Highly strung 7 month old?!

[Rosebud1302]

I am probably going to get flamed for saying this and I wish I didn't have to say it but.....my baby is so so miserable and highly strung a large proportion of the time at the moment and it is wearing very thin now 😣

Many days he will whinge moan and cry at me pretty much all the time he is awake. It is so draining. The only way I can guarantee he won't whinge is if he is permanently attached to my boob (EBF) as that is where he wants to be all the time. And I do nurse on demand but obviously I can't do this all day!!! It seems to be a constant battle to distract him or walk somewhere different with him when he starts whinging again. He is always "that baby" at friend's houses with other babies present who kicks off or cries while all the others are playing happily and interacting with each other. He has no desire to and a lot of the time I just have to walk round the room with him to settle him. He cries when people say hello to him if they say it in a certain way. He cries if a baby touches him. He whinges in the car. I accidentally brushed (and I mean as light as a feather) his arm against the wall as I walking past earlier. He cried. He just seems SO irritable and I can't help but feel jealous of these Mum's with their happy smiley babies playing :( :(

I know I know he is so small and I must sound like a horrible person. I love him with everything that I am and when we do have good days they are truly lovely and magical but. They are in short supply right now. Not sure what I'm looking for really. Stories of other babies like this who turned a corner?! He can't crawl or walk which I feel adds to a big part of his frustration.

Sorry for the essay just needed to get that out!!

Oh OP my DS was exactly the same. 7 months was a horrible horrible time, I hated it, he whinged and whinged and nothing made him happy for very long.

I went back to work at 9.5 months and bloody loved it.

Do you work? Could you go back a bit earlier, give him to a nursery and they can deal with that annoying stage before they can walk?

They just seem so frustrated all the time at that age don't they? Nothing keeps them content for longer than 10 mins and you can't relax or even have a cup of tea! It puts me off having a second one because of that horrible stage!

But.....this phase will pass, they chill out when they can do more and there is nothing you can do but wait for them to walk and talk. My DS is super chilled now but he was horrible at that age.

Google “parenting the high needs baby” by Dr Sears. Our first DS was like that. Rarely content, very fussy, had to be fed to sleep or rocked for every nap till about 15 months. It did (eventually) get better. I really do recommend the book- it was like reading a description of my child- and had loads of helpful ideas that actually worked.

Thanks guys. I am glad (not that you went through it obviously) but that there isn't likely to be anything actually wrong with him which I do worry about sometimes! When he is like this I just don't like spending time with him which is so horrible to say :( yet he is so so lovely some days which is what confuses me?! I guess like us they have bad days 🤷‍♀️

I could technically go back to work yes but at the same time I am reluctant to only because he will likely be my only baby and as bad as the horrible days are, spending time with him when he is having a good day is so lovely so I feel like I need to ride it out. Thank you for the solidarity message!

Ahh thank you for the book recommendation I will definitely take a look!!! X

DD1 was a lot like that as a baby and was much calmer once she was more mobile. Hang on in there op

Teething? Does calpol help, or bonjela? Mine is like that on days when one is about to break through.

@Obsidian77 thank you. That's reassuring to know.

He is showing absolutely no signs of crawling so I think we have a long way to go 😣 tummy time of course results in whining and crying very quickly!! I'm hoping one day it just clicks!!!!

@MyKingdomForBrie to be honest I have been blaming teething for so long now and still absolutely no sign of anything coming through so I'm just not sure. However pain relief and teething granules can help but 🤷‍♀️ no teeth seem to come through! We have none.

On that note. He is currently going through a stage of rubbing his face a lot. Ears, eyes, nose. He also has a very snotty nose a lot of the time. He rubs his eyes a lot even when not tired. Is that a teething sign?! Often he will cry after he has rubbed.

He's a bit old for it now but maybe a dummy would help?

@Tavannach I did consider it but I honestly don't think he would take it. I tried a few times when he was younger and he hated it. He does suck his thumb for comfort.

Never heard of rubbing eyes for teething. Red cheeks and/or dribbling are more usual. If he's very snotty maybe ask the gp to check he doesn't have an infection or earache.

No judgement here, I have a 13 month old who sounds very similar. Some days are easy and lovely and some are awful and I feel like nothing I do makes her happy.

I don't have any solutions, only endless sympathy from a fellow mum of grumpy baby

I may get flamed for what I'm going to suggest but I have been around the block with EBF, combination feeding and formula feeding so feel like I might have a valid suggestion.. He might be peckish a lot of the time and wanting to feed. Maybe you could try topping him up with formula after he's breastfed, and see if he's more content with a definitely full up tummy?

