4.5 week old crying incessantly

[BusyLizzie21]

Hi all,

Looking for some advice, words of encouragement or any similar stories. My baby is now 4 and a half weeks old. For the first couple of weeks of his life he was very chilled out. Once he hit 3ish weeks things changed and he has become increasingly fussy and unsettled. We’re now at the point where he is constantly crying when awake during the day, unless he is feeding. Feeding seems to be the only thing to calm him down and help him sleep. He is breastfed. He won’t respond at all to cuddles, being held, being put in his bouncer - he just seems to want constant feeds to calm down.

Interestingly, he is much calmer at night and may cry a bit when he wakes up for feeds/changes but is quite easily settled. My husband can hold him at night and rock him back to sleep for example, something that he can’t do in the day.

I’m thinking either he is getting overtired/overstimulated or maybe it’s just a normal developmental phase? Any thoughts would be appreciated! It’s starting to be really difficult listening to him crying and just not really knowing what he wants :(

Sounds likely normal developmental crying, Google the newborn crying curve. If you are worried have GP/HV check him over for reassurance

My first born was similar and actually stayed that way for a while. It’s very early days, and at 4weeks your baby is just becoming more aware. You will learn to decode the crying … just do all the basics on repeat (feed, burp, nappy, sleep).

Things that helped us were … taking more time working out the wind after feeding, me cutting out orange juice (it was making baby gassy), swaddling/using a baby sling and lots of skin contact (feeding=comfort), a good feeding routine … and ear plugs for me. The ear plugs were what helped the most

Probably just normal at this stage, he is possibly going through a growth spurt and wanting to feed constantly because he’s genuinely hungry and wanting to stimulate your milk supply. See how it goes for a few days and you could talk to your HV, check his weight etc.
If he’s feeding well and growing you could try a dummy which would give him comfort without you having to feed him constantly.
Another thing you could try is putting him in the pram or a carrier and going out for a walk and see if he settles that way, some daily time outside in daylight is supposed to help set their circadian rhythm too

@BusyLizzie21 I agree with pp. it’s normal development. You and your husband are doing a great job. Hang in there. It really does get easier. 💖

Have you tried a dummy this worked well for my boy

also ask midwife /hv /gp about reflux

Do you swaddle at night

I didn't want to use a dummy for my LO... Until we got this point around 3.5 weeks. The dummy helped a lot. It didn't disrupt breastfeeding for me.

@Jinglehop I also had to give up orange juice for weeks - it did terrible things to LO's nappies!

DS was the same. You're lucky he settles at night, mine screamed like that well into 11pm.

thanks so much everyone for your replies and suggestions! DS has had a few calmer days since I started this thread but also a few days where he has consistently cried. He is now just over 5 weeks so, according to the newborn crying curve, the peak of the crying should be coming up soon 😬

@Unexpectedlysinglemum We use a Love To Dream swaddle bag which DS does seem to like. He doesn’t always settle in it straight away at night - he sleeps in a Moses basket - but it does seem to calm him a bit. I have also tried introducing a dummy and will persevere with it. He hasn’t absolutely loved it so far but has taken it a few times and it has seemed to soothe him.

I’m hoping he doesn’t have colic- does anyone have any experience of this? Would the crying be much worse and less variable day by day? Hoping he starts to settle in the next few weeks. Thanks again for all your help!

I had acid reflux recently and it only went away when my tummy was full. It could be that. Very uncomfortable for me let alone a baby.

Sounds like reflux, goto your gp and they’ll probably prescribe infant gaviscon first to thicken babies feeds, though as his only 4.5 weeks they may say to first try smaller, more frequent feeds
Keep baby upright 20–30 mins after feeding
Burp well during feeds
Slightly elevate the head of the Moses basket (safe incline only)

good luck

Hi there, I know this is an old post but just wondering how things panned out for you and your baby? My 4.5 old is EXACTLY how you describe!! X

Hi @Kellylouise45
Sorry for the late response - things got so much better! By about 8 weeks old DS was far more settled and by three months he was much much better. He’s now 6.5 months old and is a very contented baby. I think it was all just normal baby stuff and a phase!
Hope your little one is more settled now too x

Dummy?
reflux maybe - talk to hv