Baby Inconsolable After Returning from Outing

[fennho]

hi mommies
Today I brought my gal (3months old) out to TST from 4pm to 7-ish dunno why come home she cries and cries with LOUD LOUD wailing type!! She can't seem to stop...i fear tomorrow her throat will be painful, she was screaming with all her strength from her lungs, so scary!!! Dunno wats wrong...have nvr c her like this before! Anyone hb similar experience or have any idea? She was so well behaved outside that I was thinking next time can bring her out like this and hang out at the mall cos got alot of kids shop and nice nursery room to chg diapers and bf..

usually i can also offer my breast to soothe her, but today, after crying like 20mins, i offer, she suckle, then barely 5mins, even the breast cant soothe her! She broke off and cry loudly again! Really heartpain to see her crying...almost like in pain!

Still in shock of what happened. Finally, amidst her cries, we rubbed her down (sponge bath) and swaddle her then i latched her again and finally she calmed down and slept. Dunno if it's going to disturb her sleep tonite.

My fren thinks she got over-stimulated outside. Hubby thinks she loves it so much outside and dont want to come home. My mom thinks becos we stay on the 70th floor, the lift off may have hurt her ear drums....ME? I dont know what to think...i am jus wondering if her throat is going to hurt tom....sigh.

If its really over stimulation, whats the remedy? I cant be keeping her home all the time...the cycle will repeats itself again once i bring her out rite? On the other hand, its so unnerving jus thinking of going thru it again!

 

[carang]

if your little one has never liked outings before (what you said on other posts) it may be a little over-stimulation to take her out for 3 hours at a time.

it may be that she has gas.

it may be that she is just grumpy.

it may be that she didn't want to come home.

it may be that she was just too tired.

it may be that she was hungry.

many times you never know. the only way to find out is trial and error. remember, you have bad moods and so can baby.
20 minutes of screaming feels like a life-time. i know. my daughter screamed or slept for the first 3-4 months of her life. it was AWFUL! we found out that she was a little bit lactose intolerant and the dr presribed some drops for her. it worked a charm and after 2 weeks, she was much better, but not the "perfect" baby that her brother was.

now she's 14 months and she still has screaming fits. yesterday she screamed from tsing yi all the way to sai kung (i was driving). there seemed to be no answer as to why she was screaming. it went on and on and on. then she fell asleep.

many times babies that are over-tired will scream their heads off because they have no other way to deal with the feelings that they have.

as a matter of fact my 3 year old told me the other day on the telephone "i'm a very good boy today but XXX is screaming her head off!"

 

[beckveldman]

Personally I'm a big believer in the over-stimulation theory, and a 3 month old would be just the right age to suffer from it.

Don't worry, you don't need to "teach" the baby to like going out, they will cope beautifully when they are old enough to process all the stimuli and not react adversely afterwards. When exactly that is depends on each individual child. It's a natural maturation of the neurological pathways such that a child learns to self-soothe.

My 4.5 month old daughter has just in the past few weeks hit her stride with going out. Prior to that she would scream as if in pain when out.

Perhaps shorter morning outings would be a good way to start? Early evenings are usually known as the "witching hour" anyway, when even the low-level stimuli involved in being at home all day can reduce little ones to screaming sessions.

 

[Konradsmom]

I DEF have lots of similar experience of a frazzled bubs after an outing. Truth is we don't take him out that much anyway, and I think it is the overstimulation theory at work - too much to absorb. bubs is now 7 months and I see some improvement....

Advice I have been given is to start them off with somewhere quiet like parks, and then make it short outings , an hour or so at a time and then lengthen it.

Well meaning grandparents have also boiled "luk yau " leaves for bubs to bathe in, and sometimes it WORKS !!! crazy , but true.
lately, I have been using Bach's rescue remedy in his bath instead of the pomelo leaves ( recommended to me by fellow site users) , and that seems to work as well - maybe you can consider this as well.

 

[aussiegal]

I agree with the theory of overstimulation. They have to deal with so much noise, so many people, lights etc. Too much for a 3 month old. I think it's better to easer our little ones into the world. Take them to calm places to start with so they can start processing what they see and not be overloaded sensorially.

I get a headache going to TST i can't imagine what your baby is feeling

 

[fennho]

hi there

brought my gal to PD to clear out the ear infection possibility. PD said it might be silent reflux, and put her on meds. She has not been crying for a few days and today, all of a sudden while i was holding her, she broke into one of those awful frightening cries again! It was very scary cos it seems as though she is in pain, it didnt escalate from any whimper or fussiness. She was all smiles and okay and suddenly jus broke into cries. We didnt even go out today and i dont think she's over-stimulated at all (not much activities today)

My mom kept saying some superstition thing. I dunno wat to say cos it's totally inexplicable. It is very different from her usual fussiness and cranky cries. She jus cant stop, crying louder and louder and her expression got a frightened stare.

Any theories?

 

[carang]

does she fart a lot?

my girl always has. last night she had a very bad night and ended up in our bed from 4-7am...once she finally really woke up she spent the better part of 10 minutes farting! then she was happy as could be....

perhaps she's just got really bad gas? does she bring her knees/legs up when she screams like that? that's a sure sign of a bad tummy!

 

[Tracey Nicole]

pls explain your mums superstition thing. i might be able to assist on this one.

 

[fennho]

carang
I was holding her up when she suddenly jus broke into cries..before dat she was all smile and cooing. If its gas, she would be hvg one of those cranky cries right? She didnt fart alot but she did poo several times today which was normal for bf babies rite? Her cries are VERY different frm her usual cranky cries...like a baby would cry if u pinch her or knock her against smtg or fallen down kindof cry..dunno if I'm makg any sense here

Tracey
my mom's theory is that the bb MIGHT hv seen something "dirty" ie some supernatural things and got a fright or those spirits are disturbg her. Cos according to older folks beliefs, a bb under 3yrs of age can still "see" these things. Pls help if u can!

 

[carang]

my girl sometimes screams inconsolably (did i spell that right?).
i know if it's a bad tummy by lying her down and watching what she does with her body.

just a few minutes ago, she half-woke screaming. she had her legs raised in the air and was trying to "pump" them. it means she has gas. and yes, it can be more painful than a pinch. (think about when you get a stomachache)

when she was little, i'd lie her down on the bed or sofa and gently, and slowly move her legs like she was riding a bicycle. that gets the tummy going and the farts usually follow.

(sorry to be so icky with the word "fart" but it is a word that most will understand)

i also find that if my girl has a bad night with farty mornings she usually has a massive poop shortly after waking up, too. so if your girl has been fussing a lot and pooing a lot, it might be an upset tummy. (although this isn't so common for breastfed babies, it is possible that she's just gassy)

it breaks your heart to hear them in pain like that, doesn't it? i know it does mine! and there is not so much you can do for it, except try to sooth it.

good luck!