Baby has changed!

[kwikwi8181]

Hi all-
Just looking for a little support and maybe see if anyone else has gone through this. My LO is 12 weeks and has been (up to now) a good natured, happy baby. She eats well and sleeps well and has gotten to the age where she loves to play on her play mat and bat at toys, sit in her swing awhile or play and interact with Mommy, Daddy and Big sister.
That is- until about 4 days ago. She just seems generally fussy. All the time. She still eats great and sleeps great- but has barely any awake and happy moments. When I lay her down to play or change her she cries. ( a fussy, pissy cry). When I hold her she seems happy for a minute or two then starts the same cry. She has no fever or any other sign of illness bust has just become for lack of a better word- whiny and fussy. And also-after the fussing for 10 minutes -she starts her "I'm over exhausted " scream and then ends up falling asleep for a short catnap ( even after just getting up in the morning).
Is this a normal baby phase that we are experiencing? I am thinking of calling the doctor today-because after 4 days of her just not being herself- I don't think I'm over-reacting anymore. I've only held off because there is nothing obviously wrong -she is just fussier than usual.
Any thoughts while I wait for Doc's office to open ( we had a decent snowstorm today and they are opening late). Thanks!

[pdxlaurens]

Maybe some early teething? Hope you get an answer!

[kboyet]

My guy had been like this the past 3 days. He's 10.5 weeks. He's also very gassy to the point of pain. I'm going to try a probiotic but I'm wondering if he's going through another spurt too. Hang in there!

[kwikwi8181]

Thanks for the input. I was thinking growth spurt or early teething too. It's a hard line to walk between calling doc at the first sign of something different and waiting too long when she might need to be seen. I am a FTM and she is changing so quickly. It's hard to tell what is a new phase and what is "off".
She just isn't her normal happy self.

[shell0417]

Yep, 3 month growth spurt.

[iaminigomontoya]

12 weeks tends to be a big milestone for babies in terms of development. Which is great but it can also be very overwhelming for them as they learn new skills and start to become more alert. The good news is that usually once they get through this developmental leap, in my opinion, things get a little easier. They start to stay content longer, are less fussy, etc. I also felt like this is when his personality began to emerge and he felt more like a little person I could interact with rather than just a needy newborn that constantly needed to be fed, held, changed, etc.

[kwikwi8181]

I'm so happy to have you all in my life!! Many of you have been my "friends" since the early 1st trimester and I continue to value your support and friendship. Others I have just met since the big switch from TB but I am no less happy to have all of you to talk to.

I am hoping that this is just her 3 month growth spurt and she is having a big developmental jump as some of you said.

Thanks for everything! I am still going to call the doc just to get his take on it- and will let you know what he says but I find your support invaluable and very reassuring!

[aleys628]

I could have written this post almost word for word. LO will be 11 weeks old tomorrow and I couldn't put him down at all yesterday. I managed to lay him down for 3 minutes after he fell asleep on me. He usually is such a happy, smiley baby and the last few days he's been so fussy. I managed to get a few things done by baby wearing but I'm hoping it's just a growth spurt. Otherwise I too will be calling the pediatrician.

[bookworm87]

I'm pretty paranoid about ear infections so when my boy gets fussy, I always watch carefully to make sure he isn't batting around his ear. But we just got through the 6 week growth spurt and you pretty much just described my life for about a week. Now he's back to his happy charming self. Hopefully your baby will get through her development soon and return to herself too!! It is amazing how they have these periods but, after them, there are very obvious growths. I love being able to actually see my baby learn new things!

[beevol]

I'm a second time mom and still freaked out and worried about every little change, and just called the pediatrician a second day in a row because of my anxieties. I'm just not good at being solely responsible for babies. No advice just letting you know that you're not the only one who worries.

[abenson3]

Look up Wonder Weeks. It can be very reassuring during fussy baby periods. The concept does not give much advice on making baby happy but does give you a heads up when fussy periods are on the horizon and let you know as a mom you aren't doing anything wrong but rather your baby is growing and developing normally!

