any ideas on why baby so fussy!

hi, i have 2 wonderful boys, one 3 and one 5 months old. my 5 month old has been eating cereal for a week and is still breast feeding on cue. anyway, yesterday and last night he has been very fussy. arching his back and screaming...well not screaming but you know. anyway, could this be a stomach ache??? he is also cutting his first tooth? he used to get up twice a night and last night i lost count. any ideas? he is almost 6 months old? he is still smiley and happy though.....

Sounds like it might be gas, but I'm no expert.  I would not expect the tooth to make him arch and scream, just to make him want to be held more.

They make gas drops, but they never seemed to help my kids.

Good luck - hopefully others will chime in with more ideas.

I agree, sounds like either gas or tummy trouble. If he's pulling his legs up and/or arching his back while crying, that is the sign that he's having tummy trouble.

My son did NOT tolerate rice cereal at all. The first day he had it, he spent the rest of the day spitting up. We decided to just wait until he was old enough to introduce veggies. Once he was tolerating those, we started him on oatmeal and he's done fine since.

The gas drops didn't help my son, either. I've heard good things about Gripe Water so you may want to give that a try.

Try the "colic hold." Put him face down on your forearm with his bottom at your elbow and use your hand to support his chest. This really helped my kids when their tummies were upset. Plus, it gives your arm a good workout! ;)

How are his bowel movements?  Is the arching before a poop? How watery is the cereal?

I would switch the rice cereal to either 1st barley or oatmeal.  I found those better on tummy then rice.  Also how much per day is he having.  Since he just started he should only have about 2 tsp's at lunchtime.  I dont reccommend cereal to close to bedtime either.

thanks, i agree, maybe he is having it too close to bedtime. his poops are fine, he isn't constipated.

i will give him his cereal earlier in the dqay...good idea thanks:)

he also just had a nap and seems happier.....for now:)

Probably a stomach ache... but it never hurts to check your baby's temperature just to help make sure something more serious isn't wrong.