Does this mean my baby will progress slower then other babies?

Question

My daughter is going to be 8 weeks old and is so extremely colicy that she needs to be held constantly. She rarely sleeps during the day unless its for a SHORT nap and on the rare occassion that happens its only for 20 minutes at a time. She sleeps fine at night, but anyways my point is when she is not sleeping she is being held because she is colicy. I dont want to deprive my child of my attention by allowing her to cry it out, but i also dont want her to fall behind in development such as rolling over and crawling and such... Now i know she wont begin doing these things for a little bit but am i being a bad mother by not allowing her some time on the floor to let her learn to roll over? I am trying to soothe her when she cries, but she cries all day long and i dont have the heart to not try and help her. I just dont want her to fall behind and not do things on time such as rolling over crawling and walking. She is almost 8 weeks and has only laid on the floor for maybe an hour altogether since she has been born!! I just need opinions because i dont know if i am actually hurting her in the long run by always holding her and not allowing her to learn to roll over and things like that....

Answer 1

you are doing a good job. she should calm down with the colic around 3 months then it will be good to start some floor time you may want to start tummy time at just 10 minutes at a time and work your way up. being held now should not harm his development

Answer 2

My son had colic after 1 week of peace. He cried all day, 16 hrs a day. He took 10 to 15 min naps but you had to hold him while he slept. I had to walk miles a day to keep him soothed.

Don't worry about her falling behind. My son got over colic at around 3 and a half months old. Then he suddenly just started doing all age apporiate things.

Colic was probably one of the most frustrating and time consuming of things I have ever gone through. It broke my heart to listen to him cry.  Then one day... It just stops.

Hang in there! Try some gripe water. It didn't work for my son but I have heard it works miracles. Make your peditrican check for acid reflux and lactose intolerence. Just to rule out all medical conditions that have the same symtomps as colic.

Answer 3

Get her on enzymes! and off formula and on goat milk, if she is on formula.  Also, you may have a high needs baby.  I do also, and I had to realize that she is a blessing...and not a nightmare at times.  I read Dr. Sears book on the fussy baby.  It is helpful.  

Answer 4

check with dr - could be lactose intolerence, and it don't hurt babies to cry- cause they expect your attention, then they get older-

Answer 5

You're doing a great job! Colic usually subsides between 3 and 4 months. Before then your baby won't be reaching too many milestons anyway. They start rolling over around 4 months and won't start crawling or sitting up until 6+ months. All you're doing by holding her is showing her that you're there to meet her needs. You're being a good mommy. Keep it up and things WILL get better!

Answer 6

hi i think you are perfectly fine in holding your baby.  Im the same way for my 12 day old and i was the same way for my 7 year old son.  When you lay babies down in their crib at night they have lots of opportunity to roll over and learn.  I really dont think she will get delayed by you holding her alot in your arms.  You are very lucky she sleeps at night and is up during the day!!  That right there is a blessing.  I truly believe that babies are very smart and learn immediately that when they cry, they get attention. They cry for a reason and to be honest, they cry and need to be cuddled and feel loved. They are gaining your trust by holding them near you.  Remember they have been in your womb for nine months and was used to hearing your heartbeat and feeling the warmth.  They still need this and love to feel snuggled near their parents feeling loved and warm and hearing the mothers heart beat.  Its very comforting.  She will have lots of time to learn things and develop.  Every baby learns at thier own pace. I woldnt be too worried. You sound like a very nurturing and caring mother to be honest.  I think that when a baby cries or is fussy its their only way to communicate. They do not understand logic and i think by providing her with love and comfort by holding her, she is getting her needs met. right now she is at a trusting developmental stage anyway and needs to feel loved to gain security.  My first child (my son) was very fussy and colicky but he was like this all day and night.  I was so exhausted.   I used to hold him all the time too and it also exhausted me.  He is now almost 8 years old and stil wants me to rub his back at bedtime for afew minutes and kiss him goodnight.  He also was diagnosed with ADHD at 4 years of age.  So they cry for a reason that is often valid. My newborn is a girl and she is not very fussy but im finding as she is growing she is getting more fussy during the day and wants to be held more and more or have human interaction.  I pick her up all the time when she cries and once in my arms she stops crying. So to me, i think its important.  Keep up the good work!

Answer 7

You should talk to the pediatrician about the constant crying. She could have acid reflux. If the pediatrician doesn't try to help, get a new one.

IMHO, you will be doing your daughter no damage whatsoever by holding her and comforting her whenever she needs it. But with a colicy baby, you probably need a break from a crying baby once in awhile. Get someone you trust to watch the baby so you can get out of the house for a couple of hours. Once you and the pediatrician figure out why the baby is crying so much it might be easier for you to put her down once in awhile.

Answer 8

Not really. It may seem slow at first but once she starts back getting sleep she will catch up. Being sleep deprived definitely will take a toll on learning and memory.

Answer 9

She'll be just fine.  She will probably outgrow the colickiness soon, and she'll catch up on rolling over very quickly (most babies don't roll over at 8 weeks anyway.  Her crying in the day may be because she is overtired but doesn't know how to put herself to sleep yet.  I also had a baby like that.  She slept MAYBE 7 hours out of every 24.  At 8 weeks though she had finally decided she liked her swing, and started sleeping in it for naps.  My second daughter HATED the swing, but would fall asleep in her carseat on top of the clothes dryer.  In fact, that was the ONLY way she would fall asleep.  Don't give up, by three months things will be getting MUCH better.  By 5 months she won't want to be held as much - she'll be mad if you DON'T put her on the floor!