1 Month Old Having Trouble at Night

My 11 year old, and my first had colic for 6 MONTHS, she was breastfed as well, I had to stay away from all greens, and fried foods- makes you wonder whatelse was left! LOL
The trick that did it for me was the gas drops and a warm corn pack on her tummy. Basically it is deer corn in a clean sock, mens tube socks work great, tie it on the end. you can put it in the microwave until it is warm- about as warm as YOU would make YOUR bathwater, then wrap it up in a cup towel and place it on your son's belly, it helps relieve a LOT of the gas for a more peaceful nights rest. I used to hold my daughter and at the same time hold the "corn pack" on her tummy, it would take about 30 minutes to help. She would scream and shake from so much crying because of the pain, once she relalized that the warm pack would help her, she tended to calm down a bit. This was on the advice of "an old church lady", it worked and normally I wouldn't listen to the ol' wives tale fixes.

Good luck!

This sounds exactly like our little girl was at that age. It just boils down to being exhausted from the day and we just ended up putting her in the sling, which was a soothing thing for her, turning on the exhaust fan in the bathroom, another soother, and singing until she stopped crying and fell asleep. Sometimes it took awhile, sometimes it didn't. I guess just try things that work for you at other times during the day and then just wait.

I was opposed to this at the time, but my friend who had a baby later just lets hers cry for a few minutes in the crib because she knows he's just tired. He always goes to sleep within 5 minutes.

Sounds like it might be colic. Be sure he burps well. Do you carry him in a sling? My babies loved that and always went right to sleep. He might be too small for a swing yet but that sometimes works. If all else fails, call the doctor. Don't feel bad about calling for nothing. A quick check can always give peace of mind...that's worth a bunch for a new mom. Good luck!

You might try changing your diet....Anything you eat that could possible give you gas will certainly give the baby gas. Most common culprits are cow's milk, broccoli, beans etc. Try taking cow's milk and cheese out of your diet for a week. If that doesn't help with the baby's gas, see if there are any other foods in your diet that might need to be eliminated. Baby tummies can be very sensitive, and they are essentially eating everything you eat.

Have you tried teething tablets - homeopathic ones at Walgreens. It may be a teething problem.

You are getting lots of great advice here! Both of my kids were/are breast fed. My daughter had the worst stomach problems when she was born. I have a marvelous chiropractor that does not move the baby bones but uses what is called BEST. It looks hokey because he is touching pressure points very lightly but boy does it work!!!! She went from never being able to pass gass and crying and flailing to normal after just a couple trips. There was immediate improvement but it was gone quickly. I agree that diet can cause issues but I never had to change mine with either child after having them treated. My son is almost 5 and my daughter is 14 months, they both still go in if there is any problem (toes going in while walking, problems sleeping, attitude changes) kids dont always know what should feel normal and what isnt so I watch how they act and when it changes I bring them in. I will give you his name and number if you want it.
Best of luck you can do it!!!!!!

Hi C.,

I don't know, but my best guess might be to check your diet. (I nursed my daughter for two years.) There are some funny things in your diet that can make the infant gassy that's being breastfeed, like if I remember right, broccoli.

Here's an example site about it. http://www.femail.com.au/foods_breastfeeding.htm

It may take you a bit to watch your diet and see if there's a correlation there. Hope that helps.

Hi, I know exactly how you feel. My son is 3 1/2 months old now. The first two months were the same way. I found that from 5-9 p.m. he was big time fussy. All he wanted to do was nurse. My doctor diagnosed him as colicky??? I'm not so sure that is what it was. He also gave me some medicine for tummy pain. I did not use it very often just cause i could not see giving him medicine at his age. I just think babies are new to this world and it takes some getting used to. Now he only has a few bad nights.

My best advice is hang in there....it only gets better.

J.

First off, if you aren't able to soothe the baby I would definitely call the pediatrician. He is at the right age to have colic which has many of these symptoms. I have a 4 month old daughter who was colicky and diagnosed at 4 weeks. I formula fed her and the doctor recommended I change her to Nutrimigen and it was a miracle. It worked great. It is the most expensive formula on the shelf but for the relief it gave my daughter it is well worth it.

