I’m Rhonda, I’ve been here since the beginning (2008) when my now-three year old Kayah came earthside and shook our world up. Colic, crying without reason, spirited, cranky, busy, smart… whatever you want to call her, she was a challenge to my new marriage, and my older daughter definitely suffered having to deal with a new baby stressing out her parents. Couple it with a really sick pregnancy, and it equaled not only marriage breakdown but also deciding not to have any more kids. Of course without a permanent solution for that in a timely fashion… eventually came along Jonas who is 5 months. Not nearly the colic we experienced previously, he’s actually a pretty welcome addition who sleeps. Or – you know what – we are just able to cope because of the resources and work I did in filling my trunk with tricks. We did probiotics early on, we wear Jonas, and really the rest of life can wait while we work on our babe. I have outside help whenever I can. The challenge is now dealing with my spirited three year old and handling a baby who isn’t always easy. I turn to this site very often for ideas. This place is also an asset to my practice as a doula. I don’t attend many labours but I am always involved in the local parenting community and work with new mothers often. The facebook posts often get re-posted and my friends have thanked me for the thought and the link many times in their journey. Thank you for doing this Holly!

Hi Holly,

I’m Jennifer and I’m new to this site.

I’m 32 years old and a first-time (only time) mother to a 3 1/2 month old son. I found your site by accident, but am extremely glad. I have already found articles, posts, etc. so comforting to my situation.

Mason starting crying the 2nd day in the hospital, but we attributed it to his circumcision. So, it really started the 3rd day we brought him home from the hospital. Being first-time parents, we didn’t know what was normal and what wasn’t. If he was awake, he was somewhere between a fuss and full-fledge scream. He would often wake up this way and all the carrying in the world wouldn’t help the situation. At his two-week appointment, we were told he was fine and he needed to learn to soothe himself. At his one-month appointment, we were told to cut out dairy (I’m breastfeeding) and if that doesn’t work, then give formula a try. Finally, when the screaming wouldn’t stop, my husband said something has got to be done. The doctor diagnosed acid refllux and he’s been on medication ever since.

However, that still didn’t turn our life into what I envisioned (much the same as your vision of parenthood). While he has gotten better, I still have to carry, entertain, wear, etc. my fastly growing boy. I’m exhausted from too short of naps and waking up everyday earlier than the sun. We are on no resemblence of a schedule. He hates his car seat, so getting out of the house usually causes more stress than it’s worth.

Your site helps me realize that this is some people’s version of normal and that, eventually, it will get better. Until then, I’ll rely on other mother’s stories for inspiration and hope.

Thank you.

Hi there!
I’m Georgia and am also a 32 yo first time mom. We also had a problematic pregnancy, difficult labor and a needy baby. I admit that now she smiles a lot (praise God!) and is so so so much happier than at first (she’s almost 5 months), but the longest I’ve slept since she was born is four hours (and I’ve read all the books and tried all the strategies), she hates her naps and barely sleeps and it’s a great day if she’ll sit in her exersaucer for 15 minutes alone or lay and kick on the floor for that long. The rest of the time I’m “on”. Also ,at church she is more “vocal” than the other babies her age and lets everyone know if her mood changes which can be at the drop of a hat! We also were told she had reflux and I’m off all dairy due to some tummy issues for her. It’s been challenging to say the least and coupled with the difficult pregnancy and labor I don’t know if I can do it again…

Though Claire has gotten so much better and I wouldn’t classify her as colicky now, she’s not as easy as ANY of my friends babies. When I read your blog I always feel like I’m not alone and like there’s nothing wrong with her. I also feel like I’m not alone in getting frustrated and that things aren’t as envisioned for other people too.

