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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

Is it really 'normal' for an 8 week old to cry for up to 8 hours a day??

34 replies

frazzledfairy · 25/10/2006 19:28

aaaarrrggghhhh! 8 1/2 weeld old ds2 just seems to cry and cry and cry bless him. he started to cry within 30 mins of his birth (which was extremely quick) and it feels like he hasn't stopped since! he crys for between 4-8 hours a day, normally for 3-4 in the evening. tis bloody hard work indeed. have tried colief and infacol with little effect. have also booked an appointment with a craniel osteopath but it isn't for another 2 weeks which feels like a v long way away.

help!

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ghosty · 25/10/2006 19:32

Hi Frazzledfairy ...
My DS cried all the time when he was little too. It felt like the only time he was quiet was when he was asleep - which wasn't very often ...
He cheered up considerably around 4 months and by 6 months he was sitting up and much happier.
I have heard that 'silent' reflux is often the cause of constant crying. Is your DS any happier when you hold him upright?

riab · 25/10/2006 19:41

It isn't normal, so don't get put off by any HV or GP saying you just have to put up with it. You're doing the right things as this kind of crying is often reflux or colic. The classic colic diagnosis is 3,3,3 3hrs+ of crying 3x+ a week for 3+ weeks.

When does he seem happiest? could he be overtired, how much is he sleeping right now? DS used to get very overtired at this age and then just cry and scream for up to an hour or two in the evenings until we started putting him to bed earlier.

What about feeding, DS was a fussy feeder and we had to help him to get settled into a regular feeding pattern so he wasn't hungry or snacking. For us we found snacking type feeds ie feeding for 5-10 mins then having another small feed 1hr later made wind/colic worse.

Original poster

frazzledfairy · 25/10/2006 19:59

he is in a fairly regular feeding pattern as had read that 'snack' feeds could lead to/make colic worse. he could be overtired but does sleep quite alot, once he is actually asleep at night he sleeps well. i don't think it's normal and asked the gp to do a test for reflux but she just laughed and said all babies cry which wasn't exactly helpful!

would be happy to just cuddle him all evening if it stopped him crying but most of the time he is inconsolable

during the day i take him for walks in the pram but as soon as i stop he wakes and crys again.

OP posts:

poppiesinaline · 25/10/2006 20:08

DS1 was like this. My HV put me off for weeks with a comment like that. My GP also said 'Oh, he's just one of those babies' Eventually (when he was 3 months old) my HV did get him admitted to hospital because every time she phoned me or called round to see me he was literally screaming. She said 'Oh, he does cry alot. Thought you were just making it up."

It turned out he had silent reflux.

Could you ask to see another HV or GP? A baby that cries constantly is very very draining.

CastsSpellsWitchySpells · 25/10/2006 20:18

No it's not normal. In my DD it turned out to be due to a combination of squished head from the birth (cranial osteopath will sort this out), milk intolerance (I've given up dairy totally as DD also breastfed - might be worth a try for you, but don't replace with soy) and silent reflux.

Giving up dairy had the biggest impact for us.

mummyplonk · 25/10/2006 20:22

Oh poor you, I know how you feel frazzledfairy, had no help from my GP either and spent hours walking around our local park with him screaming his heart out. DS was ventouse and from the first night in hospital he just screamed. The good news however, had 6 Cranial Oseopathy sessions and it definately calmed him and he really really did grow out of it once he stated weaning. He is now the happiest little nutcase I know, so rest assured it will not have any long term effect. I also found a baby swing was the best buy (together with a dummy!) which seemed to calm him. Good luck, remember to close the door and take a quick walk around the garden for your own sanity too.

LadyMacbeth · 25/10/2006 20:29

Sounds like my dd1, poor you - it's hell isn't it? Cranial osteopathy really helped - can you get a sooner appt somewhere else?

cruisemum1 · 25/10/2006 20:55

You poor thing. You must have the patience of a saint. I would definitely get it checked out and do not be fobbed off. My dd was like that for a few weeks (she is 8.5yrs now) and we ended up taking her to A & E! It did eventually just stop and she didn't seem any worse off for it. Did my head in though .

LadyUndetrun · 25/10/2006 21:08

have nothing to add to the advice given as have no experience of this myself, but much sympathy!

agree: you have a right to push for more help from the doc/hv (silly useless sods sometimes!)

agree: cranial osteopathy. are you sure they cant see him earlier?? or another osteopath maybe?

and agree: baby swing (with batteries, lights and muzak) may help you. worth a try, definately. if you dont want to shell out on the off-chance it may work, then i have one im not using anymore. you can either: borrow mine and if it works get your own (if you dont want to accept a freebie) or, you can just have mine and pass it on to some other deserving soul when youre done with it. CAT me, if you want to do either

Original poster

frazzledfairy · 25/10/2006 21:12

will try and get an app for the cranial osteopath sooner, we did have one booked for yesterday but ds2 was rushed in for a hernia operation which dp and i suspect was caused by all the crying!

am hoping the osteopath will help, the birth was v quick, waters went at 8.15pm, contractions started at 9.15pm and ds2 born at 10.30pm! i went into shock afterward, couldn't even hold him cos i was shaking so much.

thank you all sooo much for confirming my suspicions that it's not normal.

