how do you keep your patience with a non-stop screaming baby?

Question

my baby is 1 and anytime she is not sleeping she is screaming. how do i keep my cool and not do something i will regret? this has been going on for about 2 1/2 weeks, the doctor just says to give her medicine. it doesn't work. help!! desperate.

i have taken her to the doctor. he did a full exam, no ear infections. no u.t.i's. everything looks healthy and fine. no need to do blood work (he says) i also have a 2 yr. old. so i can't get a break from just her.

Answer 1

My youngest son was diagnosed with colic. The screaming seemed to have no apparent cause. Holding, rocking, music -- nothing had any effect.

It is very important to be sure that there is nothing wrong, so find another doctor for a second opinion. At 1 month, it might be colic. At 1 year, it is not.

If it is colic, it can be treated. Many of the techniques used for colicky babies will also help older infants. The 5 S's are a good place to start:

Swaddling, Side/Stomach soothing, "Shhhhing" sounds, Swinging and Sucking.

You need to find a way to rest as well. This may not be easy, but it is most important.

Answer 2

With a 1 year old I start with the basics:
Make sure she's not in a dirty or wet diaper, make sure she's not hungry or thirsty (if she's breastfed this could be needed as often as every 2 hours from experiences of mothers we know), make sure she's getting enough sleep, make sure she's being held often enough (she might just want to be reassured by your touch. A good way to hold the girl is so that her head is over your heart..it soothes them because it reminds them of the womb)

Another possibility is a change of scenery. Just moving the child to a different room or taking her to where she can look out a window might make her happy.

If the doctor has prescribed medicine and you are giving it to her in the EXACT DOSES AND FREQUENCY PRESCRIBED and you've not seen any difference in 2 1/2 weeks, I would seek a second opinion.

In the meantime, make sure that you place the baby somewhere safe (crib or playpen she can't get out of) and take periodic breaks out of the room. As someone else mentioned, I wouldn't allow her to cry more than 20 minutes at a time. You NEED to make some time to yourself so that you can recharge and allow your patience level to rebuild. Even the most doting mom can only take so much of a screaming child.

The main thing to remember is to never allow yourself to get so worked up that you think about shaking her. Get some help from hubby, close friend, etc if needed and keep trying different things. Eventually you find what works for her.

Answer 3

Please don't hurt or shake your daughter! A constantly screaming child can build a lot of tension in a person, but lashing out at her won't make her stop.

The question is why is she screaming? I'm assuming she has seen the doctor, because you have medicine to give her. Does she have an ear infection? If it's been over two weeks and the illness isn't gone, you need a different medicine.

However, if the doctor says she is fine, then you might be reinforcing her screaming somehow. Does she stop screaming if you pick her up, or give her candy, or let her suck on a bottle or pacifier? This may be a sign that it is time to let her walk by herself, eat healthy or take away the bottle/pacifier. If this is the case, she will be screaming at you until you stop giving in to her.

Either way, if you start feeling out of control, put her in her crib or playpen and tell her that you love her and will be back soon. Then walk out of the room and rest. You can bring her out again when you have calmed down. Think - how can you calm a child if you can't calm yourself?

Don't leave her to cry in her crib for more than twenty minutes. If you still feel out of control and dangerous, you can go visit her in her crib/playpen and make sure she is physically okay, and her diaper is clean. Offer her some water to drink and tell her that you love her. Then tell her you are going to rest for a while and you'll be back soon, then take another break.

I would also recommend that you call your department of Health and Human Services and ask for help. There are a lot of programs available to assist parents in caring for their children.

Hope this helps.

Answer 4

Well if you don't CONSISTENTLY give the child her medicine it isn't going to work. You have to give medicine time to work instead of giving up. You're causing the problem yourself by not doing as the doctor instructed, If the medicine doesn't work after three or four days you call the doctor back. Poor baby probably has an ear infection and you're playing on the computer, if you allow the infection to go on it WILL affect your baby's hearing.

Answer 5

Leave her with someone and get some SLEEP. Get out of the house and far away so you don't have to hear her anymore. just putting her down for a minute and leaving the room to cool off helps too. No matter what, never lose your cool, i know you know all the risks involved when a parent loses control and you are noticing where you are in that cycle, which is a good thing. Do whatever you can to chill out. Make sure YOU have eaten, showered, and slept. too often, as parents, we forget our needs in lieu of our childrens needs, but when you don't sleep or eat properly, it's a lot harder to control yourself and your anger. Take care of yourself, so you can take care of a child better!

Answer 6

I'm sure you've tried everything you can think of to keep your baby from crying, so I suggest you zone out completely. Let your baby cry in the room while you listen to some soothing classical music or watch something on Tv you enjoy. Just try not to pay attention to the crying. Just make sure that your baby is in a safe area and he/she can't hurt themselves, eventually they will get tired of crying and fall asleep again.
Otherwise, take them to another doctor to get a second opinion, maybe something is really hurting.

Answer 7

hey
do the norm bottle nappy panadol etc you could give her something to help her relax you can buy herbal ones, there is one that i use called baby calm let me stress it is a herbal and it helps baby to relax it won't knock her out you get that from the chemist/pharmacy or just walk away and do "controlled" crying leave her to cry for 5 min go in comfort her then put her back down n this time leave her for 8mins and just keep streaching it other wise just sit with her and take comfort in that you and i and hundreds of other mums are up doing excacly the same thing:) good luck!

Answer 8

Remember your baby is crying for a reason there is something wrong take her back to the doctors or get a second opinion.

Answer 9

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Answer 10

I would check for ear infections, they can come about overnight even if she has gone to the doctor.