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I am sorry! It definitely gets better! I feel like from birth to 6 months were hard, period. I mean, 6-12 months were hard too, but it really does get better and better.

I think DD was in the merlin sleepsuit by 4 mo b/c she hated the swaddle but couldn't deal with the freedom!

I totally understand. Months 4-6 were rough for me because everyone had told me that once they hit 4 months it was just so much easier. Even though she WAS getting somewhat easier, she was also still up all night, fussy, and generally unpredictable - the tiniest thing would set her off and once she was crying nursing was the only way to calm her. She hated everyone but me and DH and was so clingy. I felt like something was seriously wrong with my baby.

She's 6.5 months now and the last week or so has been amazing. I finally get what people were saying! I think for us, a big part of the change is that we sleep trained. In three nights she went from waking up 5+ times to 1-2, and she is so much happier now that she's getting consolidated sleep. So that might be something to keep in mind!

That being said, I don't think we were ready to sleep train earlier. Toughing it out was probably the only option at 5 months... Good luck!

3-4 months was the worst for us. After that she got onto a schedule and she was much much happier. 5 months on til currently (9.5 mo) has been a dream. Hang in there.

I think it gets better! My kiddo will be 5 months next week, and the last month has been rough, but it's been getting better every day. Right after Christmas it seemed like my easy, mellow baby turned into a shrieking, teething, wake up and want to eat and play at 3 am, no naps baby. She's been sleeping through the night again for about a week now. And although still teething, she hasn't been screaming. And she's been napping a bit better.

I think its totally normal. Growth spurt, teething, they're learning so many new skills.

They do eventually settle ! I remember 4 months being really hard. There's so much happening in their little brains and so much development going on. Hang in there! It'll get better soon (until of course the next developmental leap - then it gets challenging again!).

Have you read about the Wonder Weeks? I found it was generally helpful in explaining when you can expect these difficult months / weeks to occur.

@paigeface: Yeah, see if you can wait a couple minutes even if the crying starts. Really sounds to me like he's trying to settle. Sometimes they cry out a little (like talking in their sleep) but they just settle back down. I read this around 3-4 months and it changed my life! He often did just go back to sleep and i was just prolonging the wakeup by going in.
Might not be the case for you, but worth a shot?
Good luck!