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Original poster

frazzledfairy · 25/10/2006 21:14

have tried a baby swing, and a dummy, unfortunately neither worked!

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LadyUndetrun · 25/10/2006 21:22

oh dear - sorry to hear about the hernia, poor wee mite. and poor you - i hope you are manging to get some time out from it all and taking as much care of yourself as you can...

i also had very fast deliveies fastest being number 2 who was born about an hour after i woke up - got to the birth unit just in time! know what you mean about the shaking and the shock - sounds like youre doing all the right things - really hope it all gets sorted soon and you have a peaceful and happy house (and its occupants!) very soon. big hug from here!

kamikayzed · 25/10/2006 21:26

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

WitchICouldGiveUpWork · 25/10/2006 21:27

Oh poor you.

I did everything everyone has already suggested (and you have tried it sounds like).For me,it was the cranial osteopath theat helped the most but a word of caution,don't expect a miracle straight away.
I did see an improvement after the first session,but it was short lived-it took several sessions,combined with exercises I had to do at home before life improved significantly....but it did and is the best money I ever spent.

wrinklytum · 25/10/2006 21:29

Many sympathies.DD was like this.A shock after angelic ds!Have you tried a sling for daytime?Found this helped a tiny bit but nothing much worked until at 5 months I marched into Drs surgery and refused to leave until someone took me seriously.(had visited numerous times and not been taken seriously).Luckily locum ,very nice lady gp took me seriously and prescribed infant gaviscon,and dd transformed into a new angelic baby almost overnight!I also had a quick birth with dd.

Keep nagging at gp.

Some people swear by cranial osteopath.

Hope little one is better soon

hester · 25/10/2006 21:33

Oh poor you and poor ds

tigertum · 25/10/2006 21:39

He will gorw out of it I promise Frazzledfairy.

Have you tried using a natural sling? You can get them very cheaply off Ebay and babies often respond really well to being carried close thier mums in a natural, snuggled position. Also, it will give you some free arms!

Have you tried swaddling? I used to think it was a bit mean until a lovely nurse swaddled my crying DS up for me when he was small. He went from hysterical to asleep within minutes. Babies can't control their arms and legs at this age. They get worked up and their limbs flale around. Swaddling gently folds them away and makes them feel like they are being held tightly.

What about a bit of co-sleeping? Read up on how to do it safely and maybe let him sleep close to you.

Well done for organising a Cranial Osteopath. That should help lots. Some babies just cry lots. There's an organisation called cry-sis which you can go to for support & advice. My DS had horrific colic to the point that we took him to casulty! He was born in the spring I can remember hearing some people outside the window going "oh that poor baby", as if I had left him to cry when in fact I had been trying to comfort him for hours. It will pass. I was told by a wonderful paedatric consultant that his colic would dissapear when he hit three months. I didn't believe him. But it did, like magic!

I can really sympathise, but it will pass I promise!

Original poster

frazzledfairy · 25/10/2006 22:10

have got a kari-me sling which is fab and he does love it but he is getting heavier and obviously i can't do stuff like cook tea or sleep in it! also when he is inconsolable nothing really works.

i would rather not co-sleep if poss as did this with ds1 who is now nearly 6 and still up several times a night needing me to sleep with him! and tbh during the night is not really a prob with ds2, his crying is mainly during the day and the evening.

OP posts:

tigertum · 25/10/2006 22:38

Just remember you are so close to that three month mark, where babies suffering from colic can improve suddenly and vastly.

tigertum · 25/10/2006 22:44

Maybe you could buy one of these

bleary · 26/10/2006 11:24

not much to add, really, but to say if you can't get an osteopath quickly, a chiropractor might be able to help. mine did wonders for my ds, having told me that a quick delivery (i recognise the shock and shaking)can sometimes give the baby the equivalent of whiplash.

ouch.

good luck, frazzled.

castlesintheair · 26/10/2006 15:23

My DD cried for 7 hours every evening/night. She was my 2nd so I knew it was NOT normal. (I have friends who had the same and because it was their 1st were just told by docs/hvs "this is what babies do"). I took her to the doc and thankfully (and quite strangely now I think about it ) she asked me if I had any ideas about what was wrong. I said gastric reflux, she agreed, sent me straight to hospital. They got her on meds immediately and within a couple of days she transformed into a happy little bunny. She used to cry and grizzle like they all do but nothing like before.

I'm not suggesting your DS has gastric reflux but I would get it checked just to be sure.

deaconblue · 26/10/2006 16:03

Ds was like this after his ventouse birth and was better within two days of his first appointment at the head squeezer (cranial osteopath!). I would ring around and get an appointment sooner, two more weeks of crying would be GRIM.

Original poster

frazzledfairy · 26/10/2006 16:31

what are the symptoms of gastric reflux?

have got an earlier app with cranial osteopath, tomorrow morning. have got my fingers crossed!

OP posts:

deaconblue · 26/10/2006 20:53

Good luck. I found it got worse the evening he had been treated and then much much better so be prepared for a grotty evening tomorrow,it doesn't mean the treatment hasn't worked.

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