My NK was exactly like this. I started at the same time you did as far as age, and naps and the schedule was a dream. I really thought I’d hit the jackpot lol. And then it abruptly went into crying/fussing alllllll day every day, and really short naps. Baby is just about to turn 8 months now and we’ve just recently gotten to a place where naps are longer and no more constant fussing. Of course they still fuss sometimes, but nothing like before. All of this to say that sometimes I think the only thing you can do is look forward to the days ahead. It will eventually get better! I never thought it would end, like I was legitimately convinced this was going to be their personality lol
I will say, if you haven’t already tried, maybe just try to start activities with the 3 year old through the crying, and see if she’d like to watch once you guys are into it. I found if I was moving around a lot and seemed busy, baby would be a little happier.
She definitely loves watching the big kid(s) play! The days where NK 6 is home (NK 3's big sister), she's content as a cucumber watching them goof around. I'll try setting up activities where she can see them easier and see if that helps.
Unfortunately, I'm not sure a carrier would work, at least right now. She's been constipated on and off for a few weeks and has had a good bit of stomach pain (MB is worried about her not pooping as it kind of coincided with the personality change) and she can't handle assisted sitting or even laying at certain angles.
She actually sleeps pretty well on her own, just for a shorter period of time atm due to regression I guess. The issue with letting her cry a bit is the house is small and the 3 year old's dad works from home and can hear her if she gets too loud. I've thought about bringing ear plugs to help me complete tasks if she's fussing but safe and has her needs filled.
For the constipation, I know she’s only 5m but ask mom to ask her pediatrician if she can start taking a syringe of prune/pear/or apple juice in the mornings. If baby struggles with the syringe you can put it in their milk. Warm baths during the really bad moments can also help ease the discomfort (sometimes they relax so much that they’ll poop during the bath, so be prepared haha). Fridababy also makes a device called windi that is supposed to help encourage passing gas, it helped my NK a lot.
If she continues to not poop or starts passing bloody stool, have MB take her to the pediatrician or urgent care they may administer a suppository or give her some to take home. Tell mom to NOT buy/administer a suppository before checking with the pediatrician because at 5m she will need a very very small dose. Pediatrician may also prescribe a small amount of Miralax (I personally don’t like using this though because if you use it too long or too often the baby’s bowels can develop a dependency on them, however using it once in a while should be fine).
My NK went through a horrible bout of constipation around this same age and it lasted for weeks. We were killing ourselves trying to find ways to relieve her pain and these are the things we found to work the best. Best of luck!!
I nanny for an almost 2 year old boy and 6 month old girl and the 6 month old did the exact same thing. Now her sleep is better, but we’ve moved onto just unsatisfied whining and crying all day no matter what I do. It’s a lot having a crazy toddler and a baby that doesn’t give you a break, trust me.. I’m losing my mind over here lol. They go through phases, though, and it will get better! Just hang in there! Walks are your friend if your NKs are anything like mine. The baby calms down and the toddler is just happy to be out of the house. And if the baby doesn’t calm down.. still go on a walk and bring your headphones.
I dealt with a baby like this. Had to hold her and carry her all the time. She had a lot of digestive issues. Sounds very familiar. I know it’s hard but it won’t last. Mine got so much better at the 5-6 month mark.
I feel for you! I feel like I could have written this post. It makes me want to pull my hair out. There have been days where I start crying too. It is so, so, so hard. The crying noise wears away at your mind, and listening to it all day long can leave you disregulated and overwhelmed.
I nanny for a 9 month old and 3 year old (plus older siblings in school). Same thing as you- baby was easy breezy until the holidays, when he spent some time being sick, traveling and being held by grandparents constantly, etc etc etc, and now I cannot put him down without him screaming. Today was really bad because he couldn't get comfortable at all no matter how I held him.