I’m Tessa. 27 year old mom to two boys ages 3.5 and almost 1. DS1 was a wonderful little baby and a great introduction to parenting. He was content as long as he was nursing and/or being held. He did not sleep longer than a 2 hour stretch until he was 18 months old. He nursed at least every 2 hours until he was 12 months old. I didn’t think anything of it. Babies have needs and I made the decision early on to meet his needs. He’s now an amazing little boy and still the snuggliest boy I’ve ever met. Physical touch is most definately his primary love language. He didn’t even really STTN until he was 2 years and 8 months old. Two nights afer DS2 was born.

Then along came DS2……. Wonderful unassisted home water birth after cesaerean. On Dr. Sears’ high need list he had all but two qualities. He didn’t need to nurse as frequently has his brother and he slept decent chunks of time (even on his own during naps which his big bro didn’t do until almost 2). Some babies break your heart when they scream. Others make you feel angry. Yup, I said it. His screaming made me angry. I spent 8 months trying to connect and develop that motherly bond with this little baby. During that time I suffered from a couple serious back injuries and some pretty bad PPD. After a lot of prayer for patience and asking for forgiveness for my behaviour toward my boys I finally came to a point of acceptence. DS2 is HN. He just is. It’s not my fault. I can’t “fix” him and I don’t need to. I am learning to focus on his positive qualities and find parenting peace. He’s now almost 1 year old (yikes! where did the time go?) and I can officially say that I feel like I can’t love him any more when we lay down at bedtime. Then I wake up the next morning and realize that I do.
There is hope. There is an end to the “newborn marathon.” There does come a point of acceptance an even a point when you will learn to embrace your unique baby/child. You’re not alone!

I’m Linda, mother of a 6 year old daughter and 3 year old son. I feel extremely fortunate to never have had a seriously high needs baby. Sure, I had my challenges as all new and veteran moms do but not like others I know and have read about. That being said, my son has gone through many stages where I often feel like he is crying all day long–mostly as a toddler so I identify a lot with what is said here. My reasons for visiting this site are primarily professional. I am a licensed clinical social worker and I run a new moms educational and supportive program. I work with many many new moms to help them get through that first year that is often fraught with being intensely overwhelming and isolating and also filled with unmet expectations of how it should feel to be a mom. For moms with a colicky baby, these feelings are multiplied exponentially. I come to this site to find resources for the moms I work with and to learn new ways of guiding them through a time that can be immensely challenging with the goal of helping them build their confidence and understand that they are not alone. Thank you for doing what you do and for helping moms feel supported and understood.

Hi Holly! I’m Lyndsay…I’m a pretty frequent commenter, but I thought I would post here anyway. I’m 28 years old and the momma to two boys- my first guy was a BREEZE BABY. Easy temperament, great sleeper, go-with-the-flow attitude, just don’t forget his binky. We thought #2 would be the same….and holy God were we mistaken. His birth was shockingly easy; I almost feel guilty that it was so smooth and simple. (To be fair, my first birth was pretty traumatic and awful.) His easy delivery seemed to reinforce the idea that doing the baby thing again was going to be no big deal. And then three weeks went by, and he started to fuss for a few hours every night. And then the light fussing turned into crying. And then, as we’re all familiar, the crying became screaming. The screaming you swear you can still hear even after he’s finally fallen asleep. I never realized how traumatic colic is for parents- I had no idea how to cope with it. This is a crazy world and living it can take you to a dark place. One of the single saving graces has been THIS SITE. I’ve recommended it to anyone I know. The camaraderie made me feel SOOOO much better. Knowing that I wasn’t alone, and that this wasn’t going to last forever, really helped me get through the rough and tumble days. I’m happy to say my second guy is now seven months (what???) and a happy, smiling, hilarious baby. He even sleeps in his crib at night (somehow he still ends up in bed with me in the morning though, I can’t help it, he’s a good snuggler and I’m drinking it up while I can).

Bottom line- I wouldn’t have gotten through it with my head still attached if it wasn’t for this site!

