My 3-Month Old Daughter Shrieks and Cries a Lot, How Can I Help Her?

Put on earplugs and hold her close. Earplugs really helped me keep my stress level down during my son's colic.

I hope you get some brilliant advice that solves her crying. But if you don't (and many babies just have to grow out of it,) take good care of yourself and your husband. Accept any offers of help, and make sure you are both taking breaks.

Your baby will be better soon.

Could this be a response to food sensitivity? Something in your diet if you are BFing or the formula if not? My daughter has extreme sensitivity to a few of the foods I (used to) eat and breaks out in eczema and vomits. My friend's daughter has the same sensitivity but shrieks and cries inconsolably. There is a long list of common food allergens that you may want to explore - dairy and soy proteins are at the top of that list.
Another thought is if she is sleep-deprived. Is she overtired from not having enough quality sleep? That may exacerbate even the mildest of responses to distress.

GL

I have the same problem right now too!
I look forward to more responses to know what to do.
thanks for posting this.....

It sounds like it could be gas pains. My 1st daughter (age 2) never fussed or cried unless she had gas. She got gas a lot when I would eat Dairy and I was nursing. When I switched her to a milk based formula it got 10 times worse and then I switched her to Soy Formula and she was the happiest baby. I also have a 9 week old and she gets gassy and cries. I have given her Gripe water and that helps a lot and I also give her Mylicon 2-3 times a day. I also notice that my daughter will cry a lot when she is overtired and at 9 weeks she is not awake too often yet.

I remember reading a book 12 years ago called No More Colic. It worked. This doctor said that 99% of the time babies cry for two reasons, 1. hunger, 2 tiredness.
Following my babies natural rythyms from birth, I noticed that they didn't want to be up long. At three months, I would feed them and burp them,diaper them, and after 15- 20 minutes or so awake they were ready for a nap. Babies who do not get the right response to their cry will increase the intensity of it, and if the need is not met they can get frantic or even unconsolable. They will eventually pass out from exaustion. Some babies just can't handle walking, bouncing, swinging, it become a STIMULANT and backfires. Put the child in the crib (remember she is not crying for stimulation or company, she is crying out of tiredness/fatigue.)She will cry until she falls into slumber because that is when the need gets met. babies grow extremely fast, faster in the first 6 months of life than any other time. And babies grow- while they sleep. That is why they sleep so much.

I think food allergies when breastfeeding are a third reason for crying. (food allergies are more common now than when that book was written because of all the increased chemicals in our food).

As soon as she can sit up, you might try a baby swing, the kind you can set to swing for a period of time. My kids loved the swing, and when I got tired of walking around carrying them and jouncing them, which was the only other thing I could do to soothe them, I would put them in the swing. They wouldn't necessarily go to sleep, but they would be pretty happy in there for a while, especially when the dog would visit them, and they could see other things going on around them. While they were still very small I would use a rolled up baby blanket to keep their heads from falling to one side or the other. Oh, and they would go right to sleep if I put them in their car seat and started driving around. I think they all love that--- it's just not always practical!

My daughter was very fussy the first 5 months of her life (she's 16 now!). Between her 3rd and 6th month check ups she didn't gain that much weight. When I started trying to feed her solids (about 5 months) I noticed that when milk based formulas touched her skin she broke into hives! Up to then I was breast feeding her. My sister recommended that I give up dairy products thinking that somehow she was getting something from my breast milk. (That was a real hardship for me!) My daughter improved so much it was worth it. I continued breast feeding her until she was about a year old, and gave her soy based formula when she needed milk like things (i.e. mixed with cereal) After about age 4 she was able to handle milk with out a problem.

When my son had colic it helped to go outside for walks. He felt better outside. Inside the only way to get him to stop crying was to strap him to me in a carrier and vacuum. If I had already vacuumed the floor, walls, ceiling, sometimes I would just sit next to the vacuum and hold him. Those were the toughest times. I SWEAR that she will get over it and be a happy baby after a while. Just keep powering through and trying everything. We also did allergy testing and cranial-sacrum therapy. Suddenly one day it was gone.