Or maybe it is all three. Whatever it is my little guy is battling through some major development. My happy little guy, while still there for short periods after he wakes up from naps and nighttime sleep, is increasingly becoming more fussy and upset. This has been going on for about a week now and it is baffling as a parent to watch. You question everything that he is doing and look for symptoms of a larger issue. What is making him so unhappy? My little champ has these moments when he is crying in what seems like pain where he tries to laugh or smile as I try to distract him but then something brings back the tears and he is inconsolable. It is heartbreaking to watch.
Last night was a rough night for us. Jaxon had been making progress in his sleep at night. He was sleeping in his crib for 4-6 hour stretches with only one feed in between 10-12 hours of sleep and the during the feed he remained calm and went right back to sleep. Then last night happened. My little boy was up and down several times last night and was crying almost the entire time.
There are several things that could be going on. Here is what they "could" be:
Teething: Both his pediatrician and I think he is beginning to teeth. He has the excessive drool, the rash on his face, the extra poopy diapers, the pulling at his cheeks and ears, the fussiness, and now we can add night wakings. He is, however, only 3 months old but it can happen this early...God help us. I cut my first tooth at 4 months so it isn't out of the question.
Wonder Weeks: Just like physical milestones such as sitting up, crawling, and walking babies go through mental leaps during certain weeks as they acquire new cognitive thinking processes and mental skills. During these weeks where large mental jumps and perceptions in the world around them are realized babies can become more clingy, cry more often, and be more cranky as their mind adjusts to this new development and the new overload of sensory information they are now more aware of. There are 10 of these in the first year of life. One is at or around 12 weeks.
3 Month Growth Spurt: Babies go through phases where they eat more often as they signal the mother's body that they require more milk and they approach another physical increase in size. They occur at predictable times including but not limited to 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months. Jax could be going through his 3 month growth spurt. The fussiness is actually hunger cries as they need to eat more often because they are getting bigger and they need more food to satisfy their hunger but it takes mom a few days to increase production of milk to match the demand by baby. Eating more often lets the mom's body know their is an increase in milk needed.
Anyway...I am playing Sherlock Holmes (as most parents probably do) in trying to figure out how best to soothe my little guy right now. The trouble is that I don't know for sure what is actually causing him to be distressed so I am trying to do multiple strategies that cover any possibility.
As I said above...it could be all three at once. Yikes!
I will keep you posted on what I figure out. If I ever do...
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