My newborn won't stop crying

[wat121]

My baby is 6 weeks old and will not stop crying. It started about 4 weeks ago in the evenings which made us think it was colic. However, now she cries from the moment she gets up - unless she is sleeping (which is rare) or feeding.
She was being sick a few times a day, crying and restless during feeds, always salivating etc so the HV suggested reflux.
I was breastfeeding but I slowly cut down and for the last week she has been taking an anti reflux formula. The sickness has stopped, but the crying hasn't. It has also made her a bit constipated.
We are giving her Dentinox colic drops recommended by HV but again there is no improvement.
She doesn't rest to go to sleep until about midnight and is up every hour or two and then back up at 6am.
She takes so long feeding (about an hour an a half for a 4oz feed) that by the time she is fed, changed and settled, she is crying for milk again.
I had a c section and I have read some articles that c section babies are generally more grumpy - does anyone know about this?
I don't know what to do, she's not an enjoyable baby and this is not how I imagined motherhood.
Please help - any suggestions?

I have a friend whose baby was very similar to this. She visited a cranial osteopath for babies with surprisingly good results. Anything is worth a go?

Also, doctors and HVs tend to be on the whole pretty useless when it comes to reflux (if that’s what it is - notoriously hard to pin down). But they will initially go through the usual range of remedies including ranitidine etc. If these do not work (and they may not if reflux is severe), do not be fobbed off. May require omeprazole which is a prescription only acid inhibitor (that adults also use). Another friend had a very very refluxy baby which made her life a misery. She was fortunate to see a GP who had experience of it in his own kids and who gave omeprazole. It worked. A changed baby. Gradually weaned off the meds as she grew.

Good luck!

It may be that your baby has a diary allergy or intolerance? You could try asking your GP to see if you can try a non diary formula. I think a lot of GPs are reluctant to do this but try to see if it makes a difference.
I would highly recommend an oesteopath.
My son had slight silent reflux and i was given omoprezole. Although he wasnt an overly unsettled baby or cried that much, at times he just seemed uncomfortable feeding, both breast and bottle. I didnt want him on meds any length of time and didnt like what I had read about the drug, so i took him to see an osteopath. She was amazing! After a lot of questions she suggested I try goats milk formula as she felt my son had more of a very slight intolerance to cows milk protein and goats milk proteins easier broken down.
My son was also born emergency c section after 10 days overdue and a long 30 hour labour in which his head got lodged in my pelvis and they made me push for 3 hours before they realised this!!
However the osteopath discovered that the main cause of his discomfort was that his chest muscles were extremely tight and he had a tightness in the left side of his neck. After just one session I could see a difference in my baby! When she was working on him you could almost see the relief in his little face.
Anyway it took about 7 sessions and her advice about the goats milk and we had a different, more settled baby on no medication.
Its worth a try for sure.

Thank you folks.
I'm going to look into cranial osteopathy as lots of people recommending it. I really hope it can help.
I'm going out of my mind. I know it will get easier at some point but her crying is like torture.
My husband bought 'the baby whisperer' book today and thinks we need to start following it to help get her into a routine. For example, she will only fall asleep being cuddled, rocked etc and soon as we put her down in her crib she kicks off. This book is supposed to help break things like that.
Has anybody read it?
Any one else tried cranial osteopathy?

Have you tried an oscillating chair? My dd has dreadful reflux and the "buzzy chair" saved us!! Also you could try a tummy tub. Dd loves hers it makes babies feel like their in the womb supposedly.

At 6 weeks old lots of babies only fall asleep in arms and wake up when put down. My DS is 11 weeks and still only sleeps in arms, when in sling, pushchair. At night we're having to co sleep otherwise we'd never get any sleep. I blame 4th trimester and will start training him more persistently when he is 6 months old as that's when they have more of an understanding of what's going on.

Our dd was just the same as a new born (And to be honest until she was about 5 months old And started to commando crawl and sit up unassisted). I literally couldn't do anything to soothe her and she quite literally refused to go in her pram, car seat or a sling. I was basically a prisoner in my own home wondering what I was doing wrong!

We went to the HV numerous times and even went to a paediatrician we were that worried. I had convinces myself she had silent reflux and needed all kinds of medication. Turns out she didn't...She just had an immature tummy. Literally the only thing that helped us was time.

