Crying - Stony Point, NY

I have a 5 month old baby girl and it was about that time that she started getting really fussy and wanting to be held constantly. She still cried a lot even when I was holding her and bouncing her, so we came to the conclusion that it must have been her teething. We just found teething tablets that dissolve instantly when mixed with her saliva. It works really well, and the pediatrician said that it was completely safe for infants.

Jeanmarie,

could be teeth. If it is, try giving her a weight-appropriate dose of acetominophen (baby tylenol) and wait to see if that stops the crying. If it is, then teeth are probably the culprit. Then you can try something cold and firm for her to chew on to numb the gums, like a frozen whole wheat bagel, or a refrigerated teether toy, or even a frozen damp washcloth.

Most babies are working out of the colic stage by this age, so it's probably not that. If the tylenol doesn't help, and she doesn't stop it on her own in a couple of days, talk to your ped to make sure she doesn't have an ear infection, or something like that.

Jess

I remember those days well and look forward to it happening again soon. I have a 12 month old and now I have a one month old home with me. My older one got the snuggles out of the way for the most part in the first four months or so, just about the time she learne3d to crawl and climb and then she just wanted to go, go, GO! When she used to cry like that I would wrap her tight in her blankie and rock her in the chair or dance around the room and just hum to her softly. Mine also started to teeth early and then slacked off for a while and then just now it has begun to rear it's ugly head again and drive her nuts. It is possible that it is teething, check her little gums, if they are swollen or white and sensitive, then it's definately teething, also if she has begun drooling a lot more than usual too. If that's not the case it probably isn't teething and it could be a million other things. The best thing to do with her crying so much is to talk to the doctor about it because something is going on that you cannot see. Another thing is to take a little hand warmer, the gel or bean ones and wrap it in a little blanket and then put it against her tummy, wrap her in a blanket nice and tight, rocker her for a bit and that'll probably put ehr right to sleep. This works really good if it's gas or if she's just missing the warmth of you while she sleeps. Most of the time parenting is a test and learn experience, but you have to pay attention to the little things your baby is telling you with her many behavioral and physical cues. Once you learn those, you're good to go and soemtimes it takes a while to sense them. GOOD LUCK!

Hi, Whenever my daughter started crying, I just put baby orajel in her mouth, nighttime formula! Everything was great after that! I still have tubes lying around everywhere! She is 19 months old now. She also slept through the night! Aren't we just so lucky!

if it is teething you might try Hylands teething tablets (they're homeopathic and dissolve QUICKLY) or you could freeze a damp washcloth and let her gnaw on it.

if it's not gas...have you tried the mylicon (gas) drops? both my kids were sneaky about the gas lol and the drops worked great.

hope you find something that helps :)

jeanmarie...she was with you for 9 months and heard your voice constantly and that is what makes her feel comfortable. she is a little baby and its a big deal coming into the world. think about it. that is sooo tramatic for babies...i am not sure if its her teeth. she is very young. she just may want to be held. you can't spoil a baby. don't listen to that. its just not true. a baby needs to be held and feel soothed and warm...get one of those slings to hold the baby close to you. and if you can deal with it...good luck honey..it goes by soo fast...she will be a toddler before you know it and wont want to be held much cause she will want to destroy everything she sees!! lol enjoy honey!!! sit and rock her too. that was something that my youngest just loved. give her a soft blanket and put it against her face. (when holding her) my babies all loved that...good luck honey...and have fun!!
does she stop crying when you hold her?? i think i miss read your advice thing...sorry...but does she stop then??? let me know...just curious...good luck.

