Hi
Our daughter cried all evening from 5pm - 1am, from about 3 weeks till 9 weeks ish. Now think it was colic but it was so awful as she would almost drop off and then "wham!" wide awake screaming. She only slept once in the early evening all that time and we were on our knees. Had a few sessions with Cranial osteopath at about 8 weeks which maybe helped. Then things improved so quickly. By 12 weeks she was sleeping from 7 till 7 and has done ever since (now 13months). Things will improve. We bought a sling chair which played a monotonous tune and that seemed to ease the intensity of the screams a bit. Such a difficult time but now she is a breeze....Stick with it
Rachel

Thankyou Posh, Jamie and Pinky, I am feeling a lot better, having more good days now.
Juneybean, it was lovely to meet you too, I had a really nice time and would love to meet up again

It was lovely to meet you and little E today :D Hope to see you at Xmas!!

Dizzy,

I have also been where you are now. In fact, I was hospitalised in 2006 in a mother/baby unit for 6 weeks with my son when he was 6 weeks old.

New motherhood is such a shock physically, emotionally, hormonally and we all respond in different ways.

Anyway, to keep it short I just wanted to reiterate that is DOES get better. So much better, in fact, that I am expecting our 3rd next year . One of the most fearful things for me was not knowing if or when the anxiety/weirdness would end and I would return to being me. So I just wanted to reassure you it DOES end, it might take a few months, but you will feel like 'you' again and you will have a fab time being a mum.

Hang in there.

PP

dizzy You are sounding a bit better - and you should be justly proud of yourself.

kitty I was aiming for a 3 year age gap, but got pg straight away., so mine are 2 years 7 months apart. My decision was a bit complicated because throughout DS1s late babyhood DHs mother was dying, and it took up a lot of our thoughts and time (naturally). She died when DS1 was 22 months and i think we both just wanted to get on with having a new baby - to move forward. The fact that it happened quicker than expected was a big shock and took me a while to get used to.

I wouldn't have wanted a smaller gap because I was just starting to feel like myself again, and a bigger gap might have meant that going back into the hard baby bit (lack of sleep etc) might have been more of a shock. The first year was very hard, but the baby was not the hard bit - I really enjoyed him in a way I had not my first (sadly). BUT it all came good and I am very grateful and happy to have 2 boys now. I don't think anything prepares you for your first baby .....

Gosh- It's such a big shock becoming a mum and I can identify a lot with what you say.

I think that the reason why they take so long to settle in the evening is cluster feeding (if breast feeding) and/or colic. Plenty of winding is normal.

It DOES get easier although life will never bethe same again but I took a little while to bond with dd afetr c section. Love her to bits.

When your baby is older try going out in the evning occasionally. You will feel human again.

Oh, I've so been there.... All I can say is, it gets easier, much, much easier. All I did for the first 6 weeks was cry. It was just all so much harder than I imagined! If anyone offers you help, take it! If not, then just sleep when she sleeps. When she gives you a first smile, it will all seem worth it, trust me! xx

Hi Dizzy - sounds like you are doing absolutely all the right things and getting lots of sound advice from here...just keep taking each day/hour as it comes, sod the housework and get as much sleep as you can. My doctor has been really helpful and supportive, which I hope yours is too.

Jamie just out of interest how long did it take you to decide to have your second dc? Don't think I'm quite ready to make that decision just yet!!

Glad to hear you sounding a bit more happy.

You will see that things will start to settle down, and that you will enjoy your baby more.

The little grunts and snuffles are normal, and quite sweet really. We moved DD out of our room eventually as she was keeping us awake with her strange wee noises. I don't think that they are uncomfortable, perhaps just dreaming and processing what they have experienced that day.