Fussy grumpy 1 month old. Please help!

[Lana01]

Hi guys, I'd appreciate some advice. My 1 month old daughter is super fussy and generally is a difficult baby. The first week was okay, but since then we've had maybe 3 "good" days with her. She takes ages settling despite me putting her down at the first signs of tiredness. Daytime napping is a nightmare most days, especially PM and evenings. We have a 7am - 7pm routine, although she rarely last until 7pm. I try to make sure she has her AM nap or 2, then lunchtime nap (the longest) and a PM nap. Its a hit and miss with her. In the evening we have bedtime routine involving a bath and a feed, and I start settling just after 6pm, takes me an hour and then she's up shortly after and then it takes up to 2 hours to put her back down. I swaddle her and play white noise. Rock her till she's drowsy and put her down. Had to resort to "crying down" as nothing else seems to work. She does sleep well at night. I dreamfeed around 11pm and she's then up around 3am when I feed and she's back down almost instantly. At day time she's in one place for a few minutes then gets grumpy and cries. It goes for being held, going in a sling or a swing, playmate, watching cot mobile - I have to always keep moving her - it's like musical chairs! Shes rarely in a good mood. She can genuinely smile bit only does it in the mornings maybe. She can already hold her head up and keep it up for a bit. She's a very strong baby. She also started fussing when I feed her (bottle) and hasn't been eating much at all. I'm basically have to force her most of the times. Anyone else has a fussy baby like mine? Any advice? Do they ever grow out of it?

Sounds like you have a very similar child to mine. My dd was like this when she was born. Just wasn't content with anything. I even resorted to bed sharing with her the first year. Obviously followed all the safety procedures! But I have to say this helped a great deal with calming her down. Some babies want to be held more than others. Also your baby is only one month old. Give her time and she will get there. My dd is now nearly 16 months old and she's happy as can be. Just give yourself a break. Also they don't tend to sleep well until 3 months onwards so it should start getting a bit easier after that. Good luck.

Thanks blueberry71! It's reassuring to know they evtually grow out of it. She does like being held, but again, only for a short while, and then all of a sudden she doesn't lol I guess I'll just have to wait it out ...

Please don’t force feed her, it’s a huge choking risk. If she’s refusing feeds, it will be for a reason. She should be having roughly 2.5 floz per pound of weight per day, so if she’s 10lb that’s 25floz.

If you use that equation is she taking enough milk?

Yes, I'm familiar with the equation and she's not having enough. Last week when she was weighed she was 8lb (gained since birth and last weigh in), and she's only having on average 60 ml. I have a health visitor appointment next week so will ask for advice.

It’s pretty normal for a baby a month old to take a little and often. If she has 60 ml and no more, how long will she go before she shows hunger cues again?