Anyone else have a baby that is constantly crying, no matter what you do?

[laughingeyes2013]

He's 7 months old, not ill, though might be teething (but there are no visible signs of buds appearing yet).

It's possible he's bored at home, but he yells until he sleeps every time in the car as well. Maybe not so much in the pushchair when outdoors but I can't live outside all winter!

I vary his activities and positions, from laying face down, to laying on his back so he can roll around, in an activity gym with toys overhead, in a jumperoo, a bumbo seat, the high chair with a table and toys loaded. We do quiet activities and noisy ones.

He isn;t too hot or too cold, we don't have bright lights on all the time and I don't think he is overstimulated as I spend most of my time trying to find a moment of peace, so everything is geared up towards low-level stimulation.

The only time I can get him to be quiet is if I pick him up, but I can't carry him all day as I am too tired and also have a prolapse from pregnancy so shouldn't lift too much.

It is doing my head in! Even when I feed him its not quick enough and he shouts at the top of his lungs between each mouthful!

Someone tell me they also have a child like this and give me hope that it will end .... before I do!!!!!!

Oh you have my sympathy because I had a baby like that too. It was all a shock to the system because my daughter had been a happy content baby and in all honesty I did not realise babies cried as much as my little man did. Nothing pleased him apart from being snuggled up to me. He was just very, very demanding and in all honesty if I had him first there would not have been a second one. Three years on and he is a happy, giddy little man who makes me smile a hundred times a day which makes up for that first year when all I did was cry along with him. Hang in there, it does get better.

I feel for you - my DS cried all the time for the 1st 6 weeks until my mum told me to give him a dummy which sort of kept him quiet when it was in his mouth! He was hugely demanding & still is but not in the same ways! You are doing all the right stuff, we went through all the same, questioning what we were doing etc. It is exhausting but be reassured there's nothing wrong its just the way some babies are. My DS is now 8yrs old & doesn't stop talking. He hates being alone, always prefers company but is the most sociable, chatty lovely boy & everyone comments on his ability to talk to adults & children. Hang in there!

Thanks both! How on earth did you get through it? The pressure is crazy!

My kids were like this. Ds howled for hours, didnt nap well except on me, didnt sleep through for 16 months. Turns out he had an intolerance to dairy and was miserable with heartburn and tummy ache. In those days though I was told he was just demanding and one of 'those' babies. By the time I had dd knowledge had moved on, I was told to eliminate soya and dairy from our diets and she was put on a strong antacid. And you could not have had a jollier or easy baby... But if some dairy slipped through lo and behold she turned into my son. About 20-40% of babies are thought to have cows milk protein intolerance at birth, it peaks at 6 weeks or so but by three 90% have outgrown it. Hence it used to be regarded as a grumpy phase... but was probably a miserable baby in pain.

DS was like this. He was born in the November and only cheered up in the June when he started crawling.

He would cry if he was lying down or if I stood in one place too long etc. Basically I was expected to show him new things every few minutes, all day long. There were a few tearful calls to (X)P and my mum in those days. He didn't need to be jiggled and wasn't bothered about who was holding him, he just needed constant amusement. The only reason I surivived was because he slept well at night.

He's grown into a chatty, active, bright 7yo boy. But those first months were gruelling .

Can you sit on the floor with him and cuddle that way?

Also can you get the prolapse sorted?

My first thought is that by 7mo it should have calmed down. Has he always been like this?

Something is causing it...could be reflux, could be something else,

I had one that cried an awful LOT for the first month and then carried on, much less son, after that probably for a few months. By 6mo though he was far calmer and smiling a lot etc.

I think you need to establish that there is nothing medically wrong, nothing causing him pain - are you BF or bottle? Could he be reacting to something in his formula or that he eats for example - wheat, dairy, etc.

Could he be coeliac etc

Once you have ruled out that sort of issue then maybe it is teething, or similar...

I think it's important to keep trying though. I asked and asked when mine was tiny but all I got was 'he is a baby and babies cry' - no, they don't, not unless something makes them cry. They would be happy if they could.

I think you sound great as a mum so not trying to guilt trip you at all - just, be aware there could be a side issue going on that is causing him to be miserable.

Yes my DS was like this. I think he was frustrated and hated being a helpless baby. He needed so much stimulation and entertainment. He didn't really want to be cuddled or held - just wanted loads of entertainment. It wa exhausting. At 7mo I was taking him out the house twice a day, every single day, to keep him entertained. Swimming, feeding the ducks, swings, rhyme time, baby sensory, church play groups. We did them all.

He has become a lot happier and a lot more settled since he started walking at 12mo. He started crawling at 9mo and the 4 weeks or so running up to it were the absolute PITS. Frustrated crying all day :(

Maybe get your LO checked by a doctor to make sure there's nothing medical going on, but it might just be frustration? If so, things will get better in the next few months when he crawls and walks.

