Baby getting fussier over time?

[catbus]

I can't figure out what's going on. E is ten weeks old and seems to be getting fussier with time. I thought the opposite was normal. It's nearly impossible to get him to nap these days, even on me (which used to be my last resort, but always worked). He has started screaming in the car (he used to be fine with it, or would just fuss at stops). He constantly pushes out his pacifier, then cries until it's reinserted. He constantly unlatches while nursing, then fusses until I put him back on. He doesn't seem to know when he's done nursing, and as a result spits up more often than he did in the past. His moods are just really fragile overall, and he'll go from sweet babbling baby to screaming terror with no warning; his face just suddenly goes red and he's sometimes inconsolable. This is especially true at bedtime.
He does still go to sleep easily at bedtime, sleeps a 7-8 hour stretch, and galls right back to sleep after nursing.

I know there's not really a normal at this point, but this recent change is really stressing me out. Anyone go through anything similar? Any tips?

[zeewifeandmama]

Could it be tummy upset? I noticed my DS goes nutso in the car when he's gassy, he also nurses even when he's not hungry to comfort suck. Sometimes he unlatches then freaks out and tries to relatch but wont stay on because he has an air bubble. The super sudden hard cries lead me toward gas. Although, it could just be overtired/ overstimulated ...maybe try some gripe water or gas meds for a few days and see?

[hocus]

According to Health Sleep Habits -- fussiness peaks around 8 weeks from your due dates and then improves and is usually gone by 4 to 6 months. So is looks a bit like a bell curve for most kids. We had something similar though the peak of the curve wasn't at 8 weeks. FWIW -- some colicky kids remain fussy the nature of the fussiness changes though over time. My kid no long cries from 8 to midnight but he's harder in other ways than an "average" kid. It is hard no doubt. Lowering your expectations can help. My doctors says most true fussy-pants like mine improve a lot by 2 when they can talk and have certain parts of their brain develop. I am hoping that is the case.

If things don't improve at all by 12 to 16 weeks after your due date (not sure if you have an early baby or not) then I'd consider working more closely with your doctors to figure out what maybe wrong. There was never anything wrong with my kid and we've been to the doctor more than once for general crying. He's 100% healthily and just very cranky.

[dcn]

DS had a rough week like that this week, and it extended into night too. Part of it was that he got overtired and then just had a really hard time settling down to sleep, and then was more overtired, etc etc the cycle continued.

My sisters said 8-12 weeks was just rough for their babies too, but that it does get better.

Hang in there! I found that being super strict on how long he is awake is helping some the last day or two.

[knitty]

kellymom.com/bf/concerns/child/fussy-while-nursing/

It's normal for fussiness to increase, but it doesn't mean you can't try and figure out why. This page is really handy.

[catbus]

Thanks, all--I do think the increased fussiness was due to a Wonder Week. E was 11 days late, and the WW authors say to go by gestational age, even if baby was late... which means he started getting super cranky at about 11.5 weeks gestational age. Exactly when the WW chart indicates a WW may start. All weekend he was suddenly super sweet again, is allowing his dad to hold him again without freaking out (for several days he was only ok with me holding him), and seems to have emerged with new skills, including voice modulation. He's suddenly fascinated by his new ability to make his voice slide from low to high pitch, and vice versa.
OH! And he truly STTN last night: 10.5 hours! Then back to sleep for another two! Holy crap.