm her.

She is very young and shouldn't be like this forever but yes, it is frustrating! I am sure being new to the world is a bit overwhelming for her too.

Alison - posted on 08/18/2010

I agree, it sounds like it could possibly be colic. My daughter was a premie and extremely fussy and crying, so I took her to the pediatrician and she recommended cutting milk products out of my diet for 4 days or so, so the lactose could clear out of my system because I was breastfeeding as well. It was a complete difference! She started eating better, sleeping better at night, you get the idea. It seem like she cries a lot, but when babies are that small, that is their only form of communication: they cry when they are hungry, need a diaper change, are tired, overtired, cold.....sometimes they cry just to see where you are or for attention. Hopefully things will get sorted out, but I would talk to her pediatrician about her feeding habits and discuss possible options

Anna - posted on 08/18/2010

I agree too with Olwen too, my son suffered like this and one night I was so worried as he would not stop, I was feeding him SMA milk which was too rich I changed to Cow and Gate and he was fine with that.

Renae - posted on 08/18/2010

Sorry Jamie, I mean no disrespect, but I must comment on Priscilla Dunstons work.

Unfortunately, Priscilla Dunston released her CD's and did all of the publicity before her research was completely finished. It actually says this in the information booklet that comes with the CD set.

Towards the end of the research they actually found that the results became inconsistent. It was found that the "Neh" sound is NOT hungry, it actually means "I need to suck", which can be due to hunger or due to a need for emotional comfort. There were inconsistencies found with the other sounds as well. However, I think that if you know this, it is still helpful as I knew when my baby was saying Neh due to hunger or due to another reason. However I know someone who fed their baby with every Neh and he was being very overfed.

The only cry interpretation that is well "proven" and relatively undisputed is the distress/non-distress crying, which involves listening for pauses in the baby's cries.

I think the lesson in this is to take onboard information like the different theories of cry interpretation, and then listen to your instincts as a mother as well.

Irma - posted on 08/17/2010

thankkk you all soooo muchh!!!! shes gottn alot better thank god!!! thank u all great mommy's!!!!

Cheryl - posted on 08/09/2010

I used to set my son in his bouncer and but it on the washer while it was running, it worked for him. He had acid reflux...once they figured it out and got him on the right med dose he was a happy little bugger.

Clare - posted on 08/09/2010

Hi, My first lil one cried constantly from 7pm til midnight with out fail, no matter what i did,It turned out to be gastric reflux which was diagnosed at 3mths old so a long long time of trying to cope. Once diagnosed and treated it was plain sailing so my advice would be although it could be a number of things causing your lil one to scream this way take her to the docs and keep going back until ALL possibilities are illiminated,your lil one will get better so that you can truley enjoy xx:)

Trinna - posted on 08/09/2010

my daughter did that for 2 months after she was born..first take a breath and remember how much you love her even though it is very hard going right now. when we finally figured it out to what was happening. we ended up putting her on soy formula(she would not breast feed)..what a difference she was like a different child.

Andi - posted on 08/08/2010

The vacuum cleaner was the only thing that would stop my son. He screamed bloody murder all the time until I switched him to soy formula.

Kylie - posted on 08/08/2010

u could have a problem with colic but if enfamil is a product for that relief then u can try if u have this product called gripe water. all my 3 kids at birth suffered badly with this.they would cry like they were in severe pain . thankfully things got better when they were about 4mths. hope this info helps. kylie

Fatima - posted on 08/08/2010

If she is only crying in the night then give her Chamomile tea an hour before the bed time or this homeopathy med which is safest without any sideffects is called Chamomila buy it in 30 or 200, it is made from Chamomile herb but works faster and better. You can buy this without prescription from Boots. My daughter only cried in the night and this med just fixed the problem. I had gone totally insane before this medicine. May God help you.

Nicole - posted on 08/08/2010

Sorry she is having so much difficulty. It might be the formula. Can you increase your breastfeeding and stop the formula?



It could be reflux like a few people mentioned and dropping the formula could help with that too. I exclusively BF and 2 out of 3 had reflux and needed meds.



I also had too stay off dairy while I BF because it gave my older 2 ear infections and diarehea and my little one had horrible gas!