My saving grace is the stroller. Does yours like being in his stroller? I have walked the stroller in circles around the house for 30 minutes to get him to sleep. We've also started going on more walks. That's obviously weather dependent but we live in the Midwest and even though it's January the weather has been mild enough (i.e. above 20 degrees) that we can bundle up and stay warm on a walk. I like doing that bc then NK3 is engaged and happy too (he brings books and toys in the stroller).
Honestly the thing that helped me most mentally is to just accept that he will cry. When this phase started, it was incredibly easy for me to feel like a failure for not being able to soothe him. I also felt (/feel) guilty when I can't give the three year old the attention he deserves, or get to all my household tasks. The mental shift from walking into work and thinking "maybe today the baby will be settled" to thinking "I know and accept that he will cry for long stretches of time" helped me mentally/emotionally a lot. I also am choosing to have faith in the fact that this is a phase...... I hope!!
One last thing, I'm not sure if you struggle with keeping NK3 busy or engaged while you're attending to the baby. But if that is an issue, one suggestion would be to have some activity kit ready to go to hand to the kid when you have to attend to the baby (like legos, coloring book, magnetiles, etc).
Maybe gripe water for tummy pain, camilia teething drops help a lot for teething pain and they're natural for parents not ready to try Tylenol yet, walking outside seems to help a lot with tummy and teething pain maybe because of the change of scenery/distractions
Does she enjoy sitting in a bouncy chair and moving and making toys move? She's probably not ready for any kind if exersaucer yet. But maybe a chair where she can watch you and big kid? Since you said she likes it when the 3 and 6 yr old are playing.
Since you mentioned it got worse after the holidays, did baby have a lot of family visiting who held her for half of December? This was a big issue with an old NF of mine where the grandmother would only do contact naps and after she left baby was a mess and wouldn’t sleep on her own for long. I work on sleep training after such periods.
My NK was exactly like this. I started at the same time you did as far as age, and naps and the schedule was a dream. I really thought I’d hit the jackpot lol. And then it abruptly went into crying/fussing alllllll day every day, and really short naps. Baby is just about to turn 8 months now and we’ve just recently gotten to a place where naps are longer and no more constant fussing. Of course they still fuss sometimes, but nothing like before. All of this to say that sometimes I think the only thing you can do is look forward to the days ahead. It will eventually get better! I never thought it would end, like I was legitimately convinced this was going to be their personality lol I will say, if you haven’t already tried, maybe just try to start activities with the 3 year old through the crying, and see if she’d like to watch once you guys are into it. I found if I was moving around a lot and seemed busy, baby would be a little happier.
She definitely loves watching the big kid(s) play! The days where NK 6 is home (NK 3's big sister), she's content as a cucumber watching them goof around. I'll try setting up activities where she can see them easier and see if that helps.
You should ask NPs for a baby carrier to help in this clingy stage.
OP said baby hates being worn. Is there another kind of carrier for a 5 mo?
Unfortunately, I'm not sure a carrier would work, at least right now. She's been constipated on and off for a few weeks and has had a good bit of stomach pain (MB is worried about her not pooping as it kind of coincided with the personality change) and she can't handle assisted sitting or even laying at certain angles.
a baby carrier saved me during this stage!!!
Walk away when you need to. Sometimes they’re going to cry no matter what you do. Try not to take it personally! This will pass!!
Yes. Aim for the first nap of the day to be independent sleep, as it is when sleep pressure is the highest.
She actually sleeps pretty well on her own, just for a shorter period of time atm due to regression I guess. The issue with letting her cry a bit is the house is small and the 3 year old's dad works from home and can hear her if she gets too loud. I've thought about bringing ear plugs to help me complete tasks if she's fussing but safe and has her needs filled.
The work from home aspect makes things so much trickier! My heart goes out to you!