@Tavannach thank you. I had him checked out a few weeks ago for infection and earache and he had the all clear so guess it isn't that.

@MrsScamander oh goodness that is a long time to have a whingey baby!! Lots of sympathy for you. I do hope it ends for both of us soon. I'm guessing your baby didn't feel much better when mobile then?

@Carolcool I've tried and tried on both expressed and formula. From both bottles and cups. He won't take it. He cries so much he becomes hysterical. I make sure I leave the house so he doesn't think I'm there but makes no difference. The only reason I am not sure it's hunger is he is perfectly capable of going 2-3 hours between feeds during the day and will sleep from 6:30:7pm-7:30am with just one feed and is perfectly content with that. But I also had that thought. I have formula here but he just won't take it. Whole separate issue 😢😢

How long has he been like this?

If it's fairly recent and with the runny nose and the rubbing of eyes, I'd be thinking there might be some kind of allergy/intolerance at play.

How’s weaning going? Could he need/want more solids or perhaps have an allergy to some of the foods he’s eating?

Sorry posted too soon - my baby always wants to feed loads when he’s ill, maybe your baby is feeling unwell?

Babies are shit OP. It’s the secret no one tells you as otherwise no one would have them 🤭. But one year olds can be better, and two year olds better still. Honest to God, give me a toddler any day of the week. DD was exactly like this, but got a lot better once she was sleeping more (her sleep/nap routine was absolutely shocking till well over a year) and she’s a freaking delight at 2.5. Hang in there!

@SillyBub he has always been a sensitive little thing but I would say things have been like this for maybe a month?! But saying that it's hard to say as we have had bad days before that too but I guess everyone does. I was wondering about allergies too. How do I look into this do you know?

@HarrietM87 weaning is....ok. Some days he is loving food other days he doesn't touch anything. But I know that's fairly normal for his age.

One thing I have noticed is he will do this thing where he scrunches his fists up and will give out a cry/moan. He can do it anytime and also does it in his high chair sometimes. It looks to me like a frustration thing. Like an anger thing. But also looks like it could be pain/discomfort

@Rosebud1302 she is properly crawling now and we do thankfully have more good days than bad, I'm probably just exaggerating!

It has been tough the past couple of weeks with chicken pox though, DD has just wanted to breastfeed constantly which is exhausting 😖

I'll keep my fingers crossed that fussy babies = angelic toddlers 😁

@Rosebud1302 Ah I see. Sound like defo not hunger then. You've thought of everything regarding that. I'm sure your filling him up as much as you can w solids as well. Just to chuck a few weaning suggestions your way... My dd will eat slices after slice of avocado, and shreddies or weetabix with milk & 20 secs in microwave seems to be appetising mush even when she's not into anything else. Good luck xxxxxxxx

Sorry you're having a hard time OP. DS was like this. Read about high needs babies. Maybe you can get some tips from there even if he ticks just a few boxes not most. It is tough but it will pass.hang in there OP it's not easy but it will get better.

@HarrietM87 he is a very cuddly boy and often just wants to be held and cuddled as well as being on the boob. But yes you are right if it were up to him he would be on there a lot but I do wonder if a lot of bf babies would? Like if any mum would offer boob would they all take it?? I'm not sure.

@NuffingChora thank you for this. It is so lovely to hear you and your girl came out the other side!!! I am praying my happy boy stays around for longer soon. Because when he is having a good day he is just a delight.

That is what I find odd about things like allergies etc. If he had anything like this surely there would be absolutely no let up. And there definitely is some days

My second dd was like this but my first was very chilled and easy, so i knew it was just her personality and not my fault!
It was exhausting, but someone said to me that the compensation for it is that they grow up very affectionate and loving cuddles and they were right! It doesn't help with the exhaustion when they are babies though!

Does he have belly wind ?!try cycling legs ... rubbing tummy / gripe water
My 4 month old will scream when put down with this and winge / fuss all the time in arms of he has gas ... a few nice farts and he is his content self again

Also sane if over tired .... us little one having enough naps may be going through growth spurt and need extra ...

I hope it’s something fixable for you or it stops soon x x

My 8 month is exactly like this and has been since 7 months, I thought it was frustration from not being able to crawl but she did that at 7.5 months and nothing has changed . The only thing that calms her are nursery rhymes being played or if we're at a baby group.

I go back to work in 4 weeks and I'm looking forward to it for the break but also dreading it because she's just so unsettled in herself.