I wish I had listened to the advice I was given so please trust me when I say things will get better. Every bad phase ends eventually even if you can't see the woods for the trees at the moment. I never believed my daughter would ever stop crying but at nearly 11 months old she is generally a happy little soul. She can walk, is babbling away happily and trying to jmitate sounds and words,pointing/clapping/waving, eating 3 meals a day, joining in with the actions of nursery rhymes. In other words, she's amazing! Your little one will get there too and it will all be worth it, promise! Some babies just take a little longer to get used to the world.

Sending hugs xx

Just bear in mind that the baby whisperer isn't based on any evidence, it's just one woman's opinion

Like others have said, wanting to be held is pretty normal at this age. It's not a habit and she will grow out of it

Aw I really sympathise. I went through the exact same thing though carried on breastfeeding. He cried and screamed ALL day from 8 days old unless he was feeding or sleeping. He got drastically better around the 2.5 months mark (though the past day and half has been awful - hopefully only temporary... I think he has trapped wind. He's 3.5 months now).

So we initiqlly thoight he had trapped wind and found infacol and gripe water did nothing. We went to the local health clinic and paediatrician a LOT! Eventually we discovered he had a tongue tie, torticollis (neck injury) from ventouse birth, and suspected reflux, possibly from an allergy (still unsure).

The tongue tie was snipped and he started physio for tge Torticollis. We sae a cranial osteopath 3 or 4 times but he screamed the place down and i honestly thing it didbt help at all. He was put on ranitadine for the reflux. Trouble was, by then he had been so used to screaming all day that he hadn't been napping (I guess he was too uncomfortable) and all our efforts were yo get him to stop screaming rather than to get him to sleep (interestingly he's always been an amazing sleeper at night though thank god). So by 2.5 months, despite being on medication he was still really unhappy - and I now think at that point it was because he was overtired from no napping. So we starting following a vague version of The Little Ones programme, with three main naps a day- I think 9am, 12pm and 4:30am, or whatever works for your baby. The key thing is to not let them be awake for more than 2ish hours at a time. And nights are supposed to be 7-7. We started actively trying to get him to nap, introduced a dummy, tried the shush pat technique... and he was a MUCH happier baby a few days later! However we could never have done while he was in so much pain and discomfort. But it showed me how there are often multiple interconnected issues.

I now think he has lactose overload as I think he has high supply. He's an amazing happy chap most of the time now at 3.5 months but does go through the occasional spell when I think he's in pain and very windy - and today he's been worse than he's been for more than 5 weeks! However hopefully it's temporary.

I would say be really assertive with the doctors and ask to see a paediatrician. You could see your local health clinic at your children's centre too? They are the ones who referred him to a physio. Babies should not scream constantly all day long no matter what they tell you. And in the meantime do whatever you have to do to survive. It brings tears to my eyes to read your message as I remember so clearly the hell it was for me. And it's the not knowing if/when it will get better that's so hard!! Get your daughter checked for a tongue tie too if you haven't already - that could explain the long feeds. My son was checked in hospital as he couldn't latch but they said he was fine. It took a month to get him diagnosed at a baby cafe And by then we were stuck on nipple shields.

Best of luck and feel free to vent on here - those first two months of screaming were the hardest of my life and I was genuinely getting depressed- but it does get better o promise. And the main thing is, don't blame yourself. I was constantly comparing my baby to my NCT friends' happy, easy, contended babies but that was unfair to myself and my son! X

Thank you for your messages. The health visitor is coming back tomorrow so I'll see what she says.
I may have have a very grouchy unsettled baby and need to accept that I need to ride it out. I just don't know how I'll cope.
She also does not nap. Yesterday she was awake from 12.30pm and did not go to sleep until 10pm! Occasionally in between the crying she would not off for 5-10 mins but nothing substantial. As she is fighting sleep, it makes her even more cranky and she screams the place down. We bought s rocking chair yesterday so we will see if that helps.

Just wanted to add that our paed said that the most difficult babies are always the cleverest! Not sure if that helps but proving to be the case with our little girl so far!! Xx

Try cooled boiled water for the constipation.

Also we bought a mobile for DS who was always fighting sleep, he is a lot better with it at 11w.

How are you getting on, @wat121?