I had similar problems with Belle (now 20 months), I had a sudden drop in
milk supply at about 8 weeks old due to health problems on my part and
that's when it started. We had to put Belle on nutramgen (sp?) everything
else gave her horrible gas and intestinal problems. You may want to talk to
your ped about the formula as it could have something to do with all this.
Even a little bit of something that upsets her tummy can cause a world of
problems.

"Vijay" wrote in message
om...
Charlotte is:

Fussy
Even when she is not hungry, tired, or uncomfortable in any way that I
can tell, she still tends to whimper and cry. snip I try to play with
her and she
usually doesn't enjoy it.

** Could be colic, I think I've tried to block out the entire time Belle had
colic but she survived and so did I. You say later on that she's easily
overstimulated, your attempts to play with her may cause more of that. I
would watch it to see if there's a pattern and then adjust how you're
handling it.

Drowsy but resists sleep
Tends to fall asleep while nursing, but wakes up screaming the minute
the breast is removed from her mouth. If she seems sleepy I try to get
her to settle her down for a nap and she just fusses and tugs at her
ears and hair to stay awake unless I swaddle her.

** My first was like this. Co-sleeping did make it easier. Belle needed to
be swaddled until she was nearly 6 months old, but it worked and we all got
some (much needed) sleep.


Loud
Her cry is not the normal "Hey, I need something," cry. When she cries
you would swear someone was sticking pins in her or that she was
starving to death (even when she's just had 5 ounces of formula and
has only been asleep for 30 minutes). She doesn't whimper and then cry
and then scream if she's not tended to. She starts screaming
immediately.

** This could just be her personality, or it could be a sign that there is
something bugging her (tummy) My darling little princess has a scream that
I'm sure has done some sort of perment damage to my ears - she's just that
way.


High-maintenance
She always wants to be held. It is impossible, even when she is
well-fed and well-rested to put her down in a swing or bouncy seat for
more than 5 minutes at a time - if that. If I want to use the
bathroom, sometimes I can just run there and back before she starts
crying. Sometimes I just have to let her cry.

** I think for the first 5 months if my first wasn't in the sling he was
sleeping with me, I had the bouncy seat in the bathroom - if I had to leave
the room he was with me. He grew out of it and I eventually was able to
shower before 11pm.As she gets bigger it will get easier, I know it doesn't
seem that way now but as she figures out what's going on around her she'll
more than likely be more content.


Dramatic
If the breast or bottle comes out of her mouth (through my doing or
her own) she doesn't just whimper or cry that she wants it back, she
screams bloody murder.

** I personally don't see this as dramatic, it's pretty normal baby
behaviour. Then again I live with a full blown drama queen - she'll walk
into something because she's not paying attention and then stand there, hand
on hip and tell it off. :-)

Demanding
If she is not being fed, she needs to not only be held, but insists on
being bounced or rocked. She hates being still. It is exhausting
constantly having to pass her back and forth with DH - and even more
exhausting when I am alone with her all day. The only option I have is
to put her in the sling and wear her all day. But I can't pump, or do
dishes or wash baby bottles or my breast pump with her in the sling,
and she only stays content in the sling if I am constantly moving. If
I sit down she wakes up and starts to cry. Plus it is summer time and
we both are dripping with sweat after a few minutes.

** This is so familiar! We actually got Belle used to the swing a little
after 3 months and once she figured out it was moving she loved it! We had
the Fisher Price cradle swing that could swing side to side, she hated front
to back, but on side to side she'd fall asleep and stay asleep for hours.
She would scream in the car if we had to stop at a light but as soon as we
were moving again, life was good. She's still in a state of constant motion.


Insatiable
She will nurse and then take a supplemental bottle of EBM or formula
(I am having supply issues). She will act totally full. I will burp
her and then offer the bottle again. Sometimes she takes a little
more, sometimes not. She starts acting full, sleepy, and a bit fussy,
so naturally I think, "nap time" but 9 times out of 10 she's up again
in 15-20 minutes acting like it's been hours since she ate.

** Possible growth spurt, growing and changing is a lot of hard work and
requires lots of fuel.

Unpredictable
Our days are spent in an endless circuit of breast then bottle, burp,
bounce, play (try to), change diaper, attempt a nap, nurse again,
offer bottle, try pacifier, toys, singing, shushing, swaddling, etc.
Some things will work for 5 minutes, some for 10 minutes, some not at
all. I just keep trying things until I figure out what works and then
when it stops working I try something else.

** That's life with a baby, it's not predictable.

Not Affectionate
When I was pregnant I had visions of snuggling and nursing with my
baby but she is not like that. She isn't a very good nurser, she has a
weak suck, and since we introduced bottles she has gotten even lazier
at breastfeeding. I can't just lay in the bed and snuggle with her
because she needs to always be bouncing or rocking. When she wakes up
crying from a nap it does no good to speak to her in a soothing voice
or hug her or anything. It doesn't comfort her at all. The only thing
that works is the breast, and she doesn't even nurse properly and
usually dozes off after a minute or two. When she first wakes up her
body goes stiff as a board, she screams at the top of her lungs, and
won't make eye contact. I'll put my face up to hers and say, "It's
okay, mama's here, you're okay, I've got you," etc. and she looks to
the left of my face and if I turn her she moves her eyes the other way
to look past my face to the right, but she won't look right at me.

** She is affectionate though, she wants to be close to you in the sling,
she gets mad when she's not nursing, it's not the vision *you* had of what
it would be like, but that's what it's like with your daughter. At this age
it's not about kind words and soothing touch, that doesn't mean anything to
a three month old, being cuddled up close in a sling can make a world of
difference.

Go back and read what you wrote about her, you gave yourself a lot of the
answers.

It will get easier.

Jess
mommy to:
Boo 11/96 and Belle 12/01