Desperate for advice re: 6 month old baby

[JessL1993]

Hi, FTM here desperate for some advice or to chat to other people going through the same at the moment!

My daughter was born in May so she’s 6.5 months old. She’s always been a content/happy baby in general but for the last 3 weeks (since 3rd Nov) she has been extra fussy/whingey and overall just not herself. Of course we put this down to new leaps/teething however the last week or so things have got a lot worse, to highlight my main concerns -

• Up until 3 weeks ago she was smiley/babbling and happy in herself however now we’re lucky if we get one smile a day and she just spends all day whinging/crying but the biggest thing is constant grunting in anger. We can’t seem to help, we constantly play/chat with her, give her food and milk regularly/she’s napping well in the day and sleeping moderately well at night
• She has got one tooth coming through but she has a bad rash on her cheek too (hoping its just dribble rash and will fade)
• She’s gone from having 7.5oz of milk every 3 hours to barely having 3oz a feed now, we’re early on into weaning and she’s not eating much solid food so hoping this is just down to teething too

If anyone is going through similar / or has gone through this I’d love some advice and to know there’s light at the end of the tunnel because it’s getting really hard to deal with not knowing what to do to help 🥺

thank you x

Have you tried alternately Calpol and nurofen and seeing if that helps? Teething could definitely explain all of have. Having had wisdom tooth issues I can totally sympathise with grumpy babies.

I would try anbesol if you think it might be teething (liquid or gel, liquid is easier to apply, gel is harder to spill). It could take mine from crying mess to happily playing in 10-15 minutes. If it's not that, try calpol/nurofen to see if it's pain, but not teething pain.

Unfortunately, this is just a rough age. Teething, starting solids (causes digestive discomfort) and the start of separation anxiety. They just tend to be a bit miserable. 6 months was particularly bad, as was between 10-12 months. Then one day, like a switch flipped and back to smiley and happy again. Lots of cuddles and calpol.

That's the start of teething unfortunately. 6-12 months is a rough, rough age. It's downhill really u tjl you hit 1.

When mine got to 9 months he was so frustrated he couldn't walk and do more, he was so difficult to entertain.

Constantly teething.

Plus the stress of weaning.

Happy to say it all flipped at 12 months and now at 15 months he's the easiest and happiest little thing, I love him so much i just want to smoosh him all the time.

Hey girl, chin up. You are doing a great job. You're such a good mother that you've been able to notice this change, you care enough to have monitored it and you're on here actively seeking advice with it. Well done. Your baby is so lucky to have you.

In case you don't know, every mother is clueless. Whether it's their first or fifth baby, none of us have a clue. We just care a lot and try our best.

Baby will come out of it. They all have their stages just like us. But it goes quick. One day it'll just be sorted. In the meantime be kind to you and just hold baby tight and tell her you've got this. Rock her, pat her, keep her comfy, she'll feed off of your reassurance.

Don't worry about solids, mine weren't bothered with them at all till 8months. I still offered them of course from 6 months but they didn't really get into it till 8 or 9 months. If she'll take a bottle give it and relax. I used to find if they were fussy with the bottle, give it while they're asleep/sleepy. Even let her watch her favourite show while you feed whether bottle or solids. Do what works for you. This phase will pass.

As for the smiling, my first was like that and I got so stressed I took her to the doctor who told me "relax and stop stressing, maybe you're just not that funny, she'll laugh and smile when she's ready".