Oh and I always find with teething that by the time you can see anything, the worst pain has passed. Have you tried calpol (or better still baby nurofen)?

Interesting you should question medical and teething as possible reasons.

As a very young baby he had quite severe reflux and had to be held upright for a ridiculous length of the after each feed. He hasn't been in pain like that for quite a few months and can even lie down now straight after a feed. I had ruled this out as a potential reason but perhaps I should not be so quick to do that. Not really sure how I'd tell except by giving him some ranitidine out of the blue to see if it works.

Speaking of "out of the blue", he suddenly sprouted a tooth today. There had been no other warning, no swelling, redness or dribbling. The only way I noticed was because I was out and had to use a teaspoon for his porridge, and noticed it seemed to catch on a little bit of gravel in his gum! So possibly he has been uncomfortable without me knowing.

I appreciate the encouragement though. It's nice to hear that other babies passed through the frustration of being helpless, as I'm pretty sure this is some of the reason, even if it's not all of it.

My two had reflux as babies and they still still had issues into toddlerhood. I remember my ds, at about 7/8 months having acid trickle out of nose. He didn't have classic reflux symptoms as in lying flat he was ok with. But you'd get random episodes like that, times when he'd scream until he burped etc etc.

Def worth ruling out an underling cause but have you tried a sling? A ring sling might be good around the house.

If your interested in trying a sling pop to your local sling library so you can try/borrow different types.

How often is he napping?

His naps are extremely variable, one day he will sleep 10am-12 and then 4-5, other days he will get 20 min at 11am and then 15 min at 2. It often depends on whether he gets to sleep properly in his cot or just cat nap in the pushchair.

I have got access to a sling but I can't carry him all day for medical reasons, and sometimes it makes him settled, other times he arches his back to get out.

Regarding the prolapse, I had Physio and was told to avoid lifting, but that was all on offer until further down the line apparently.

Yes my dd was like this, very high maintenance!! In hindsight I think she found being a baby overwhelming and stressfull!!

It helped having a set routine and I found she coped generally better when she knew what to expect each day. I would try where possible to encourage naps to be roughly the same time each day, likewise with mealtimes and bedtime. She still cried a lot but was generally calmer I would say. However she is now nearly 8yo and has always remained sensitive and even now it doesn't take a lot to make her cry!!

Have you ruled out all the medical things that could be bothering him like silent reflux, allergies etc? At 7 months babies tend to be over 'colic' so it could be one of these things. I would ask for a referral to a peadetrician

You say he sprouted a tooth? Then most likely he's been in pain from that, even if no dribbling etc. Far more likely than sudden return of reflux.

DD went through a miserable few weeks at about 6 months, it turned out she was about to get her first two teeth AND she was about to learn to sit up (and very cross that she couldn't yet!) Could he be going through something similar? She cheered up immediately once both teeth were through and she got the hang of sitting up so hopefully you're not far off.

At 7months my baby still needed 3 naps a day otherwise was chronically tired. The first had to be 2 hours after waking. Other babies are different though.

Re: sling, using a good (wrap, ergo, boba, manduca, connecta etc) sling, worn correctly is very different than lifting and carrying a baby in your arms. In fact using a sling correctly can help strengthen the core and pelvic floor, even with a prolapse. Especially back carries.

Also highly recommend the Hab it DVD for strengthening the pelvic floor and helping with the prolapse.

Thanks for that info. I looked it up and it is advertised for I continence rather than prolapse (which oddly isn't mentioned at all!). Do you know anyone it helped with a prolapse? I luckily don't get stress incontinence even though I have a vaginal prolapse. It causes the opposite problem - it blocks the bladder from emptying properly which is a pita

It's for prolapse too. www.hab-it.com

Both issues require strengthening of the pelvic muscles.

I have a prolapse too and like you don't have incontinence issues. If any thing my bladder gets too full.

DS1 had reflux severely until I introduced solids at six months, but it would still come and go until he was a year. Like your baby, I had to keep him upright for 20-30 minutes after each feeding, and he had to sleep propped at an incline. In fact, I wore him a Beco carrier for many, many hours per day until he was fifteen months.

He's 2.5 now, no reflux, no food allergies, still has an intense personality, but is a darling much of the time.

The dr thinks my baby is suffering from reflux. She had it when she was around 3-4 weeks but its come back now, and she's now 4 months. They think she now has silent reflux though as she's not vomiting or throwing up.
I really hope she grows out of it fast.
Maybe the reflux makes babies so unhappy? It's horrible when all your baby does is cry. There are lots of us out there in the same situation which is comforting. Do you think solids would help with reflux? Baby rice or something?

We've been giving solids since he was 5 months as he was born premature. He's a little guzzler! Could be reflux but it was always silent so not sure.