Sorry you and your little one are going through this.

Chesnie - posted on 08/07/2010

hi, sorry to hear. Like all the others said its prolly colic. Our baby used to only cry in the evenings, and that was when my hubby was home and we would argue alot, so she felt the tension in the air. It stopped after 3 months though, so could it be any tension, maybe stress in the family? I dont know, thats what it seemed to us. It was easier for me to blame my hubby..lol..Well of course gas is the always the other answer. We held our daughter on our forearm on her tummy and she would stop crying, she just layed there all calm. Move her legs around like a bicycle that helped too. It should only go on for a few more months 2 at the most..im sorry, just pray and this too shall pass!!

DEMONEY - posted on 08/07/2010

She might have the collick put smoke in her bottle and it will stop

Jamie - posted on 08/07/2010

Priscilla Dunstan was on a talk show about baby talk these are the sounds a baby makes prior to the full fledged red faced screaming
Neh= I'm Hungry
Owh= I'm sleepy
Heh= I'm experiencing discomfort
Eair= I have lower gas
Eh= I need to burp
These were a life saver for me when I brought our lil'guy home hope it helps

Lisa - posted on 08/07/2010

I would talk to your doctor about it first. It could be something as simple as the formula. Everyone I know personally who has tried Enfamil switched to GoodStart because Enfamil made their babies so gassy and bloated.

Denise - posted on 08/07/2010

My son is now 3. But I had the same problems when he was that young. He cried practically none stop for the first 3 months of his life. It was very difficult for a first time momma. I tried all of the things all these other mama's have suggested and nothing worked for me. Then we discovered he had what is called Purple crying. I think since I had my son they have started telling mama's in our area about this while they are still in the hospital. I would talk to your ped about all the other possiblities og colic and formula ect. and if it doesnt seem to be any of those things talk to them about purple crying as well. Here is a link to a website that can give you more information on purple crying http://www.purplecrying.info/sections/in...
Good luck with your baby and remember that after you have done everything for you baby to make sure all their needs are met and they still continue to cry that it is ok to lay them in a safe place and walk away for a minute.

Renae - posted on 08/07/2010

The other mums have given you lots of good advice about coping with colic.

So I thought I would add that colic usually goes away between 12-14 weeks. It clears up quite quickly, and you see improvements in a matter of days.

Also take her to the doctor to be checked just to make sure it isn't anything else that they can help with.

Tonia - posted on 08/06/2010

i agree with the moms on here rub her tummy after each eatings it will help. like olwen said it could be colic or gas or is constipated.

Kristen - posted on 08/06/2010

Colic?

Jennie - posted on 08/06/2010

My baby did the same thing for about 4 weeks or so. I felt horrible. But if they are fed and dry then what else are you going to do right? Just comfort them... well we found this Graco Sweet Peace Swing and OMG it worked wonders! Its a little pricey but we found ours on craigs list. Look it up on line.. it is so nice and really helps I think..

Serena - posted on 08/06/2010

all my kids suffered from gas. I have found the gripe water used in combination with the gas medicine works well. Also if you are using the powder formula it creates more gas but it is more economical.

Charity - posted on 08/06/2010

Possibly your babe has trouble digesting formula? If you are making enough milk, can you breast feed exclusively? It is the easiest to digest. My son had LOTS of gas and that would make him fuss, we layed him face down on our laps with his head on one leg and belly on the other, with legs dangling, the pressure on his belly soothed and helped him work the gas through. Also he liked (and still does) laying on his back and having me bend his legs up, helps to work out gas also. I found gripe water and Hyland colic tabs to be helpful also. If her tummy is hard, it is probably gas. I hope you can het her to feel better soon, I know it is terrible when you can't fix the problem for her, not to mention your own sanity!

Elizabeth - posted on 08/06/2010

she could;d have an ear infection. Call her doctor, tell them what is going on. You might need to change her formula. Call her doctor tell them how she is and you would like to set up an appointment for that week. I hope that she is okay hun, stay strong

Angie - posted on 08/06/2010

My baby did the same thing - constant crying and seemed like she was in pain. I took her to the PEDI so many times only to be told she has "fussy baby syndrome". Whatta jerk. I knew something was wrong and had to figure it out on my own.

