I feel like a bad mom

[wordtothewise]

You are not a bad mom. I think tiny babies are hard. They are a lot of work and don't give you much back. I really started to enjoy my baby around 6 months (once his personality started to shine through).

[hannamaren]

My baby cried every day from 8-12 every day. My .h and I tried everything.
Good news, at 8 weeks, she stopped.
Also the swing was very helpful.

Hang in there. It is not you. She is a baby and has no other way to communicate. Feed her, change her, love her.

[Deleted]

I felt that way alot too. DS had MSPI & reflux. He cried alot until he was 6 weeks old. I love him more than anything, but there were some rough days. At 7 weeks old ds loved his bouncy chair, look at Christmas lights, lay in his jungle mat, & hold soft stuffed animals.

[ECB]

Rent Happiest Baby on the Block DVD. It was a lifesaver for me!,

[kaiene]

It's tough. We would just try all kinds of things when DS was a newborn to soothe him.

He is a lot of fun now that he is curious about his world.

[hannamaren]

And dont feel bad if Happiest baby on the block, or EASY method doesnt work even though it works for all your annoying FB friends.

Now I have such an amazing baby. She rarely cries and sleeps (knock wood) like a doll 90% of the time

[Tea-rific]

This may sound weird but when DS was that tiny we spent h-o-u-r-s sitting on a yoga/exercise ball bouncing him. It was one of the few things that would help calm him. One of my friends suggested it and I thought she was crazy, but it worked.

We also loved Happiest Baby on the Block. The swinging, loud shushing, and swaddling worked well for us.

Edit to add: You are NOT a bad mom. Babies are hard!

[jinnifah]

Sometimes babies just cry, you're not a bad mom. My DS is 8 weeks old and he has been fussy every evening from 6-8pm almost to the dot since about 3 weeks old.

Happily his fussiness is starting to shorten a lot of days in the last week so it's more like 45 mins. I read that newborn fussiness is supposed to peek around 6 weeks so you'll hopefully be over the hump soon too

[hannamaren]

Jinnifah, I cant believe you are almost 8 weeks post partum!

[sweetnsour]

Have you tried colic calm? It is all natural and you can get it at the drug store. It helps, gas, reflux and teething.

[froggy76]

I was not a fan of the newborn stage and don't miss all the crying. Every baby is different, but what worked for us were gas drops, the 5 S's from Happiest Baby on the Block, and bouncing on a yoga ball.

Hang in there! You're doing great!

[thedash]

Ugh I could have written your post myself at 7 weeks. I know it's hard! If you haven't already you should look into the Happiest Baby on the Block methods and try swings, bouncy chairs, etc. Ask friends if you can borrow some things or check Craigslist. If something doesn't work you can resell it, but if it does work your life will change!

It's nice to be with your baby all day but you should also use your time on maternity leave for yourself. Nap, take baths, read, watch movies or terrible TV. It's OK for a 7 week old to chill in the swing with music playing while you sit next to her and read a magazine!

[sewpinkgal]

You're NOT a bad mom. Sometimes they cry and it doesn't matter what you do, they can't be soothed. I see you're already using the HBOTB techniques, which is good. I always felt bad when I wasn't "entertaining" him when he was that little, but truly, just hanging out and looking around is entertainment enough for them at that age. This will be easier to see in hindsight, but try to comfort yourself by knowing that you're doing just fine.

Hang in there - hopefully the intense fussiness starts to let up soon.

[vanillacourage]

Newborns are hard, yo. Luckily it's a temporary phase.

If its been a rough day, there's nothing wrong with handing the baby to your DH and going to Starbucks or Target for an hour. It's good for new dads to log some "sink or swim" time just like mom during the day. Plus, my DH has come up with tricks to keep DS2 happy that I never would have thought of, but totally work.

[niki]

I don't want to sound like a broken record, but Happiest Baby saved our lives.

[Deleted]

You're not a bad mom. This is just a phasethat some go through and it will pass.

[jinnifah]

I forgot to mention that something that works for us is putting DS in his car seat and swinging him in that (his actual swing just upsets him more.)

It's like instant quiet for as long as we can power through it. Dh calls it the weight training program that grows with you my elbows seriously hurt though. But if you haven't tried it, maybe it'll work for you too.

hannamaren - I know eh? It's seemed like no time. I keep looking at him and thinking "how did you fit in my body???"

[6fsn]

We called that the witching hour. Both kids would just scream from 4-5 for no reason and with no relief. It passes.

As for entertainment, read stories, sing, wiggle your fingers in front of her face.

[tardyfortheparty]

((Hugs))...hang in there....newborns can be very hard. While this can be hard to see in the moment, this time will pass quickly and soon you will have a baby with more personality who is less fussy & lots of fun to play with.

[megs193]

My DS is 4.5 weeks old and we are going through the same thing. I feel like he spends most of the time he is awake crying. Our pediatrician recommended Colic-ease which helps about 50% of the time. I just keep telling myself that most babies get better around 2 months old so I am halfway there.

[Ashley&Scott]

You're not a bad mom. Babies, especially newborns are hard.

DS was colicky for a few weeks, these were tricks we used to soothe him: singing, humming, rocking, swaying, gently bouncing, going outside. And holding him, he loved to sleep on our chests.

It does get better, hang in there! ({) (})

[definitelyO]

so not a bad mom - DS did that too. the swing and HBOTB were our salvation. but we didn't kick in the HBOTB stuff until 4 months - so he spent a lot of time in the swing to be honest. it was hard hard hard - but it gets easier and the memory of the crying does fade.