Baby Screams and Cries Every Night Now!

Updated on April 08, 2012
A.G. asks from Houston, TX
20 answers

This is my 3rd child, I am well seasoned. This is the first child I have who seems inconsolable. I breastfeed, co sleep. Make sure he's dry, burp him, sing to him, rock him all to no avail. This kid seems adamant about wanting to cry.

What do I do?,

So far I mostly trick him into sleeping, but many times he will just cry until he exhausts himself and I merely lay near him stroking his hair. After these nightly episodes he sleeps through the night, very minimal waking and even then only long enough to drink milk then back to sleep.

He's a month old.

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K.M.

answers from Chicago on

I would investigate the possibilities of Acid Reflux - there is not much you can do but try to keep baby elevated when sleeping. My son had reflux and we medicated him once we found out what it was - it is VERY common; doctor says it's typically the reason for most babies colich.

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M.F.

answers from Austin on

When my oldest was about a month old, I hit a point, where I could do -nothing- for her. She, too, was inconsolable. My husband (who had never really ever been around babies), somehow instinctively knew to bend her in half.

Forgive my awkwardness in describing this, but: he put her feet, high up on his chest, almost under his chin, and sat her down, so her little butt was at or just below his heart, then he sat her straight up (basically bending her in half), to face him directly. From here, he kind of gently bounced her/slightly folding and unfolding, in a rocking motion.

And. . . this is when she let it fly. She was gassy, and "The Daddy Position" helped to get things moving.

Another thing that really helped us, was "Kangaroo Care." I would basically strip mine to a diaper, and put them against my naked chest. (This is how I fell into co-sleeping.) There's something about skin-to-skin contact that is very soothing to the little ones.

Best wishes, and hang in there!

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S.B.

answers from Redding on

I know this answer may be different from some of the others, but maybe you are trying too hard.
For instance, my daughter loved her cuddle time, etc, but she liked sleeping on her own. I tried all the things you mentioned and I realized my daughter was much happier in her own crib without so much stimulation.
I knew she was fed, burped, dry, and I would lay her down and she would go to sleep.

If he truly has colic or reflux, he will still cry. But, perhaps, try laying him down instead of rocking and and burping and singing, etc. Maybe he needs some quiet and still time.
It's worth a try.
That's how my daughter was.
Perfectly healthy, but didn't love all the fussing over for sleep time.

Best wishes.

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C.B.

answers from San Francisco on

My daughter had a period of time EVERY night where she screamed. There was nothing I could do to console her; she was dry, fed, burped, etc. Like you, I just held her and let her cry - there was nothing else I could do. After a few months, it stopped. My aunt even came over one night thinking that of course I was doing something wrong and she would be able to figure it out. Nada. So, just hold her, love her and let her cry is what I did.

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M.P.

answers from Raleigh on

Watch your diet and cut out those common allergens. My colicky one was this way- he just cried and cried and cried. He was also diagnosed with severe food allergies at 18 mos. I felt so bad for him-esp since I had exposed him to all those allergens through my diet. Hope this helps.

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H.S.

answers from Washington DC on

A couple ideas I had:

Have you tried swaddling?

I agree with the person who mentioned trying to see if sleeping in his own space helped. Maybe a pack and play or cradle in your room?

I hope you can help him (and you) get some sleep. I

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G.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

I have never had a one month old child that didn't wake up every couple of hours to eat. They need food every 2 hours of so. I think he may just be hungry and not sleepy. Most 1month old babies eat and sleep about 20 hours but are awake every couple of hours for a few minutes.

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J.B.

answers from Houston on

Of course as others have said I would check on reflux and colic. My friend's baby had colic and it was different than reflux to a degree and her baby is now pretty straightened out at 6 months. These third babies are just tricky aren't they! I am up at 5am bc my third just refuses to sleep on his little back. He rolls to his back, but wakes up and doesn't fall back asleep unless you flip him, crazy! It will pass, if you check out the medical stuff and all is well, then just hang in there. He will mature. Plus you have two others to compare to and that makes it harder I think. Like my second was such a champ sleeper I was completely spoiled so with this one I did have to adjust to more crying. With my third we had this little joke about him wanting a 'third boob'. After he would eat, burp and all that if he seemed fussy I offered him the breast again and he would always crash out on the famous third boob. It seemed like often he just wanted to top off the tank. Good luck and hang in there. These third babies!! Mine was sleeping like a champ until this rolling thing so hopefully that will end soon! Hang in there :)

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Y.C.

answers from Washington DC on

Watch 'The Happiest Baby on the Block' by Harvey Karp, and try all the 's' techniques in unison. That video saved our bacon.