My son began teething at 4 months, hes 11 months now and has 8th and is working on another one. I use homopathic teething tablets on him. Hylands makes some very good ones as does Biorion (not sure of spelling) you can get them at Wild Oats. I wonder if your daughter is allergic or sensative to certain foods? Are you breastfeeding or bottle feeding? I would take milk out of your diet and see if that helps. Also your baby might just be changing personality. A newborns personailty isnt always the same by three months. Most women are happy about that because it means less crying,but in your case maybe it means MORE crying.

well it may be teething in which case I would use orajel if your child is old enough(i cant remember the age) or maybe call the pediatrician just in case because sometimes it can seem like teething but may be an ear infection. If it is teething they will at least tell you exactly what u can use to help your baby be more comfortable. Let me tell you now ... trying to tell the difference between ear infections and teething isnt fun. For months Id bring my daughter to the doctors and say i think she has an ear infection and they say no sometimes teething hurts their ear but her ears look fine ... other times id not go to the doctor and trweat her for teething til she would get a fever or just not improve and theyd say oh its an ear infection but remember every new parent brings their child to the doctors just in case and a mothers intuition is often right so dont ever hesitate even if the doctor says oh its just teething :) well then you can ask all about teething and find out what she can and cant have for medicine:) Good Luck ...,. Hope everything is great

it could be the start of teething,, try something cold, a cold teething toy or a carrot or something. good luck

Is she rubbing her ears? Does she feel a little bit warm? She may have an ear infection... those aren't always easy to spot because babies don't have any way to communicate the problem and get clingy. you can always ask your pediatricain too.

Hang something near her that is black and white. She might just be bored. My son cried for two days straight once, I called the doctor in hysterics and they told me to put somehting black and white where he could see it. It worked like a charm!

my son was the same way!! happy all the time, except starting when he was 2 mos old, every night at 9pm on the dot he would start crying and would not stop until around midnight. it was so weird. i asked around, some people said it was colic, and my sister in law suggested it may be because 9pm was when things started to "wind down" for the night and also b/c my attention was focused on other things as well as him. in retrospect this makes sense now as my son is 18 mos and hates going to bed! LOL.

If its teething, i reccomend Hylands teeth tablets. they are all natural with chammomile to relax her and that with some baby Tylenol works awesome!! We dont use Orajel b/c we didnt like the chemicals in it. (No offense to those who use it, its just a personal choice)

good luck!!

Hi Jeanmarie,

This is one of the hardest things about being a parent: trying to figure out why an infant is crying. You've gone through all the right steps of checking comfort (diaper and hunger).
I read in a magazine article somewhere that babies learn so much in a day, they have a lot of stimulation, and they recently have gone through a heck of an ordeal with their entrance into the world! Crying is their way of relieving stress. It sounded strange to me, that a baby will be stressed. After thinking about the above though, it does make sense.
You seem to be doing everything right. Just realize it's nothing personal, she just needs to let out some frustration. Keep her comfortable by holding her, if that's what she wants. Sometimes playing some soft music (Baby Einstien CDs worked great for me here) and slowly rocking to the beat will calm them down.
It could be teething, but it is really early for that. But, all babies are different. If she draws her knees up to her stomach as she cries, then it could be gas pains. Some of the suggestions below regarding gas pains are excellent.
Hope this helps, and you are doing great!!
~B.

It could be teething - some babies get teeth that early. My little guy is 9 months and just broke his two bottom teeth yesterday/today!! Anyway, you could let her gum a cold, wet washcloth, or chill a teething ring.
Does she get fussy around the same time each day? They say that colicky babies have crying spells in the evening. I found that my son was cranky around dinnertime, and my husband and I just finally gave into it and took turns eating. He outgrew it!
Also, try a vibrating bouncy seat-I found it to be a lifesaver!
Swaddling can also be helpful.
Babies are fickle - just when you think you have them figured out, they do something new!!
Good luck and congrats on your new bundle!

I have an almost 5 month old daughter and we just went through that. It could be teething which is what I thought but turned out not to be case. Mine was because she was overeating and was just uncomfortably full. I was still breastfeeding her every 2-2 1/2 hours. When I went for her checkup the doctor told me she should be doing 3-4 hours and once we eased into that she was happier and she spit up less. My baby is very perticular. Until recently we figured out why she was still waking up every 3 hours at night. She was cold. The heat had to be on at exactly 72 degrees and no fleece pjs either. So check to see if she is too hot or too cold. Good luck with the detective work.