11 week old always crying when awake getting pregressively worse as he gets older, atthe end of my tether!!

[meeshmum]

Help! My 11 week old DS used to be a placid baby when he was first born but as the weeks go by he is crying more and more when he is awake. Its starting to get to me now as i didt have this with my first DS (2 1/2years) so i am not sure what to do. I go from feeling frustrated towards him then feeling really sorry for the little fella as sometimes i leave him to cry as i have to get on with things and i also have to think of DS1 who i am sure the constant crying effects. Is he just an unhappy baby? Will it get better? Thinking of going to see the health visitor but thought i would post on here i guess just to see if anyone else has experienced this? Thanksx

could he be hungry? my lo ate all the time at that age (at least every hour but often more)

is it worth a trip to the doc's to rule out any physical cause? (reflux etc)

have you tried putting him in a sling? the cuddling and motion might soothe him. some babies need more contact than others

good luck

I dont think its hunger as he cries after feeding and when i try to give him more he doesnt want it. Have tried him in a baby bjorn carrier but he doesnt like that plus its hard for me as he is a big baby (just over 14lbs) and i am small so it takes its toll on my back! I suspected it may be reflux but i give him gaviscon with every feed and he still cries unless maybe its not working? He will only sleep on his front (controversial i know!) and i have heard that refluxey babies only like to be on their fronts. So i think i should get him checked by the GP and if he is ok physically i guess i just have an unhappy baby Do they "grow out" of being unhappy?! Thanks for your reply Babyphat

Try some other slings. My baby lived in the sling until 7 months (and about 26lbs!). Keeping him upright in a nice sling, cuddled close may help.

Definitely try the GP to rule out something like reflux.

What about cranial osteopathy?

How was the birth?

blimey SoH that is a big baby, i thought i had a chubster! respect!
meesh if you try different slings i would steer clear of stretchy ones like the kari-me if he's already that big
are you formula feeding? might it be worth trying different brands?

It may be colic as DS cried a lot at that age and we tried everything; gave him Infacol, etc. but he just wouldn't stop crying once he started. He wouldn't sleep on his back either and DH spent many a night in a chair holding him as he would only sleep vertically.

Once you've ruled out some of the obvious medical conditions with the HV and GP sounds bizarre but he may also be starting to teeth early, does he have red cheeks? The teeth don't actually come out for several months later but some actually start feeling the pain early as our one did.

Also, if you are BF, have you changed your diet recently at all?

Slings are a good idea if you've got a good back support one like the Baby Bjorn Synergy. I used to put DS in that and take if out and he would often calm down.

my unhappy crying baby turned out to be intolerant to egg/dairy.

is yours breastfed?

And yes...they do grow out of this phase and become 'happy' again so hang in there!

Funny you should mention the intolerance thisisyesterday because though I didn't want to mention it as a first thought, at 5.5 months old we found out DS was allergic to wheat, dairy and nuts! So, I stopped BF as I couldn't keep to a strict diet and moved him onto a special formula which I get on prescription.

well my lo went through this 'stage' at about the same age as your lo,
NOTHING settled him,he wouldnt sit in anything,wouldnt cuddle in hated the pram/carseat/sling/bouncer/swing and everything else lol,drove me mad as i wouldnt visit anyone because he just cried all the time,
lasted a couple of weeks now he is SO placid and happy!
GOOD LUCK XXXX

Thanks everyone. He is bottle fed and i use colief to rule out colic as i used this with my first and it worked a treat. He does dribble quite a lot and a few times he has had a hot red cheek but only on the one side - didnt think much of it at the time but maybe it is teething. I am definately going to take him to the GP next week and if its nothing medical then i will give in and get a sling as i suppose he may just need lots of cuddles and contact (my DS1 is not going to be happy when he sees his little brother on mummy all the time!). I wish they could tell us whats wrong - its so much easier having a 2 1/2 year old as you know where you stand with them!
THANKS

We have taken our 4 month ds to a cranial osteopath for two sessions and ever since he has become INSANELY happy. I would highly recommend it - obviously it's impossible to say that it was due to the osteopathy or his age, but everyone I have spoken to has confirmed my findings. I think it's worth a go if you're running out of options.

G