Just Cranky? Colic? High Needs? What Is It? and When Does It End? HELP

What did the doc say about reflux.. just because she is not spitting up does not meant that she does not have reflux..

Hey do you drink milk and eat dairy..Try not eating that for 2 weeks. My little girl has reflux and has a bad reaction to me eating dairy.

Push the doc, your child should not be that cranky..

Good luck

Sometimes there are no clear cut answers.
My Mom said I screamed my head off almost non stop round the clock for the first 6 months of my life.
Then all of a sudden everything was fine and I was a good nature d baby since then.
My sister was so quiet my Mom says it was hard to tell there was a new baby in the house.
But then my sister's been a pain in the behind for everyone since then.
Guess I got it out of my system early.
It's good she's manageable most of the day.
I think you are doing good!
I think things will be a bit better as you get closer to 6 months.
Hang in there!

5pm, in our house, is 'the witching hour'... from that time until bed time, my son is a holy terror!! He was a high maintenance baby, and now he's a terrible tot. I love him dearly, of course, but he's a pain in the you know what. It's A LOT better than it was, but still pretty bad. Hang in there; I feel your pain!!

Check out "The Happiest Baby on the Block" by Dr. Harvey Karp. Here's a link to calming a fussy young baby---works every time!! Make sure you swaddle good and tight :-)
J.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddRkI5wVIqQ

I've heard that referred to as the "witching hour." For some reason, babies tend to get fussier/high needs right around the time you're trying to get everything done in the evening - dinner, other kids homework (if you have them), etc.

We're ready to settle down for the evening, but they get fussy.

My daughter was a terrible sleeper and would fuss and cry if she wasn't being held (and not just when she was sleeping - she wanted to be held or near someone all the time). I ended up co-sleeping just to get everyone some rest. And I mean, next to me in my bed (not in a separate piece of furniture next to the bed).

Once I started "wearing" her - sling/moby - my life seemed to get easier. She just needed to comfort of being next to mom or someone else she felt safe with.

She's now nearly 17 months, and she's not clingy or needy, she doesn't still sleep with us, and she's a really happy kid, most of the time.

My advice is to figure out anything that works for both you and her, and don't worry about what it ends up being. All babies need different things - it doesn't mean they'll need them forever.

Just keep watching her cues - she'll let you know when she's ready for more independence - let her have it. Don't fight it. Don't think that you need to keep doing what's been working just because it's been working. Follow her lead in what she needs (not *wants" neccessarily).

I think what stuck with me most when I was preparing to have her and the first couple of months after she was born was that each mom and child have a unique relationship - what works for one mom/child relationship won't neccessarily work for another (even if it's the same mom).

I took that and decided to parent her the way I was most comfortable (thankfully I had the full support of my mom in whatever I chose to do). If something was working, don't worry about it. If something's not working, try something else. If something *was* working but isn't anymore, try something new.

Trust your mom instincts and you'll be fine. Don't second-guess yourself. You're her mother - you will know what is best if you listen to her and your own heart.

Does she sleep on her tummy yet? Can she lift and turn her head when on her tummy? It changed our lives the moment she could sleep on her tummy.

Our daughter also loved her baby swing,

I also had a back pack carrier that our child liked to be in while I was cleaning, raking leaves, shopping, or just going for a walk. I would put a hat on her when we were outside.. She really loved that thing. I could not use it once she got over 20 lbs.. But my husband continued to carry her on his back.

It might be that she is overtired, which can actually make it HARDER for her to take high quality naps. She might need to be put down to sleep earlier. All babies have different internal clocks--some are night owls, some are larks. My 7 month old is a lark--he wants to be in bed pretty early, or he is not a happy camper. My oldest was a night owl, and didn't want to be put down until closer to 10 pm!

I agree with the suggestion to try wearing her during the daytime. It is amazing how baby wearing can calm a fussy baby, and oftentimes the babies will fall asleep while being worn, and you can go about your daily tasks that need to be done, or go for a walk while she sleeps.

Finally, what kind of swing did you try? We have 2 different kinds: front to back motion, and then a cradle swing which gives side-to-side motion. My kids HATED the front to back until they were older, but loved the cradle swing, and could sleep in it for hours.

Your situation sounds a lot like the one my daughter is having with her 5 month old. Nursing her was sometimes the only thing that would get her out of one of her scream sessions. She and "we" did all of the things you did and they only helped for a little bit. We thought she would be fine after she reached 3 months but no. She is better now than she was at that time and seems to be pretty good when held by mommy or daddy but still cries a lot when she is left with either grandma so now I think it is getting to be a spoiled thing or mommy attachment. I guess it's their immature nervous system and some kids are better than others. Does your baby cry in the car? Ava still screams during her time in the car. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

My son was like that. Some babies are just more excitable than others. They notice everything and it's just too much for them. Try wearing her, putting her in a swing, breastfeeding, do whatever works. If you BF, cut our dairy and see if that works. My son had a dairy allergy that we didn't realize until he was almost 2. He also had sensory issues that probably contributed to his early unhappiness. Try to stay calm because the baby will know you are upset...I know that is hard to do! If making dietary changes doesn't work (you can also try non-dairy or hypo-allergenic formula) then know that it does get better. My son improved after I introduced rice and babyfood at 4 months.

Ugh, my son was really colicy with bad acid reflux.. The only thing that calmed him down, was rocking him as I stood over my vacuum cleaner with it running... That or ALWAYS going for walks in the stroller outside~
I feel your pain..

Our son had a protein intollerance. He couldn't take dairy or soy. We didn't breastfeed him for multiple reasons, so we switched to Allimentum, but if you are breastfeeding, cut out the dairy for two weeks, like Maureen suggested. If this doesn't help a little, try cutting out soy, as well. This is a huge transition, because almost everything you can get at the store has soy or soy lecithin in it. You almost have to go whole foods. Fresh fruit and veggies, meats and whole grains. But it made a huge difference.

He was still high need. Wanted to be held always, very sensitive, but it improved. He is 5 now and still has his high need issues, and is a picky eater, but it is so much better.

When we changed his diet, we saw a difference within a week.