please help me soothe/entertain my 5 month old...am losing my mind!

[missytequila]

My angel baby has suddenly turned into a screaming little bugger! She has just hit the 20 week mark and I just cant seem to make her happy anymore..... she sleeps well, eats well (breast fed) but while she is awake she just fusses ALL day long. Some people say, "maybe she is teething" but what can I do apart from give her something to chew. That works for about 5 seconds then its back to crying again... wants to be held, but still that doesnt always work....I feel like a bad mom...I cant seem to make her happy!!!

[MrsWobbleTheWaitress]

Put her in a sling on your front facing in/facing out or on your back

Give her a whole carrot from the fridge to chew on (ie. something hard but with a bit of give, but that she can't actually bite bits off!)

Give her some calpol if you think she's in pain and see if that works

Take her outside

Take her for a walk where there are trees to watch

[stressheaderic]

Will she go in a door bouncer for a bit? My 6 mo DD loves hers. We get out for a big walk most days, go swimming once a week, but if we're in in the day, I spent most of the afternoon transferring her from Jumperoo to door bouncer to playgym to highchair. She doesn't sleep at all in the day so the days can be long!

[fandango75]

our son started teething at 12 weeks but hubby didn't want to give him calpol until after 6 months old so we used a topical solution called anbesol which essentially numbs the gums and therefore the pain. It was a big help. He used to do what we called 'low level whining' all day long and it was very hard. If its any consolation we found the 5 months mark rather tough and from what i gather its not that unusual. Other option is dance about like a loon and see if that makes them laugh / take their mind off whatever is bothering

[paprikamole]

If it's teething try Nelson's Teetha teething granules. Apparently it's sucrose and babies love the sweetness.
Good luck!