is it normal or a day old baby?

Question

Our 3 day old baby girl has just spent the whole night crying. We called the hospital and they said to just keep on giving her milk which didnt really help much.Is it normal for such a young baby to go thru the night with less than an hours sleep? Should we be worried?

Answer 1

This is normal. It will happen on & off as she grows-up. She is waiting for your full milk supply to come in, what is there is not enough to fill her belly & she may be crying cos she is hungry. She may also be crying if your full milk is already in as her tummy needs to stretch to accomodate the volumes & this can be painful but completely normal. If everything else is normal i.e. she has no temperature, she is making good wet nappies & still doing poos, you have nothing to worry about. If you are still concerned, take her to your local GP to have her checked over & put your mind at rest.

Answer 2

A baby has many different cries indicating different things this is their way of communicating with you , seeing as tho ur baby is only 3 days old ur yet to understand what these cries mean , but as her parents it wont take long for u to pick up the different pitches of the cry and whats wrong She might of simply been unsettled when she came home due to different smells and sounds from a place such as the hospital where shes spent the first days of her life - she more likely had wind - presumming she'd been fed... a sure indicator of this, which is common at bedtine coz the pain is heightened when layed down , is her knees being brought up to her chest, the hospital should not of told u to give her more milk but took u thru a list of possibilities as so u could eliminate certain things and pin point what it might be . In future dont worry, shes ur baby and u will grow to know her and if think something is wrong use ur instincts and take her to the hospital that way u will be assured that everything hopefully is fine. Good luck with ur new baby and remember to enjoy her ....

Answer 3

What have you tried to comfort her?

Nursing - breastmilk digests in about 90 minutes. Their tummy is the size of their tiny fist. You can't nurse too often. Put her to the breast and see if she'll nurse.

Walking with her.

Rocking her.

Changing her diaper. Changing her clothes. Maybe a tag is scratching her? Maybe there is a string wrapped around a finger or a toe?

Hold her! At 3 days of age, she is still so new to the world. She is used to being in mom's belly where she could see/hear/smell/feel/taste mom every second of every day. She doesn't yet understand that you are two separate people. If she can't sense you, that is scary for her! Being held is a true NEED for a newborn. Don't worry. You won't spoil her.

Bring her into bed with you. Just follow safe cosleeping guidelines.

Try burping her.

How does her belly feel? Is it hard or distended?

Maybe she has gas or is having trouble passing a BM. Try bicycling her legs.

She may still have her days and nights mixed up. This is common for newborns. Try to keep the lights dim and speak really softly at night to help her learn that night time isn't awake time. You may find that she sleeps fine all day today.

Have you tried swaddling her?

Answer 4

As a mother of 3 i know how you feel. My 1st child was 7 weeks early but was well enough to return home after 10 days. She had a very restless 1st few days at home. My other two children were just the same.Unfortunately babies do not have a routine,we make them have a routine. The fact is that babies do cry. I would love to say its unusual for a baby to cry all night but it isn't.Babies tend to sleep all day and stay awake all night.

As a student midwife however I would say that if you are at all worried about the tone of the cry,say it is a high shrill sound then it might be worth a trip to A & E just to set your mind at ease

Answer 5

I went though that problem with my second child. Nearly drove me crazy...and dad. It also happened to my now grown son's daughter, and my second grand daughter. I don't know if or not you're breast feeding, pumping and freezing or just using formula. For each instance there could be an issue, but it could also be just 'newness' of environment.

However, if the baby is on formula, check with a peditrician and see if it could be an allergy. My second granddaughter had an allergy to mother's milk, and it had to be switched to formula. Baby ended up with acid reflux from mom's supply.

My first granddaughter was the same way and could not tolorate anything but soy formula. She would get so constipated on the others she'd turn blue grunting and trying to go. She'd scream at the top of her lungs. They had changed her formula umteen times before they finally got to the soy.

So, it's very difficult to say which it could be. If the bedroom is too warm, they get uncomfortable, if it's too cold, they react the same way. The baby is too young to have any virus as they are usually amune until 6 months old. Ask the peditrician about it or just try a little 'warmed' water. Dissani is good. My daughter-in-law finnally accepted the fact that even though there is water in baby formula, babies are people too, and they do get thirsty. Books on babies are great, but try not to let them be a bible for rearing a child. Every single child is different...just as every blood line varies. No two children are the same and test studies are great, but what test studies are always right? Meds they sell by prescription that can kill us?...So, let the man/woman who will be treating her know. They will also say no about the water...and tell you "ohhhh, they get water in their milk." Well, after I drink milk, I'm thirsty for water. My younger daughter-in-law listened and every 'now and then' the baby took a little water, then was fine. It helps clean their system, and it's rinses their mouth. So a 1/2 oz of water here and there isn't going to hurt, but help them pass gas.

Answer 6

Yes I think its normal. If you are feeding her yourself, she may be hungry as it can take a few days for the milk to come in - keep trying as this is the only way to bring the milk on (you can feel like a bit of a human dairy at first!).

Try skin to skin contact cuddling and keep her in your arms as much as possible (remove your top and her clothes and wrap a blanket around you both) This is what they do with premature babies and this gives them comfort. Or try swaddling (ask for advice from midwife on the safe way to do this).

Does she have wind? You may want to give her longer when you burp her as there may be some wind remaining. If this does carry on and she looks like she is in pain (bringing legs up to her chest , shrieking cry) she may have colic.

Also Newborns don't know it is night-time, she has been in the dark for 9 months! It will take some time for her to adjust to day and night so she may be up all night initially. Hopefully this will correct itself after a couple of months. Regarding the hours sleep, she will probably make up for her sleep at other times.

Good luck, relax, sleep when she sleeps and hopefully this stage will pass soon. Good luck xx

Answer 7

There is probably nothing to worry about, new babies are often unsettled and cry most of the night seemingly for no reason. Remember this is a huge change for her so she is probably just feeling insecure and/or it could be wind or some sort of tummy upset.
If it continues and you really are concerned see your doctor. They often lose weight in the first week as the fluids from the pregnancy are expelled but then they should start to gain.

New babies are not easy, feel for you.

Answer 8

i dont have a better answer than some you already have i just want to point out to you that one of your answers state that a baby will only cry if its in pain or discomfort do not listen to that as a baby will cry for anything and everything, a lot of the time it cries because it wants to be close to you, she could have wind so wind her a bit more maybe putting her in adifferent position will stop her (it may make her worse but give it a go, when you hold her put her head face down beside your elbow(outside not inside your elbow) and support her withyor forearm going through under her body and gently holding onto her thigh so she is completely supprted and comfy with the other hand gently rub her back round and round then up this method shifts excess and difficult wind that wont shift with the usual method it takes a bit of getting used to but once you have it you have it, another comforter for a baby is laying them belly down on your bare chest wether your mum or dad skin to skin is excellent for babies

Answer 9

Being born is a rough ride... think about it..that was a tight squeeze and the baby maybe sore.Plus she just came from a warm place that had all the things she needed..its an adjustment.
Maybe a small does of infants Tylenol drops, per the Dr's approval will work. GOOD LUCK

Answer 10

It is very normal as she could just have had trapped wind. try looking above her lip if thats blue it means she has wind! Try giving her infocol before each meal as this will help. But it just also be that she is still so very young and just still getting into a routine remember she has never done this before either! However if you are still worried i would just take her to the doctors just for peace of mind! Good Luck x