What makes babies so fussy?

Little babies sleep a lot, so he could be tired even though he slept all night. It could also be other things, gas, colic, dirty diaper (even though he was recently changed), still hungry… and more.

Something is going on and the baby can’t tell you except by fussing. So you go through trying to make whatever it is better by burping, rocking, putting on or taking off clothes if it is too hot or cold, soothing, singing quietly to it. Parents have been known to take the baby out for a drive at night to get it to sleep. It’s a puzzle to be solved or ignored. Fussing is not a call to rush the baby to a doctor. It’s more the way that particular baby reacts to annoyance and minor discomfort.

They have a long way to go towards learning that the world does not revolve around them.

It’s what babies do. Maybe he just wants to be held. Have you tried that?

Some babies like constant movement and puting them in a swing will sometimes help or carrying them around on your hip, or even a walk in the stroller. Other things could be bad gas, sometimes like you and me just wake up in a cranky mood, and even if a baby slept all night they need a couple of naps at 2 ½ months old.

Human babies are very underdeveloped and quite dependent, so natural selection has made the baby that fusses the most receive the most resources. As an only child, or in sib to sib competition for resources.

They like feeling secure. Often just holding them and gently patting them helps send them down for a nap. At 2½ months old he still needs lots of sleep. Babies that young can actually sleep for about 16 hours of sleep. Also if you ever observe a baby they aren’t always sound asleep. It is more like lots of light naps with some occasional heavy sleeping.
Sometimes it can also be the room temperature. If he is too hot or too cold or even just having a sweaty diaper can make them fussy.

One ways to tell if it is comfort. Give the baby to different people. If it stops crying with some and not others, than it is about comfort and security. If you feel insecure around the baby when he fusses, then he will pick that up and be afraid because you feel afraid.

Also if the baby is breast fed it is really hard to tell if he got enough milk. Some will suck a little while and stop and a half hour later be hungry again.

I’ve recently been reading The Happiest Baby on the Block, which hypothesizes that babies are fussy at that age because they aren’t really developed enough to be outside the womb (but if evolution let them stay in, they’d be too big to get out). He suggests the 5 Ss to calm a fussy baby:

*Swaddling
*Side or stomach position (not flat on their back, this can activate the moro reflex)
*Shushing sounds (any white noise will do, you can try a vacuum or hair dryer)
*Swinging
*Sucking

I only have experience with the one child, and that was a long time ago. That said. I believe because a baby’s thought processes are still forming, he/she may want something specific but doesn’t really know what it is. He/she only knows that it needs. And, not having the communication down yet, the only way to communicate is to fuss. I’d check the main bases (diaper, food, rashes, etc..) then kind of try to distract the child with other things to see if any of them hit the spot. Sometimes that worked for me, sometimes it was gas and I would work his little legs and pop the farts out and he would be happy.

Poor thing can’t communicate well what it wants or needs so he is frustrated. Seems like you hit all the major things except that he might want to be cuddled. Pick him up and rock him a little, or take a few steps back and forth while holding and see if that helps. He might have some bubbles in him and changing his position by picking him up and holding him will possiby help them come out.

@flip86‘s idea was my first thought – maybe the little guy just needs some cuddling. It could be just the opposite, he may be over stimulated and might need a break. He might have some gas from his recent feeding or be tired. Babies require patience most of all because they can’t come right out and say what they need and sometimes figuring it out is a bit of a puzzle.

I just remembered a situation I had forgotten. A new mother had a very fussy baby who couldn’t be calmed. Her doctor suggested the mother observe what she (the mother) was eating. Turned out she eating a lot of garlicky salami. She was also breast feeding She stopped eating salami. . Baby stopped fussing. Worth considering.

Wouldn’t you be fussy if you couldn’t do anything? One of my kids was super fussy until he was able to move around by himself; then, seemingly overnight, he turned into the happiest, sweetest little guy you could want. Apparently he was just suffering from terminal boredom.

It’s normal…. I guess it’s their nature to do so.

I think it is because they try to communicate with us but we can’t understand. They are more advanced and communicate in a way we have forgotten as we have grown older. Babies must learn our language and try to make us understand their needs all at the same time. It is frustrating. They are so intelligent it takes them about a year to get the hang of communicating, using the potty, walking, eating et al.

Have you ever held a newborn baby and it gets still. The world stops for a second and the little babe ooks at you deep into your eyes? Did you feel something? You were remembering the language and almost communicating in the highly advanced language.

He may be sick. He may have a headache.
Or he may be conditioned by an enabling parent who responds to every whimper, thus guaranteeing more fussing.
Lots of possibilities here.

If there is one thing I learned from my one year old nephew is that babies cry because they have no other way of telling us if something is wrong.

He was just fed 30 minutes ago, expect a burp or two soon.

Babies fuss, children fuss, teens fuss. Welcome to parenthood.

Lack of knowledge. Babies can’t know that a bit of flatulence is harmless for example.