Grumpy baby- grumpy child?

[paperclips]

Hi

My little boy is only 7 weeks old he is the most beautiful looking baby and gets cuter everyday....However...he is a right little mardy bum. Even when he's not crying he looks really serious, like the whole world is on his shoulders!

Unless he is sleeping or eating he is either grizzley or crying most of the time. I can hardly put him down at all when he is awake. He will only fall asleep in my arms.

It has got a little bit easier as he's got more alert, he'll have brief spells of gorgeousness where he will smile and "chat" but within minutes he'll be crying again.

We have no reason to believe he is not healthy. He wants feeding very frequently ( bf every 1-2 hours) and doesn't feed for long at a time. This makes it harder as he's so often hungry. Then sometimes its tiredness, recently he's got bad at napping and gets more and more grumpy and harder to settle.

But a lot of the time we just can't figure out why he's fussy and grumpy. He's hard work and it's very difficult. If i mention to health visitor etc that "he cries a lot" the response is just "well that's what babies do" but I'm sure other people have much easier babies.

Please someone tell me he will he grow out of this? Will he always be like this? be a grumpy toddler and child too?

Right now he has a little sad face like a lost lamb, bless him.

My DD was like that; I always felt like all my friends'
babies were much more chilled and happy than mine.

Now at 2.5 she's a very happy, chatty, funny, loveable toddler! (Most of the time, anyway...)

My ds2 was the same, between 0 and 12 weeks he barely smiled, he was very unsettled, had about 6 short naps in the day and slept badly at night. At about 12 weeks he suddenly chilled out, this co-incided with another go at Infacol (which previously had no effect whatsoever).

My friend's baby was like that-it was very hard to like her, but once she could move she was lovely. I don't think she liked being a baby!

My first was on the whole a miserable baby but a really delightful toddler and a dream of a child. My second was an easy smiley baby and a nightmare toddler. My third is a complete mix.

Don't think you can predict it, but I feel I deserved that easy toddler after he was a baby but number two made up for that in no uncertain terms.

so there is hope for you yet! I remember trying to get a photo of ds2 smiling, so I could send it out with thankyou notes for presents. Gave up in the end and sent one out of him looking soulful (at least not frowning or crying). Now I can't believe it, the house is full of photos of him & his massive smile

Ds was a loud crying grumpy baby but now he's 5 and is full of giggles and fun. I don't think he liked being a baby much and got increasingly happier the more independent he became.

It's no indication whatsoever about his temperament. Don't worry! My sunny little 2 year old had had weeks of being a nightmare and weeks of being easy. It could be anything from development stages to teething to a growth spurt. Every baby is different so it's pointless to compare.

Also every 1-2 hrs feeding is normal for a 7 week old breastfed baby. DS1 fed that often, they are still working on your supply.

Dd was a very miserable baby. She is now 14 months, so can't judge fully but she became bearable when she learnt to crawl and a delight once she could walk! Think she just hated being a baby tbh.

My ds1 was a very grizzly baby, he cried for the first year I think! He is 13 now and the most laid back, delightful young man you could meet. Ds2 was a placid baby and is still fairly placid now. Dd was another grizzler and is still a bit like that at age 6, so basically it seems you cannot predict their personality at all from the way they behave as babies :)

DS was like that, but improved once he started crawling. He's a little smiler now, so there is hope.

Most babies are miserable as sin at 7 weeks. Crying peaks at 6-8 weeks then should start to get less and less (leaving aside issues like reflux etc.)

Both mine had various health probs and never stopped freaking screaming. I never sat in a cafe with a fat smug happy baby in a pram like other Mums. One was a lovely happy toddler, one, er, wasn't.

What I'm saying is a miserable 7 week old is no predictor of a miserable child. Bet you have a fat smug baby in a cafe in a few months time.

No, not at all. My DS was incredibly grumpy and unsettled as a newborn. He's just turned two and he is the jolliest, most adventurous and affectionate little boy you could ever hope for. Great sense of humour, great at giving me and DH massive noisy smackers when we ask for a kiss :o.

My DS was like this for the first 7 weeks, but he had silent reflux so he must have been in pain. As soon as we started giving him Gaviscon he changed and was instantly happier and more settled. He's now 8 months and is the smiliest, most cheerful baby ever! Don't worry, I'm sure things will get easier for you in a few weeks.

My dd1 cried (and barely slept) for the first five months solid. She was absolutely awful. The only time she slept was car/pram/sling so I couldn't do a thing as i was constantly keeping her in motion.
She'll be 4 at the end of the month and she's such a happy little girl. She finds joy in everything and is the most loving big sister to my baby dd. she's never been a hitter/pincher/biter etc or anything, she's an adventurous spirited little joker.

But when she covers her ears and whines "mummy dd2's crying hurts my ears" I laugh like a drain!!!