To think I'm getting something really wrong with DS?

[Aliveinwanderland]

DS is 15 weeks and I constantly feel like I'm doing it all wrong. He isn't an easy baby and cries a lot. He wakes every 2 hours all night and is always cranky in the day time.

He wakes up in a morning and is lovely and pleasant. He will play for 90 mins then I put him down for a nap. Will go down easily and have half an hour. He wakes reasonably happy, again plays for 90 mins then has a 2 hour nap. However the afternoons can be awful. Once he wakes from this nap he is cranky and needs constant jigging about to stop him crying. He has another half hour nap around 4 ish and again wakes from this really cranky and cries until bathtime at 6:30. He goes to bed at 7pm usually without a problem.

I think he is tired but I don't understand why as he is having plenty of naps.

He woke up at 5pm and is screaming now. Nothing will console him. He hates being cuddled, doesn't want to feed and won't fall asleep. He does this most evenings and the only way to stop the crying is to walk round the house with him jigging him.

I'm obviously getting something wrong as he just doesn't seem to be a happy baby at all but I can't figure out what!

The witching hour usually stems from the fact that mum has other stuff she needs to be doing, like cooking, feeding older kids and organising them, wishing OH would hurry up and get home, needing to have dinner herself etc etc and baby picks up on the subconscious stress stemming from mum who is also tired by this point in the day. No wonder wingey baby is full of smiles for daddy when he gets in who hasn't seen baby all day and is content to just sit and cuddle! If you are the one who usually makes dinner could you swap with OH for a couple of nights or even make dinner in the daytime in a slow cooker. Anything to free up the 5-7 pm time so you have nothing at all to do but relax and entertain the baby. If you are relaxed he will latch on better too.

It would be worth seeing your Health visitor about him not liking being held and not feeding well. It could be that he's in pain so I would definitely talk it through with a professional. With the feeding of course it could be that he's just full up. I think all the suggestions about taking him outside for walks are good. He could be getting just hot and bothered at home and I imagine you are getting uptight ( crying babies are very stressful) so a walk could help you both. But see your HV- that's what they're there for.

Totally horribly annoyingly normal I'm afraid. It does get better as they get bigger.

If he doesn't like being held, do you have a bouncer chair he can sit in? Somewhere he can still see you / toys / cartoons whatever to keep him engaged, but isn't being physically stimulated in the same way.

Or you can get ones that mimic being walked / jiggled about and that might help if he needs that at the end of the day.

My 9 month old is still cranky at teatime regardless of her naps! All 3 of mine have struggled from about 4pm until bedtime.

I wish I could remember when the older 2 grew out of it cos it feels never ending!!

So no advice just sympathy!

Might he like being held tummy down along your arm or across your lap?

Witching hours hell but normal. Is normal too for bf babies to wake every 2 hours at night.

Perhaps you have superfast letdown so hes choking at start of feeds. I learned lots on kellymom and different bf issues.

Iv got very fast and forceful let down, so I often hand expressed a little first so lo didn't splutter

Possibly reflux, when you mentioned acid. That is exactly what my little one was choking on every time we fed her. Awful awful awful. A few trips to hospital and once when she stopped breathing all led to swift meds.

Deffo go to your GP, it's worth a mention

I should add that there's every chance your baby is just grizzly but so many people told me that too and even The HV said it was colic and she would grow out of it.

My instincts told me differently and the paediatric Dr diagnosed her right away.

If you are at the end of your tether it is worth asking the Dr.

I've seen the HV and GP already but will give them another go.

I do have a fast left down but he doesn't start the pulling off and crying bit until after it has slowed down so don't think it is that bothering him. I wondered if he was frustrated at the slow down and wanted to speed it up again but he looks like he is in pain. One feeding advisor I saw suggested teething and sucking was making his he sore, but he has done it for weeks and doesn't do it at night time!

I have a bouncy chair which he will sometimes sit in if I give him his dummy and something to hold on to. The only way I can hold him is facing outwards and then keep walking round with him. He doesn't like being cuddled or rocked or sitting on my knee. He loves the Jumperoo in a morning but in the afternoons hates it!

Just to add his weight gain and nappies have always been normal so any health professional has always said he must be feeding fine!

We used the jumperoo to keep her upright and give my back a break as it stopped the acid from gathering in her throat. Also a dummy to produce saliva and wash acid away. She was more affected in the evening although I'm not sure why.
She had a normal weight gain they weighed her at the hospital every month - but she was certainly not feeding normally.

As a new mum I had to just go with that feeling in my gut like this is not right she shouldn't seem so in pain and miserable.

They first gave us gavsicon to thicken feeds I'm not sure how that would help if you are breastfeeding. After that ranitidine which was a nightmare and stopped working. Then finally a dissolved omeprazole tablet. Which made a big difference.

Hope you get to the bottom of it. As PP have said it may just be one of those things.

Long afternoon walks with my twins saved my sanity.

It gets better, hang on in there!

We were given gaviscon first, we had to mix with with water and give it in a bottle. Totally impossible as DS wouldn't drink it (I can't blame him!) so they then swapped us to Ranitidine which helps stop him being so sick but has done nothing for his crankiness or fussy feeding.

I'd be going back and asking for omeprazole.

If it doesn't work after a month then stop.

My little girl needed those meds for almost two years and we gradually just stopped giving it.

Dr wouldn't have prescribed the meds already if they weren't already thinking possible reflux.

Please don't be so quick to think you're getting something wrong. Go to the GP and explain that Ranitidine hasn't worked (I believe you should give it two weeks). He may have silent reflux and be in a lot of pain. Some people also find that tilting the cot or mattress helps as lying flat can be really uncomfortable. It's not your fault and it will pass.
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