If you can, breastfeed exclusively. Eliminating any outside factors simplifies the situation. You can start back up on formula later on when she's mellowed out. (BFing is good for baby for many reasons but in this case, the breastmilk coats your babys stomach and has small amounts of the stuff that babies dont produce on their own yet -- immunities -- which are whats needed to tolerate and properly digest nonhuman milks.)

Get (if you haven't already) a good baby carrier for wearing baby. Snuggle Bug Slings found on Etsy.com are affordable and sturdy. You can "wear" baby snugly close to your body in several different positions. Most helpful for me - wearing baby tummy-to-chest without a shirt on. I'd wear DD for hours like this. I just put on a cardigan over the sling so I wasn't nakey. =D The side sling position works too, but you have to make sure baby is big enough and that youre doing it safely (baby's chin shouldn't touch her chest - it'll block air flow = bad).

Lastly, good ole gripe water and/or Hyland's Colic tabs. We use Baby's Bliss gripe water which is about $10 but totally worth it - it totally HELPS! and the colic tabs come in a bottle of 100 for about $5 or 6. The tabs dissolve within seconds and are a natural way to get comfort. The teething tabs are a must-have too.

My DD loved being close to me (I'd wear her high on my chest - like on my cleavage area) and would stroke her forehead/hairline. Her cries eventually lulled to moans which died down to "hmmmm" then finally to silent breathing. Sounds kind of hippy - but I'd also dab a bit of lavendar oil behind my hears. I like to think it helped her, but it really calmed me down. You can also try laying her on your lap, swaying your legs from right to left, and rubbing her back. This only helped DD to poop or toot -- she benefited most from baby-wearing. Message me if you would like more detail on anything or alternative positions.

Louise - posted on 08/06/2010

Take her to the doctors as thi is not right. My daughter did this and I struggled on for 10 weeks with a screaming baby day and night. The doctor prescribed gaviscon powder for her milk. The relief was instant and the crying stopped within an hour. My daughter was suffering acid reflux from the milk although she was not sick the acid in her stomach was giving her a tummy ache and burning throat. Don't suffer go to the doctors and see what he suggests.

Krystal - posted on 08/06/2010

have you tried carrying her outside for a walk .. or in the stroller ? for my little girl she loved looking at the street lights at night as we were walking ... or a warm bath do you have a rocking chair maybe that would help

Cristina - posted on 08/05/2010

My little girl was the same way. She had bad gas and reflux. There's this stuff called gripe water that you can put in the milk for easing gas. But you should call your doc first.

Shannon - posted on 08/04/2010

It may be from switching around from breast to bottle. My son had crying bouts around that age and I think it had to do with the transition to formula. He also seemed to have a hard time passing a bowel movement. It seemed to help him to lay him on his back over my lap and curl his legs up. This would help him pass everything and he always felt better after. He also used the binky and liked to be swaddled tightly in a blanket. You could also try a baby swing, or carry baby facing out.

Judy - posted on 08/04/2010

that is soooo stressful. How old is she because it could be so many things. I would have a long talk with she pediatrician. She could be very colicky or constipated which the dr. can help ease.

Olwen - posted on 08/04/2010

Hi Irma,

aLso bring your baby to an osteopath. I know it sounds a bit extreme but they are fantastic for colic and reflux. I've seen my osteopath work on another baby and it's very gentle but very effective. I'll be bringing my new baby straight away once it's born. I don't think i could go through it all again. oh the crying

Stifler's - posted on 08/04/2010

I agree with Olwen. That's what my kid was like and he has reflux.

Olwen - posted on 08/03/2010

Oh you poor thing, i know how stressful and helpless it can feel. It's probably colic. Is her tummy quite hard, And when she cries, is she completely straight and won't bend her legs. If it is, a few tricks are, massage her tummy, sit down and cross your legs and put her across your lap and bounce her. this should help bring up the gas.

She might also be lactose intolerant so definitely bring her and get tested for that. Also there's a really good DVD that you should buy. It's called the baby whisperer. We bought it when our daughter was a week old and it made reading the signs and cries so much easier and logical. I see you wrote this a 1am so i hope this helps. email if you want to talk