Mt daughter is now 3 1/2 yrs. old but, I do remember this. I tried putting a warm towel (not too hot and not touching skin) across her belly, the drops, rootbeer drops, etc. Finally my doctor check her years and she had ear infections. I to breastfead her so, I was a little shocked by this. I had thought only bottle fed babies got ear infections. She eventually needed tubes, which was a blessing. My daughter also developed seasonal allergies when she was 4mth. old which contributed it as well. You might want to check with your doctor.

Congratulations and happy to hear of another breastfeeding mom. I've successfully breastfed two children for a year each. What you're describing sounds completely "normal"... and it could be several things...a) yes, it could be something you ate. Try to find a common denomenator in your meals that maybe it was broccoli (which is known to cause gas) or onions - my son didn't care for my milk if I ate onions b) your little one is too tired c) perhaps a touch of colic d) hungry e) acid reflux

I'm sure there are a slew of OTHER things it could be but if there is no fever, he's generally a happy baby, just do your best and take breaks to recharge YOU.... having a baby you can't seem to comfort takes its toll on you.

I've had 4 pediatricians tell me the gas drops are just basically for the parents to try to feel better about their baby's gas but they're really a waste of money so I never used them...

Last but not least, YOU are the mom and it's YOUR baby... if you feel you need to call the doctor, just call the office and have a nurse call you back... those are free (usually) and you can talk to her and bounce things off her... and save an office visit. I do this all the time! ;)

Good luck... and god bless.

Sorry your having trouble with your little one. I have a three year old now but when she was a baby she had colic REAL bad someone was always holding or rocking or tring to calm her down. I asked my doctors but all they said was it just happens sometimes all babies cry! That did not help my crying or my baby. Anyway she had crying spells till she was about 3 months old then she was fine. Hopefully you will not have to suffer like I did. I've read quite a few things since then and it seems to me like what your eating has the most effect on colic and the most common upset is dairy products. If you are willing to give up dairy for a least 2 weeks then you may notice a differance. (It takes at least that long to get it out of your system )You may also try the health food store (I like Sunshine Health over by tractor suppy) they carry some drops for colic. Good luck and let us know how it is going.

Hi C.,
At 8 weeks old we discovered our son couldn't tolerate the protein in milk. I was breastfeeding but we just started supplimenting with formula since he was starting day care. He was the gasiest little boy ever. I mean like adult gas. But once I eliminated milk products from my diet and got him on the right formula he was fine. We had to start using Alimentum by Similac for food allergies and colic symptons. It's expensive but worth it. First I would see your pediatrian. They might have you try a different formula (if you are using formula) or refer you to a specialist. For us we needed to see specialist b/c our son also stopped pooping as a result of this problem.

Good luck and hang in there.
D.

C.:
I breastfed my daughter until she was three months. However she also became very colicky and the rocking never worked. I remember she cried for almost five hours straight, before I called the nurse at our Pediatrician's office. The nurse told me to buy her Enfamil Neutramegen Formula, its for babes that are extremely gassy. So, I bought after we hung up and after two feedings she was fine. My daughter is 2 now and she is lactose intolerant now. So, once you start giving yuour child milk, give him 2% milk, because the Vitamin D is going to be too strong for his stomach.

When my son was that age, i would pump his legs to help relieve gas. For those long walking/rocking nights i would play music or audio books or just read to him - i would face him toward me so that our chests were touching and sometimes humming just soothed him (this worked until he was 7). A drive sometimes helped also.

My little girl is 5 1/2 months old now, but at 2 weeks old she had the same symptoms your son has. My daughter would cry everynight after her 7:00 feeding. She would cry for hours at a time, so finally we took her to the doctor. She had acid reflux, a pretty bad case of it too. We have been giving her prevacid and she is doing WONDERFUL! You may want to take your son to the doctor, I felt foolish telling the doctor that she was crying and I couldn't get her to stop but he said anytime they cry like that there is a reason so don't feel dumb. I am so glad that I took her to the doctor, even if there is nothing wrong you will still feel better than listening to him cry and not knowing why!!

i had the same problem with both of my sons. i would reccomend taking a look at your diet. the first thing my pediatrician told me to do was cut out dairy. with my first this is what cured it. with my second it took a bit longer to pinpoint what it was that was upsetting him. turned out to be corn. so i cut out corn from my diet, even things that contained corn syrup. after a few months i was able to eat corn stuff again and he was fine. the dairy thing with my first is something that lingered on for a while (till he was a year old). but it tends to run in our family (the lactose intolerance)

try some bland foods for a while and see how that works.

