Anyone else's baby constantly miserable? (5 months)

[Leannej1986]

I'm starting to wonder if anyone else's baby is like this because honestly, I'm exhausted!

She is nearly 6 months old and has been what I'd describe as a really difficult, miserable baby pretty much from the beginning.

From 0–13 weeks she cried constantly. She needed to be held and walked around almost all the time, and putting her down was a nightmare. She had silent reflux and a tongue tie, which we had released, so there were genuine issues contributing to things early on.

I hoped things would get easier as she got older, but although the constant newborn crying has improved, she's still such a moany, unsettled baby.

She seems frustrated by absolutely everything. She's rarely content for any length of time, constantly whinging and grumbling, and can go from moaning to absolutely screaming in seconds. It's like she's permanently dissatisfied with something, but you can never work out what!

She only really wants me and cries with other people trying to settle her. She's also going through a terrible phase with sleep and feeding at the moment, which is making everything even harder.

I have an older child who was a completely different baby. He was happy, chilled out and generally content, so this has been a real shock to the system. I feel like I've spent months constantly trying to keep a baby happy who just doesn't seem to want to be happy!

I know all babies are different, and I'm not expecting her to be happy 24/7, but I genuinely feel like other babies I see are content to sit and play, look around, smile and enjoy things, whereas she seems to spend most of her awake time moaning or getting frustrated.

I'm absolutely exhausted and finding maternity leave much harder than I ever imagined. I love her, but it's relentless when you're the person she wants constantly and you rarely get a break.

So, did anyone else have a baby like this?
Were they constantly whingey, frustrated and difficult to settle, even when all their needs seemed to be met? Did they grow out of it as they got older, or was it just their temperament?

I'd particularly love to hear from anyone whose baby seemed permanently unhappy at this age but eventually became a happier, more content child. I could really do with some reassurance that things might get easier!

My niece was like this OP. Nothing wrong with her ultimately just quite moany and miserable. Unfortunately it just seems to be her personality, now she is in school she is still very whingy and hates doing anything by herself, can’t entertain herself at all or just be contently. Just the way she is although we all love her! Hang in there x

Hi OP, my DD who is now 2.5 was a very clingy and unhappy baby. It was incredibly tough. Once she started walking and talking things got MUCH easier. I think she was just constantly frustrated and couldn't express her needs. She is now a super happy, wonderful toddler who in many ways is easier than her peers. She's still a sensitive soul (gentle, kind, empathetic) but because she can explain what is bothering her it's easy to help. A lot of things came together around 13 months for us - she stopped having formula (which never agreed with her) and is now a great eater, she started sleeping through the night (and has been a fab sleeper ever since!) and started to speak. This was a turning point. Hang in there xx

@noramoo Thankyou for this, I feel I needed to read this today. Shes definitely frustrated and a sensitive girl. I hope it all improves and I get to have a happy little girl one day. I feel once shes on food that will be a big change. X

My eldest was like this and we discovered he had TT. It might be worth seeing a TT practitioner to see if it’s reattached?

He did grow up to be the most lovely toddler and boy though. Very content and easy company.

@ExplodingSmittens I have been thinking for a while had the TT reattached from the scar tissue. Ill call them tomorrow.
Lovely to know he came out the other side 😊

I have seen a few children with this behavior at such an early stage and I would say honestly this gets better with time. For this you would require to do a little effort, try to increase her interaction with other people. Let her talk to relatives, visit their place or invite them often so your child becomes used to watching people around. Their behavior would also get better gradually.

Definite came out the other side and quickly too. As soon as he was walking and talking he was so much happier.