I'm wondering if anyone else has had this problem. I have one of my twins (3 months old) who is a really happy girl during the day but after 7-8pm she's absolutely inconsolable. She screams so hard sometimes she chokes. The only thing that works - and it's inconsistent - is walking around with her or putting her in the swing.
She'll finally get to sleep, we put her in the crib (or on a bed, couch, boppy, anywhere) and she wakes up and screams again. We do this until 2-3am some nights, and she's NEVER asleep before midnight. One night was so bad I just let her sleep in the swing all night and let the batteries die.
The thing is, once she's down for good, she'll sleep until noon the next day, just getting up once or twice for a meal between 7-9am. She's happy as can be again until the next evening and it starts all over again.
I can't think of anything different about that time of day other than Dad being home, but that CAN'T be it! :P Besides, she's fine on weekends when he's home all day. Anyone have an idea about what it could be? I'm pretty calm about it but it drives my husband crazy, all the screaming. :)
He wants to just let her cry in her crib, but not only do I think 3 months is too young, but she actually can't breathe sometimes she screams so hard. That can't be good for her.
RE: swaddling... this little one has hated it from day one. She's always kicked and kicked until she broke loose from her blankets. :)
RE: white noise, the rocking of the swing soothes her, with the actual rocking feeling, but with twins, it's hard to give her the complete attention she needs.
RE: ear infections, the girls have a dr appt very soon so we'll definitely check that out, though this has been going on since birth.
RE: gas, it's possible this is the one. Since they came home from the hospital she's been the loud grunting one, has trouble burping, and cries when she farts. It's actually kind of cute if not so pitiful. :)
So this brings up a new question then, breastmilk gave her gas and it was too tough breastfeeding both of them, so they're on Enfamil LIPIL now. We've tried every formula out there just about and there's no change. What sorts of things can you do for gas when you can't change the food? Anna mentioned gas drops? how does that work?
RE: sucking on her hands... I've noticed this too. She acts like she desperately wants to suck but won't have anything to do with the pacifier, which I prefer to her fist. I thought teething too but she's been doing this since we brought her home from the hospital. Interesting.
RE: colic... I had suspected this months ago when it started to get bad. Hubby blew me off, said it's just him, that she's better with me. Well, easy to say when the difference is that I'll hold her and walk around with her while he puts her in a bouncy chair and turns on the tv. Obviously THAT's not going to work. I swear, he needs to spend all night consoling her for a week and tell me there's not something going on with her. I decided about a month ago he has no clue when it comes to the babies and I'm not listening to him. :) So I'll ask the doctor about colic on the next visit in a couple of weeks.
RE: help from other half... My husband is so impatient with her "I can't hold her and eat, I'm watching the game, I need my sleep" he says (and I laugh because man, what a baby). I have them both all day and all night and he can't handle a few evening hours. :) I'm so not ragging on my husband, I love him. He just can't handle a fussy baby... the fussiness is contagious! ;)
RE: Meds... I'm not against meds per se, but for an infant... I would just rather do everything we can before going that route. There's just too much going on developmentally to risk. And it seems every doctor I've ever taken the kids to wants to put them on meds every time at the first sign of a slight cough or sniffle.
THANKS SO MUCH for all your feedback!
Sounds a little like Colic..
My middle child was the same way. I was EXHAUSTED by the time morning rolled around.
My sister in law finally reccomended Gripe Water, and to my amazement, it really soothed his tummy and allowed us all to get more restful sleep!
I know you can find it at Wal-greens and Krogers. Maybe do an internet search and find out where else it's sold?
Have you had her ears checked. My son was doing that and it turned out that he had an ear infection. He would only get fussy at certain times and be okay at others. When I went in for his 4 month check up he had a massive ear infection. I had let it go for a month and I felt bad. The other this is that she could be gassy or having digestion issues which are building up through out the day. Have you tried gas drops? Just some ideas.
Your child has colic. I had the same exact problem with my daughter. It starts at about 3 months. There are a few things to try. You can buy the gas drops in the store. You can boil some chamomile tea and give her some in a dropper. This should help her alittle bit to relax. It kinda works like it would on a human. Or you can try putting a peppermint in a bottle with water and letting it sit for a bit. Once it has desolved a bit you can give her that. It will help with any gas or tummy ache. You can also try running a hair dryer close to her. This one worked the best for my daugter. She would quite down as soon as she heard it. The best thing I can tell you is you will have to do what works every night. She isn't always going to want to sleep in her crib. I mean I would have to put her in the pack n play some nights. There were many nights I had to sleep with her on my chest in our recliner. You just have to do what works for her during this time. It won't last forever but it can go on for about 3-6 weeks but it just varies.Hope this helps and good luck. If you have anymore questions just write back
If it's not teething or ear problems, please seriously consider a possible allergy/sensitivity to cow's milk and/or soy proteins. These are FAR more common than we realize, and sadly the cow's milk and soy allergies often go undiagnosed in young babies and kids because they can't tell us what's hurting them AND one of the only signs can be fussiness coupled with ***sleep disturbance***.
Here are 2 great links for getting started, and even though one is about breastfed babies, ALL of the information on cow's milk sensitivity applies to formula fed babies as well (since cow's milk and soy protiens can pass through breastmilk to the baby OR via formula to the baby):
Dairy and other Food Sensitivities in Breastfed Babies
http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/food-sensitivity.html
Tracking Down Food Allergies
http://askdrsears.com/html/4/t041800.asp
Hope this helps. And I definitely agree that cry-it-out is not the way to go at this point given your description (in fact, I would never recommend cry-it-out unless the mom or dad was so frazzled that they were at risk of losing their patience and potentially shaking/injuring their baby). There is very likely some underlying physical cause of your baby girl's nighttime fussiness! I'm hoping that the cause is not too difficult to identify so that ALL of you are more comfortable and well-rested. :) Good luck!
