6 Mo Old Fussy All the time...........please Help!

J.,

Is she cutting teeth? It could be possible? My neices had teeth come in at 7 mos. They started the fussiness around 6 mos. time period. Is she doing the knawing, drooling thing? Even if it's just a little bit, that's one idea. The second is she's used to you being home, is she used to you holding her? Just a thought....Thirdly have you asked you Pediatrician?

B.

Hi J., My son went through this at the same age. I think he was wanting to get around to get to toys and such, but didn't have the means to do it yet. I remember he was delighted when he learned to sit up well and roll around. By the time he was crawling at 9 mos he was over the fussiness. I guess all I can say is, hopefully it is short lived. Before you know it she'll be off to college....

My son had the same problems from birth. We tried the Gripe water and it helped but he was still fussy. I took him at three months in to see the doc and she said he had Acid reflux. I got a Rx for him and he gets a few drops in the am and a few in the pm and he has been wounderful ever since. He is now a year old.

Count calories! It may sound funny but I went through this with both of my children at 6 months. Despite the amount of food they were eating they were not getting enough calories. Find out what your doc or the american academy of pediatrics recommends for your childs daily calorie intake and then write down everything she eats, as she eats one day and find out if she is getting enough. My kids were both great eaters but to my surpise I was feeding them lower calorie baby foods, so their daily total was seriously lacking. For example a jar of green beans is only 25 or 30 calories. Once I started feeding them the appropriate amount, they went back to being little angels. Try it. I hope it works.

A. W.

Mom of a 4 yr old son and 2 yr old daughter

Well, my first thought would be to ask how your birth went to see if she could benefit from a Pediatric Certified Chiropractor. Which my 10 month old did benefit from, due to the posterior birth and he was tongue tied. My second thought would be does your baby have food allergies, if your breast feeding, giving formula, or starting food it could be as simple has wheat or soy. If you have checked in to all of this then, I would say infant massage has proven to help sooth fussy babies. I know of one practices in Raleigh that does infant massage and teaches you too. My first was the fussy one and massage was the answer for him. OH, it could be acid reflux too, my good friend and LLL leader had two babies that had it.

My daughter was also VERY interested in her surroundings and wanted to get around much more than she could at that age. My mother-in-law bought her a walker, which I was a little opposed to at first (due to all the advice that says it delays walking, dangerous, etc.) But she ended up loving it!! It gave her a sense of freedom to explore, kept her from getting her little hands into too much trouble (since it had a wide tray) and seemed very safe/sturdy with very wide spaced wheels that wouldn't allow it to tip over (as long as no stairs around). And she walked pretty early at 10 months. So it might help to entertain your little one and help with her frustration of not being able to move around like she wants.

Usually 6 months brings teething and super speed changes in physical growth, diet, and daily schedule. First with any challenge cover it with prayer and tune into the Holy Spirit who will guide you through your day. Next see if there is a certain time of day when your 6 mo old is more content and how this time is related to food/drink intake. If there is a pattern you may be able to work backward to a solution. You may not see immediate affect and sometimes the Holy Spirit will have you do things that seem unusual or that you know you wouldn't have thought about on your own. However, we are better daughters, wives, mothers with the Holy Spirit's guidance. Most of the time for a 6 mo old the same peaceful soother doesn't work twice in a row, however the Holy Comforter works all the time. Nothing like sleep deprivation and exhaustion to push us to the One and Only Father who is able to truly help us. Hang in there. This to shall pass and become a faint memory. A. B

My daughter was like that for a couple of months and then it went away. I have no idea what it was. Check for teeth maybe?

My first reaction was to say perhaps it's reflux, just because that's what my daughter has, but after re-reading your entry, maybe it's something else. You said she's into everything and very interested in her surroundings. Does she have an area that she can play in and explore to the utmost with out things having to be taken away for safety reasons? If she has things taken away from her a lot, that would definitely be very frustrating. Also, has she been teething? Have there been any big changes in your family? (illness--hers or yours, new people in her life, etc.) Food could be an issue as well. If you've just started introducing foods, cut back a bit and see if she improves. Some kids do go through an adjustment period when it comes to digesting all that new stuff. If food does seem to be the issue, only introduce one thing at a time in very small amounts at first, slowing increasing it over a period of five or six days so that her body can get used to it. With my dd, we did one new thing a week after wheat and oatmeal ended up giving her pain from her acid reflux. After a few months, she was able to start eating them normally.

