Breastfeeding Question?

Question

My wife is breasfeeding our 6 week old baby boy and we are having trouble understanding why he is a perfect angel some days and other days he is very fussy. At first, we thought it might be colic. But he is not fussy every day and the days he IS fussy, he's fussy and grouchy all day long. Now we are thinking that it could be something my wife is eating, which is upsetting his stomach. The list of foods that can potentially upset our baby boy is HUGE! Basically my wife can eat meat and drink water - that's it!

What else could it be? He has good days (the entire day and night) and other days (entire day and night) he will be fussy and grouchy. Any ideas/advice/recommendations?

A couple of notes... My wife has gave up anything wife caffeine (drinks and food); no dairy; no spicy foods; and she doesn't smoke. Poor thing is not having fun with this while we try to figure things out.

Answer 1

It could be your wife's diet, or something else.

What I did was write down the things I ate daily, and then I would write down the baby's "mood" during the day - like a journal. It helped me narrow down the things that would give her gas and make her cranky. That meant no clam chowder (my favorite soup), and other milky things.

Also keep in mind that you have your good days and bad days. What makes you crabby? Maybe your son didn't sleep well the night before, or his schedule was thrown off for some reason. That is enough to piss off some of us! Also look at external stimuli - are there candles in the home that you burn? Smells could bother him. Is there a change in something you or your wife wears - cologne/perfume, soap, etc. Again, a baby's sight is rather poor during the first couple of months, and they rely a lot on smell and taste. And then there is the old thing about having gas that day.

Speak to your doctor and find out what the different reasons could be. A simple phone call to the nurse on duty could give you some reasons, and help give you ideas on solutions.

Good luck!!

Answer 2

I am a mother of three children a 9 year old a 7 year old and a 3 years old. My doctor once told me a few years ago, when going through the same thing. Babies cannot be perfect all the time, they are going to go in and out of cranky stages....just to be patient. When I stopped worrying so much about there crankiness, it seemed to just disappear or maybe I just didn't notice it as much. I would also check to see if the baby is feeding enough, and sleeping enough. Babies at this stage should be sleeping three times a day morning naps around 9-9:30 for a few hours than again at around 12:30 -1:00 and then again around dinner time.

My children still have a good sleeping schedule. I believe kids who don't sleep or eat well will not function properly.

Hope this helps

Answer 3

It could very well be something she's eating. Instead of cutting everything out and then not knowing exactly what it is thats upsetting baby, encourage wife to eat regular diet for 3 days. Then cut one group of food out for 3 days (breads and pastas or dairy or meats etc). See how baby reacts. If it appears to be related one group of food, you can then start adding one specific food from that group to her diet to figure out exactly whats the nuisance to baby. Make sure to give at least 3 days for each change.

Answer 4

Been there, done that. My wife and I went through the same with our 2nd, who was very sensitive to my wife's dietary changes. We wound up tracking wife's meals/baby's mood for two weeks and consolidating the list of acceptable items/spice combinations she could eat. It really wasn't that bad--she had to lay off chocolate, coffee and sage and actually started drinking 1 beer a day.

Answer 5

I would say it is definately something in her diet. My daughter was colicky when I ate dairy products. It wasn't really hard for me to figure out what is was because I was craving cheesecake, mac-n-cheese and chocolate milk so I was consuming it everyday. It didn't last real long and I was able to ease these things back into my diet. Hopefully you guys can figure out what disagrees with your son and hopefully it won't last too long. Oh and Congratulations and Good Luck!

Answer 6

If dairy is the culprit (and it usually is) it can take up to 2 weeks to get it all out of her system.

Is she working with a Lactation Consultant or a La Leche League Leader?

Answer 7

the best idea is to stave off caffeine, spicy foods and milk. if she smokes, tell her to stop nursing. these are the most likely culprits. onions and garlic can as well. a little rule of thumb, if it might give her indigestion, it will probably hurt the baby's tummy too.

Answer 8

im goin through the same thing, sometimes its just mood swings, if ur wife was stressed during her pregnancy it will effect in birth of ur kid, other things to try gripe water it helps, and when he sleeps put him on his stomach or a slight chance he could be teething my son at 2months was bothered by teething! some start earlier
or later

Answer 9

Some babies are just like that--luckily, yours isn't one that's like that all the time :-)

Some of the best things you can do (which have, in my experience, worked when it comes to these sorts of things) are:

Put him in a vibrating bouncy seat or a swing
Give him a pacifier and walk around the room with him
Lay him on your chest and rub his back
Put him in the car and drive around for awhile

Answer 10

Most baby are like this just like you and me somedays your in a good mode somedays not. But if he is having problem poeing then you should talk to a pedieatriction.