What the hell?
I am playing the very un-fun game of “What the hell is up with my child?” The past two nights have been very restless, with frequent waking and squirming on her part, while I sleepily try to calm her and get her back to sleep. She’s even been tough to get down, which is pretty much unheard of – it normally takes only laying down with her to nurse and she’s fast asleep. So this crying, having to walk and rock her, it’s just so weird. I last here cuddling her against me and as she’s drifting off there will be 30 seconds of stillness and then she kicks out her legs, curls her toes like little claws, and scratches down my lower belly. Kicking I could handle better, this using my pelvis as a springboard thing is highly irritating.
She’s been very fussy at the breast. She’ll eat normally, then act like she wants more and start popping on and off, whining and fussing. As if that weren’t annoying enough, she then spits up a bunch of milk.
Then today she just started melting down. She’s normally pretty good for diaper changes, baling and looking around, maybe a little frustrated crying, but today it was screaming as soon as I laid her down on the changing pad. This evening she shrieked so high-pitched Den came running to see what happened.
She’s had a ton of gas, which I can only assume is due to the on/off nursing, and may partially explain why she’s crying when laid down (but the crying isn’t consistent every time I lay her down, which is confusing).
And now she’s all snotty and stuffed up, presumably from the crying. This doesn’t help the sleeping or eating matters in the least.
She’s still smiling and having fun times, but it snaps from a good time to really upset faster than usual (which is saying a lot, she’s always changing emotion at the drop of a hat). And it’s not her usual personality-driven temper fit kind of crying. Something is bothering her; I just don’t know what.
Friends have suggested it’s the right time for a growth spurt. Or she may be ferrying a little cold. Either way I really hope this passes quickly. Especially the sleep part.
Update: Well, mystery solved, in a way. This morning she is extremely stuffed up, she definitely has a little cold. :( My poor baby. And oh does she hate the suction bulb.
I HATE that game. The baby saline drops work well for stuffy noses, and they say you don’t necessarily need the bulb for those if that helps
Awww! I hope she feels better soon! It’s so hard when babies are sick. Hang in there. This too shall pass.
I hope she feels better! Any chance she has an ear infection. My daughter would cry about 15 mins after I would put her down for a nap everytime she had one. Just a thought!
I second the baby saline…Little noses makes one with the concentrated spray and my pediatrician suggested doing it at every diaper change (no suction needed every time)…it helps break up the post nasal drip so that it doesn’t back up in her tummy and make her vomit…and it also keeps it from pooling in her little head and leading to an ear infection. We have at least 10 bottles of that stuff all over the house…it has saved us. You also might want to keep her eleveated while sleeping for the next couple days to aid in the drainage. Poor baby. Good luck surviving your first little cold.
Hey there, those are tough days. I would also recommend going to the ped just to get everything checked out. Also, I think you mentioned earlier that you babywear? When they are sick or grumpy, that is one of the best times to use your carrier. For her age a Moby is great. When she gets a little older (4-5 months) an Ergo is wonderful. Good luck, and I hope she feels better soon!
Poor thing! Hope she gets better quickly
x
I’m also a big fan of the saline solution — hope she feels better soon!
I can always tell when mine is getting sick (colds were as bad as fevers)…by fussing at the breast, being fussy in general, increased reflux, and not sleeping well at all. Colds are the worst! And they seem to last for 2 weeks exactly. They hate the bulbs, they hate the saline mist. Vicks makes a baby rub, but i personally used the full strength version. I rubbed it on the bottom of her feet and on her chest. It seemed to calm her down. Also, you need a cool mist humidifier. I added eucalyptus oil to hers. Hang in there!
Forgot to add, I couldn’t figure out why mine hated the saline mist, and then I did it myself…UGH! I hated the feeling of that in my nose. So I saved it only when it was very necessary. I just tried to remember to apply the vicks under her nose a few minutes before breastfeeding, so she could breath enough while nursing.
It kinda sounds like reflux to me. The general squirmy/uncomfortable feeling. But, then again, if she has a lot of drainage that could be choking her up. I also think a trip to the pedi might be in order, just to make sure nothing’s wrong. My daughter had her first ear infection at around 4 weeks.