Hey there! I am a first time momma to a beautiful huge 13 pound 2 month old. It’s all breastmilk tho! I pump 4-5 times a day and bottle feed so he stays fuller longer and thus one would think sleep longer. Nope! He has been sleeping great chunks of time since about 3-4 weeks at night and now rarely wakes up once if at all for a feeding at like 430-530am then usually goes back to sleep. However he only naps in my arms, he is teething already and I can see the two white teeth trying to break thru, and he is just generally unhappy. Today he sat in his bouncy seat for 15 minutes or so and I kept checking to make sure he was okay, usually I have to hold and walk him around all day. I wish he would be content just being held and rocked but nope, he likes to be on the move. Getting out to show my baby to friends is out of the question and having them come over makes me so anxious because he doesn’t cry he screams. High needs or colic I am not sure yet if it lets up at all in the next few weeks I guess colic (I am crossing my fingers)

Hi Holly, i’m a single mommy to a beautiful 4 month old girl. I’m also a teen mom. I had no idea about “fussy babies” until I read an article in a magazine I picked up while at Babies’R'Us. I could totally relate to the article and I HAD to check out your website! It has been the best anything I’ve ever stumbled upon!! My daughters name is Selena and ever since birth she’s been extra good at letting me know what she wants and if she’s comfortable or not. I’m exclusively breastfeeding now but she was on infant formula shortly after she was born due to me being sick and being unable to continue to breastfeed while on medication. When I started to breastfeed again, she did not take the pacifier or bottles anymore!! I had 2 on call shifts ever since and my mother and my sister whom I live with told me all about how she screamed and refused to eat. Ever since, I haven’t left her for more than an an hour. She’s generally a happy baby since I play with her all the time, sing to her, bounce her, shh her, anything and everything mentioned on this site. She falls asleep with car rides and cradling/swinging but she can’t stay in the cradle swing for more than 10 minutes or she’ll get extremely bored and fussy. Thankfully I graduated high school just on time so that I can take a full year off for my daughter. I hope that she is a lot easier to cope with by the time I head off to college because I know that it takes a lot of effort to take care of my high needs baby. I’m very thankful for your site since I can relate to almost everything that is said in blogs!! I use to feel very alone but i’m greatly relieved knowing that it does get better in time!

Thanks again Holly!!

Hi Holly! I’m Kim – I’ve commented on the site a few times but thought I’d share on here too.

I’m a 32 year old first time mum to an 11 month old daughter and I live in Australia. I stumbled across your site one night when I was frantically searching the internet trying to find some information about colic and work out what I could be doing wrong. It was such a relief to read the stories on here and realise I wasn’t alone. I hadn’t met anyone else that had a baby that HATED the car or pram and wanted to be held constantly, struggled with sleep and was not an easy going or ‘text book’ baby. The first 3 months of her life were certainly about survival.

11 months later and I still visit your site regularly. Our girl is definitely high needs and I’m still seeing different parts of her personality appear and working out how best to meet her needs. My biggest struggle at the moment is dealing with my own physical and emotional exhaustion. It is getting easier but each stage comes with it’s own challenges. At the moment her ‘sensitive’ side is really coming through. If we are out and she hears another child crying she bursts into tears and it’s hard to calm her down. And she is SUPER active – just learning to walk (or should I say run) so she is keeping me on my toes.

Love this site – and always keen to here what is working for others.

Hello! My name is Melissa and I am a 27 year-old first-time mom of an almost 9-month old girl. I stumbled upon this site while searching for information about colic. I have 5 nieces and nephews and not one of my siblings could relate to what I was going through when Jr. was born. I needed to know if what I was experiencing with Jr. was colic and if so, what to do about it. My marriage was suffering and I didn’t even recognize myself anymore–always tired, always impatient, quick to snap. Jr. was always crying or fussing. It was particularly difficult when her cousin, who is older by only 5 weeks, would sit playing contentedly for what seemed like hours whereas Jr. would start fussing within 5 minutes.
This site has been very helpful. I have come to accept that my daughter is a sensitive, high needs baby, and that’s okay. I don’t feel defensive when someone asks, “Why is she like that?” or “Why is she crying so much?” I feel more equipped to raise her by understanding her particular needs. I like coming to the site to read the blog posts and comments. It reminds me that I’m not alone.

