6 month old baby so grumpy!

[Betania]

Hi everyone!

my baby is 6 months old, and since around 4 months he has become so grumpy and fussy.
he has moments when he is content and happy, but they can be for 5 minutes maximum and then he is back to being grumpy.
i wouldn’t say he does a typical ‘cry’ the whole day, just makes angry/moany type cries constantly, one after another. We try to entertain him constantly, play with him, take him out, give him toys, walk round with him in the sling etc but eventually he gets fed up of all of it and we are so tired as we don’t get a minutes break from the moment he wakes up until his nap! When he’s cheery it’s so lovely but it’s so hard knowing what to do and why he’s so grumpy all the time 😭he also now hates his car seat, he cries the entire time and gets progressively more upset the longer he’s in the car so I can’t even really go out anymore anywhere longer than about 10 minutes away as I absolutely dread car journeys. We are looking at buying a new bigger car seat as he’s a big baby to see if that helps!

he can roll over, he can sit although he still
falls over with sitting quite a bit, he turns himself around on his front but not quite yet crawling. He’s on one solid meal a day, sometimes two, and eats well. His sleep isn’t the best (this also went downhill around 4 months).

has anyone else experienced the same? When does it get better, any tips or advice?

thanks so much

Hi! I understand again this is an older thread and similar to the other ladies I thought you were talking about my baby. All of the things you described is my 6.5 month old little boy. He hates floor play and I’m so worried this will delay him with crawling etc.
he can roll front to back but I think it’s because he hates tummy time. He’s not overly interested in toys so trying to get him to play on the floor is just really really hard.

did you do anything to help? My little boy is quite happy just sitting not really doing anything (again for about 5-10 minutes then gets grumpy) I give him toys and he does have some interest but not really that much so using toys to help with rolling/playing on the floor and encouraging to reach etc is hard because he’s not that bothered. would rather be on me or chatting with me.

did you do anything to help?

@Ivfbaby1 hi! I completely, completely understand your worry! I was thinking the exact same things as you. My DD didn't mind being on the floor, but she HATED tummy time. We probably managed anywhere between 30 seconds - 2 minutes a day, and that wasn't an individual attempt that was over the course of 4/5 attempts a day. I worried this would impact her crawling, and whilst she's never 'crawled' she kind of half crawls half drags herself, she's never ever had issues getting about. She's just turned 1, but she was pulling to stand at 8 months and she's a matter of days away from taking her first steps as she keeps attempting but wobbling over!
In terms of the toys, take the pressure off yourself. When I look back, I actually feel that I was probably over stimulating DD because I felt I 'should' be playing with toys with her, when in reality she was happier listening to me talk, like your little boy. He will be getting so, so much from this though. DD said mama and Dada at 6 months, 'mummy' and 'daddy' at 10 months, 'baby' and 'birdy' by 11 months and now is doing some animal noises - and she only turned one last week.
You're doing fantastic! You clearly care so much about your little boy, he will be learning so, so much 💙

@Chickencricket
thabk you so much for your reply. I really appreciate it and you make total sense. I think as mums we do put a lot of pressure on. But again he is really happy with just sitting on my knee and chatting to me. Isn’t it weird that they just do stuff? Like overnight with minimal practice. Like I find it so funny. As we have practiced sitting maybe a couple of times and used his bumbo seat and then he’s just like sitting unassisted. Yes wobbly but like yeah. And like you say too. Not crawling but almost walking and talking is amazing. I need to relax and take the pressure off. He will get there and if he doesn’t I can speak with my HV.

Forth time Mom here....It's naps! He isn't getting enough daytime sleep but I'm not sure there is much you can do. Try, try, try to plan sleep right after a bottle so he is full. My little has lots of rolls and is so chubby gets plenty to eat and sleeps 8 hrs at night but his naps are 10 -45 min tops. He refused to sleep unless he has just been fed which is frustrating. I started doing an 8 am feed and he sleeps for a little while after. He wakes and doesn't get a bottle until 11....I can hold that one off. But if yours is like mine he is accustomed to napping on a full belly and if he eats every 2 hrs during the day it doesn't leave much time for napping. You can try making.the feeds bigger so they are further in-between. I couldn't because reflux requires smaller feeds..Not much you can do....when they are accustomed to this they cannot handle falling or staying asleep when their tummy's aren't full.