Jack just turned three months this past Thursday. For the last 3 days I've noticed that around 3-4pm he is so incredibly fussy. He won't stop crying unless I'm holding him, and that doesn't always work. Sometimes a bath will calm him, but I can't keep him in there forever! He cries out as if something is hurting him, but he doesn't have a fever, no outward symptoms, and is showing no signs of teeth coming in. Once I finally give him some infant Tylenol he will go to sleep about 30 minutes later, and then he's fine for the rest of the night. He's still getting up several times a night, but he will eat and put himself back to sleep as soon as I lay him down. I just don't understand what's going on with him. He's been putting himself to sleep for quite a while now, and has continued to do so in the mornings and late at night. He's never been like this. I just don't know what to do. Normally he cries for me to put him down so he can go to sleep. I started putting him in his crib about a week ago, and the last two nights he just can't stay asleep there. He'll fall asleep, but he wakes up screaming as if he's in pain. He does it in his swing, too (which is one of his favorite places to be) so I know it's not just the crib. Anyway, I'm just not sure what's going on with him, or what I can do for him. I hate giving him Tylenol, but it seems like the only thing to work. I've only had to give it to him once a day, so it's not something that's effecting him all the time (***knock on wood***). I just feel so terrible. I want to make sure my little guy is okay and is happy. It just doesn't seem like something I would need to take him to the doctor for except for those few hours. The rest of the time he is completely normal and himself. Any ideas or advice is gladly welcomed. Thanks!

It could be growing pains or gas... I wish I could give you a better answer. One of the mysteries of childhood I guess. I think all you can do is try to comfort as best as you can. It sounds like you are doing a good job. It could be as simple as him being hungry, changing his sleep patterns, or just wanting some attention from you.

Is he gassy? (sp?) when my baby cousin has gas she gets really fussy until it passes. So sometimes we have to hold her for over an hour and then after that she's fine again.

Thanks for the advice. I guess I'll just have to keep doing what I'm doing.

He farts a lot! I used to use Mylicon drops, but haven't used them for about two weeks or more. He seems to pass it fine, and typically when he has bad gas he acts like he's hungry. He hasn't been doing that, and he'll fuss for about 4 hours. Then the last hour he cries pretty hard even when I'm holding him. Then once the Tylenol kicks in he finally feels good enough to sleep. Then he's fine. I guess that's why I'm so baffled. I guess all I can do for now is see how tomorrow goes. Thanks again.

You might want to check out the mayo clinic website. Look up colic. It almost sounds like it might be that. But I don't know.

Some babies have trouble with over-stimulation. They have trouble understanding and dealing with all of th sensations going on in their body and around them. The evening is often when they just can't take it anymore. As he gets older he may be more aware (ex. Hearing is improving) than he was before and is having trouble taking all of the new sensations. My oldest was like this.

Try a book called the Happiest Baby on the Block (link to it on Amazon below, I guess they have a CD and DVD now also). This book discusses the steps you can take to help make your babie's early months more like the womb--which will help calm him.

Some of the ideas in the book that worked great for my son were "swaddling" and "shushing." Swaddling kept him tightly bundled (like in the womb) because just the act of his limbs being free and going all over the place stressed him out. Shushing helped because it is so very loud in the womb. Some people have luck running the vacuum or a fan to calm their babies.

Amazon.com: The Happiest Baby on the Block: The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Newborn Baby Sleep Longer: Books: Dr. Harvey Karp

If he is bad again tonight I will try the vacuum. I need to clean anyway! He hasn't liked being swadled since he was about a month old. He has always hated his arms being constricted! I might try it again though. He's been great this morning, as with the previous days. He got up at 5 and 8 just to eat and went back to sleep. Then he was up at 11, ate, then had tummy time for about 15-20 minutes. We hung out and played a little more after that, then around 12 he fussed and didn't want to be held anymore. I put him in his swing and he put himself to sleep. Woke up about 15-20 minutes later and is now eating and exploring his hands. Being just as wonderful as he can be! Now if he would only keep that up the entire day! I will definitely check out that book and see if it will help.

