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Original poster

6 week old - fed up of it all!

67 replies

bumbly · 04/09/2007 21:00

never sleeps on back
cries if you put him down and dont hold him
always wants to be in my arms
rarely sleeps in day
sleeps intermittently in eve if lucky
vomits every few days
never seems happy - apart from a few mins a day
has reflux
has lots of wind

and health visitor says it is normal

well i think something is seriously wrong

anyone feel the same

actually fed up of the LO tonight - was hoping to have an eve out for some exercise for an hour but he threw up and there goes my first eve out since birth

want out

and am seriously worried re the LO

OP posts:
scootermum · 04/09/2007 21:19

Mums are great sometimes arent they
DD1 didnt smile till she was 12 weeks I swear..I really thought it was my fault and I was a piss poor Mum..but some babies are like that..
I may get shouted at for this, but a health visitor once told me that if it was all getting too too much to ,(after feeding and winding and changing etc) just put the baby down somewhere safe if it just wont stop cying and go into another room for 10 minutes..So thats what I did at times when I was just exhausted and it did help..

eleanorsmum · 04/09/2007 21:20

i can rememeber between 6-12 weeks being ready for a refund! Colic, tears (both hers and mine!) failuer feeling etc. then to the day she turned 12 weeks she stopped being horrid and was a delight!
best advice get out of the house to another mum or girly friend, take lots of bottle with you and try (!) to relax.
hug. xox

Original poster
bumbly · 04/09/2007 21:22

being yelled is the PERFECT way to describe how been feeling

and yes def want a refund!!

OP posts:
whomovedmychocolate · 04/09/2007 21:22

Scootermum - nothing wrong with that - I wasn't able to because I'm a big softie but sometimes I would go stand in the garden for a minute and just breathe in and out before being ready to go back 'into the fray'

whomovedmychocolate · 04/09/2007 21:23

bumbly - sorry he's out of warranty now

Have you tried singing - if it doesn't calm him it may well drown the little bugger out?

eleanorsmum · 04/09/2007 21:25

teehee, never di find the reciept either....maybe she ate it , thats why she got colic....................

Original poster
bumbly · 04/09/2007 21:26

argh!!!!!

OP posts:
scootermum · 04/09/2007 21:28

True True WMMC-I sing very loudly for much of the day at the moment (have just had baby no 2 who is good thankfully but DD1 has now started being a tantrum master extrodanairre)My neighbours are loving it

Wordsmith · 04/09/2007 21:34

Bumbly, this is all so familiar.

he should start smiling soon - that will make a big difference.

The wind/colic will probably calm down at about 3 months (are you using infacol before a feed?)

Until DS1 was about 2 months old I kept expecting someone official to turn up at the front door to take him away because it had all been a big mistake and he wasn't really mine.

But tutter's right - when it does finally change it's like the sun coming out.

Go for lots of walks and try and get someone else to help out with the baby, esp if he's being bottle fed. Sounds like you really need that night out.

Monkeybar · 04/09/2007 21:39

Bumbly - you've brought it all back for me! My ds was a colicky (sp?) baby and cried for hours every evening and I dutifully Infacoled him before each feed, all day all night, every couple of hours. I spent days in the lounge, with the telly on and my feet up on the table, feeding ds pretty much hourly, day and night. I'd had a cs, my dh was working, I couldn't drive and I was on my own. It's bloody hard work, those first few weeks, but please remember that in the big scheme of things, these first exhausting weeks of constant demands on you are just a heartbeat. It will get better. Your lo needs you, more than anyone has ever needed you before, and you're the one who can sit and cuddle him all day if that's what you both want, because you're his mum.
Hang on in there - it does get better.

Monkeybar · 04/09/2007 21:40

sorry for overuse of bold

dorisofdevon · 04/09/2007 21:40

Got a seven week old who will only settle on her front ( yes I know it's really bad but she settles then I turn her and i've spoken to the HV)She's been colicky (sp?) all day and is still going strong..... With dd1 i removed dairy from my diet (bf) and had a different daughter overnight (almost) done the same this time but not noticed any difference!

As for sick dd1 was constantly sick well past 6 months didn't take her to the swimming pool till she was about 9 months as I was convinced I would have to scoop vom out of the water.

Hang in there it does get better honest.. and if it doesn't let you HV and GP know trust yourself and your gut instinct you really do know best!!!

Jossiejump · 04/09/2007 21:54

A lot of this will be down to the reflux (both how you and LO feels) my paediatrician told me that reflux can cause depresssion in mums and the depression in mothers makes the reflux worse (don't know how).
Both my boys had reflux, it is miserable and it is hard to see beyond it but you do eventually get through it-my DSs are 7 and 4 now. I only remembered with DS2 how much I disliked the first 6 weeks of a new baby, when you don't know what they want, and I have coped better once those weeks are out of the way (am currently 29 weeks pg, so will be going through that again soon)

Original poster
bumbly · 04/09/2007 22:00

not breast feeding so can not eliminate diary

and also infacol made LO really scream in pain tonight so def not using that again!!!

here waiting for sterilizer to finish and then will head to bed...but already i can see LO on partner's stomach as he wasnt settling in basket...again

LO has not slept at all all day so better not disturb them and let Lo get sleep the way he is