Hi J.-

My youngest was the same way for the 1st 9 mos. We found out around 3 mos that she had severe reflux and allergies to both lactose & soy which is the base for most formulas. I was able to finally find one that worked after about 2 mos of working thru it, thus never really being full and terrible discomfort. On top of that, she only wanted me to hold her. She had terrible stranger anxiety & didn't even want to be with her dad! :( Have you talked to your pediatrician? We found once she was on zantac, raised one side of her bed, let her eat slowly so she didn't overeat and be on the right foods we were golden. We also used homeopathic colic tablets that soothed her tummy & worked a lot better than milacon. My little one ended up with a slew of food allergies which she had outgrown all of them by 2! Good luck! I know it can be very overwhelming but if she is as fussy as you say, I can't imagine there isn't more to what's going on with her.

Are you breast feeding? Do you think it could be a little colic? If so, try Fennel Tincture in YOUR drinking water, about 10-30 drops 2x daily, this gets into the breast milk & soothes the baby's tummy. Works like a freakin' charm. You can find this at most health food stores/whole foods.

Could it also maybe be teeth coming in? I have a good one for that too. Hyland's Teething Tablets. They are a homeopathic remedy, just pop a few (quick dissolve) tablets in your little one's mouth, Ideally no food or drink for 1/2 after, it will either work immediately (within 5 mins to 12 hours) or not at all. With no harm done. You cna get them at most health food stores/Whole foods. I have also seen them at Wal-Mart for about $5 (one tube got me through 2 kids)

I wish you luck!

P

Let me start with a question. Has she always been fussy?

My wife and I have a 5-year-old girl and a 4-month-old boy. Within the first month we noticed our new, breastfed boy was very fussy. While bouncing him on an exercise ball, we discovered he had a lot of gas. My wife cut dairy from her diet, and the fussiness all but disappeared. She drank rice milk, ate goat cheese, and yes, even ate dairy free pizza. It wasn't simple, but it was nowhere near climbing Mount Everest either. Now, he's fine. She's added cheese, yogurt, sour cream, etc back to her diet. This week she drank her last rice milk. He's doing great.... You might do a test. Cut don't eat or drink dairy for a week. (It can take that long for traces to leave your system.) Slowly add back a little dairy at a time. Cheese on a sandwich. Yogurt on your cereal. Watch her reaction. And, good luck....

(BTW, love the name Kate. We planned to name our second child Katie, if he had been a she.)

sounds just like my 6 month old daughter hannah she has cried so much i made her a dr appointment and shes fine shes teething i give her teething meds and pain reliver she still cries nonstop. i have no advice just wanted to let you know i understand shes been doing this for 2 weeks now. hannahs cutting 4 teeth there through the gums ,

My last child was/is the same way. She is now three, four in March and still whines all the time. I don't know if there is anything that you can do to change that. It may just be her temperament. They are each so different and can't be changed. I think that you should pay close attention to what is going on when she is happy and try to mimic that to make her more pleasant more often. Also, prayer works. Just pray over her when she sleeps.

sounds like you have a high needs baby. babywearing (a sling) helps a lot of babies with their fussiness at this age. you get things done, and she is right there with you, having her curiosity and need for interaction met, sometimes eliminating the frustration, which, sometimes for high need babies, is merely boredom and the inability to entertain themselves.

check out mamaology.com for more resources and information!

J.,

First I wanna say I would definitely be asking your doctor to have a looksee, just to be sure all is well.....

Second, I had a little girl who is like this as well currently, she is almost a year old.....I took developmental psychology last semester and it helped me to understand she just needs to be challenged often. She takes in all the information she can from objects/ toys and then wants to move on to the next. At first I thought she was hyperactive or something like that, but there are children whom just need more intellectual stimulation. I would say get her in a play group with other kids, grab anything to show her pots and pans and such, and just keep her mind thinking. My lil one enjoys walks and me describing every little thing. She is totally different than my past three children whom were content to just watch me clean house. I had to get a baby backpack just to get chores done, for she wants to be up and doing it too. It is just personality differences, but def. check with the doctor first. I also have a son whom is autistic and showed signs early on....but because I was young didn't recognize them until he was almost three.
good luck hope that helps,
maw

Hi J.,

My name is S. Hein. I am family herbalist here in wilmington, nc. I reccommend a product by Mothers Bliss, called Gripe Water. You can usually by it at a local health food store and maybe even Harris Teeter! It is a great blend, to ease gas and tension for a young child. I used this with my son when he was younger and it was a miracle. Even if it wasn't gas, it seemed to calm him down quite a bit. Also if you are nursing, don't hesitate to drink some Chamomile Tea, as this will enter your daughter throught the milk and ease her tension. I hope you find comfort in this advice.
Many blessings,
S. Hein

