Let's trade cranky baby advice

In My Humble Opinion
1

Well, our little darling cookie crumb is a month old and absolutely lovely and precious but a little on the cranky side. I don’t think it’s colic because there have only been a couple of extended crying jags where nothing, nothing, nothing would help. Who knows, though.

So far, we have good days and nights and bad days and nights and not much consistency. A bad day/night seems to revolve around gas, and I’m trying to do as much as I can to alleviate discomfort (bicycle rolls, patting on the back, etc.) but sometimes nothing works. (One thing that does seem to help is gently massaging his stomach while he lies on his back). On a good day, he’ll sleep and eat and barely cry.

After a particularly cranky day, I decided to cut milk products out of my diet and that seems to have helped but to be honest, it’s hard to tell.

He likes a pacifer once in a while and it does the trick once in a while, but it’s definitely not something that always calms him down.

Any tips are more than welcome :slight_smile:

2

Wow, you just described my baby. Except she’s six months old now :smiley:

But seriously, everything I’ve read says that crying peaks at 6 weeks and most babies grow out of the really cranky phase around 3 months. My first kiddo did. Don’t know what’s wrong with this one, but I’m about ready to return her to the hospital for a refund! We’ve found that often when nothing else helps, the “colic hold” (try google for a picture) really helps, whether the baby has colic or not. Last weekend I discovered propping her up on the washing machine (don’t worry, she was in my arms, folks) calmed her down instantly, but only as long as I held her there.

Harvey Karp, M.D., has a really good book called The Happiest Baby on the Block with lots of good suggestions for soothing a fussy baby and his theory about the “fourth trimester” is pretty intriguing. Even better if you can find a copy of his VHS or DVD so you can see what he’s talking about.

The best advice I got was to try lots of different things, and eventually something will work–but don’t count on it working every time! You may have to adjust your methods constantly to find what works, so don’t get discouraged. Oh, and I remember reading (maybe on kellymom.org?) that dairy elimination takes about a week to have a noticeable difference.

Good luck, and congratulations on your new baby! Before you know it he will be laughing and smiling and this will all be a blurry distant memory. Until then, feel free to vent and whine; it’s every new mother’s right :slight_smile:

3

My second was colicky, it was horrid and I tried every trick and suggestion I could find. Very little helped until he grew out of it at about 4 1/2 months. So, out of dozens of hints, here’s what worked for me:

A sling, mine was a NoJo and I loved it. Very simple, and keeping my son close to me was the most reliable way to soothe him and I could do a lot of stuff while wearing him.

Massager for his belly. On the very lowest
setting I’d massage his belly while he was having a fit. It worked maybe 20% of the time.

Warm baths, for both of us. I’ve got a big old clawfoot tub and so we’d soak in the warm water and he’d usually drift off for a bit.

Belly-down walks. Hold him along your arm, belly down, head in your hand. Now walk. This position would often get mine to calm down, perhaps just because of the different perspective?

The best curative really though is simply time, as I’m sure you know. Pretty soon, you’ll know exactly why he’s upset because he’ll be screaming the reason at the top of his lungs. :slight_smile:

4

Belated congratulations!

I found varying my diet helped when I was still BFing, garlic and citrus seemed particularly bothersome but like you said, I never really knew if that was truly the issue or eliminating those foods coincided with whatever other techniques I was trying and only one of them actually worked.

My boy had horrific skin issues, oddly he had beautiful newborn skin that lasted about ten days as opposed to the angry reddened dry skin that many newborns have. By two weeks he looked like he had a bad case of cradle cap from head to toe, he was cracking apart before my eyes. I was applying an OTC hyrdocortisone cream per the doc’s advice, letting him be nakkie baby on the fuzzy blankie while I massaged it in always relaxed him immensely. Once he healed I continued to rub him down with regular baby lotion whenever he was really fussy or overstressed.

I never knew there was a name for the colic hold! That was always my first choice with a fussy infant, walking around with them upside-down and patting their butts cures a multitude of ills. The moving view, the new perspective, the motion and the patting while their body weight pushes down on the belly, it can relieve gas, cure boredom, be soothing, provide a distraction, etc.

I dunno whether to feel smart I figured out a technique on my own that has a real name or to feel dumb that everyone apparently already knows my move. :smack:

5

More things to try, that worked with the kid when he was younger. Warning, these are for getting the gas to come out the less pleasant end.

With him on his back and naked (we’d do this right before bathtime at night), start below his bellybutton with your fingertips and make little circles while gently traversing around his bellybutton in a clockwise motion. Follow this up by putting him on his stomach, put the heal of your hand on his tailbone, and rub in circles.

If that doesn’t get it out, put him on his back, hold both of his ankles, and pump his legs back and forth (holding them “back” once in a while. And sometimes shaking a little helps, too.).

6

When my son, now 3 months old, is cranky and gassy I find that a “football” hold is what pacifies him. Nothing else will work. Basically, I put his head near my elbow and his crotch in my hand. He begins to fart a lot, and he stops crying. And soon he is either a happy boy, or sleeping. Of course, as soon as he farts again he wakes up and we continue. They make gas drops that have sometimes helped him in conjunction with this hold. Good luck

7

I had Mr. Super Cranky baby- the Tinkleberry.

First, take your kid to the doc. Make sure there is no ear infection or bladder infection. Especially if the kid pees a lot (like 15+ diapers a day). I wish I’d known to do this at a month- it would have saved us some agony.

Next I’d try the “magic hold” (colic hold). Lay kid face down on your forearm. Sometimes it works best with the head in the crook of your arm, sometimes with his head in your palm. YMMV. Hold like this (and maybe bounce gently) for at least 5 minutes. He may calm down quickly, it may take 5 min or so. If it works, DON’T CHANGE POSITION under penalty of death. I seriously think my kid spent his entire second month in this position.

Warm baths can sometimes help.

Stroller walks- might calm the baby down, and hey, you are sharing the joy of a new baby with others! :wink:

Car rides (unless you have our kid, in which case the car is a hated beast).

Try feeding again- even if you think he only ate an hour ago. Sometimes fussy=thirsty.

Swaddling. They make a swaddler blanket thing with velcro for parents who can never get the wrap quite right (like us).

Mr. Pacifier- try a different brand/shape if one doesn’t work (ours only liked avent ones).

Colicky and fussy babies can literally drive you to insanity and depression. Switch the baby with another caregiver as often as possible and get away out of the house (even if only for 15 min) when it isn’t your turn. If stuck with an endlessly crying baby, remember when you are overwhelmed it is OK and GOOD to put the baby in his crib and take a 2-5 min break outside to get some air. Use earplugs- the crying can be painful and very very stressful. These aren’t to ignore the baby, just to lower the volume while you care for him.

One month is still the “crap! I’m NEVER gonna get off this damn couch!” stage. Trust me, you will. And trust me, not being able to accomplish more than showering/eating for the first 6 weeks is totally normal and not to something to feel guilty about.

Get sleep. Even if you have to have a relative or night nurse or friend watch the kid while you do. Nap good, all night better.

Our son was a mess until about 3 months. I promise it will get better- especially when the real smiles start.

8

Oh- and get gas drops! Lots on the market, use one of the ones with the active ingredient simethicone. Dr recommended, and gets the farts out.

9

My little dude was never very much of a problem, but when he was unhappy I would gently rock/bounce him on my chest while singing sometimes. The warmth and gentle motion would eventially calm him down.

Now hes older. Its nothin’ but Crack Cocaine and Hookers! :smiley: