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!!

Yes! I have a 9 month old like this. She can be horrendous.

Try not to compare yourself to others- I know it’s so hard and sometimes you want to punch people who seem to have it so easy! But it does you no good. I have accepted I have ‘that’ baby and I just laugh it off- everyone will face challenges at some point. Do you follow the unmumsy Mum on instagram if you have it? She posts a lot about her difficult baby and it makes me feel better!

Have you looked into things like cows milk alergy to rule this out? If you are ebf I would give up all dairy and soy for two weeks- and for solids feed coconut based substitutes and see how he gets on.

My daughter is very sensitive and hyperactive. If she is overtired she kicks off big time and can’t stay awake for more than 3 hours. Her sleep is very important and is 90% of the reason she cries most of the time. Unless in the car- I’ve mostly given up on the car seat now as she just screeches.

I can’t say it will get better as I have no idea but just wanted to say I know how you feel!

P.s I am very jealous that your baby sleeps for 12 hours. Mine is still up every 3! .

My eldest was like this as a baby. He had terrible reflux. Probably caused by an undiagnosed cows milk protein allergy. Once we sorted out his reflux he was more content.

Definitely try a dummy again. Especially if he likes to be on the boob all the time and sucks his thumb.

I would look into allergies, especially with the itchy looking eyes and runny nose. Consider what you're eating and if that's having any reaction on him.

I wonder about cranial osteopathy - a few friends had it done on their babies after difficult births etc & said it was nothing short of miraculous! It might be worth seeing if something is out of line? Was it a tricky birth OP?

Hi OP, lots of us on MN are in this boat, we used to have a thread for parents of criers as a support, might dig it back out again. My DD is 9 months and is sorta the same although she's getting better and better the older she gets. She was the most horrendous tiny baby ever apart from her nighttime sleep was generally pretty decent for her age but she would cry and cry all day every day for months on end, and lots of that time wasn't just crying but full on hysterical screaming for hours and hours on end for no discernible reason. She's been checked by HCPs loads and has a paediatric referral but has to wait until she's about to turn 1 for the appt as the waiting list is so long! BUT we don't think it's medical, that's more just a precaution, I think she is just "high needs" tbh - as you say, medical issues would be more-or-less constant and they would also affect baby at night, and you say baby sleeps all night with only one feed. I sympathise totally with the "that baby" thing at groups etc lol. Our life is totally not how I imagined it would be with a baby and our friends have a 4 month old and we stayed there for the weekend about a month ago and it was mad seeing the difference between their baby and how our DD was at that age, their life is exactly how I imagined ours would be!! It is hard not to feel jealous sometimes or sad but I do think she's getting better the older she gets, we still have some really bad days but the general trend is up!

So it started when you started weaning? Could it be something upsetting his digestive system? Or maybe his digestive system is particularly sensitive? Hope you manage to find some answers!

@MedowHay
My eldest slept all night from very early on despite being a fucking nightmare who would nap for the grand total of 30 mins in the day. I think he was that exhausted he just passed out at night!

Fatted Yes DD is like this too! She's been really unwell for the last week or so though and has been sleeping for like 3 hours a day (broken up into about 4 naps) which I feel awful for saying it's bliss because she's soo poorly (chest infection and eye infection, antibiotics for both), but I think wow other parents get all this free time!!! Haha. Her usual is 3 X 30 min naps in a day. She does go through phases of awful night wakings though but they're usually only 1-3 weeks and then pass again. She's been waking once or twice a night having screaming fits and being up for 2 hours in the nights every night for the last fortnight except last night so I'm hoping its passed now but I think this one is illness and/or teething related as her first tooth is just starting to come through as well.

What's his daytime nap schedule like?

Wow you guys are all so lovely I was not expecting this many replies thank you ❤️

I'm not sure I can remember everything I have to reply to haha.

Yes I may well try a dummy again it may just help at those particularly tricky moments. Good idea.

I did have a tricky labour as his head was sideways so maybe it is that but he does sleep really well and does have great days so I'm just so unsure about anything medical. I have absolutely considered trying though. Maybe I will look into it.

Thank you for the suggestions of things to google and read. I will definitely be doing this.

Yes I suppose it did sort of coincide with weaning. But then he doesn't eat a lot. Today for instance he hasn't eaten anything really and he was soooooo miserable.

Another thing that makes me think it isn't medical is he loves being out in the fresh air generally. Loves his carrier and pushchair normally. It is indoors he seems to get all wound up and frustrated. Maybe I have to accept this is how things are and hope they improve one day.

Yeeees I do tell myself a lot about how lucky I am to have a boy who loves his mummy and loves cuddles because he really does. I would hate to have a child who didn't so ironically I'm hoping this continues. Just without the whinging haha 😂

Thank you guys you are all being so supportive. Also I didn't mean to sound like I was bragging about the sleep. I honestly wasn't I know how incredibly lucky I am. I just meant that is what is making me think it isn't pain or overtiredness or hunger because he can be exactly the same straight away after waking up!!!

I really do feel for you,sounds just like my little girl she is now 18 months still moans a lot but getting better when she's in a good mood is so happy and funny but if something doesn't go her way or she gets annoyed she does not like it at all and let's everyone know. Starting to walk Def helped I'm convincing myself once she starts talking more she will get happier seems to hate being a baby and wants her way lol

@MeadowHay oh bless her sorry to hear she is so poorly. Naps are the bane of my life I feel my whole world revolves around trying to get him to have good naps 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

@Luckyduck88 hmmmmm schedule. Haha. What does that mean!! But in all seriousness I thought we had a nice pattern of 30 mins morning, 2-3 hours afternoon and that would be it until bedtime. Maybe another power nap if he was really tired but not often. But that seems to have changed again so not sure what we are up to now. However I can say the amount of nap time makes no difference generally. Obviously he is WORSE with little sleep but today he had 3 hours divided between two naps and was still a nightmare

@Hollylolly28 thank you. I often tell people he just hates being a baby because I honestly think he does!!!

Try to make sure you get a bit of time to yourself it is mentally draining but it will get better soon

@Hollylolly28 Mother's Day tomorrow for us UK folk so it's all on daddy tomorrow 😂 (except for feeds)

I remember posting when my DS was the same age and had people asking me if it was a food allergy, milk allergy, teething etc etc and it wasn't any of those things. He was just a whinge bag!!

But I promise they do chill out, he is the most lovely little human now, relaxed, happy and sleeps and eats perfectly.

You just have to get through this period, there is no miracle cure for a whingey baby. They whinge despite a good nap a full tummy and a dry bum.

So all you can do is USE your resources:
Partner
Family if you have it
Babysitters if you have that option
TV
Fresh air
Easy food

You don't get a medal for suffering through it on your own. Use what you can to get through it. X

@MrsTumbletap thank you. I do have a strong feeling you might be right. I think he is just a whingey baby full of frustration. I do think if it were medical related he would be like it 100% of the time and he isn't. He also sleeps well generally and loves being outdoors. Surely pain would still affect him outside. I think the conclusion to draw from this is that we are not alone and to just hope and pray things improve soon. You are definitely right about using resources. It would be foolish not to. Thank you for your words of encouragement. I am so glad your son is a happy lad now x

Hi MeadowHay! I think we need to start up our screamers thread. I left Mumsnet for a while after that data breach (freaked me out! Made new email but wouldn’t let me change to my old username). My daughter is still very screamy and hard work though.

@PerfectPeony2 I would be up for joining this!