I read all your responses thus far, and I was surprised that many other mothers have encountered problems due to milk/soy. This is what happened with my third. I also breastfed and had a fussy baby. I asked the ped if it may be what I was eating and she said no - we were also having a loy of issues with his skin - lots of eczema. The dermatologist even said it had nothing to do wth what I was eating or giving him to eat. I kept hearing all about how important it was to put lotion on him. Trust me - this kid was getting LOTS of lotion. The older he got, the worse his fussiness and skin got. I was giving him things like graham crackers, micro pancakes, all those cute little baby puffs, etc. All those things contain either soy or milk. When he was about 9 months he got this horrible "cold" that he could not get rid of. The "cold" turned into what I thought was phenumonia. Very bad deep cough, lots of ruuny nose, miserable child. The ped checked him and said that his lungs were clear and sent us to an allergist. She was awesome. Turns out he was allergic to soy, milk, codfish, and peanut butter, plus seasonal allergies. I cut those things out of his diet, give him half a teaspoon Zyrtec every night (which became available over the counter this week!), he FINALLY has great skin, is a happy kid and actually sleeps the night through. He is about a year and a half now, and can tollerate all the food in small moderation. Fussiness was the first sign though...I will pray for you. It is definately frustrating to have your little one not sleeping well by this age and not being happy for big chunks of the day. It really tests your mommy limits - even more that you still have a toddler that needs you too.

Usually when a very well cared for baby is fussy there is a problem, something like ear, stomach, etc., some of the food or milk could cause a problem. I think I would start with keeping a log of what is eaten compare with food eaten when she is fussy, or when you went out compared to when she get fussy. Some babies can't stand smells, purfume, after save, house hold cleaners, candles, etc. If it something like ear, it could be change in weather, wind, cold, a slight infection can go on for a long time before being triggered. Watch and see if you notice anything, they will pull at ear, beat stomach, chew on things, watch the bowels.

I have a 9 month old who is that way. He is just a very high needs baby! He is a bright little boy who is into everything. He has always been fussy. The night we brought him home from the hospital we slept about 2 hours that night...he had colic until he was 13 or 14 weeks. Now that he is 9 months old and has learned how to whine, he whines all the time.

If you have taken her to the doctor and nothing is wrong, you probably just have a high needs baby, too. They are generally very bright babies, and do fuss b/c their brains can do more than their little bodies can. Good luck!

My little boy was the same way. His pediatrician said that it was just gas or colic or a million other things. My motherly instinct told me something else was wrong. I was breastfeeding at the time, so I switched to formula thinking he must be bothered by something I was eating. That did not make things any better, so I tried soy formula. He was a new man! He has milk sensitivities to this day and he is 14 months old. We slowly tried to introduce whole milk at 1 year, but he reverted back to his fussy ways. So I talked to our new pediatrician and she said, it doesn't always last, just keep testing whole milk every three months and hopefully his system will be able to handle it. I do agree that Infant massage is nice too though! Good Luck!

My first response would definitely be teething! My kids had a hard time with this, and maybe some orajel or Tylenol would help. Second, the milk allergies, which are very common, my first daughter had to be on soy for about the first 2 yrs. then my second is on lactose free. Try switching around with different things. Also, the massage does help, particularly the feet, around the toes and heels, my girls loved this at bedtime especially. It helps with pressure points that babies can't get to, b/c they are not walking yet, those particular pressure points help with digestion. I'm not a huge hippie or anything, it really does help, try it and see results! Also, it's hard not being able to do what big sister does, so maybe try giving her one on one attention( easier said than done, I know)

Hi J.,
My son was the same way, and still is to an extent- he is 17 mos. After many a doctor's visit, and a diagnosis of colic as an infant, we could not find a thing wrong with him physically- no reflux, no intolerances, etc. He was just a high-needs baby. I remember thinking that I had the most miserable and cranky baby...I thought that if all babies were like this, I am surprised that people ever had more than one! :)
He did get a little better when he started to walk. Now that he is talking more, he can tell or show us what he wants and his fussing has dropped dramatically and he is much more satisfied and happy. He also knows what "HUSH!" means now and that helps when he is in one of his moods. :)
I just learned to accept that my son is vocal and has no patience when he wants something. He is very, very bright and a lot of that has come from the fact that he demanded constant attention and interaction from day one. The doctor told me that studies have show that high-need babies grow up to be bright, well-adjusted, and intelligent kids and adults. There is a silver lining with everything! :) Hang in there... it will get better.

Are you busier than you were when your older child when that age? The first baby is usually over-adored.

Hi J.,
How is your daughter sleeping? I am a mother of three and every time we have had a problem with fussiness it has been due to sleep issues. I followed the sleep guidelines in the book called Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child. That made all of the difference for us. Good luck.
K.

Could be she is teething, have you ever heard of Gripe Water?
It is in most health food stores. It helps with gas as well as teething. You might try this and see if it helps with the fussing.

My 2nd was nothing like my first, either. It's confusing when the first one was so much easier and happier. My son is very "high maintenance" and always has been. He doesn't like to sleep and his below normal sleep makes him even crankier. I know it's hard now, but your active one should become easier when she becomes more mobile and can express herself better.