fussy three-week-old - Infant Care (up to 18 months old) Message Board

bxr35 · 12-10-2006, 03:46 PM

My three-week-old decided a couple of days ago that he can't sleep unless someone's holding him. At around the same time he started spitting up two or three times a day -- he hadn't really spit up at all before then. A few days earlier he'd become a little fussy -- not so fussy that I'm worried he's sick, but a little fussy whereas he'd really not fussed at all the first two and a half weeks.

So my question is: Is it normal for a baby to change like that around now? Should I be worried? Is there anything that could cause all these changes to happen at the same time?

I guess the question boils down to: Should I call the doctor? I don't think my son is more fussy than normal babies, but he wasn't fussy at all until recently.

Oh -- one other thing he's started doing recently: My son tends to wake up starving, so by the time he's awake, he's close to crying. When he's at that stage, and I pick him up, as soon as I position him to nurse he'll start screaming -- which he won't do if someone else picks him up or if I hold him but not in the nursing position. Could something about the nursing be bothering him, or is it just that he's learned that that position means food and that reminds him how hungry he is?

Josh Mann · 12-10-2006, 08:05 PM

Hi there bxr35,

I have 2 little darling's (devils lol), one 3 and the other 6 months.

Sleeping patterns seemed to change a lot threw the first few weeks with a lot of demand feeds throughout that time.

Is your baby wrapped to sleep or not??

Does your baby sleep with or have a dummy / pacifier??

Some babies really like to be rocked or nursed to slepp and some don't

Babies seem to bit quite funny with how they are held sometimes so there is some reason to suggest what you did, but it could be the feeling of food time. I know our littlest one wakes up and screams until she gets her bottle or used to a couple of months ago, now its better.

As for the spitting up, we only concidered to be an issue if she couldn't sleep or if she wasn't holding down enough milk to get her through. It might however be not a problem at all but its worth monitoring closely. We were suggested to try half the amount of formular just to keep the fluids down instead of up. Didn't have to though.

Good luck and all the best

Josh

bxr35 · 12-10-2006, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Josh Mann

Is your baby wrapped to sleep or not??

Does your baby sleep with or have a dummy / pacifier??

My baby is not wrapped to sleep, as he does not like to have a lot of clothing on him. My husband and I have very different senses of temperature -- he often wears a jacket in the house while I walk around sleeveless and barefoot. I guess baby takes after me

.

He doesn't take a pacifier either. Recently (since this fussiness started) I'll give him one when he seems to want to suck but to get frustrated on the breast. Sometimes he'll take it for a few moments; sometimes not. I was leery about giving him nipple confusion, as he's breastfed, but it doesn't seem to have bothered him.

As to the spitting up, I'm not worried about him getting enough liquids. He certainly makes enough diapers! Besides, he nurses probably 10 times a day and only spits up substantially -- as in maybe an ounce -- once or, rarely, twice. He'll also spit up a tiny amount a few times. So I'm not worried about it interfering with his nutrition -- I'm just wondering why this would have started at three weeks when he never really spit up at all beforehand.

Thanks for your response.

BioAdoptMom3 · 12-10-2006, 09:05 PM

Some of this behavior can be normal in a three week old. Is he difficult to console though? If so, colic tends to begin at around three to four weeks of age. However if he calms down when sleeping on you it is probably not colic. For sleep, you might try having him sleep swaddled, in the carseat, in the swing, in the bouncy, on his tummy if you are comfortable with that, on his side or with you. Most babies do not sleep well or for very long flat on their backs. Many times a change in position or place can make all the difference.

Nancy

KeltoKel · 12-11-2006, 05:58 AM

HI there BXR.

Great to see you here after chatting with you on the pregnancy boards for months.

I can totally relate. Being a new mom myself, I have learned a ton over the past 5 weeks.

First, you need to swaddle that baby. Dress him lightly and swaddle him tightly. Believe me, it makes a big difference. We noticed around two weeks that Ryan wasn't sleeping well either. I was sleeping with him on the couch and I thought that was the only way he would sleep. Now, we will only sleep if swaddled.

Also, try playing white noise in the background for him to sleep. I was at my wits end b/c Ryan would just not sleep for more than an hour. So, one day I placed him in the laundry room while I was doing wash and he was out for hours. Now, we have a CD of white noise that plays while he sleeps. We were able to download the sounds off the internet.

He was warm and cozy in the womb for months with a lot of sound. He needs this in order to feel comfy.

As for the spitting up, I would call the ped. It could be reflux. I thought Ryan had it too and the ped told me to keep him upright for an hour after feeding. He was sleeping in his papasan chair at night instead of his crib.

Best of luck!