OP posts:
puffylovett · 04/09/2007 22:08

can't you get a lactose intolerance test done by the gp ? have you tried different formulas ? sorry - i'm bf so can't give much advice on formula.

my health visitor told me they have a massive growth spurt at this age. when i asked her again why lo was still like this at 10 weeks, she quietly informed me they have a massive growth spurt at this age !!!! TBH he didn't settle nicely till about 12 weeks - and he was v easy baby.

deffo get the cranial osteopathy done, it's brilliant. very very gentle and beneficial for babies. ds had it done at 6 weeks and sleeping pattern settled straight away. he had a trapped nerve to his jaw which was causing him to gulp down lots of wind, and causing pain.

try gripe water instead of the infacol, or you can get a homeopathic remedy called colocynthus which i used - found it excellent, brought up nice gentle burps instead of deep hard painful ones.

also have you tried a sling ? maybe that will hel you feel like you're not permanently holding him, you can just sling him and get on with your day and 'forget' about him

Original poster
bumbly · 04/09/2007 22:14

hi puffy - yes tried diff formulas and it went worse

cranial - still a bit worried in case something goes wrong - what can you do? nothing and the skull is such a scary thing to tamper with!!!

sling? put loads of thread sup fact cant get him one!!!

it all going horribly wring but thanks for your support

OP posts:
puffylovett · 04/09/2007 22:19

why don't you ring the cranial osteopath and talk through your concerns - i've never heard of anyone having probs and i'm in the comp health industry. i'm sure they will be happy to address any concerns and talk you through the whole procedure. they barely even lay their hands on the babies head - it's not like conventioanl osteopathy where you get yanked around all over the place. their hands almost hover over babies head. honestly, i wouldn't recommend you to do something that i didn't believe may help or hadn't had done to ds myself.

what about a papoose ? there usually loads of 2nd hand ones on ebay. i just don't think they're as good as the wraparound slings (never used one but love the idea and wish i had) but they might do for the momebnt.

failing that just keep coming and getting support on here ! you sound really fed up you poor love !

aloha · 04/09/2007 22:21

I suspect that much of the crying isnt' pain but tiredness. I'd feed him, wrap him up (ignore screeching) and GO OUT! Put him in his pushchair and head off somewhere briskly.
If you are staying in one room all day no wonder you are going bonkers. Go out. Push him to a cafe or go out in the car. He will sleep (probably) and you will feel 100% better.

pastalady · 04/09/2007 22:22

My DS (now 28 mths) had horrible, horrible colic and pretty bad reflux. It really worried me and I was adament that there was some underlying cause, something that was causing it. At 8 or 9 weeks he ended up in hospital because we were so concerned after him being inconsolable for 7 hours. A doctor said that as soon as he hits nine months, all this would vanish. I didn't believe him, but it did.

Have you heard of cranial osteopaths? there are many, many people who say their babies are far less colicky, happier etc after going to see a cranial osteopath. £25 is the going rate I believe. It's about nerves being trapped that cause pain and upset. After a session babies can suddenly fall asleep for hours because of the release of pressure. Stupidly I never took DS, especially stupid as he was forceps, but others have and its worked for themm.

Also, slings, co-sleeping, swaddling, other naturally type, baby-instinctgive stuff can help.

You'll just keep falling through the days. Things will get better and you may well look back on these early days with a strange sense of nostagia like many of us do.

Good luck and you are so, so, so not alone! x x x x

aloha · 04/09/2007 22:23

Also the Rule Of Mumsnet is that when you are sufficient at the end of your tether to post, your child instantly improves.

pastalady · 04/09/2007 22:23

THREE months, sorry!

pastalady · 04/09/2007 22:26

Plus, and sorry if this sounds cheesey, but you have that first, lovely toothless smile to look forward to soon which is an enourmous booster!

ScoobyDooooo · 04/09/2007 22:33

Which formula is he on?

ljhooray · 04/09/2007 23:17

Hi there,
Totally agree with all the other mums on the whole 6 week thing! A couple of thoughts:
My bubba took Aptamil as many people recommended it as gentle on the tummy (although it will take a couple of day for your little one to get used to a change of milk). Then at about 3 months, changed to stage 2 as she was incredibly hungry which affected her sleep (again, took about a week to make the change as it was much more rich so she was a little sick to start with.
Infacol never worked for me either, it just got better over time!
Our doctor's surgery has a chiropractor that works from there and like cranial, it can be very effective for little ones with bad colic. Know many mums who have really benefited from both these approaches.
And best bit of advice, some mums will appear to be breezing through this but most are bumbling through too wondering what on earth to do next!

Heartmum2Jamie · 05/09/2007 00:07

Oh dear, the dreaded 6th week! I haven't read all the replies, but it all sounds perfectly normal to me. What most people do not realise is that baby have a massive growth spurt at 6 weeks and they seem to be more grumpy and cry more, eat more than usual which has a knock on effect for colicky/windy babies.

Just reading the post before mine. I also switched to aptamil with ds1. Infocol never seemed to work, although we did find things seems a little better after taking him for some gentle manipulation from a chiropractor (or possibly cranial oestopath, I don't remember, but she dfinately worked on his spine). He would sleep for hours after a session, it was bliss!

Like I am sure many of the others have said, it does get better, honest! I even went on to have another, lol!