Daytime Sleep and Fussiness

Hi,
My son had issues when he was young. My doc recommended Similac Isomil Advance. It helped with gas issues. You can also use Mylicon. It could be that she gets bothered by the milk. My son drinks some regualar milk now...but still pridomently Lactaid. Hope this helps.

I know this might sound crazy but you might want to consider taking her to a chiropractor. I had problems with my daughter sleeping well and then she developed chronic ear infections. Someone reccommended a chiropractor and it worked miracles. They say sometimes when the baby goes through the birthing process their spine can become unaligned. We had a great chiropractor in the area and after the first visit her ear infection was gone and she slept better than ever. If you go to USAtoday.com and search an article about chiropractics in children you can get some great information.

Try swaddling her all the time, as tightly as possible. She is still so new and longs for the comfort and closness of the womb. I loved "the happiest baby on the block" book and dvd. It worked after only a couple of tries. Highly recommended!

I would consider maybe changing formula. My daughter had colic and had to go onto Neutramagin. It is costly but it worked great. Does she seem to be in pain or just fussy? When my daughter was a baby the doc let me listen to her belly it was rumbling like crazy with terrible gas. Another sign is pulling up their little legs. Does she take a pacifier? Also, I would bundle her up and go for a nice walk during the day. I am a firm believer in getting fresh air. It will help her to sleep better and going for a walk will also do you good to be up and about. Sitting in the house all day with a fussy baby can take it's toll on you. This is all temporary soon she will start developing a routine. In the meantime try to hang in there and when hubby comes home take a few minutes for yourself to unwind.

Maybe try a swing or a vibrating seat, especially one that is a papasan style. Supposedly they are supposed to make the baby feel like they are being held. My son slept in his swing until he was almost five months old for most of his naps and part of the night. Being a first time mom I worried excessively that he was not sleeping in his bed, but don't make the same mistake. When they are older and can understand they can be acclimated to the bed. My theory is go with whatever works for you and your baby.

My son, now 17 months old, from an early age was a good sleeper at night and a not-so-great napper. I never used the sling as other mothers have suggested (it just didn't feel comfortable for me... perhaps I didn't have a good brand) but I did try to take him on one walk a day in almost all weather conditions except rain. The stroller put him right to sleep. It didn't help me feel rested, but it did get me fresh air and a little exercise.

My son loved being swaddled. A crib is a great big place for a little tiny baby. So I think the swaddling that other mom's suggested is a great idea. We had our son in a pack-n-play, on a sleep positioner, until he was almost 12 weeks old. Maybe you could try having her nap in pack-n-play, swaddled, near you during the day?

(I also had to give up nursing at 6 weeks due to complications. We used Enfamil Gentlease at first but had a lot of trouble with spitup. Friends who consulted a nutritionist for their daughter's digestive problems suggested the Good Start that you are using and we switched to that with great results.)

Hi-
I have a very very similar baby, now 8 mos. A few thoughts- first, try a different formula. Though she may show no outward signs that something specific is bothering her, our extremely fussy boy did not start to settle down somewhat until we found a formula he tolerated the best. For us it was similac alimentum. Expensive, but worth it to him a little more content. It sounds like she may not be doing well on your current formula since she starts fussing 1/2 hr after eating.
Next, talk to your pediatrician. Around that age we discovered that our baby actually had reflux and once on medication, more of the screaming was reduced. It sounds like your baby may have it too, since she is very fussy and wakes up crying.
I empathize with you! Good luck
Last, continue to swaddle, and I highly recommend reading/watching "The Happiest Baby on the Block" on video or book, which has a lot of tips that really work. We were able to get him to sleep much much faster with those tips.

sounds a lot like my little one at that age.
The good news- it will get better :)
for my little guy, i know it is tough and a little time consuming, but i would take him for one or two walks a day and try to get him to sleep or at least have some good quiet time on the walks. In the late morning, when i knew he was tired but fighting it...i would curl up with him on the couch and we would watch a movie...both of us usually fell asleep. Every afternoon until he was about 10 weeks old, i would put him in my sling and wear him for hours. He would fall asleep in the sling everytime! Also, have you tried a swing?? That was a life saver for us on some occasions. i spent several hours watching TV and movies. but you have to remember that the most important thing for you to be doing is taking care of your baby. the dishes, laundry, whatever...can wait. and in a few months...when he is runnng around like my little guy...you might actually miss the days when you could just hold him and cuddle up and nap together :) Best of luck to you and remember...it does get better...at about 4 months we were on a good daytime napping schedule. hope that helps.

A M,

This is similar situation to my daughter. She is now almost 10 months. I was really worried in the beginning too, as we had to hold her most of the time during the day for her to sleep. In this country, we learn to be independent. For us to have someone so clingy on us all the time, it feels very stressful.

