7 week old won't sleep- please give me advice!

[beepbeeprichie]

Please help me. DC2 is 7 weeks. No issues with feeding (bottle) or filling nappies. He's just so unsettled. Up 2-3 times every night. Naps for maybe 2x 45 mins all day and that's it. Permanently crying/ moaning (not cries of pain/ wind etc which I can recognise) even when held. I just don't know what to do. It's so stressful. I just want him to be content. What can I try? Taking him out in the car sometimes soothes him, sometimes not. He won't settle the Moses basket, vibrating chair or the crib. Tried putting my clothes round the bedding. Tried a mobile.

I know you never get two the same but DC1 was not like this at all! I love him to bits but I am really struggling to cope now.

17 week old. Up AT LEAST 2/3 times per night. Totally normal.

As for naps, does/will he sleep on you? In the pram? Are you reading his cues? (Eye rubbing, staring, grizzling)

He will sleep on me, usually. It's probably my best bet to get him to settle. Even then, no guarantee he will sleep longer than 20 mins (max!!) before he grizzles and shouts. He won't settle in the pram at all either.

There aren't really any cues as such. He goes from 0-60 in a second. Either quiet or mega wailing as if he's being hard done to. I fear the neighbours will hear and think I'm neglecting him even if I pop him down to go to the loo.
I just feel like such a bad mother. I want him to be contented but I am miserable and he doesn't seem too happy either.

Have you tried white noise to help settle to sleep and/or stay sleeping? I downloaded an app called soundsleeper I think it was and the hairdryer option saved my life. At that age my baby had most naps on me and needed a sleep after being awake for around an hour/ hour 15

Have you tried a sling? It saved my sanity for the first 4 months.

I'm glad you posted this as I'm in a similar situation with my DC3 who's 6 weeks old. However, hes just had a good run of 2 days being more settled and that makes all the difference.
I'd like to reassure you that no one will think you're a bad mother because your newborn baby is crying, no one in their right mind would think anything bad about you, they'd only feel sorry for you. Also, you're probably in the peak of the crying now and it might start to reduce at 9 weeks and will probably be over by 12 weeks. Maybe try and acceot that, take things easy for a couple of weeks and dont expect too much.
I was just reading that babies who cry the most in the early weeks are often very active babies who go on to laugh a lot and develop quicker.
There's plenty of tips for soothing crying babies on the internet. I've found swaddling, the colic hold, settling him on his side or stomach, raising the head of the bed and wearing him in the sling all helpful. Also, trying to prevent overtiredness by trying to get him to nap as soon as he shows tired signs and from early in the day eg first nap at 9am (he gets up around 8am). Often though it's just not possible and we just have to roll with it and accept the overtiredness and crying.
We have two other young children (age 4 and 2) and life simply has to go on despite all the crying. We quite often put him down for a little whilst he's crying and get on with whatever needs doing. I'm afraid that's just life. Please don't worry about putting him down to go to the loo or whatever, obviously that's fine. The main thing is for you and your family to get through the next couple of weeks without going crazy. Your baby will be fine.

Hi

I have a cryer! Really good advice from Red there!

I would look/post on the sleep thread if I was you as there is very good advice on there.

Mine (9 weeks) doesn't sleep well - max 3hrs so far but I am just trying my best and hoping it will ride itself out. My last one was a challenging sleeper after 4 months so I am very used to no sleep no feeling awful!

My personal tip would be to work on the day sleeps (tip I got from sleep thread). After exactly 1hr of being awake (use your clock!) make sure they are fed and put them in the bouncing seat and bounce with your foot for ages! Mine seems to like it if I make close eye contact but that is just a quirk! Sometimes I transfer mine to Moses but only if they are very asleep,

It is really hard and I am struggling to cope too.

It's tough going and we are all just trying our best xxxx

Thanks for the advice and kind words. It's comforting to know it's not just me!
I did buy a sling but it's been so warm I hadn't really used it! Will get back on that and the swaddling..... And you're all right about the day sleeps. I'm going to monitor more closely to avoid the overtired cycle of horror.

I am sure your baby has colic. I was thru the same phase and my little one was diagnosed with colic. He was on Zantac for the whole week and it only made it worse by constipating him, so we stopped Zantac and started him with babies magic tea. It worked like a miracle and settled his colic as well as constipation.

@ripa81

So you're a Dr who can diagnose over the internet are you? Zantac is prescribed for REFLUX not 'colic' which doesn't actually exist. Also WTF is 'babies magic tea'? They're only meant to get milk at that age. DANGEROUS 'ADVICE'*

OP: 7 weeks old is still very young. YOu may just have to hold baby and soothe them. And 2-3 times in the night is not a lot at this age- think about how small stomach is, they need to feed, often. It is a myth that babies are supposed to sleep through. Try googling the 4th trimester

My DS was like this too. The fabric sling (moby) and then the close caboo were absolute life savers for him. They seemed to help his tummy and he slept really well being so close to me. Plus it gave me freedom!

At that age, really, make sure they sleep every hour to hour and fifteen minutes. So sleep, bottle, awake/play, sleep. The bouncy chair for me was a lifesaver.

If he really does cry all the time, it could be CMPA or silent reflux but maybe wait until 12 weeks to look into that.