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L.K.

answers from Lafayette on

This will pass~ Pray for patience to get through it but in time it will end. he is only a month old and trying to figure eating and sleeping out~

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D.C.

answers from College Station on

I hear you. I think each of my three boys did this for a time. Please do try all the aforementioned suggestions.

One thing that helped me was to darken the room, turn on some white noise (you can buy one or just use a fan pointed at the ceiling) and let my baby (quietly) play and had success most of the time with him falling asleep.

Good luck and let us know what works for you!

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B.

answers from Augusta on

how is he sleeping during the day? Poor dear may be over tired.

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B.B.

answers from New York on

Try removing dairy from your diet. My son was like this and only later did we find out he has an allergy to dairy. Also, try swaddling and also gripe water worked somewhat. Will he take a paci? My son wouldn't. Also, consider that he may have acid reflux. Whatever the issue, he will probably grow out of it. My son improved dramatically at 4 months when I introduced cereal.

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J.T.

answers from College Station on

Sounds like you have a colicy baby. So sorry! Not much you can do about that. They have to grow out of it.

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C.M.

answers from Houston on

It sounds like colic or acid reflex. My son had this issue for the first two weeks we brought him home. I couldn't breastfeed so my son was on formula, The reg. formula made him too gassy so they had to switch it to sensitive. It's got to be one of three things, acid reflex, colic, or maybe your son's tummy can't handle the breast milk and might need to be put on a soy formula. You just need to ask your pediatrician and see what they say. Hope I've been any help. :)

Oh also if it is gas, try laying your baby on their back and pushing the legs in like kinda of the fetal position or lay them on a pillow across your legs and pat their back. Do anything you can to try and help him get the gas out. The pushing the legs in towards his tummy always worked for me with my kids.

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A.H.

answers from Dallas on

I would call your ped. there can be so many different causes and they can help you sort it out. keep a log of what you eat and the babys eating sleeping. you need to make sure there is nothing medical going on first.

My little one Now 5 had high blood pressure that was causing hers. so odd but if i did not get her to the doctor when i did they said she would have had a heart attack.

my boy had very bad reflex.

take care
best of luck.

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C.M.

answers from Austin on

My second was like that. Swaddling helped, had to be really snug. It's really hard on your nerves. A couple of my friends told me that chiropractic helped, but I was too exhausted to even leave the house. Other friends claim that it's something that you are eating and leaking into your breast milk that does not agree with baby. The books I read that helped me most was "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby" & "Happiest Baby on the Block". It explained what to do for the extremely fussy baby (one who cries for at least a couple hours a day). My baby eventually did get better around 5 months, after he started eating solids, but it was probably a couple more months before he was on a good schedule and happier when he was awake. A nurse told me in the hospital ' "some babies are just more fussy than others" - because my baby cried the whole 3 days I was there and I got no sleep. I feel for you and hope you have people who can hold the baby for you while you get some rest. I hired a girl to come help me at home 3 afternoons a week, just so I could nap and get a break. My husband and I would take turns at night during the worst of it "Twilight terrors". He would suck our pinkies until they hurt! I went through several kinds of pacifies until I found the kind he liked, even then, he would only take it some days and not others, because he preferred our fingers or my breasts.

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V.W.

answers from Jacksonville on

My first thought was Acid Reflux also. Try to see if you can detect any sort of pattern, and talk to his pediatrician.

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R.R.

answers from Los Angeles on

My daughter and one of my granddaughters did this, it was colic.

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T.C.

answers from Albuquerque on

Hi A.,
This is not necessarily abnormal. My first son had to cry in order to let out enough energy to sleep in the car. He would get louder and louder, and the more we tried to calm him, the longer he would cry.

It finally "clicked" in my head on one very long trip. I just let him cry without trying to intervene, and he was asleep in 5 min (instead of 20 min).

Good luck!
t

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