It sounds just like how my daughter was. The dr's finally said she was Colic but couldn't explain what it was. Just that they cry at night, have hard bellies, and very gassy. So I looked further into it on my own. I figured out that she could not tolerate Milk. We first tried Soy milk, that didn't work. So we switched her to Alimentum (made by Similac) it is hypoallergenic everything. It's not made from Soy or Cow's milk. It's works within 24 hours. At 18 months she could do Lactaid. She is now 2 1/2 years old and able to regular milk. I hope this helps and good Luck!!!
According to my daughter's pediatrician, Mylicon works by breaking down the large gas bubbles into a bunch of tiny bubbles that move more easily through the intestines.
The gas drops can be bought over the counter at any local convienent store. Infant gas drops with the infant meds/infant section. You give them two drops, I believe it's before they eat, and see if that helps. Does she take a nap during the time she is awake? If infants get overly tired, they have a much harder time going to sleep than if they are not as tired. It kind of goes a long with the over stimulation thing that someone else previously mentioned. A nap or a break in a darken environment with little stimuli (pictures, toys, light ect). for an hour or so would help greatly. Even if she isn't acting tired, this time of rest is highly important. Best of luck to you and your family!
My daughter used to get fussy in the evenings, but not nearly as much as yours. I came across the book "Happiest Baby on the Block" by Harvey Karp and it is amazing the difference I saw after using his techniques. He talks about how some babies get too stimulated throughout the day, that by the evening they are on overload and can't get themselves to settle back down. That might be happening to your little girl. He teaches you how to turn on their internal calming reflex. You do the 5 S - swaddle, side, swing, suck, and shh. I found it to work and I tell all my friends who have babies to read his book. Check out his website to get more info and I hope things get better for you. http://www.thehappiestbaby.com/
My 3 month old daughter does the same thing. I have found that it is either gas or teething. She chews on her hands constantly. Walmart sells mylicon gas drops that are safe to use and can be given after every meal up to 12 times a day. They also sell teething tablets that are safe too.
Little about me:
I am a SAHM of 4. Ages 6,4 1/2, 2, 3mo.
Sounds like acid reflux which is worse at night. Get to the doc asap because it's not good for a baby's throat. They can put her on Zantac - it made a HUGE difference within days of starting my son on it at 6 weeks.
Also helpful was having him sleep in his car seat for the first six months. Much safer than places like couches and Boppy pillows. Another idea is to go get the type of swing that plugs in so you don't have to worry about batteries anymore! Check second-hand shops first to save some money.
Have you tried swaddling them and white noise?
jo
She has colic; and as far as I know there isn't much you can do, but to console her as much as you can. I know it's hard to do especially when you're worn out from it all. This should pass by the time she reaches 4 months. I hope it ends soon!
My son had patterned crying. He would cry nonstop every morning from 10:30 - 11:30am and again every night from 8:30pm - midnight. Nothing worked. I finally changed pediatricians and my new pediatrician diagnosed it as colic (sp?). She had me give him simethicone drops every four hours around the clock until he outgrew it. It took about 3 months before I could stop the drops. It was real easy to figure out that he still needed them because if I missed a dose the patterned crying would start up again.
Good luck and have patience they do grow out of these things.
Sounds like colic to me. I would sit on an exercise ball and bounce my son in the evenings while I watched TV, it worked pretty well. She is too young to let her cry it out, she wouldn't be crying if something wasn't bothering or hurting her. Try floating her in a warm bath tub or using a warm water bottle or rice sock on her belly and see if that helps. Good luck, the best thing is this will pass.
I went thru w/ my son till the age 3. Nothing would help/console him and there is nothing one can do. I spoke to his dr. and we changed diet/formula a million times. He would start to cry around 5 and would continue till 8 or 9 at night. He had cholic and it sounds like that is what your has. Read on it and try to find something that may help. It is also ok to leave them in their crib and let them cry it out. I would feed him, change his diaper and them lay him down and leave for an hour. Sometimes it would continue and he fall asleep and other times I just needed sanity time. Take turns w/ your other 1/2 and other times ask family to relieve you for an hour or so. Leave the house and go to another room. They do eventually grow out of it. Do not put the child on drugs. Patience and time was my cure.
From my experience you can start forming sleep habits and patterns as early as 8 weeks so you are at a good starting point to begin a bedtime routine/regimen using a little bit of discipline. A great book i read (Healthly Sleep Habits, Happy Baby - Dr Weisbluth) explains that it takes 3 nights to break a habit w/ sleeping problems. It is torture (on mom/dad) but VERY possible! so anything you try, stick w/ it for 3 straight nights. Also, you might want to push bedtime up 15-30 minutes for that baby b/c she may be overtired. This book explains lots of reasons for fussy babies and offers many suggestions. In addition, it shares many experiences from other parents this doctor has helped. Good luck!
This can be absolutely nerve-wracking. My son is now 7, but when he was a baby we had the same issues. I don't know what caused it, but we let him sleep in the swing for atleast 6 or 8 weeks. The cost of D batteries (ALOT of them) was definately worth it.:) He also had a crazy temper, HATED to be held towards your body, always had to be looking around, SUPER observant of everything around him. The good news is he's a really sharp kid. The bad news is...he knows it a little too well.:)