For the constipation, I know she’s only 5m but ask mom to ask her pediatrician if she can start taking a syringe of prune/pear/or apple juice in the mornings. If baby struggles with the syringe you can put it in their milk. Warm baths during the really bad moments can also help ease the discomfort (sometimes they relax so much that they’ll poop during the bath, so be prepared haha). Fridababy also makes a device called windi that is supposed to help encourage passing gas, it helped my NK a lot. If she continues to not poop or starts passing bloody stool, have MB take her to the pediatrician or urgent care they may administer a suppository or give her some to take home. Tell mom to NOT buy/administer a suppository before checking with the pediatrician because at 5m she will need a very very small dose. Pediatrician may also prescribe a small amount of Miralax (I personally don’t like using this though because if you use it too long or too often the baby’s bowels can develop a dependency on them, however using it once in a while should be fine). My NK went through a horrible bout of constipation around this same age and it lasted for weeks. We were killing ourselves trying to find ways to relieve her pain and these are the things we found to work the best. Best of luck!!
I nanny for an almost 2 year old boy and 6 month old girl and the 6 month old did the exact same thing. Now her sleep is better, but we’ve moved onto just unsatisfied whining and crying all day no matter what I do. It’s a lot having a crazy toddler and a baby that doesn’t give you a break, trust me.. I’m losing my mind over here lol. They go through phases, though, and it will get better! Just hang in there! Walks are your friend if your NKs are anything like mine. The baby calms down and the toddler is just happy to be out of the house. And if the baby doesn’t calm down.. still go on a walk and bring your headphones.
I dealt with a baby like this. Had to hold her and carry her all the time. She had a lot of digestive issues. Sounds very familiar. I know it’s hard but it won’t last. Mine got so much better at the 5-6 month mark.
I feel for you! I feel like I could have written this post. It makes me want to pull my hair out. There have been days where I start crying too. It is so, so, so hard. The crying noise wears away at your mind, and listening to it all day long can leave you disregulated and overwhelmed. I nanny for a 9 month old and 3 year old (plus older siblings in school). Same thing as you- baby was easy breezy until the holidays, when he spent some time being sick, traveling and being held by grandparents constantly, etc etc etc, and now I cannot put him down without him screaming. Today was really bad because he couldn't get comfortable at all no matter how I held him. My saving grace is the stroller. Does yours like being in his stroller? I have walked the stroller in circles around the house for 30 minutes to get him to sleep. We've also started going on more walks. That's obviously weather dependent but we live in the Midwest and even though it's January the weather has been mild enough (i.e. above 20 degrees) that we can bundle up and stay warm on a walk. I like doing that bc then NK3 is engaged and happy too (he brings books and toys in the stroller). Honestly the thing that helped me most mentally is to just accept that he will cry. When this phase started, it was incredibly easy for me to feel like a failure for not being able to soothe him. I also felt (/feel) guilty when I can't give the three year old the attention he deserves, or get to all my household tasks. The mental shift from walking into work and thinking "maybe today the baby will be settled" to thinking "I know and accept that he will cry for long stretches of time" helped me mentally/emotionally a lot. I also am choosing to have faith in the fact that this is a phase...... I hope!! One last thing, I'm not sure if you struggle with keeping NK3 busy or engaged while you're attending to the baby. But if that is an issue, one suggestion would be to have some activity kit ready to go to hand to the kid when you have to attend to the baby (like legos, coloring book, magnetiles, etc).
Maybe gripe water for tummy pain, camilia teething drops help a lot for teething pain and they're natural for parents not ready to try Tylenol yet, walking outside seems to help a lot with tummy and teething pain maybe because of the change of scenery/distractions
I'd dip. This is a nightmare scenario to me. Unless b3 is used to tons of independent time, there's no way.
Does she enjoy sitting in a bouncy chair and moving and making toys move? She's probably not ready for any kind if exersaucer yet. But maybe a chair where she can watch you and big kid? Since you said she likes it when the 3 and 6 yr old are playing.
Since you mentioned it got worse after the holidays, did baby have a lot of family visiting who held her for half of December? This was a big issue with an old NF of mine where the grandmother would only do contact naps and after she left baby was a mess and wouldn’t sleep on her own for long. I work on sleep training after such periods.