6 Week Old Baby - Cries ALL of the time!!!

[lolabanola]

Hi,

I am a first time Mum to a six week old daughter who seems to cry all of the time, the only time she stops is when she is being held, she constantly needs me to be near her and if not she will scream and scream until she is picked up, when she is in her bouncing chair I have to rock her or she will cry, as soon as I stop rocking she will start crying again! I feel as though I do not have a spare 5 minutes when she is awake as I do not like to leave her to cry. Her crying is a lot worse at night, she will start at about 5pm and not stop until she falls asleep after she is put in her cot at bedtime. When she is put to bed in her cot she will scream until she falls to sleep, she will then scream and scream every time she wakes up for milk and is put back into her cot (she is on Aptamil). Does anyone have a miracle cure to stop my baby from crying constantly?! I don't really want to have her in a sling as I couldn't imagine doesn't everything with a baby strapped to me, besides, I have to go back to work after Christmas and I know that my Mum who will be looking after her will not carry her everywhere in a sling! My baby is so beautiful and lovely, I just want her to be happy!! Any ideas?

hmmm to be honest though my DD did not cry ALL the time, at that age she did want to be held mostly, and would not fall asleep on her own in cot,had to be fed to sleep then sneaked in there, and to be honest only tolerated 1-2 mins in rocking chair.... this did get better as she got older, (she's now 6.5 months) but I think most people on here will tell you that most little babies just want to be close to mum- some more than others I'm afraid.

Now the crying after 5pm could indicate colic?? Again no magic cure, just supposed to pass after 4 months- sorry.

I would focus on getting through now- wearing a sling will reassure her, and give you some peace, babies change so quickly just because she needs that now, she probably will be past this phase after Xmas...I would do what you need to, to keep you both sane. DD now will happily sit in chair for 30 mins+, play on mat without me for 40 mins if not longer. They are only this little once- enjoy it :)

This sounds really tough for you - it's hard enough being a first time mum without them crying all the time! I had a similar thing with my first and someone said to me that it was because they are used to being in the womb and like to be held a lot especially in the first few weeks. Is there anyone who can help with the cuddling? Could you swaddle her to make her feel more secure? Would you consider a dummy? I think you just have to keep trying different things until you hit the right thing - as Scarlett said - do what keeps you sane. And try and get lots of support yourself from friends and family. Also agree that you shouldn't look to far ahead - things do change especially after the three month stage.

You sound exhausted but your DD sounds absolutely normal. Some babies (very few, I fear) are happy to be fed, burped and put down but IME many prefer to be held/rocked constantly.

DS was like this and the only way I could survive was to put him the sling. At least then I could watch TV while standing up rocking him . Anyway, it did get much better at around 12-14weeks and he was suddenly able to 'entertain' himself for little periods and started going to sleep in the evenings from about 7pm.

There is light at the end of the tunnel. Hang in there It gets a little easier every day, even though t happens so slept you hardly notice you wil look back in a few weeks's time and be amazed how far you've both come.

Becoming a mum is such a by shock to the system and when your DC doesn't do what the books say they should you can feel like a real failure.

The best advice I got was to take every day as it comes, do whatever necessary to keep DS happy and to remember that each day may seem lie eternity but tha the weeks will fly past b(And then you will ht 20 weeks or so and you'll turn to DH and sa: 'It wasn't that bad really' and he will turn to you awoth this face like you are a complete utter

Please excuse my atrocious typing. on my iPhone and it is really too difficult to go back and fx things.

Many thanks for the replies, it's nice to know that my baby is just being normal and that other babies also cry a lot, I only really have my niece and nephews to compare my daughter to and the three of them were very good babies and hardly cried!!
I have tried a dummy, when I am holding her she is happy to suck away, however, as soon as I put her down again she spits the dummy out and I have to sit there poking it back in - who would have thought a 6 week old could be so crafty?! lol. It's so reassuring though for people to say that things will get better because I am so worn out and my partner, although he loves our child dearly, is hardly hands on so it seems that everything is left to me! Well, I'll hang on in there and hopefully things will improve soon!

I feel your pain!

I had a similar prob with DS2. I had to resort to having him in a sling constantly for a few weeks,

try feeding her a bit more often (not sure about ff but looking back I should have bf a bit more as he turned out to be a very hungry baby)

accept that nothing will get down.

Accept anyb help (most people would love to hold a 6 week old for a bit...I would ,,,though appreciate that it isn;t easy when you have no choice)

this will stop. Promise.

try not to compare my thre have been so different and I have parented them pretty similarly.

PS DS2 is now the most mellow of the 3 big ones!

good luck

You poor thing. I really do know it's awful and that you are probably sick of hearing it by now but it does get better - I promise.

DD was very similar in the beginning and it is true what 'they' say. The crying does indeed peak at @ 6 weeks and then starts to gradually decrease.

I was adamant I wouldn't use a sling. However my sister steamrollered persuaded me to try her wraparound one day and it did work like magic. When DD was awake she felt secure and cuddled and when she was asleep I could just tuck her head in the fabric to support it and she slept beautifully. Now she is nearly 6 months I do still use it, but only occasionally. So do try it.

And honestly she is like a different child now.

It's very hard going when your baby cries all day.My DD was a grizzle bum when she was a baby,and in particular in the evenings.

The things that helped were...

Tight swaddling
dummy
White noise

All 3 of the above at once would calm her down.

We also bought a bouncy chair with vibration and it also had dangly things and played nursery rhymes for when she was a bit older.

Like others have said it will get better,especially as she takes in more of her surroundings.

The other thing that helped alot was a couple of sessions of cranial osteopathy,in fact this was the biggest change of all.

And it's true,crying does peak at 6 weeks so things will improve soon.

yes mine is also a very hungry baby, she is never satisfied, she is currently on 4oz of formula every 2 - 3 hours, it can very often be every hour though!