Hi Holly, my name is Daniela. I’m a first-time mom to a 9-month old high need baby girl. She has/had every one of the characteristics listed by Dr. Sears. The first 6 or 7 months were pure survival. She can now sit and is about to crawl and that has made things a little bit easier.
She still wants to nurse every 2-3 hours and has a hard time falling asleep. Getting her to sleep requires an elaborate routine of walking, dancing, singing, and nursing and even then it doesn’t always work out. She now usually sleeps through the night, going to bed around 9 and waking up between 5-6am ready to go.
She only takes naps when I hold her so all day long I either hold her, carry her, nurse her or entertain her. It’s rough but nothing compared to the newborn phase.
The big change for me came when I read about high need babies on Dr. Sears’ website and realized I wasn’t alone. Shortly after, I discovered your website and have been reading the blog ever since. It has helped tremendously, I just wish I would meet some local parents with similar problems. All the babies I know are so easy going compared to ours and nobody can related to our problems.
I guess what helped me the most was accepting that she is a high need baby. Once I did, I wasn’t as frustrated anymore and began to see her good qualities. It has been fun watching her turn into a little person, seeing her personality emerge. She’s gonna be a great little girl and for sure a spirited one.

Hi
I’m Heather. I’m 30 and a first time mom to an amazingly spirited 16 month old boy. Looking back we should have known we were in for trouble at the hospital, when at day 1 getting a bath the nurse said she hadn’t seen a baby react that way before. That was the beginning of the screaming and that night it picked back up bringing in the nurses again. The frequency and volume of screaming increased for a while and eventually slowly began leveling out by 5 months. We still haven’t had more then 4 hours of sleep and 4 hours is pretty rare. Somewhere near a year old he began napping on his own, at least most of the time. Now he is very intense(to quote my MIL “I think he’s more intense then his dad was at this age) very independent, knows exactly what he wants and expresses those wants easily:)
Your website has been an answered prayer. Friends think we are crazy and antisocial. Friends have been angry at us, thinking we are ignoring them and some have even basically stopped talking to us. We knew life would change when out little boy entered our life, but if only we had known. Our priority is making sure his needs are taken care of-that has meant wearing him, nursing, maintaining nap time even when there is something else the world tells us to go do. He has taken every ounce of energy my husband and I had. Especially in those early days. It’s hard to imagine going through that again. Even though I know our little guy would be a great big brother.We’ll have to wait and see if that is in God’s plan for the future. He was a year old before I could even consider the idea and a little longer then that for my husband.

Hi Holly! I found your site looking online for support. I’m 33 and a first time working mom. Our little girl was very colicky from day 3 until about 4.5 months. After a difficult pregnancy, an early induction and a very hard labor, the non-stop screaming baby and lack of sleep almost pushed me over the edge. But what made it even harder was no one understanding or even acknowledging what we were going through – even family and close friends. I found that it was only in parents of colicky babies that I found support and solace, and I don’t think I could have made it through it without other moms and dads out there who let me know they’d been there, it’s brutal, but it does get better. So I check your site from time to time to see how I can help others with tips that worked for us and offering whatever advice and support I can. Now our little girl is almost 7 months, sleeping pretty well and generally happy. I am still off of soy and dairy, but otherwise life is normalizing a bit. What we are struggling with now is the post-traumatic phase – which I hope doesn’t last too long. We are so blessed to have a healthy little girl, and I’m saddened when the scars of the early months overwhelm us and keep us from enjoying the present. Thank you for providing this resource for us all!

My name is Crissy I am a first time mom to a now 2 year old. We had a not so easy birth, my water broke 2-weeks early with no signs of labor, I need to be induced and then after about 2hours or so of pushing we needed to have a c-section because he was head first but facing the wrong way so it wasn’t going to go through. When he was born he had a nasty bruise/brush burn on his head from the pushing which helped in giving him jaundice. Things did not get much better from there.

