In Response to How do you deal with a baby who fusses unless constantly entertained?:

My four-month-old cries if I don't pay constant attention to her. Does anyone have tips on breaking her from this or keeping her entertained?

Posted by Christin

my 5 mth old son is starting to get this way.  if you get any good advice, please share!!

My 4 month old daughter has been doing this as well lately. What I found to work (90% of the time) is checking to see if she is teething or gassy  as both have been agitants for her lately. She likes me to hold her under her arms, (her standing on my lap) and bounce her lightly while talking to her. That seems to take the focus off of the gas pains and allows the gas to move through and pass. When she is chewing on her blankie or her hand and fussing like that, I have been giving her a cool wet wash cloth and she has been chewing on it and getting some relief.

Of course other times she will just scream no matter what I do, so it's not always 100% effective but that seems to do the trick most of the time.

Another thing I found is that she does this when she is ready to go to bed. Not just nap, but actually be put in her bed where it's quiet and comfortable and not overly stimulating. I can think of a handful of times lately where nothing made her happy and she just wanted her bed and was asleep within a couple minutes. Hope it helps! :)

In Response to Re: How do you deal with a baby who fusses unless constantly entertained?:

My not quite 2 month old is the same way. Some family members think he's colicky but he's just very clingy at times. He's only turning 8 weeks in a few days and he's already 12+ lbs. I don't know how much longer I can carry him around 24/7. :(

Posted by meggiepoo

Have you ever tried the wraps so you can wear your baby? I admit I thought it was iffy before I tried it but it worked wonders for my son. Good luck darlin!

My daughter was the same way (she is six now) but she would be clean fed burbed the whole nine yards, she was worse then being colic i literaly would spend hours walking up and down hallways because she would not sleep in a crib holding her and rocking her so she would sleep and constantly giving her attention. I think that is just the way some babies are, but its not a bad thing if you let her fuss and cry for a bit...you arent super mom like I thought I was and tried to do it all by myself..If you need a break call a freind and have them help you with the baby while you get some rest or some peace and quiet to gather your thoughts. there is no harm in being away from your baby for an hour or so..make sure she or he is fed so you dont have to worry about that once you go for your r and r..

I know this isnt much advise but hope something I said helps and didnt mean to affend if I did I am sorry....

In Response to How do you deal with a baby who fusses unless constantly entertained?:

My four-month-old cries if I don't pay constant attention to her. Does anyone have tips on breaking her from this or keeping her entertained?

Posted by Christin

you could try finding a show on tv that she may like to keep her mind off of wanting to be held or play some fun baby music both my kids like to watch mickey mouse club house, doc micstuffins, and jake and the neverland pirates. With her being so young the movement of the charaters might keep her eye on the tv since she wont understand much of it yet. 

In Response to How do you deal with a baby who fusses unless constantly entertained?:

My four-month-old cries if I don't pay constant attention to her. Does anyone have tips on breaking her from this or keeping her entertained?

Posted by Christin

Hi i'm Jenna, i saw your post and it reminded me of my 1st child. he alway wanted to be held and entertained and also had colic so he fussed all the time, this might sound crazy but it worked for me i  out him in the floor on a blanket with his toys around him and ran the vacume cleaner when he fussed if i left the room, it worked like a charm! now he is 18 months and a little handful lol and i also have a 5 month old son as well he is the best baby i could ever ask for he smiles 24 7 :) but i hope this helps hun.

You have to get REALLY creative. I used to cart my daughter around the house with me, I'd put her in the vibrating chair or in the high chair with toys on it while I tried to get things done around the house.  I'd sing crazy songs that I'd make up on the spot every time she'd start to cry, and if she'd start again I would try other things (weird noises that would make her curious, dancing around, making faces etc). When I would sit on the floor and play with her, periodically I would get up and go do something while continuing to talk to her/praise her for playing with the toys.  Sometimes I would just sit on the couch near where she was, just so she could see me.  Babies need variety to keep their little brains stimulated.  Try changing her scenery often, like put her in the bouncy chair for 15 minutes, then floor time for 15 min, reading with mom, excersaucer etc...pretty much keep them busy with whatever different things you have available.   It took some time and a lot of distraction with my daughter (distraction is the key) but now she does great, she is 12 months old now and loves playing independently as long as she knows where I am.  I'm a single mom, completely on my own...so I know how hard it is to get things done, or to take a breather for 5 seconds when the baby wants to be held/played with 24/7. It takes a lot of time, patience and creativity but you can do it!

In Response to Re: How do you deal with a baby who fusses unless constantly entertained?:

Iknow this sound weird but if you have tended to any need wet tired cold warm hungry try running the vac the sound sometimes soothe fussy babies

I would try a change of scenery, sometimes baby and mommy needs a change of location, sometimes even a break from routine, unless it's naptime. When my son was that age and was just crying to get my attention, I would sometimes mimic his cry and he would stop, fascinated at watching my face. When he stopped crying I would smile very big, play a quick game of peek-a-boo or some such and get back to whatever I was working on, talking to him as I washed dishes or folded laundry. 

Posted by Teresa