5 Months Old Crying a Lot

My first thought was teething, or ear infection but if the doctor has checked her out and she's fine then it's probably colic.
Colic can strike at any time but early evening is pretty typical - some call it the witching hour but it lasts way longer than an hour.
It's great she sleeps at night.
Ear plugs are your friends - use some when you need to to keep your nerves from frazzling.
Your other kids might need some too.
A sponge bath might be what you can do for cleaning her for now.
It might be hard to take a bath or shower with her.
Are you sure the water isn't too hot or too cold?

If she's happier being carried then get a baby sling and wear her as much as possible.
Take her for long stroller walks - fresh air seems to help tire them out.

You might want to get a sitter for her every so often so you and the other kids can go out and take a break from the crying.
There's no explaining why one baby is fussier than another.

I was my moms fussy baby - she says I cried non stop the first 6 months of my life - and then suddenly it was just over.
My younger sister was so quiet my mom says you could hardly tell there was another baby in the house.

My first was a fussy baby. We were told it was colic (which just sounded so mysterious to me and wasn't that helpful).

I found out years later he had allergies to cats (we had 2). He had ear fluid which I'm guessing was related to that. He was 'well' - no doctors picked up on anything, but at the toddler age they put tubes in and received the pressure (pain) he must have been going through.

I just got through it. So did he. Bouncy chairs, swings, those jumpers in the door frames, motion was my friend. I used videos ... anything to distract him. I used soothers and I enlisted help so I got a break. Finally, when he was a toddler and we got tubes and finally when we re-homed one of our cats, we saw a change in our child.

I had a Fisher Price aquarium sound thing that went in his crib - it's like white noise. That would soothe him.

As for water - ours loved the tub (it was a help) but how about you hold her when you shower? a friend of mine had to do that and it was the only way she could bathe her baby. It went from a really hard time to something they both enjoyed and bonding time.

Those first 6 months are hard - but it does get easier. Once they get more mobile, it's just easier in general and they entertain themselves more.

Good luck :)

I experienced the same thing with my oldest son. He would cry non-stop. We would take him to the doctor frequently and we were told it was colic. Finally, I asked my doctor to refer him to a specialist because nothing would work and the crying was non-stop. The specialist had us change his formula. One we found the right formula it was heaven sent. The crying stopped. This was many years ago. The formula that helped was Carnation Good Start. I have told many parents have experienced the same issues and they tried the formula and all reported it helped them as well.

K., I am so sorry that your daughter cries so much. It is so hard but I promise that this too will pass. It will! In the meantime, do you use any hands-free baby carriers? One of mine was a crier and I ended up wearing him a LOT. I had several carriers - a Snugli, a Moby wrap, and a ring sling. At 5 months, they start to get heavier, but I learned to do the Snugli and the Moby wrap with the baby facing out so that he could look around while I walked with him.

For the bath, have you tried getting into the tub with her?

My oldest liked to be held all the time, too. It was hard if we ever had to drive anywhere or if I just wanted to get some housework done. I remember literally putting him inside the laundry basket along with the clothes just so I could take the clothes to another room to fold them. He did like the swing, and he didn't mind sitting in the high chair for short periods of time. So that helped a bit, especially if I needed to cook or do dishes. It's actually much more common than you might think. Can your 8 year old play with her a bit or hold her while he watches tv? That might give you small pieces of time. Otherwise, yes, it is a phase and you really will get through it.

The bath is actually a lot easier to work with. Your daughter doesn't like the bathtub right now, and that's ok. She doesn't need to take long baths. Just get in there and get the job done. There is no reason for this to go on for 15 minutes. You should be able to get her in the water and clean the necessary areas in under 5 minutes. Keep in mind the parts of her that need to be cleaned the most, and don't worry if you don't quite get the rest. There will come a time when she will love baths and will not want to get out, but for now, the faster the better.

ETA - I completely forget about showers. Some babies really like being held in the shower. That is a great alternative to baths. Give it a try!

My oldest was like that, I was breastfeeding & it turns out she was bothered by all the milk I drank, a habit I'd taken up during pregnancy. And she needed to be held all the time. We would put her in the baby swing to eat or shower, & she'd cry the whole time. A friend told me about baby slings & once I started using that, my life got so much better. I didn't like the front carrier, although my husband would use that or a baby backpack. That way we could get chores done & she would be happy & sometimes fall asleep. She never really slept more than 2 hrs at a stretch until she started walking & could burn off some energy. good luck