How much crying is normal for a 3.5 month old?

Drdoc

Spot the first time mammy here!
I'm wondering if anyone can give me any insight into whether this behaviour is 'normal'.
My 3.5 month old has been a baby who cries a lot since he was born. Never in a particularly colicky pattern and he doesn't suffer from wind. He has been diagnosed with silent reflux and is on meds for this, which have always been upped as his weight goes up.
Once he hit 3 months and was settled on his meds I thought he might cry less and he does but only a little. For example today he had about 4 episodes of sudden inconsolable crying that lasted maybe 10-20 mins each. He could be smiling before each and then suddenly switch to crying loudly and inconsolably with lots of tears. He'll usually tire himself with this crying and have a little nap and will wake back up in good form (as if a reset button has been pressed!) and then repeat the cycle an hour or so later.
It can be hard at times to take him places as his crying is so unpredictable and very loud! Often he seems like he's just a generally unhappy baby.
Has anyone else's LO acted like this? As I said I thought it might be getting better by now.....
Any insight/thoughts would be great!

Thanks

How Strange

I've got a 3 month old and I've noticed this week that she's giving signs of being ready for naps and I've been missing the cues. Yesterday I noticed shed gone from happy to be on her playmat to cranky to hysterical in 20 mins. I put her in her noses basket and she slept for 45mins.

Perhaps start watching how she reacts 1.5-2 hours after waking up in the morning/from a nap and see if she's getting tired again.

The same goes for going to bed. She was becoming hysterical from 7.30 so last night she was fed and in her cot by 7.45. I had to lie beside her putting the soother back in etc but she essentially went to bed at 7.45 and we had no hysterical crying.

Most babies give a sign that they're getting tired so you just need to watch her and figure out what it is and then get her into her cot or wherever before she gets over tired

How Strange

*sorry* I typed she instead of he

Hannibal Smith

Awww that sounds awful! Poor little mite. Ive never had a baby with reflux so I wouldn't know what way babies are effected.

Have you mentioned it to your gp when they are changing meds? Is wind a bi-product of reflux? Could it be windy pains? Are poos and wees normal?

Our eldest had tummy problems in the first 6 months. His tummy would gurgle. ..he would wince and the crying would start. We brought him to the doctor and to tge hospital but it literally stopped overnight itself at 6 months. So 3 months may not be the magic milestone for your little guy.

I hope you get it sorted though...tge poor guy and poor you...you must be near cabin fever!

dublinlady

I know very little about reflux only it seems very difficult
But just on the off chance it's something else could u describe his routine in relation to feeding, awake time & sleep? My lady who has no reflux (so not the same situation) is almost 3 months and if we don't get her sleeping skit exactly right for naps she reacts just like u described. My elder was the same so much so we were convinced she had comic but now looking back I'm not so sure - I think she was just exhausted in the evenings and overtired and overstimulated. But this daughter will react the same even before her morning nap if we miss the cues!

yellow hen

OP we too had a baby with silent reflux and its awful. Even though he was in meds too he was probe to screaming sessions out if the blue. I found it best if I fed him on demand (even though he was on the bottle). Grazing suited him better than 3 hourly feeds. Hope it improves for you!

Drdoc

Thanks for all your replies ladies.

It's interesting to see some of your babies react similarly when overtired. To be honest we still don't have much of a routine other than waking time at 7-8 and bedtime at 8-9. Otherwise I try to watch for signs of tiredness and encourage him to sleep. I had to start being diligent about this when he had a few days as a 6 or 7 week old where he didnt nap for 12 hours! At the min he usually naps about every 2 hrs for half an hour. He's bf so fed on demand.
I looked carefully at his patterns today and I think some of it is probably tiredness but not all of it. Yesterday he napped for 3 hrs and was still crying 30 mins later, so perhaps it's a mix of reflux and tiredness.
He's on fairly big doses of 2 meds and always looks v settled at gp, typical! It's the unpredictability of it that I find hard going and am sometimes afraid to go places in case he starts screaming.
I did wonder if I was expecting too much from him but then I noticed friends with babies looking at me sympathetically and asking was I coping ok!
I know it'll eventually pass, it can just be hard going at times. Interestingly he's in a great mood this evening!

How Strange

We've got a crier on our hands too. She's also breastfed on demand, no wind or reflux issues. Her dad tried to put her down tonight and they came back up to the living room after 45mins and she was hysterical from being over tired. She's conked out in my arms now.

We've no routine either at the moment and the only routine I want is a bedtime one but it's still early days. she still sleeps with or sometimes on me and I'm gradually trying to move her into the cosleeper cot for at least part of the night.

Today we spent the whole day at home so I watched her and when she got grizzly and cranky I put her in her moses basket and she slept for 20-50 mins

Drdoc

Sorry you have a crier too HS!

Does the crying stress your oh out? It really stresses my oh out and I tell him that baby can pick up on this but he can't help it!

It doesn't help when my mother and mil ask 'would he not be happier if he was formula fed?' seeing as how myself and oh were apparently such placid babies on formula!

How Strange

Yes it stresses him out and she def picks up on it. Also I think if you react as soon as she cries when she's overtired and settle her again she won't get hysterical but he doesn't react quick enough and it all escalates.

Oh the joys of little babies. This is my 2nd and I know it all changes week to week at this stage.

uck51js9zml2yt

Our son cried on que from 8 pm for 2 hours for about a month.

We used to set our clocks by him

For wind we used to give an ounce of warm water with a spoon of brown sugar. It usually helped and he took what he wanted.

Now he just cries when he doesnt get his own way