I'm a new mother and going out of my mind! help!

[summerwindsfarm]

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Good to see you back! I was wondering how it was going!

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Perfect..sometimes kids cooperate for you lol. It will all be soo much easier if he understands. A babies crying is very stressful for me. It doesnt bother my hubby. When Preston was tiny and would get cranky tired or something i could pass him off to my hubby who would just rock him and watch tv as if he wasnt crying! I said doesnt that bother you? He shrugged and said.. hes a baby..babys cry. Can you tell hes the oldest of 8 kids lol. But its a good attitude to have..babies *do* cry and we cant always *fix* it..we can just comfort them when they are crying.

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Shes plenty old enough to have a little applesauce every day and if shes a bit constipated it will help loosen her up a bit. But its best to only start one new food every 2 weeks so i wouldnt change her cereal yet if your going to start the applesauce. That way if the baby has an allergic reaction or an upset tummy you will know which new food is the culprit. My youngest son had terrible food allergies..about drove me nuts. His first couple years were one big elimination diet sigh. He was the only one that was nursed til he was 18 months and the only one that wasnt started on solids til he was 8 months old. Go figure lol! Of course as bad as his allergies were if id not nursed him id have really had problems!

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It really isnt easy being a stay at home mom...but its sure worth it in the long run! Take time to enjoy her and everything else will work itself out..and now go take a nap while shes napping <grin>. Heh.. believe me i take my own advice too. Preston went down for his nap at 10 and i was napping by 10:15 lol.

 

[Beekissed]

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You GO, girl!!!! I'm so proud of you!!! Maintain that strong attitude....I have a feeling you're gonna need it!

 

[cat]

have you tried the drug store for any colic remedies? My niece was very colicy and they really helped her, also we changed her to a formula for colicy babies, low dairy, low gas etc, it really helped. the most important thing to do is the hardest, and that is relax! the more you are stressed the more your baby will cry. i feel for you so much, its not easy being a new mom trying to survive on no sleep, keep a house and a husband, and all the while still act like being a mom is the best thing you ever did.. but it does get easier. my baby is 19 now, i still have sleepless nights but they are mostly worryng about where she is and what she is doing! everything changes, everything stays the same.

 

[BowChickaBowMow]

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Thanks for posting that website resource. This issue was the problem w/ my firstborn (very fussy) As a new mom I knew nothing of the sorts, neither did my Pediatrician, nurses, lactation consultant, dietician.

My 2nd born had (still has) many food allergies, alot of those already listed.... but some other common food allergies that I've not seen noted yet (though haven't read all the posts) are strawberries, cod, beef, EGGS, wheat, and RICE (yes the first cereal they suggest trying is a common allergy source) I nursed him for 10.5 months when my diet was down to barely nothing, and my milk supply was so low he was starving. I then switched to the only alternative at the time that the pediatrician told me about was nutramigen or alimentum formula. The nutramigen still caused a reaction. The alimentum didn't. It was a lifesaver.

Trying to figure out which foods are reacting w/ your baby is not always easy. It's like figuring out which puzzle pieces fit. The best thing that helped me was keeping a food diary of everything that went into my mouth... and also times I nursed, and times of fussiness/crying/screaming (and how long it lasted). My 2nd son had so many allergies/sensitivities that I ended up having to take a whole bunch out of my diet at once, and slowly adding items back in. Just starting out with one thing at a time usually works fine, start with dairy, but read all food labels religiously... it's in alot of things. (breads/crackers, canned soups, convenience foods... things you wouldn't think of)

Best of luck w/ you and your little one figuring out what's causing all the fussiness. This too shall pass!

Forgot to mention (not sure if anyone else did) that if your baby does have food allergies, the absolute best thing is to continue nursing as long as you two both can tolerate doing so. This is supposed to help with the possibility of outgrowing some or all of the allergies.

 

[Cetawin]

I did not read through all of the replies so I may be repeating something already suggested.

there are fruit flavored drops OTC that be given to help her with the gas. My daughter had colic as well and I put a small heating pad on low under her tummy at night and it worked like a charm.

This may sound cruel but it will not hurt her...let her cry some. a lot of her crying (even at 5 months old) is because she is being trained to do so. When you pick her up immediately and every time, she learns this is the way to get picked up...same for sleeping with you where she is surrounded by comforting.

Try to let her fuss a bit before you go to her to pick her up....give her a chance to stop all by herself. If you do not get a handle on this now, you will be sorry later. Just ask my sister....hahahahaha

Good luck and remember you are not alone, we have all been there.

 

[purr]

yeah cause we all know comforting is bad. Not!

 

[Beekissed]

Ever hear of too much of a good thing? Yes, a 5 month old can and will learn a conditioned response. One can argue child rearing until they are blue in the face here and everyone will think the way they did it is best.... but the lady DID ask for advice and she has already tried picking her up and coddling her every time she cries. I think the point Cetawin was trying to make is that it is not cruel or heartless to let a child work out their own emotions sometimes. Instant gratification isn't such a good thing to teach a child. I'm the youngest of 9 children and we are all decent, upstanding citizens who have never been in trouble with the law, we pay our taxes and we fear God.... we are not, however, emotionally deprived because we cried ourselves to sleep! I've raised 3 myself and babysat for all the grandkids for years. Sometimes the old ways aren't necessarily outdated and "cruel". We consider it common sense where I come from!

 

[joebryant]

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AMEN!

 

[Reinbeau]

My second (and final!!) baby was colicky. It was awful. He was four months old before he stopped screaming all day, and about nine months old before he stopped screaming half the night. Literally. I used to feed him, make sure he was burped, diaper changed, rocked, cuddled, everything I could think of - then I'd put him in his crib, still screaming, and go out way down in the backyard, sit there and cry because nothing I did consoled this child. I feel for the original poster. Even worse was Xhusband's reaction (he's an x for a reason), he was no help at all. I seriously wouldn't have more kids after that experience. He is now 23, 6'5" tall, eats everything and anything in sight, and I wouldn't trade him for anything, but man-o-man, how did we survive his infancy?

 

[Rhett&SarahsMom]

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AMEN!

I second that AMEN!