This is my second week back to work after maternity leave, and my husband is having a really rough time as a stay-at-home-dad. The baby has apparently been crying almost constantly during the days this week. She'll only nap in 20 minute spurts, and will go from smiling to screaming in a second with no provocation.

Anybody know what the deal is? The internets say that babies go through a crying peak between 6-8 weeks, but she's 10 weeks now. I've also heard about a mommy-only phase, but I'm not sure when that happens.

I'm trying to figure out if there's a deeper underlying problem here or if it's something we're just going to have to tough out. Help!

could be early teething too - some say the early/deep growth hurts the most, even if you don't see the teeth for ages after. is there a lot of drool and chewing on hands?

She's young, she misses your smell, perhaps. Maybe you could sleep with a blankie or something so that it smells like you and then he can swaddle her in it? Does he swaddle? Does he wear her?

I went back to work three days a week when Eli was 8 weeks old with my husband staying at home. He was an old hat by then, having been home with Miles since he was five months old, but it was still hard. I think your husband needs to not be too hard on himself, but try to remain calm and quiet and just talk softly to her, hold her, wear her. She'll get it.

I mean, they cry, you know? They just, well, they cry sometimes.

However, I am not a doctor, and if you think anything is at all amiss with her, call your pediatrician and allay any health concerns you might have.

Big hugs to you all -- it's a hard adjustment, but Daddy's can do it!

Is he nervous or anxious about being alone with her?

I don't mean that to sound judgemental, but I know that I was nervous all of the time when my daughter was a freshie and I think until I relaxed and felt more confident in my own abilities as a sole care-taker for this little person, she could sense it and was crying all of the time and never sleeping.

Sounds familiar. Has he tried the "colic curl"? It's a position to hold the baby that eases gas pains and gets things moving. It's described in the Dr. Sears The Baby Book. Let me try to post a photo of what it looks like:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v665/TobyBethJ/Curl.jpg

Hey, cool. It worked.

You can't tell from the photo, but his knees are bent and up against his chest. There's probably more about this on the Sears Web site (askdrsears.com) under "baby bends." Worked almost like magic for us.

Good luck!

D was a colicky little dude and going for walks with him in the baby carrier was (and continues to be) a magic soother. He also wouldn't sleep lying down for very long, but would stay asleep for longer if he was in his car seat - pushing him around in the car seat/stroller thingie would put him to sleep, I'd park it in his darkened bedroom, and then the inclined position would help keep him asleep...

#2 was a pain for my wife when she was home. No reason, he was just a miserable bastard. I know this isn't good news, but it got better around 3-4 months. We had gotten lots of items to try and find something that worked. The sling worked for us. Good luck with everything.

what about a sling? tg has carried marmaduke in a "little star" pouch since he was a newborn, and they both love it.

Has anything changed about what the baby (or you, if you are pumping and nursing) is eating? That might be setting off some gassy reactions.

Argh! Baby T-Rex stays home with daddy and doesn't seem to miss me at all!

Re: crying. When desperate, there is going for a drive, or for a walk. Baby T-Rex will sometimes stop just if daddy just opens the front door -- change of scene.

And nobody has mentioned a swing. Get one of the ones that goes sideways and back-and-forth. It saved our lives. It will either work like magic on your baby, or not at all. The swing also lets them sleep at incline, good for sinuses.

I think smartygirl may have something with the early teething suggestion. She has been nomming her hands constantly, and drooling. And fussing about taking a bottle or latching onto the boob. I tried a frozen washcloth with her tonight and she really seemed to dig it once she got over the initial "wtf?" of tasting something cold for the first time.

Re some of the other suggestions, she's had issues with gas and colickiness since about 2-1/2 weeks, but we can tell when she's having a gas attack. Colic massage and eliminating dairy from my diet have really helped with that. She'd really been getting so much better overall, and so much more fun, up until the last couple days. So something new and unrelated like teething seems to make more sense. It's awfully frustrating, though. I'd thought we were finally getting to the good part!

Haha, the initial WTF, that's cool.

I wish I had some advice, as a stay-at-home-dad myself...but I didn't start doing the stay-at-home thing until last summer, when our youngest was already 1. However, i find it an absolute delight, and am utterly thrilled and enthralled by the opportunity to do this. Even when Miss Ma'am decides to use her fingers to scoop the last of the yogurt out of the cup...and while I'm getting a wipe for her hands, decides to run her hands through her hair....necessitating a pre-nap emergency bath and hair-wash.

Also, it's just a change. She notices things are different but doesn't yet have the processing power to manage it or the words to describe it. So, crying!

I believe you're also going through other changes, too - packing up the house, etc., right? She notices but doesn't really know what to make of it. It's not a bad thing, just something for her to take in and react to.

Plus, what everyone else said.

Just keep reminding your husband that guys who stay home with their babies get extra bonus hot points. That might help with the long, hard days he is going through.