For the first two months we slept on the recliner because the only way he and I would get more than 2 hours of sleep at a time is if he was laying on my chest. We went to pediatrician (who was very supportive thankfully) and he thought it was reflux…put him on some meds. We still had issues sleeping and a lactation consultant steered me in the direction of Dr. Sears and co-sleeping. I read up on doing it safely, and we co-slept (in same bed) for the first year. That was the best sleep I have had since he was born. After a year, he weaned himself and we moved him out of the bed because he was moving around to much and it was no longer safe. This started my year + of sleep deprivation. During this time I found this site and started to read about things here.

I was lucky in a sense that my son was not so “colicy” I was able to calm him down by wearing him all the time. However things that helped all my friends kids…never helped mine. He did not like the swing for longer than 5 minutes. If I needed to use it in a pinch I would have to swing him and turn on the vacuum cleaner and keep it running.

On a positive side, my son turned two in August and for the last month I have been able to put him to bed and actually walk out of his room and he will go to sleep (after talking to himself for a while and/or reading one of his small picture books that he takes to bed with him) without me in it. For the past few weeks I have actually slept in my own bed with my husband for most of the night. My son still wakes up sometimes 2-3 times a night but I can get him back to sleep much easier now. Also for the last two weeks we have been able to get him to take a nap at home with not a lot of coaxing (nap time usually meant going for a walk with him in his stroller to put him to sleep). (My daycare provider has always been able to get him to nap..I think it is her strict schedule and the fact that all the other kids are also napping)

He is still high needs. He can go from intense happiness to intense crabbiness in 1.2 seconds flat. He does not like change much (unless he is the one doing the change). But we have so much fun, he is learning so much so fast. He has an amazing imagination. We can finally go out to a restaurant as a family to eat. He is warming up to family and friends and not needing Mommy to be right there all the time. The best thing is that for the longest time he was not a very….affectionate…child. He wanted to be held by me all the time, but hug and kiss…nope. Now, he will ask for a hug and he will give a kiss hello or good bye. We cherish those because for the longest time they just did not happen (and we didn’t force him to either).

Hi! I’m a 33 year old first time mom to a loud 2-month old little girl. We had a super easy pregnancy, but a traumatic birth causing my full term baby to spend some time in the NICU. On the second day of her life we entered the doors of the NICU and could hear her screaming…she hasn’t stopped since. In her first week home from the hospital she had an ear infection that caused her to scream all day…I thought for sure she just had colic (hey, I’m new at this and there were no signs I.e. Temp). It eventually got so bad that we went to the ped and quickly was put on an antibiotic. I thought; “sweet, I’ll finally have that calm, content baby my friends all seem to have”. Ha, not so much. Basically, we were at the doctor each week for one thing or another, always getting my hopes up that they would find the reason for the screams and the never content-ness that was my child. So now we are on Soy (my milk stopped long ago), Zantac, & BioGaia and she is still not happy.

I’ve spent the whole 2 months of her life hoping to find that one little thing that would make it all better, I’ve been in colic denial. I found this site today and literally cried all the way thru the posts. I felt so relieved that other people have babies just like mine and have lived.

My name is Jenny and my daughter has colic.

Hi Holly!

My name is Cheril; I am 29, am married to a wonderful, supportive husband and have 3 kids, 7, 4, and 3.

My firstborn was my challenging one.. My husband and I are very frank, and call his baby days for what they were– hell! It took his first 2 weeks of life for us to figure out how to get him to sleep for more than 10 minutes at a time, tops, at night. He only slept if he was on top of me. He cried– constantly. Nothing soothed him well, and we never got more than an hour’s sleep for 18 months or so. After 3 months, he stopped taking daytime naps, too.

