Post by hopeless on Aug 10, 2014 16:27:48 GMT -5
Hello,
I need some help/advice. My daughter is six weeks old and has been colicky since week three. At first it started out like the typical colic pattern where she was fussy between 5:00 pm and 9:00 pm but was fine during the day and night. We got a lot of good cuddle time during those first three weeks but all that has ended. By week four things changed. Since then she has been fussy all day from the time she wakes up until 9:00 pm. What's most concerning to me is that she hates being held unless being bounced on an exercise ball or when she is sleeping or eating. When I hold her while she isn't eating, sleeping, or bouncing she struggles to get out of my arms and grunts not matter what position she's in (upright, cradled, etc.). If I keep holding her she'll start to cry but if I put her down she'll sometimes stop, though not always. If she gets agitated while she's down, picking her up only seems to make it worse unless I take her to the exercise ball and start bouncing. Needless to say I spend hours of my life on an exercise ball and my back is killing me. Sometimes I can get her to sleep while bouncing but within five minutes of stopping she usually wakes up and fusses.
Is it within the realm of normal for a colicky baby to do better when not being held? I can't find any resource on colic that says this is normal. In fact, paradoxical irritability (being agitated by being held) is considered a red flag for either physical illness or child abuse and one autism site describes some autistic infants as being colicky but not wanting to be held. After 9:00 pm she likes to be held because that's when she sleeps. Even when she wakes up to eat she doesn't fuss and goes right back to sleep. She also sleeps for much longer stretches when she's being held, even during the day for naps (which are rare, she's usually wide awake most of the day) and she'll wake up shortly after being put down. Still, I'm worried that something is wrong because she hates being held most of the time. I'm just feeling so hopeless. I want so badly to be able to cuddle with my daughter and it's breaking my heart that it distresses her so much. Any advice would be helpful.
Thanks in advance.
I need some help/advice. My daughter is six weeks old and has been colicky since week three. At first it started out like the typical colic pattern where she was fussy between 5:00 pm and 9:00 pm but was fine during the day and night. We got a lot of good cuddle time during those first three weeks but all that has ended. By week four things changed. Since then she has been fussy all day from the time she wakes up until 9:00 pm. What's most concerning to me is that she hates being held unless being bounced on an exercise ball or when she is sleeping or eating. When I hold her while she isn't eating, sleeping, or bouncing she struggles to get out of my arms and grunts not matter what position she's in (upright, cradled, etc.). If I keep holding her she'll start to cry but if I put her down she'll sometimes stop, though not always. If she gets agitated while she's down, picking her up only seems to make it worse unless I take her to the exercise ball and start bouncing. Needless to say I spend hours of my life on an exercise ball and my back is killing me. Sometimes I can get her to sleep while bouncing but within five minutes of stopping she usually wakes up and fusses.
Is it within the realm of normal for a colicky baby to do better when not being held? I can't find any resource on colic that says this is normal. In fact, paradoxical irritability (being agitated by being held) is considered a red flag for either physical illness or child abuse and one autism site describes some autistic infants as being colicky but not wanting to be held. After 9:00 pm she likes to be held because that's when she sleeps. Even when she wakes up to eat she doesn't fuss and goes right back to sleep. She also sleeps for much longer stretches when she's being held, even during the day for naps (which are rare, she's usually wide awake most of the day) and she'll wake up shortly after being put down. Still, I'm worried that something is wrong because she hates being held most of the time. I'm just feeling so hopeless. I want so badly to be able to cuddle with my daughter and it's breaking my heart that it distresses her so much. Any advice would be helpful.
Thanks in advance.