13 weeks&inconsolabe-HELP!

[HerMomminess]

DD1 is 13 weeks;exclisive BF on demand. Previous isues with weight gain but now doing okay.

She has started crying absolutely inconsolaby last 4 days.Not entirely true: sometims bf-inf helps but very fussy on the breast in the afternoons. Is she feeding or just comfort?? Should I try a dummy when we've managed to get away without it?

I have tried calpol after bathtime out of desperation. A friend thought she saw a tooth coming through, however I don' t know. Certainly was v drooly last week, but none of the other'signs' plus I don' t know what her gums would look like.

Have I stuffed up the naps? last couple of mornings she's having v long naps after breakfast but she' s been waking up around 6:30- nearly an hour earlier than usual. Should I keep her up? Wake her up?

We were just starting to do better;enjoying eachother;going out. But now she screams the place down feeds/ sits on the breast all the time...

I just don' t know.

Any advice? We're both miserable. Feels like I can hardly remember her smile.

I probably cant really help that much, We never used a Dummy either.. but I went through this with DD. My mother et al were banging on about it being teething, and i was convinced they were wrong, but what do you know?! she had her first two front teeth by 3.5 months, so its also possible she could be teething.

The best thing I did was follow a routine. It did feel a bit anal at first, but I loosley tried the Baby whisperer 4 hour routine at 4 months. (at 3 months, she recomends a 3 hour routine moved to 4 at 4 months) I basically fed her straight after waking up, then nappy time and then play time until it was time for another nap. So, I started at 7am (although 6:30 am would be OK if that seems to be your baby's natural body clock) feed, wash and nappy change and play then she would be ready for a nap around 10:30-11 with a 1-ish hour nap. then do the same again til nap at about mid afternoon, and do the same thing again til bedtime at 7pm.

She could also be having a growth spurt, so maybe try feeding her every two hours in the late evening, just so she gets a good nights sleep. Maybe then she will be happier in the daytime.

I know how you feel. I thought we were going through hell and back as she never stopped crying. As soon as we got some structure and proper naps going, then she did seem to get a lot happier. Also don't rule out teething though. Plenty of teething gel and calpol if shes in pain. Dont forget that Neurofen for children is also really good too. (its ibuprfen not paracetamol)

I probably should have added that I was feeding on demand too (FF, not BF) but it didn't suit my DD. She seems to do better with routine. Although, like I said probably not helpful. Mybe someone else will come along and add some better wisdom soon x

definately think it could be teeth. i tried everything, on the worst daysibuprofen was the only thing that helped. but calpol is good as is detinox gel and a very cold teething ring or all of them in rotation.

Thanks everyone. We do (used to??) have a routine even though on demand BF: early am nap(dailyfail-she won' t last 3 hours after waking up) after breakfast for an hour, lunchtime 1 hour nap, then in pm around 1600ish before feeding fest and wind down with bath etc. Wake her up for 'dreamfeed'&final nappy change round 200-2300 ish

Was at wits end y' day evening.Most blood curdling screams despite feeding etc till 21:30 when DH settled her. Till midnight, then slept til 0345(!!) and then 0730.

SO despite serious unhappiness night panned out okay.

This morning she woke up smiling and squeeling, went down for am nap, more smiles after waking up and currently on her playmat.

I am dreading the afternoon though.

Do I expect too much?

Starlight: I don' t restrict her access to bf-ing at all. Maybe did so in error when she was smaller and I was trying GF

Daily: she seems hungry every 3 hours so I would worry that she is starving before the nap? She is only on 25th centile and there was supply issue sin the early days which feeds paranoid parenting...

Thanks all. Keep it coming.

Do try some teething remedies - they can teethe for months before any teeth poke through. It can be hard to recognise because a lot of teething signs (drooling, everything going into the mouth) are typical 3-4 month old behaviour as well. I always found the homeopathic teething remedies good, you can get Nelson's Teethas or Ashton & Parson's Powders. I felt less guilty about giving them if I wasn't sure whether he was teething or not because you can't overdose on them.