During the day, he was exhausting. He was never content, we could only hope for times that he was fussing but not screaming. Well-meaning friends abounded with one piece of advice after another, and none of it worked. It was the depths of despair for us, to see the expected age of the end of colic come and go without improvement. I was by no means inexperienced with babies, but this baby was unlike any I had ever encountered. It took vast amounts of time and effort to get him to sleep at any time, day or night.

The only reason we had more children is because we thought that there was no possible way that we’d have another one as difficult as our first. God is a merciful God, right? LOL Well, He was! We had two girls, as easy and contented as any I had cared for before I had kids. Our son still takes more time, effort, and stress than both of his younger sisters combined, but he is a spirited, strong-willed, cheerful boy.

My son has a lot of challenges as a second-grader, and we are closing in on a diagnosis in the autism spectrum, and also an ADHD diagnosis. He has a modified school day of 3 1/2 hours a day, and still manages to get suspended quite often. To be brutally honest, I think if I didn’t have two other children who are well-adjusted, respectful, polite, and well-behaved I’d curl up in the corner and rock back and forth, thinking I was a complete failure at parenting!

Because of all the difficulties we endured and continue to endure, and all the books that we read that assured us that their method of whatever was foolproof, not even giving the possibility that they wouldn’t work for all temperaments, and because of all the friends who couldn’t begin to relate or understand, when I found this site I immediately added it to my favorites, even though my son was not a baby anymore.

I don’t want any parent to have to struggle through what we did, and even less to do so without the support of anyone who knows what they are going through. A little encouragement goes a long way!

I wish i had discovered this site months ago… Our exciting, exhausting twin boys are a little over 9 months now (but arrived 3 months early, so are closer to 6 months developmentally) and so much easier to handle than they were just a few months back, when we were ready to give up. On everything. But we are still “on”, as you so correctly say, the entire time they’re awake. I tried working part-time, but it doesn’t seem possible to find a childcare situation that works for everyone, so i’m back at home full time with them.

I’ve already found myself visiting this site often and have discovered some wonderful resources through it. While it doesn’t make our boys any easier, it is validating to know that others share our experiences of parenting – so different from what we had imagined. For so long, i figured that things were so hard just because we have twins. But after medicating them for reflux and identifying a dairy allergy in one and STILL dealing with extremely fussy babies, 24/7, i started to suspect that there was something more going on. With the reflux gone and allergy under control, we are only now realizing that we were just lucky enough to get not one, but two very high-needs babies. It may not be an answer, but at least we finally have a place to start looking

Hi Holly. My name is Kristian. I am 43 and a single, first-time mama to Tristan who is now 12 weeks old.

I had a nice, easy pregnancy until week 35 when my age became a factor and we had to induce at 37 weeks. My labor and delivery were also incredibly easy. For the first week, Tristan was the dream baby. My best friend kept saying how perfect and easy-going he was. Turns out he just needed a few weeks to ramp up.

By week 3 he was screaming regularly and was only soothed by the breast. Since he was only 4lbs 10 oz at birth, this wasn’t a problem… except for my poor nipples. I noticed early on that there was no fussing with him. He went from sleeping or eating to screaming–no in between.

Tristan rarely slept more than 2 hours at a time and those 2 hours were restless with constant grunting, straining, and writhing from gas and bowel movements. Soon, the gas and bowel issues took over during the day as well and that was ALL he did. Even during nursing. (I am listening to him cry and grunt in his sleep right now on the monitor)

Like many others here, I am exclusively breastfeeding, so my pediatrician took me off dairy and put him on probiotics and Zantac for reflux. I have noticed no difference at all. He JUST started smiling in the last 2 weeks and has yet to laugh or coo. It breaks my heart to have such an unhappy boy.

What makes Tristan different from some of the other stories I’ve read here is the roller coaster quality of his behavior. We will have a stretch of bad days with no sleep and constant crying and then he will suddenly sleep through the night and be happy-go-lucky for a day or two, then back to hell.

What is constant is his pure hatred of leaving the house for any reason. Even when I wear him (tried the Ergo, moby and sling) he cries if he doesn’t fall asleep. The car, car seat, and stroller put him in hysterics.

