Crying baby

[MadamDarwin2009]

Help - I am at breaking point
I love my little lady so much - we were trying for four years before she arrived - natural conception
She is now 8 weeks old and had her jabs, which is all fairness she coped with better than I thought and for as far back as I can remember she cries at everything. She hates having her nappy changed, hates being dressed / undressed, being bathed, being dried, being put in her crib, being held by anyone (including daddy) other than me. She will only tolerate 'awake time' for a short period - I read to her, have tummy time, time on her play mat, singing time and cuddles. She only settles if I offer boobie - and even then if she has worked herself up that much she can't latch then get seen worse. I'm not talking cries like little ones - huge screams - high pitched and everything.
It's getting me and my hubby down to the point he it's looking forward to coming home, I feel like I can't go out either of a day or night time incase she kicks off.
I'm starting to resent her and then I feel worse as we waited so long for her, I never expected it to be a walk in the park and knew it would be tiring as I am classed as an older mother (34!!) but I feel like I am loosing it

Has anyone got any words of wisdom or support??

Thank you for reading my ramblings

My dd was like it - still is to some extent and she's almost 1 year old! Mine had reflux which explained her misery during the first few months. Worth checking it out. Good luck and I hope things improve for you soon

My DS was an absolute misery guts, I thought I gave birth to the unhappiest baby in the world.

I took his lead kept him close wore a sling and bf as much as he wanted. He is now a happy, robust and willful toddler. It gets better eventually not for a while though.

Have a google of Dr Sears (William?) and "high need" babies. He's the attachment parenting guru and he has such lovely insights into "difficult" babies. It might resonate- if even to reassure you you aren't alone and give you some pointers maybe.

You sound like a wonderful mum and dad. You just have a very sensitive little baby who would probably quite like to be back in a cosy womb until she's old enough to stride out into the world on her own steam.

As PP says she's likely to grow into a lovely sparkler as she gets used to all these bewildering new stimuli. She just doesn't much like being a baby from the sounds of it.

Don't worry. She'll be making great progress in the coming weeks and you might find as she begins to develop better motor skills she'll start to feel more secure. In the meantime just keep doing what you're doing- giving lots of loving reassurance even if she's screaming the house down! At least she knows you're there x

Sounds like DD1. It was silent reflux. It continued until we got the balance of medication right. Utterly soul destroying time.

How is her feeding?

How much sleep does she get (day and night)?

I breastfeed - though not exclusively. I try and feed on demand but mostly do that. I have tried to get into to some kind of routine for feeding and it's generally every four hours or so. Sleeping - well this is one of the main issues she is asleep for 9.30 generally by again no routine - would love to bath her, read to her and then bed but I can't. She screams until I breast feed and the falls to sleep on me at which point I put her in her crib.
Maybe in expecting too much too soon but I just don't know

Ok, feeding sounds ok.

What about her napping in the day? At 8 weeks she should really be having about 15 hours of sleep in 24 so if she sleeps 10-11 hours at night (not counting time she's awake in the night) then she needs 4-5 hours of naps during the day.

If she's a long way off this amount, then she would likely be overtired, which would be one possible cause of all the screaming especially towards the end of the day.

If you think she is getting far too little in the way of naps, you could try doing lots of loooong pram walks - when DD got overtired I would try to do at least 3 x 1 hr walks each day for a few days, so she would at least get that sleep. (When she was overtired she would only sleep in a moving pram - fun!) After a few days of that she was generally much better and easier to get to sleep.

Of course she may be getting plenty of naps but thought I'd ask as it's very easy to fall into an overtiredness cycle at this stage (I did with DD and it was horrible). it's a vicious cycle as the more overtired they are the harder it is for them to fall and stay asleep.

Hi, I also have a 'spirited' 8 week old. I've worn him in a sling most of everyday until just recently as it was the only way to keep him calm. Just this last week, I've seen a big improvement in him. He's smiling lots and cries a lot less than he did. I have also started to use a dummy to settle him to sleep and it works wonders. I thought he'd never get better but we are living proof that babies who cry all the time don't cry forever. It's a lot for a newborn to take in being in this world and it often takes a few months for their brains to be able to cope with it. My advice would be to invest in a good sling and this phase will soon be a distant memory. Keep your chin up, you're doing a great job and you'll soon discover the joys of being a parent to a lively, bright baby.