There are books, and internet advices to teach you to let them cry to sleep, but I didn't have the heart to listen to her crying for long time. I did once for about half an hour. After 30 minutes, she was still crying, so I picked her up.

Babies grow up really fast. We only become mothers a few times in our lives, so if you DO have the time and energy, why not just spend with your baby. They do get better eventually, as they learn to play with toys or get distracted with other things. They would also learn to trust you, and other people better if you satisfy their needs. When they are so little, their needs are to be with mommy all the time.

I don't know if this note helps, but you will miss the time you spend with them when they are infants. I had to go back to work after 3 months. Not one day passed that I wish I could be home with my baby girl.

Good luck.

S.

Hi, my son is 7 weeks old and from weeks 2-5 we had the same issue you're experiencing: happy child when awake but he required a lengthy amount of soothing for naps and nighttime and his naps would be relatively short (30 to 90 mins). What worked for us was to be extremely vigilent about how long our son had been awake before putting him down for sleep (day or night).

We think our son simply has a low threshold for waketime: about one hour, then it's back to sleep. If we go beyond that, the fussing and short naps pop back up. One to two days after me keeping him up for only one hour and then soothing to sleep pretty much got rid of the fussing although we still have some cat naps; because he's sleeping 6-7 hour stretches from 5 PM to 9 AM, I'm less concerned about his 30-90 min daytime naps. Soothing in our household is typically nursing, however I expect that other soothing methods like rocking, singing, etc. would work.

Watching the clock and not allowing your babe to become overtired may help out (assuming overtiredness is the issue). I wish you well as you work through this!

My daughter was the same when she was younger. She is now 9 months old and sleeps great day and night. Back then I felt my whole day was just trying to get her to either get to sleep or stay asleep. I finally gave up and put her either in a sling or I used the Ergo carrier. She loved either one and would sleep for long stretches. My daugter was also 1 month early so I am sure the close contact with Mommy is what she craved.
I always tell myself that everything is just a stage when it gets tough and it does get better :)

Good luck!

Not sleeping unless being held is typical of an 8 week old baby, but the crying is a concern. Does it seem like she is in some sort of pain? It sounds very much like my daughter. The pediatrician determined that she had acid reflux. She was on Zantac until she was six months old. After that she was fine.

Hi A M,
It sounds like your baby might have colic or a milk allergy. Changing the formula to Enfamil Prosobee might help. It is a soy based formula. Or if it's a milk allergy you could try Enfamil Nutramigen. It's a little pricy (not to mention that the smell is not that appealing) Also, try Gripe Water(for colic) or Mylicon Drops(for gas and colic). There is no age requirement on either of these. I know first hand what you are going through. My first child had colic and my last child had a milk allergy. I hope this helps! Let me know. Best of luck!

Hi I have a 2 year old and a fussy 7 week old, I feel your pain...lol!!
Are you swaddling her during the day too that seems to work for us, and read the book happiest baby on the block wow what an eyeopener!!
good luck
LB

If she's fussy all the time, I would try switching her formula. It sounds like she's uncomfortable. My kids both did much better on Similac formulas than other brands that we tried. Ask her pediatrician if they recommend a certain brand.

I would recommend getting a good carrier and letting her sleep on you. I know some people worry that the baby will form a habit and not be able to sleep on their own, but as you can see, your baby is already sleeping really well on her own in her crib at night. I am a huge fan of the Ergo carrier because it works well on the front and the back and grows with your child. My son is 17 months and I still use it for him, backpack style, when we go out for walks or to the park, etc. In fact, the Ergo is the one and only thing I registered for, because I have lots of friends that recommended it and still use it for their 3-4 year olds. If you want to be up and about, let her sleep in the carrier and you can still get things done. Or, even better, go for a walk.

The other thing is - 8 weeks is still really young. I remember how it felt at 8 weeks . . . like your time will never be your own again. Trust me, things change and when you look back you'll wish you took the time to sleep with the baby and relax, instead of worrying about the house or whatever. Good luck!

I agree with the others that recommend swaddling and using a baby carrier or sling. They call the first 3 months of a baby's life "the fourth trimester" because babies at that age are really not ready yet to "leave" their mommy's body yet, and most certainly need to feel the physical warmth of a human body still. At 3 months, you should be able to move her to a papasan swing that will still cradle her but not be as warm.

Oh, and FYI, be prepared for your daughter to not sleep as well at night in a few months. It has nothing to do with sleeping well during the day, it's just a phase that lots of babies go through.... treasure these moments. They may seem to last forever right now, but believe me - they actually go by in the blink of an eye.