Driving me crazy!

HELP ME!!! My daughters are driving me crazy!!! As long as they're awake they're yelling & crying and the only way to get them to stop is to hold them! Now I can't hold both of them because when I do that they continue screaming, it's like they don't want to share me. What do I do?? I have a swing & that helps a little bit, but then the other one is screaming & crying. Any suggestions??

 

I hate to say it and you probably do not want to hear it, but.... welcome to the first couple of months. That being said, do make sure they do not have reflux or a milk allergy. In my experience, if it is not one of those two things, you just have to persevere and wait it out. It sounds exactly like mine when they were infants...uncontainable, scream machines. Good news, they are 9 months old now, it went by somewhat quickly, and, they are perfectly wonderful now!!

Amy

ALSO--- SWADDLE SWADDLE SWADDLE!

 

Yeah I know teh feeling. I loved my sling to hold one and get something done. Turn on music this helped some. Try the bouncy seat with a vibrator, that helped most of the time. Hold them face down with their belly on your forarm, like a football, the pressure sometimes helps. Walk, walk, walk--my dd was happy as long as she was walked. By 3 mo it gets so much better. I still think they were bored. As they can play more and move aroudn they will get better. Take them out, have noise and people around, this helped some.

 

My girls were the same way. We also ruled out allergies and they were put on meds for reflux, but still continued to scream at night. I used to say the SAME thing you are saying...they didn't want to share me. See if you can get help from someone in your family, your friends, anyone that can help you to keep your peace of mind. I wish I had taken steps to ask for help but didn't. I'm sorry I don't have sound advice, I never found a remedy. :hug99: Just know that I can relate, feel your pain, and hope it passes quickly. :hug99:

 

I am in the same boat as you!!! Mine are 5 weeks old and do the same exact thing. The vacuum works for us. I just turn on the vacuum and let it run! They love it. If you do get frustrated, it is okay to lay them in their crib and walk away for a few min. I had to do this the other night. I then went back into the room when I wasn't frustrated....I think they can sense our frustration. There was another time I had to just lay them down and three min. later they were both asleep. So, they could just be tired. Maybe try a nap? Or even take them to the store. Mine love going out! They love the lights and people. It keeps them calm (sometimes) I hope all works out for you. GL!

Shannon

 

QUOTE(LV twinmama @ Feb 27 2008, 02:30 PM) [snapback]643583[/snapback]
Yeah I know teh feeling. I loved my sling to hold one and get something done. Turn on music this helped some. Try the bouncy seat with a vibrator, that helped most of the time. Hold them face down with their belly on your forarm, like a football, the pressure sometimes helps. Walk, walk, walk--my dd was happy as long as she was walked. By 3 mo it gets so much better. I still think they were bored. As they can play more and move aroudn they will get better. Take them out, have noise and people around, this helped some.


I ditto all of this. My dd had colic and one thing that really helped was the holding her facedown on my forearm.

I also LOVED my swings and there would more times than I like to remember that I was shhhhing and holding one babies hand while trying to bounce the other in a bouncy.

It DOES get better, I promise!!!

 

Mine were the same way. Mine would cry, then it was like they got angry and would scream and hold their breath. One thing that I noticed was that they usually cried a lot and were cranky before they had a bm, then afterwards they were fine (at least for awhile). Unfortunately it meant that they would often cry or scream for 4-5 hours long for what seemed like no reason. After trying gas drops and switching to a formula for especially fussy and gassy babies, they go a lot better. I've since tried to switch them away from that formula (Nutramigen) but within 8 hours of switching they start up again.

The previous poster mentioned the vacuum and that also worked for me - I would start vacuuming the living room and it was almost instant that they would stop screaming. Sometimes they would fall asleep then I would turn it off and they would be fine.

My advice would be to closely watch them to see if you can figure out what may be a contributing cause (if anything). Mine still get like that but I know now for the most part what to do when it happens (it usually means that they're either gassy or overtired).

It definately gets better with time!

Good Luck

 

So difficult, I'm sorry!

Could you borrow another swing until you get through these difficult times? Or the portable ones are not that expensive (and would be worth it for saving your sanity!).

Swaddling helped our twins so much, the Swaddle-Me's by Kiddopatamus are terrific.

And a sling might help, too. Our kids weren't terribly fussy in general, but my DS went through a spell of it, especially during late afternoon. I'd drop him in a sling while I went around the house, and he loved the motion and would fall right to sleep.

 

Okay, been there too. With our two oldest children and our twins, who are 9 weeks old. What worked for us the following:

-go to www.happiestbaby.com and order the dvd and watch it WITH your husband/significant other
-go to www.babiesrus.com and order two of the SwaddleMe blankets for the weight your babies are at currently. My 9 weekers are weighing around 10lbs and fitting snuggly in the size small blankets.

Read up on Dr. Karp's technique on teaching your babies HOW to self soothe and calm themselves. The website will give you some of the info on why it works, it makes SENSE, believe me and it WORKS.

DONT get the book, it takes too long to read and LORD knows you dont have the time with twins. The dvd is easy to watch and follow and WILL save your life. (Kyrstyn if you are out there reading this please reply with your success story recently on the same advice I gave you about 'The Happiest Baby On The Block'.)

Good luck! Swaddle tightly, plug in the pacifier, "Shhhh" loudly in their ears while fussing, use white noise machine at night in their cribs.......that is a start until the dvd arrives. I swaddle during the day too when they want to sleep, if they are fussy, I SWADDLE. Keep it "womb-like" is the point, it is what calms them!

xojillian

 

Thanks for the advice ladies!! :hug99:

I know for sure that they cry & scream when they are overtired, which just frustrates me because if they're tired, why don't they want to sleep?! Ugh. Anyways, I did find that bouncing them on my knees works, I have no idea why, but they stop crying almost immediately.

I will definitely try the swaddling technique & all of the other suggestions. Thanks again! :wavey:

 

My girls were the same way, especially Arwen. I knew something else was wrong when she didn't stop crying even when I was holding her. Finally at about 6-8 weeks, she was diagnosed with reflux. We put her on meds and she was a new, happy baby. Then of course her sister started crying all the time so I brought her in and sure enough she also had reflux. I hope whatever it is that it all turns out ok. I'm sorry you are going through this. I can honestly say that I know what's it's like to have screaming crying newborns. Add on sleep deprivation and it's a lethal mix. I hope it gets better soon and just know, it won't ALWAYS be like that even though right now it seems never ending.