Expert: ruth kraft - 5/11/2009

Question
My daughter is 7 weeks old and is crabby ALL the time. I breast feed her with the exception of 1 bottle of formula a day so daddy can feed her.She also wants to eat ALL THE TIME like she doesnt know when she is full she can eat up to 5 oz of formula at a time and breast feed for 2 hours straight in one sitting. She cries non stop in the afternoons, refuses to sleep longer then 20 minutes at a time. She does spit up a bit, but not very big quantites and maybe only every 3rd or 4th day. She poops great and has lots of wet diapers. I have tried gas medicine to see if it helps to no avail. I have tried pain relievers but that doesnt seem to change her mood so I stopped. I just dont understand why she is so crabby. She sleeps GREAT through the night sometimes 5-6 hour intervals she usually gets crabby around lunch time all the way until 8 or 9 at night and then my content happy baby is back. I dont know what to do :(

Answer
there are several things that could be making her crabby.  especially if it just started, which it seems to have done. 1, she could be going through a growth spurt. that makes her want to eat all the time. If she settles when she eats, its likely that could be the cause . this last about a week and then goes away. 2. she could be learning how to use her bowels on her own. at about 6 weeks, the colostrum leaves the milk and therefore the laxative that comes along with it does too. so they have to learn how to poop on their own. Its a new sensation they have to get used to to feel their bowels move on their own and need a little force behind it. youll notice her face get really red more than it did before too while she tries to go. this is all normal. frustrating but normal.  the third thing could be colic. often starts around 6 weeks and ends around 12 weeks.. fussy constant unconsolable crying, even with nursing for more than 3 hours a day, 3 days a week at least.  its a little early to tell if thats it.  but those are the few things that come to mind that it could be. If its a growth spurt, you can nurse her through it. that is what you are suppose to do to get milk supply up more. seems like they are starving but they arent. they are preparing your breasts for them to grow more.  if its digestive or colic, there isnt much to do but wait it out unfortunatly.

Good luck!