Colic or a challenge or what?!

[lizzie11]

My son turned 4 months on 11/26 and he is still such an immense challenge. When he turned 3 months I started counting down the days until 4 months and have been left so disappointed. Most days I wake up and think my god, how am I going to get through another day. He still cries so much, I am starting to worry that he has some kind of neurological/emotional/chemical problem. Now that we are past 4 months I am having trouble accepting that he still has colic, that there must be some other issue. During the day he still can not usually go past 1 hour without crying inconsolably for no apparent reason, and that is with my constant attention….either playing with him on the floor or carrying him around the room. He is no better is public. Today we went to Babies R Us and there were so many angelic babies about his age just sitting in their car seats looking around. Ben can never do that. It makes me so depressed and it takes so much energy each and every day to entertain him as best I can and then console him when he’s crying. I used to console him by nursing but even that often does not work anymore. In fact, sometimes it makes him even more upset. He starts to nurse, then just throws his head back and screams. He does the same if I try a bottle. I feel like he acts like he is still 4 weeks old instead of 4 months. Should I be worried about him? Do you think he will outgrow this? I just don’t know how much more I can take. There have been some posts on here of people who say their colic lasted 9 months or even a year…….I am scared to death that this could be my son. I try to tell myself there are worse things though that could be wrong with him. My ped gave me some reflux meds but I don’t think it is reflux. I guess I should at least try it though. AAARrrrggh…he’s waking up………..!! I am done relaxing now…..

[mommyof2gurlies]

Brooklyn is almost 7 months and I still find myself frustrated with how much energy and effort is required in taking care of her. Its an all day challenge.
She still was going strong with the crying for no reason, inconsolable times.....at 4 months. She probably still did that well into 5- 5 1/2 months. She would still scream every car trip....and just LOSE IT sometimes.
I took her to the dr. SO many times its embarassing to even say! Every time they said she looked great...no REAL underlying cause.
As time has gone on I've really had to come to accept that Brooklyn is just a high maintenance baby. Yes, they require a lot of energy to take care of...but I've found its becoming more and more rewarding. Shes SO into the world around her now...Its like at about 5 months she snapped out of some haze. She came out of the fog....She notices the rain, LOVES dogs...she'll watch birds flying by....all that good stuff. She never paid attention to any of that before. She always seemed very anxious and fidgety.
She still gets like that for no apparent reason...but its less frequent.
She STILL wakes up a couple times a night. Up until about 2 weeks ago she was waking up like 6-7 times a night. Shes teething right now, and she CANNOT handle it. Shes a mess.
She gets emotional when i leave the room sometimes and will start screaming if she sees me walk away from her. She tends to do that a lot mainly when shes tired or not feeling well. Its gotten easier to pick up on her cues, and try to understand what shes telling me. I've found with a high needs baby, you kinda need to. The quicker you can pick up on something, the quicker you can prevent her melting down about something...Sometimes i feel like my day is just rotating her thru different activities to keep her happy. I guess thats just my life now though Between her and my 3 year old, almost all my time is used up. Even my 3 year old still wakes me up to pee twice a night. Or sometimes just because shes "lonely" or "Scared" I'm like a walking zombie half the time...i never get CONSECUTIVE hours of sleep at night...never a good stretch.
Sometimes i get really bummed out and feel bad for myself that I don't have an easy baby, nor will i ever have one. (ive had two fussy, colicky ones!)

Thats short lived though.
My oldest is SOOO smart and ahead for her age....
Brooklyn is shaping up to be the same way.
What i put out in energy to take care of both of them, i get back 10 fold in LOVE. (And amazement. Mya is SO intelligent and sensitive...way beyond her years. Brooklyn is so in tune with things around her, observing everything...taking it all in. Its really cool to watch.)

Besides, what would i be doing with all that free time with an "easy" baby?? My life would be SOOOO boring. I wouldnt know what to do with all that free time!! Not having to hurry while going to the bathroom?!??! Thats a CONCEPT!!! lol

[ahoward]

Liz,

Hang in there. Garren was 5 months on the 26th and I felt the same way up until about a week or so ago. I thought lord, this kid is never gonna be happy, but I have to say I have noticed a huge change in him in the past week. I too feel like something just snapped and he started noticing the world around him more. It seems to keep him occupied and happy because he has things to look at and enjoy. He loves the Christmas tree. I kept counting the days thinking this is never gonna be completely over but he is smiling and grining and laughing...really acting like a different baby! Just give it a few more weeks and see if you don't start to notice a change. I know you are tired/frustrated, as we all are and have been but we a STRONG women and we CAN do this!!!!! Take care! We're all here if you need us!

Audrey

[basy45]

Waiting for a magical marker like 4 months is just going to get you depressed. I know because I kept doing it with my son and kept getting disappointed. I also had concerns that there was something more wrong with him, and I took him to a neurologist, a gastroenterologist, and most recently an occupational therapist. Luckily he is neurologically normal, and just seems to have some sensory issues that he will hopefully outgrow. As far as stomach issues or allergies, we are still not sure, but since the Alimentum has been working, we are not going to test the waters. As you know, I am a huge believer in the power of sleep, especially for colicky babies. It can be hard to tell when colic is ending if a baby is really overtired. Most of Samuel's real fussing these days only occurs when he is exhausted. As soon as he stopped crying all the time and had periods during the day when he was awake and happy, we started sleep training, and I am still amazed at the progress he has made.

Try to hang in there. Things can only get better even though it might not seem that way now. I have given up comparing Samuel to other babies. I used to refer to other babies as "normal" babies, but now I refer to them as "average" babies. Who wants to be average when you can be interesting?

[pamcrt]

Lord I think Abby was almost 5 months before I began to say... "are we colic free yet??" And I think that is about when it ended. Now she sits up, crawls (Lord help us all she's into everything!), laughs,smiles, says mama & dada, and now the big one... we are working on our first tooth FOR REAL NOW. It is right under the gums, they are nice and swollen and she is just crying and crying. I know this is gross, but yesterday she pooped 5 times, and so far today she has pooped 4 times. AND, they are literally burning her butt. I can't even use wipes on her. I have to take her to the bath tub and wash her off with soap and water or she just screams. So I am having to coat her butt with cream to keep a nice thick protective barrier there so it won't hurt so bad when she poops. This sucks, so I hope these teeth come in quickly. Poor baby, I hate to see her in pain.
But for the most part (besides the teeth) she is an awesome baby. She's fun, laughs at her sisters, loves to look outside, or be outside, hates clothes (odd for a girl huh?) and thankfully is sleeping through the night (Bless GOD!!) So it does get better, but I think every baby is different. She is definitely a baby that demands my attention all the time. She wants her entertainment in front of her, not in another room! But I love her and I wouldn't change what I have been through the last 7 1/2 months for anything. Even though it sucked! ;-)

[lizzie11]

Thank you all for your replies. You have given me the hope and encouragement I need to keep going! What would I do without you all......

[accebersmith]

Lizzie, the three month thing is B U L L S &* T Gavin *just* got over colic, and he'll be 8 months old this week.