Sorry for the bad grammar and run in sentences. One handed typing while baby is nursing is hard

[2jelplus1]

kwikwi8181 thank you for starting this thread! My LO is a week younger but we are experiencing exactly the same thing. LO was fussy for a few days at 3 and 6 week spurts but could be calmed with holding or bouncing fairly easily and it was never more than 3 or 4 days-- now we are on day 10 of nonstop high maintenance baby.

I have actually been to ped and in email contact because I am super neurotic (is it too late to change my handle to superneuroticmomma?) and I was taking baby temp daily for a week after I got a reading of 99.4 the first day she was extremely fussy. Never went above that and aside from minor stuffiness a thorough exam revealed nothing amiss. I'm actually going back again Friday for shots and will ask for another full exam before they are given, just to be safe.

[kwikwi8181]

Hi all--here's the update:
Took baby to Doctor and explained that there are no signs of illness but she was just "off". Doc checked all the normal things and found no red flags.

I told her I felt like an overacting paranoid parent but just felt like we should rule out ears and teeth and stuff. She totally agreed.
She did a heel stick to check white blood count just to rule it out and found it to be elevated. The heel stick was traumatic for both of us. Then she decided to do a urine culture to rule out UTI and other things. So she tried to catheterize the baby unsuccessfully. That was AWFUL!!!!!! I cried almos as hard as the baby and she was unable to get any urine because the baby peed ON her before she got the catheter in.
So instead they put a urine bag on her and had me nurse her and wait for her to pee. She finally did-and tha test was "inconclusive". So three hours and many years later-we know nothinng and are going back tomorrow for another white blood count .
Another doc came to talk to us and he seemed totally unconcerned but wants to check on her tomorrow anyway.
At home now and she just seems over tired.
Hoping tomorrow she's back to herself and we get answers. I'm still not convinced it really is anything-but the whole process scared me so I'm glad we went. Just in case.

[malmomma]

Feb 17, 2015 20:51:12 GMT -5 kwikwi8181 said:

Hi all--here's the update:
Took baby to Doctor and explained that there are no signs of illness but she was just "off". Doc checked all the normal things and found no red flags.

I told her I felt like an overacting paranoid parent but just felt like we should rule out ears and teeth and stuff. She totally agreed.
She did a heel stick to check white blood count just to rule it out and found it to be elevated. The heel stick was traumatic for both of us. Then she decided to do a urine culture to rule out UTI and other things. So she tried to catheterize the baby unsuccessfully. That was AWFUL!!!!!! I cried almos as hard as the baby and she was unable to get any urine because the baby peed ON her before she got the catheter in.
So instead they put a urine bag on her and had me nurse her and wait for her to pee. She finally did-and tha test was "inconclusive". So three hours and many years later-we know nothinng and are going back tomorrow for another white blood count .
Another doc came to talk to us and he seemed totally unconcerned but wants to check on her tomorrow anyway.
At home now and she just seems over tired.
Hoping tomorrow she's back to herself and we get answers. I'm still not convinced it really is anything-but the whole process scared me so I'm glad we went. Just in case.

I'm sorry you and LO had such a traumatizing day! I hope your appointment tomorrow goes better!

[2jelplus1]

Poor you and baby! Kudos to you for going the extra mile to look out for your LO, sending T&Ps for tomorrow's appt.

[gradschoolmama]

kwikwi8181 so sorry it was such a rough appointment! Hope the next one goes more smoothly for both you and LO!

[bookworm87]

Oh that appointment sounds like it was tough! Hopefully today's goes well and you find out if it is either general fussiness or something more serious! Good luck!

[kboyet]

Hope today goes well- keep us posted!

[kwikwi8181]

Daddy is home with her today. We have an appt this afternoon. She slept great and is eating fine but still quite fussy. I'm convinced something is not ok. Maybe a UTI?
I'm so sad. Will update U all this afternoon. Thanks for caring!!

[2jelplus1]

Feb 18, 2015 13:47:10 GMT -5 kwikwi8181 said:

Daddy is home with her today. We have an appt this afternoon. She slept great and is eating fine but still quite fussy. I'm convinced something is not ok. Maybe a UTI?
I'm so sad. Will update U all this afternoon. Thanks for caring!!

It's possible she had something minor that raised WBC and is on the mend. Sending continued T&Ps for your family and looking forward to the update.