6 week old will not be put down - constant crying - help!

[mabel1973]

DD is 6.5 weeks old.
She seems to be quite a demanding baby to say the least.
she sleeps and feeds well,but when she is awake she will manage about 5 minutes, 10 minutes maxiumum cooing and smiling and then just gets really upset and cries. I can't put her down at all, she hates it, although from time to time will manage about 5 minutes in her cot under her mobile.
She is quite a windy, sicky baby and I am wondering if she is actually in pain, to be crying this much whilst she is awake.
I have 2 older children and even though DS1 was hard work, I don't remember him being this bad.
I can't physically carry her round all day and to be honest, even being carried doesn't always calm her down.
It is really starting to get me down, as I am not able to spend anytime with my Ds's as I am constantly trying to soothe her.
Please help

Have you spoken to the health visitor about it? is she nice?
I guess at 6 weeks she is still so new she just wants to be near you, what happens if you just leave her to cry?
I think you've got 2 options really, you could just leave her to cry and try and tune out while you do what it is you need to do, or you could just carry her around as much as you can, maybe with time there won't be so much dependence and she will be able to cope for longer periods without being picked up.
Don't let it get you down though, they are so small for such little time aren't they. This won't last i'm sure, but I think you should talk to your HV if only for your own sanity!

Have you tried a wrap sling? I'm not trivialising things - she may well be in pain, you know best as her mum, it and may well be worth seeing your GP - but in my experience, some babies just are criers / whingers. You've had a 'good' baby first time round, so may be a shock to the system to have one of the demanding, crying types now! A sling can help - they are close to you and dont cry constantly, you have free hands and can do stuff. Worth a try.

Have you tried swaddling? Bind 'em tightly!

I found ds 2 went down better if he was wrapped up I held ds1 constantly for the first few months and I wasn't going through that again!!

I do have a sling, but it doesn't seem to help that much.
i spoke to the HV about her as I was concerned about how much she was being sick. My ds's weren't sicky babies, so I am not used to it.
She thought she might have a bit of reflux, although she is only bringing up small amounts not a whole feed.
Whilst I think this causes some discomfort some of the time, I think she is a bit of a whinger as well.
I know that this will pass with time, but It is so hard at the moment!

yes she likes to be swaddled and I do that when she goes down for her nap, but it doesn't help when she is awake, she still cries, even wrapped up!

does she seem ok at night? you say she sleeps well but where/ how does she sleep? if she sleeps flat in her moses basket/ crib then it's probably unlikely to be reflux as the oain tends to get worse as soon as they are not propped up a bit. my ds was always sick after feeds, even up to 2 hours afterwards but only a mouthful or so at a time which i was told was normal.

reflux doesn't have to mean bringing up huge amounts though, silent reflux doesn't make them sick, it burns then goes back down again so do get it checked out.

does she seem inconsolable or does she usually settle if you sit and cuddle her? if so then the chances are she's just not ready to be separate from you which is really common at this age. my ds would never be put down til he was about 4 months old, even then only if laid flat on a playmat to kick about, never liked bouncer chairs or his car seat.

he cheered up as he could sit up and do things on his own. his confidence grew and i actually got my life back (a bit! )

sorry pain gets worse laid flat

reflux. get some infant gaviscon, you can actually buy it over the counter if your doctor tells you its normal to have reflux and cry. 6 weeks is prime time to develope reflux. try holding her upright for 30-60 mins after a feed, depends how bad the reflux is. oh and go back to feeding every 2-3 hours with smaller amounts unless hse is not to bad overnight.

Hmm dd had "Silent reflux" really really unsettled.Sounds a bit like that.DD was only comfy propped up in upright position over my shoulder.Would advise going to gp and suggesting this and insisting they listen as no one took me seriously about dd for ages,and when I eventuallygot some gaviscon (A few months down the line) It helped her settle.By this time was nervous wreck myself from lack of sleep,and poor dd must've been in discomfort for ages poor litle thing

I was going to say wrap sling too - the closeness of being tightly held in to you seems to soothe them and carrying upright can really help unsettled/refluxy babies. What sort of sling do you have and what position do you carry her in?

The other thing that springs to mind is overstimulation - DS got very easily overwrought and upset, within a few minutes of waking sometimes, and hated strange people and places. He found lights and noise really hard to deal with for his first few months. Again, the sling gave him a haven away from the outside world and I was careful not to expose him to too much passing-round and prodding from family members.

But you definitely should see your GP, if only for reassurance, because as (particularly an experienced) mum you know best.

thanks everyone. From what everyone is saying, it does sound like reflux is making her this upset.I am due to go to clinic this friday anyway, but spoke to my HV this morning and she has asked me to discuss the vominting with my doctor, he is really nice, so hopefully we can get something to help her.

hallo, very glad to see this thread! Having exactly same prob with 3 week old DS...never seen temper tantrums like it & he can cry inconsolably for 3 hours with no break :s

I think could well be hyper sensitivity to light/sound/life in his case tho....hes OK when just being still & cuddled in total silence. gr8. will def try a sling!

x

Slings are ace - its the only way I could get anything done when ds was this age. He was a proper little velcro baby but he gradually became more independent after a few months.

Try not to fight it too hard!