Some babies start getting teething pains months before their teeth actually come in. Feel his gums are they swollen or hard, he could be teething. If that is the case baby ambesol works great or try a cool slightly moist towel for him to chew on. Rest assured that nothing last forever and it doesn't sound serious, if there's one thing you can count on with kids it's that no two days are the same. Good luck!

Sounds to me like it may be an ear infection. Not all babies pull at their ears with an ear infection. You really need to have him checked out by your pediatrician.

I spoke with his pedi today, and they recommended that I watch him this evening, and if he has the same problems as the last few days to bring him in in the morning. As of right now he is fine. Let's hope it keeps up through the rest of the night. This is usually the time it all begins!

My 1st son did this too. Does he spit up a lot? It could be colic or gas and heartburn. Starting about 5 pm until around 7 we had to put him in the carseat and drive him until he passed out. We later found out he had reflux. Being at a slight incline (like when in a carrier or a bouncy chair) helped. He loved the vibrating chair and this would always help his gassiness. Finally our doctor suggested we prop up the head of his mattress with a phone book. This created a subtle incline in his crib small enough so he wouldn't roll but enough to help the gassiness. Talk with your doc and see what he thinks. But I would try propping him a up and seeing if that works a little. Also, do you breast feed or formula feed? It could be something you ate recently not agreeing with him. Good luck.

He does not have reflux, and unfortunately I'm not breastfeeding. We thought for a while that he might, but he rarely spits up anymore. His bassinet is elevated, and he often sleeps in his swing during the day. He'll cry even in his swing. So far this evening he has been pretty good. He only had one moment where he really started crying, so I swaddled him up nice and tight, put a binki in his mouth, held him on his side with his belly to mine and swung him and shushed him to sleep. It only took about 3 min! He's in his crib now. He's awake, but he's not crying. Looks like things might go fairly well tonight!

Have you switched brands of formula lately? Both my sons can not be on similac, they can only be on enfamil(not my oldest anymore obviously hahha, but you know what I mean) both times we started them on enfamil, then something came up along the way money or wic wise, and we had to switch them to similac... when we did that they both started being sick to their stomachs, spitting up a lot, being VERY cranky, just plain not feeling good, bad diapers, etc. the doc said to give it a week or so and maybe it was just them trying to readjust to a new formula, but it didn't help, and once they were put back on enfamil, they were perfectly fine again... other then that, perhaps colic(which seems likely, since it always seems to start around the same time every night right?), perhaps teeth (Eli started with the teething pains at only 2 months, and Ashton at 3 months. Though Eli is just now cutting a tooth, and Ashton started cutting his at 6 months.) unfortunately there are so many possibilities as to what it could be, and its so hard to know with babies... maybe he is just beginning to have separation insecurities? One thing with my oldest, he would just have bouts while he was sleeping as a baby, and he would just start crying, like he was having a bad dream or something, and it would be the saddest thing you ever heard, and I just had no idea what to do to help him. It continued on until he was about 18 months old, off and on. They say baby's that young can't have bad dreams, but I think they can. Not the kinds we have obviously... but I think just insecurity type of dreams, being away from mommy and daddy... loosing a binki maybe? Hahahha I don't know. I'm just tired and loopy now, so I'm going to sign off while I'm ahead. Good luck to you, hope tonight goes well for you all.

Last night went really well. He only had one moment where he screamed horrifically. I tried the 5 S's from the book Happiest Baby on the Block. It worked like a charm! I swaddled him up nice and tight, gave him his binki, held him belly to belly, swung him in my arms while shushing him. He was asleep within 5 minutes! I have no idea what was bothering him, but I finally figured out how to fix it! He ended up sleeping from 11-6am! He's never even been close to that! He was getting up every 2 hours the beginning of this week! Thanks for all the advice!