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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

4 week old crying - how much is normal

15 replies

Chickz · 31/07/2016 16:51

How much did your 4 week old cry?
My ds had a couple of weeks of newborn bliss but recently has started crying whinging and moaning all the time that he's not feeding or sleeping. Is this normal?
I obviously rule out hunger, tiredness and wind but he still seems unsettled. It's all day rather than the evening. Would be good to hear how your 4 week old was /is.

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Original poster

Chickz · 01/08/2016 02:11

Anyone?

OP posts:

RNBrie · 01/08/2016 02:17

My 4 week old is still sleeping most of the day. She is happy to be awake for about an hour but any longer than that and she starts to whinge/cry. Are you sure he isn't just tired?

29redshoes · 01/08/2016 03:02

My DD "woke up" around that age and started crying a lot more. It got worse before it got better!

How are you ruling out tiredness? As that is probably the most likely culprit if other basic needs have been met.

FirstTimeMummy25 · 01/08/2016 03:51

My DS went through a stage like this I gave gripe water and that seemed to work slightly, but other than that I had to ride it out it did get better.
Hope it doesn't last too long for you...

AStreetcarNamedBob · 01/08/2016 04:02

Does he seem to have a sore tummy? 2 out of 3 of mine needed colief drops added to the milk to break it down a bit for them. Newborn tummys are so delicate and new. After 12 weeks they stopped needing the drops and could break the milk down on their own

Worth buying a littl bottle and trying. You'll know after 2days if it's helping.

cherrypiemay16 · 01/08/2016 04:15

They definitely come to life about that age. Crying peaks at 6 weeks so don't worry the worst will be over soon! Is it because he wants to be close to you? I found that if I kept my LO close he was much better, have you got a sling or carrier? Otherwise a dummy for a 'sucky' baby can help. Sometimes it's just the way some babies are, don't worry, they're all different

Luckystar1 · 01/08/2016 05:26

Oh I remember this from DS. He 'woke up' at 3 weeks, it was awful. Hours and hours of crying (and he didn't get better after 6 weeks, sorry!).

He was exhausted and needed sleep but fought it so much! Do what you can to get him to sleep. He shouldn't be awake for longer than 45 mins at a time!

It gets better, but I'd strongly suggest dealing with it asap!!

Good luck

Original poster

Chickz · 01/08/2016 07:43

Thanks everyone.
I'll add colief and gripe water to the list.
Re sleep - sometimes he looks tired so I put him down - he kind of dozes then wakes up a few mins later crying! Any clues as to what this could be? Wind?
I really hope it gets better soon- we had hours of crying yesterday.

OP posts:

29redshoes · 01/08/2016 07:54

It sounds counterintuitive, but if he wakes up crying when you put him down to sleep, he's probably tired!

Not all babies are natural sleepers and some of them need to be helped to go to sleep and stay asleep (to transition from one sleep cycle to the next). The more tired they are the more difficult they tend to find this.

Will he sleep in a sling or in the pram? If you can get some solid naps in you might find things improve. At this age most babies should be sleeping around 16 hours a day I think.

FirstTimeMummy25 · 01/08/2016 07:55

My DS is 5 months now but if he gets tired or over tired he has a melt down I literally have to rock him to sleep next to me on the bed for naps with lots of shhhhing and white noise you tried any of that to help him sleep? I expect you have but just a suggestion

Itsaplayonwords · 01/08/2016 08:03

My daughter is 6 weeks old but she shouldn't be born yet so I can't really draw a comparison, but I would agree with others about being over tired. In the evening all she wants to do is feed but she wears herself out and then she just cries. She's not great at sleeping in her cot so if she gets that tired and that upset I let her sleep in my arms if I can get her to sleep. I don't want to start off bad habits but it becomes more important for her to sleep than worrying about where she sleeps.

Original poster

Chickz · 01/08/2016 09:02

White noise - another great suggestion I will download an app.
I really hope the combination of colief/gripe/white noise/Dummy and better naps helps!
Any more suggestions are welcome you have all been a great help.

OP posts:

weeblueberry · 03/08/2016 09:34

If he wakes up after a few minutes have you tried letting him sleep on you for longer periods? Or getting a sling/boucer/swing and letting him sleep in there?

My youngest slept FAR longer in a sling at that age than when I put her down in the cot. At first when she stayed asleep after putting her down I thought I'd got a lucky sleeper but she was waking after 30 minutes, so before a full sleep cycle and it was making her cranky until she slept again.

Original poster

Chickz · 03/08/2016 12:52

Thank you yes a sling worked yesterday. And today I took him for a walk and he slept for 2 hours. Dummy has also been helping when he's grizzly.

OP posts:

cherrypiemay16 · 07/08/2016 12:44

Great work! Pleased for you

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