Newborn just fussy or ill?

[Karla68]

Hi,
I am looking for some advice on how to handle/help my 7 week old baby. She seems to cry constantly whenever she's awake. There are very few times that she is content and happy. She screams non-stop in the evening hours until she finally falls asleep in someone's arms. She is not drawing up her legs, so I'm not sure if it is colic (because I read that drawing up the legs is a symptom). She is also not eating very well. She shakes her head and opens her mouth and won't close it around the bottle nipple and then cries. It takes about 45 min to get her to drink 2 to 3 ounces of formula because of her not sucking on the nipple half the time.

Has anyone ever had this kind of fussiness? She has her 2 month doctor appt next week, but I'm wondering if I should take her to see the doctor sooner?

Thanks for any suggestions anyone might have.

[Sparkles]

My son did alot of the same things that your daughter is doing. He cried all the time (it seemed like, anyway) until he hit about 4 months. It was especially bad at night. He did not have colic, he was just a very high needs baby. You may want to check with your doc to see if she may have reflux. Has her appetite decreased? If so, I would get her weight checked a few times a week to make sure that she is not losing weight. Parker went thru a week where he would hardly eat at all and I was so worried. I kept taking him into the dr. and she said that it was probably just a little bug and his appetite would pick up soon. Sure enough, in about a week, it did. My heart goes out to you. Those first few months were so difficult for me emotionally and physically. :( I don't know about having a hard time eating unless you are switching her from breast to bottle. I hope that things start getting better for you soon and I hope I helped a little!
Brooke

[Sparkles]

Have you read The Happiest Baby on the Block. All that swaddling, shushing, swaying, stuff seemed to really help Parker. I think it's called the 5 S's or something. You may want to try that. Just a thought.
Brooke

[gussy]

Make sure the nipple you use has big enough holes. The baby may not like how much work it is to get her food, or may not like the kind of nipple but if this is a new problem I bet if you go up a size in the nipple she will eat better.

[shelby]

I would make an appointment to make sure it is not reflux. You could also call and ask to talk to one of the nurses for advice. Our pediatrician always has a nurse on call to answer questions. They will also want to check her weight. It could also be as simple as trying a new formula. A lot of people with fussy babies have luck with carnation good start. I use Enfamil Gentlease, it has half the lactose and is easier to digest. That was the only one that didn't make my daughter constipated. Good luck

[jerb00]

Was your baby born early or small? My DD was very fussy and would not always latch on or stay on (I was nursing) because she has a weak sucking reflex. So, of course she cried because she was hungry and cried because she could suck properly. Larger holes would not to the baby any good if this is the problem. Are you exclusively bottle feeding or nursing and bottle feeding? You could still check with a lactation nurse, I am sure they are at the hospital where you delivered, as many are trasined in determining weak suckin reflexes. We had to get DD on a special bottle and do mouth exercises until her jaw was strenghthened. Then, she was able to exclusively nurse - which is a huge step for babies who have not been able to do it. It is much harder to ge milk from a breast than a bottle, but, I digress... Check out the sucking reflex and see if there is somehting to that. Our first couple of months were miserable until we finally pinpointed the problem. I truly feel for you. Hang it there, it will get better.

[Victina]

hi! my son is 9 weeks old... he was very fussy when he was about 4weeks old, for abotu 2 weeks all he wante dto do was cry.. he was colicy, but he was also hungry. i switched his formula, then bought 6-9 mo nipples, which have huge holes in them, it all just kind of runs down his throat, he loves it and is now 13 lbs!! and a much happier baby! good luck!

[Nikkie]

i had the same problem , the holes in the nipples were just too small, i bought some ones with larger holes and we had no problems after that, i guess she was just a very hungry baby, either that or just too lazy to suck lol
anyway good luck., im sure we all relise how fustrating and upsetting constant crying can be,
hugs nikkie xx

[Karla68]

Thanks to everyone! I feel like there's some hope just knowing that she's not the only baby with these issues.

I just switched formula to Similac Isomil Advanced and I'm going to go up one size in nipples and give her a few days to see how she does. She has been exclusively formula fed for the past four weeks and never seemed to have any trouble with the breast to bottle transition. She wasn't latching on well and I had to go back to work when she was three weeks old so I decided to wean her early.

She wasn't born early, but it does seem that she still has some issues with sucking properly. Her appetite fluctuates, but she always eats at least 2 to 3 ounces at each feeding (which are anywhere from 2.5 to 4 hours apart). I will find out how her weight is doing next week. I think she's gaining based on how her clothes are getting smaller:)

I will let you all know how she does with the changes. Thanks!

Karla and Sophie

[Jenifer]

Karla- Becareful when you are buying the different stage nipples. Soe of them have to big of holes in them. WE discovered that the hard way after giving The little ones a bottle and they started choking.

Good Luck with your sweetie

JEnnifer

[Karla68]

I just wanted to update everyone on my daughter.

We switched to a soy based formula and her evening fussiness has decreased quite a bit. She's still a bit on the fussy side in general, but at least no more hysterical screaming like she was doing. We also started using a level 2 nipple and feedings are going much better too.

Thanks for all the suggestions from everyone. :)

[Nikkie]

Glad things are getting easier for you and dd,
good luck
hugs nikkie xx

[JJJulie]

I wanted to add something: My DD had colic and reflux until 6 or 7 months. It was hell. A very underrated formula is Carnation Good Start with the DHA/ARA. I started her on soy based on a recommendation, but I found much evidence on the internet that convinced me soy was no good. You'll have to come to your own conclusion but that's what I decided. Then I switched to Enfamil's Nutramigen which is the same as Similac's Alimentum. It's broken down really far, and it's about $7 a day (maybe more now but this was 3 years ago). The Nutramigen was like chalk but the young babies drink it as their taste buds are not that discerning. It made a small difference but not much noticeable. That is when I went on another recommendation (from my SIL who had a colicky/reflux baby) and switched to Carnation Good Start. It has the broken down proteins, costs about the same as everything else, and more importantly, it relieves a lot of the crying. This can go on for months and months, and I feel really bad for you. Some people suggest chamomile in the bottle. I did this a few times out of desperation and did not notice a difference. Also, try the Mylicon drops (Walmart makes their own version for much cheaper) and give them before, during, and after a feeding. Simethicone is not absorbed by the body so you can give a LOT more than the recommendations. I gave 1 dropper before feeding, one during, and one after. EVERY feeding. All of this does have a bright side: My Dr told me that he's never seen a colicky/refulxy baby that didn't turn out to be VERY smart. I've seen this for myself in my own child and others. Good Luck.