7week old crying all the time

[Tigger83]

Hi before I start I know babies cry, a lot but my little man is really discontented with life. He's fine in the morning but gets worse throughout the day. He sleeps 10-11 wakes then sleeps 12-3 then I get him to have a nap around 4-5 and he goes down around 10pm after a big formula feed (breastfed all other times) he wakes a couple of times at night.

He won't nap in the evening no matter what I try unless I wear him in a sling which is fine but it doesn't help his mood and he wants to/needs to cluster feed in the evening and will feed from 5-9 then have a formula feed.

For the last 3 days he's cried all day, no one else can soothe him and it's really upsetting my husband that he doesn't get any time when the baby isn't screaming at him apart from a feed. I'm exhausted by it and I don't know how to help him be more contented.

Has this come on recently or has it always been this way?

Does he bring up his wind ok? Is he pooing ok? If its just been the last few days does he appear unwell/temperature/in pain? There's always a reason for a baby crying so if he's not hungry, not too hot or cold, or hasn't got a dirty nappy then there's likely something bothering him, colic maybe? If you've noticed he's different over the last few days than normal it might be worth a trip to the GP to check him over.

As @Twitchett22 said, my first thought was colic. Also would check he’s not too hot. Have a chat with your health visitor or GP x

He's always been unsettled but worse the last couple of days. He's been checked out for major things and doesn't have too much wind/colic.

If he's not with me he's really upset even my mum or my husband. He'll settle with husband in the evening but only after a massive bottle feed.

Won't go in the pram or car seat without being majorly upset.

He's had a traumatic time of it, undiagnosed breech which resulted in 40hrs of labour and emergency c section as a result hip displaxia so in a Pavlik harness, 80%tongue tie to difficulty feeding which is only just resolved and so we're only tracking the 2nd percentile and only just started to regularly gain weight consistently.

We've been to health visitor today as he has a small umbilical hernia and all people keep telling me is babies cry. Went to see dr for hernia on advice of hv and she said all sounds perfectly normal.

Before 3 he's generally great but only if in my arms but after 3 breaks his little heart.

Brings up wind fine mainly in the form of farts and nappies all fine.

Oh bless him. I dont know much about it but I've heard cranial osteopathy is good for traumatic births? Someone else will be able to tell you more and if it would help in your circumstances (baby might be too old now i dont know) but might be worth a look. Not sure what else to suggest sorry but i hope you find an answer soon, it must be exhausting for you

We've had 5 sessions of cranial which might have helped a bit I think but with the harness we've stopped for a bit

It's really exhausting and I feel sad for both my baby and husband... feel like I'm getting it all wrong!

Some babies do cry more than others but sounds like you’re doing all the right things. Please don’t blame yourself, we all do that as Mums but it just takes time to get to know your own baby. Read the advice, but follow your instincts. Try a different GP or HV. Keep a diary of when he cries most and see if you can work out a common theme x

I don't usually post but I just wanted to say, hang in there. It is really really hard when you don't know why but I promise promise promise he'll be a happy 10 year old one day who won't remember any of this.
Surround yourself with sympathetic people (ignore the midwives who dismiss you) and continue to press for help if your gut says it is not normal.
Babies do cry, some more than most. Concentrate on weight gain, and making sure YOU get enough sleep to cope with the awful bits otherwise.
Share your concerns with your partner and make sure to look after yourself. Remember the hardest babies make the most lovely children. You'll get through it.

Oh and seven week olds often do not like car seats or prams or anything other than arms. That won't always be the case..... just one day at a time.

Thank you all for your kind words. He's weight gain is getting there we've gone from birth weight of 7lb1 to 8lb 11 today but it has been the hardest of battles to get here. 2hrly feeds all day and night for the first 4 weeks etc although we're now feeding 'normally' I'm still so worried he's not getting enough.

I don't want to wish his life away but I feel like I am in the hope that things get better. Things are getting a little bit better every day which makes me realise there is light. I guess I had images of me being able to wonder round the shops baby in a push chair etc but it's all so stressful. I haven't been able to have him in the sling as it's been too hot for him. He also feeds on demand a lot still which is fine but hard if I want to go out although I don't mind about breast feeding in public in the slightest.

I don't care about any of the hardships if I had a contented baby but it breaks my heart to see him so unhappy.

Wow you have really been through it. I didn’t have all these issues (had tongue tie and colic) and felt properly like I had lost the plot in those early days.
3 thoughts:

1. If he’s limpet like to you it’s likely he’s having some pain and clinging to you for cuddles is all he knows to feel better.

Pain could possibly be due to getting more fluid in now tongue tie has gone, and his insides adjusting to this.

1. If he is in pain due to difficulties digesting/colic, it is likely to be gone in the next week/few weeks.

1. It may be worth exploring silent reflux if he hates to lie down flat but settles better upright or sloping. If this is the case he may also grow out of it or you could explore if there is a dairy allergy.

(my dd improved when I cut out dairy, she was bf. Dummy also helped her, saliva soothed the reflux)

It is so annoying getting the brush off from drs and midwives, trust your instincts and persist until you find someone that knows what they are talking about if worried!

@penguin1010, totally agree (esp the silent reflux bit, we had 5 months undiagnosed and I almost lost the plot).
@tigger 83, it really will get better!

My DD was like this, she cried and fussed all day and all evening and I was completely exhausted with it. There were so many days where I just wanted to get in the car and drive away and never go back! We tried every colic 'remedy' in the book, took her to a Chiropractor specialising in babies and were prescribed Gaviscon and then ranitidine in case it was silent reflux. I also cut dairy from my diet. Truthfully I think the real cure was time, and as she got older her digestive system matured and she was able to bring up her wind much better. I didn't believe it when people said it would get better but it really did, at around 10/11 weeks the evening crying completely stopped. She has always been a grizzly baby during the day but that improved too once she started rolling and becoming more mobile.

Sorry no real helpful advice but hang in there, it will be a distant memory soon and you won't remember how bad it feels now I promise!

Tonight was a better evening which was good! I guess at least I really treasure the happy evenings.

Hey OP, I really could have written your post for my DS at 7 weeks! They say the baby witching hour is from 3pm to 10pm & boy did it happen! He's now 10 weeks and getting so much better, although still teary in the evening. It will get better for you I promise!! Hang in there!

Have you got the wonderweeks app- at about 7 1/2 weeks there is a developmental leap which can make babies very irritable, I wouldn't have believed it, but it is spot on every time for me and helps me understand why baby is irritable. Goes on due date