To add to the stress, I must return to work on January 3 and send Tristan to daycare. I am scared to death of what this transition will do to him!

For these reasons I am SO happy to have found your site! Just reading that others are having this experience and that I’m not alone has been so helpful!

Hi my name is Michelle and I’m a 33 year old mom of Mary, my 14 month old daughter. I found this site because I was looking for it! I just got home from a family Christmas party that we had to unfortunately leave early because it was just too much to handle with my daughter. It’s the kind of family party where you are close with everyone, and want to hear and catch up with relatives because it only happens MAYBE twice a year. Insert Mary, my 14 month old daughter. She is the sweetest, most high maintenanced child I know. She’s so timid of strangers that she won’t even go to my mom and I’m starting to get the feeling that my mom is quietly horrified in her mind. I know she feels bad about it but I don’t know what to tell her other than she’s just “particular”? I’ve come to think of most of Mary’s behaviors as “normal”. The constant distractions, the crankiness when she wakes up from naps, the quick mood swings and just the constant attention! How would I know otherwise, right?…until I spend time with my friends and their children who’ve never heard of a “spirited child” and don’t understand that I have to constantly keep her stimulated and/or hold her. It’s so much different than I thought it was going to be and yet it’s gotten so much easier than it was when she was first born. But of course I’m here, looking for support, because I guess it’s just nice to see that this isn’t unheard of. I’ve asked myself if I am going to ruin my baby because I don’t know if what I’m doing is right?! It’s just so nice to have stumbled upon this site because at least I know I’m not alone. So thank you, Holly for creating this site

Wow – Thank you all SO much for sharing your stories. I know others will read these and be helped by them. There is so much comfort in knowing you aren’t alone, that you’re NOT a bad parent, and that you’re not doing anything wrong. Thanks for your openness in sharing!

My husband saved me. He showed me unconditional love even though I fought it. He brought me back to God. We were together 9 years before we had Emily. It was a difficult road with fertility treatment and our one and only fertilized egg on our 2nd round. I had a fairly difficult pregnancy, 36 hours of labor and there she was. She barely made a sound which continued the first couple weeks. We had a hard time breastfeeding. I had breast reduction surgery in 2007 and wasn’t producing much milk. She wasnt latching well due to her “immature” mouth on my inverted nipples. I kept trying, using nipple guard and fought through the pain. Finally, decided to pump every 2 hours. Then, it started with the grunting and pushing from 3am to 8am. We changed the formula we were supplementing with. Helped for a few days then went back. We went to my in-laws for a week while my husband went on training for work in NY. She got worse – she was up all night. It stayed this way when we got home too. We switched the formula a couple more times and ended on nutramigen. Constipation went away and now had explosive diarrea. Went back to Gerber (the best of the worst). For awhile, she slept OK – 3 night wakings, ok naps but very fussy. Then up every 30 minutes, then 1 hour, now 2 hours. She’s 6 months old. We’ve moved to organic formula with probiotic, vitamin D drops and today added liquid calcium 1/4 teaspoon for acid reflux). She goes to a chiro for adjustments too. Daytime naps average 45 minutes with night wakings at 11:30, 3:30, 4:30 and up at 6:30. My anxiety is at an all time high. I work from home part time but cant get my work done. She wont nap anywhere but home so we barely leave the house. Everyone says to try this book or that. Weve tried everything. My mind was lost months ago. I dont know what to do… The looks people give or my family saying to stop coddling her. Its all too much and no one offers help. Its just me and my husband and he tries so hard. We are out of options out of ideas. So, here I am, scouring this site every day in hopes of an idea, product or person to help (that doesnt cost $800 like that sleep specialist). Weve been to doctors, nutritionists, chiropractos, reiki specialists, etc. i hope there is a light at the end of this. I love her so very much, with all of my being but I feel like I’m hollow. Thanks for hearing me.