March 2008 Expecting Club

My poor little 4-week old DD screams 24/7.  About 90% of her waking time is spent screaming her lungs out.  The other 10% is spent cooing and smiling, which just tears my heart out.  We have had her worked up for a virus, dairy intolerance (due to my BFing) as well as tried all the "tried-and-true" methods of calming a fussy baby (to call Emeline "fussy" right now is to call a hurricane a "spring drizzle").  I am beyond tired and frustrated.  I hate seeing her screaming and so miserable -- obviously something is causing her distress, but it is just beyond me to do anything about it.  There is no way of soothing her at all - nothing works. 

Right now she is up swaddled in her bassinette, screaming her lungs out.  I have done everything I can to comfort her and needed to walk away.  I am in tears myself right now.  I am going to assume she has colic (yay - my DD#1 had it too and it was hell on earth), but that doesn't make it any easier.  Anyone else going through this?  Anyone with some suggestions?

Kristina

I'm so sorry your LO is not feeling well :( Thankfully my DS doesn't scream quite that often but when he goes through his fussy period from 5-10 he pretty much screams and one way I can comfort him is going into a dark room, propping myself up with pillows and laying him on my chest, his head next to mine. Then I say "SHHHH" as long as I can, and eventually he'll calm down. If its cool I'll cover us up with blankets.

Maybe try that if you haven't already? I think my DS just like to hear me breathing or hears my heartbeat or something. Whatever it is, it works for him.

First, you have my deepest empathy and I am sorry you have had to deal with two colicky babies. My DS had it horrible as you describe and was a very difficult baby from 4 weeks until he could crawl. It was 13 years ago, but I do remember putting him in the car in the middle of the night and driving around to put him to sleep. I also would rock him in the rocking chair for hours while watching TV (to occupy my mind). The one item that he seemed to like was the vibrating chair. I remember thinking that was a godsend.

Sometimes I just had to set him down in the crib screaming and take a break for me. He survived just fine and is a very self-confident adolescent, so there was no damage from doing that and in fact, it is much needed for mother. Keep taking those breaks when you can get it and if DH can take a shift to relieve you, try and do something nice for yourself (hot bath, manicure, massage, etc.) so you stay refreshed. There is nothing more trying on your nerves and patience than dealing with a colicky baby. Plus, it is so heart wrenching to see your child crying and not being able to soothe her. Good luck and hopefully she gets over this soon.

((Hugs)) My 7yr old was a cryer. We thought there had to be something medically wrong with her. After numerous Dr visits and several different tests we were told she was physically fine. That's when I started trying just about everything I'd ever read or heard about. Some of them worked better than others.

First, I was breastfeeding and had tried to eliminate different foods in my diet but gave up on that. Instead at night I started co-sleeping, so she could nurse on demand and I could sleep. During the day I held her a lot, so much so that I had to wear wrist supports (she was heavy). If I couldn't hold her I would put her in the swing, which worked well with a sound machine. I bought a portable one from Radio Shack and the train or wind sounds worked best. This was great because I could take the machine with us for car rides and visits. (Before I bought the sound machine I was using a blow dryer on the cool setting.) Better than the swing was the vibrating chair, especially when I needed to take a shower or wanted to leave the house.

Things that didn't work were: car seat on top of the washing machine or dryer, gripe water, mylicon drops, slings, and swaddling. There was never a time where she would cry herself to sleep. The longest we let her go was 30 mins and I was ready to smother her. It goes without saying that was not an option, but I understand your frustration. My DD also hated to be held by anyone but me for a good 6 months. It was amazing when her older sister was able to rock her to sleep when she was 7-8 months old. She is now able to fall asleep anywhere, even on the floor! So they can/do change. Hang in and I hope you find something that works.