Forum Parenting

Urgent advice needed on baby behavior

3 replies

Broccoli
Our 12-week-old daughter isn't showing the behavior she should, and I urgently need advice because I'm at my wit's end.

It's a really long story (sorry about that) but I want to paint as clear a picture as possible of what's going on with us. I really hope someone can help me, because I can't handle the situation much longer.

After a 41-week pregnancy, our daughter was born after a difficult labor. The plan was to give birth at home, but after the midwife broke my waters, it turned out she had passed meconium in the amniotic fluid. So we had to go to the hospital.

After 24 hours of intense contractions, I could finally give birth. The midwife discovered during the labor that she was a star-gazer (occiput posterior), and on top of that, she was tilted with her head positioned in a way that added an extra cm to the 10cm dilation. While pushing, she kept slipping back a bit, getting stuck in the birth canal. The gynecologist then used the vacuum pump, and after 3 pushes, she was finally out. However, her umbilical cord was around her neck, so she was struggling. After birth, she was placed on my stomach. After about 10 seconds, she was rushed to the pediatrician because she had a very gray color and wasn't crying either. To make a long story short: our daughter lost 1/3 of her blood during birth and had to stay in the hospital in an incubator for 3 days. After 3 days, she could finally come home.

The first 10 weeks went smoothly. She slept during the day, and from the second week on, she also slept through the night. Only now problems have arisen.
My husband is at work during the day, so I stay home to care for our daughter. As soon as she wakes up in the morning, I give her a clean diaper and a bottle. After about half an hour, she starts crying. And not just crying, but really screaming. Whatever I do, she doesn't calm down. She cries so hard that she turns completely red and purple and stops making noise because she can't get any air. I've also noticed that she startles a lot. She startles about 5 times in a row and looks at me with panic in her eyes. I always have to blow in her face to help her breathe again. She's also sometimes very stiff; it's like her whole body freezes for a few seconds. Right after that, she starts crying again until her next feeding.

Now, she only does this with me. As soon as I'm alone with her, she cries and screams, nothing helps to calm her down. But as soon as visitors come or my husband comes home, everything is fine and she's calm again. Also, when she stays overnight with her grandparents, there's no problem. She only shows this crying behavior with me. With other people, she's as social as can be, but as soon as I'm alone with her, it's a mess. I'm also exhausted and dread each new day because I know she'll cry again.

Now, I've read that she might have a birth trauma. What can I do about this? And how should I handle the situation? It's like she bonds with everyone except me. Everything I do with her starts and ends in screaming. I can't even do the dishes or do household chores because our daughter keeps screaming. Putting her to bed doesn't help either, because as long as I'm away, she keeps screaming and won't stop.

I really don't know what to do at this point, and I hope someone can help me here. The child health clinic advises putting her in her bed during the day, whether she's crying or not. But I can't leave her there for hours while she screams her lungs out.

Replies

  1. Amy #2

    I don't have any direct advice for you on what to do in this situation. I don't have personal experience with it myself, but reading your story, my first reaction is: make an appointment with your GP! Not just for your baby, but also for you. Because reading between the lines, I sense someone who's completely overwhelmed. Your GP should be able to help you, possibly by referring you for support for both you and your baby. If you're struggling with this, it'll only make things harder for you. Anyway, lots of luck and strength.
  2. Ster #3

    Broccoli, how are you and your daughter doing now? Is she still crying so much? And does she do that even when you hold her?
  3. Dior #4

    I had this too with my little boy from the moment dad went back to work.
    My boy slept everywhere, even in the loudest noise – with guests, at football, with really loud music. But not at home when dad was working again. It was just suddenly so quiet in the house for him. What helped was often having music or TV on, talking and singing a lot myself, and keeping busy with things he could hear. When dad or other people came, it was fine again because then there was lots of talking going on.
    I also started practicing sleeping in silence instead of loud noises since he could handle that well.
    For the startle reflexes, I put him on his side in the afternoon (when I can keep an eye on him), which makes them almost disappear.
    And when it just doesn’t work for a moment, I accept that and we go for a walk together in the sling so we both get some calm. After that, I can usually put him quietly in the cot or bed.

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