good luck!

first of all- you do know what you are doing you just don't know that you do. he' brand new to this big world and already his mommy is loving him and seeking advise to take the best care of him! i have 2 children and breast fed them both. my oldest was real fussy at times as well. it turned out she had acid reflux, look it up and see if any of his actions are similar to any of the symptoms, there are many of them. and each child is different. tell your pedi if he does meet some of the criteria, your pedi will schedule a upper GI which is just having the baby drink from a bottle which contains barium and then do an e-ray thing. it is painless, just the baby won't like it very much. if he does have acid reflux your dr. will prescribe some meds that will make him feel sooooo much better. in the mean time, just keep doing what your doing loving him. MOST OF ALL, I know it is hard but SLEEP when he is sleeping, even if it is just a cat nap.
not sure if this was helpful at all, but that was my personal experience with a fussy baby.

much joy sent to you and yours

S.

Oh where was this site when my little one was born. How comforting it is to know that I and you are not the only ones who go through this. The book "happiest baby on the block" helped me a little too even if it was just to understand things a little better. My dr even explained to me that it is not only a big adjustment for parents but kids also as they go from being surrounded my the womb and noise 24/7 to being born into a whole new world. I know one thing that eventually helped me some was I bought one of those nature sounds noise makers. My daughter loved the sound of the ocean waves as well as even though it took a little to adjust my eyes I would try not to turn on any lights at night and if I did it was a soft night light. The less I stimilated her the better. She also LOVED her swing with the ocean noise so during the day when she had a hard time I would put her in there and sometimes she would fuss a little but then would sleep for about 3 hours after that. During the day the swaddler also helped me. She could feel like she was kinda still in the womb and yet my hands were free. Good luck!

A.

I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GOING THROUGH. I HAVE A 3 MO. OLD WHO DID THE SAME THING RIGHT UP TO A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO. I WAS FORMULA FEEDING SO I SWITCHED FORMULAS AND THAT HELPED A LITTLE BUT NOT A LOT. THEN I DECIDED TO TALK TO MY PEDIATRICIAN ABOUT IT AND HE SAID IT SOUNDED LIKE ACID REFLUX. HE PRESCRIBED ME TWO MEDICATIONS AND I HAVE HAD A DIFFERENT BABY SINCE. HE ALSO SUGGESTED LETTING HIM SLEEP IN HIS CARSEAT DUE TO THE FACT THE ACID CAN'T COME UP AS EASY AS IT CAN IF HE'S ON HIS BACK.

sounds like he has colic. I have 2 girls, 23 months and 2 1/2 months-who has colic so bad we were in the ER cuz I didn't know what to do.

The only thing that helped eliminate, was switching her to Nutramigen....it is the best thing in the world. or you can try coliccalm.com-go to the website and order.

The gas drops at the stores don't do anything-beleive me-but colic calm is charcoal that is safe and you put in a pacifier and let them suck on it. Check it out and ask your dr.

colic usually outgrows at 3-4 months. To be honest, the only thing that has helped is Nutramigen, great formula, but pricy, and really making sure that he is being burped all day after and during feedings.
Good luck!

Cristy, I am a postpartum doula, birth doula and childbirth educator. I always show the DVD mentioned before, The Happiest Baby on the Block. It is revolutionary. It really works. The best part is that it helps you to be empowered by knowing what to do to calm your baby. As a result, you are less stressed and voila!, the baby is less stressed too!
It is well worth your time and money to get the DVD, then show it to your friends who are having babies. Good luck and great mothering.

Hi C., Well I am a 1st time mom of a now three year old. She was just like that. I breastfed her for about a year, I did not supplement with formula because she was allergic to everything. But I did use an all natural product by baby bliss called gripe water. (only by babybliss) I showed it to my doctor and she was all for it. it contains ginger and fennel. I use even now when my daughter has gas or an upset tummy. The only thing though is I did not use it as directed I lowered the dose to 1/4 teaspoon or lower. She has done very well. It is really up to you. Everyone has a different solution. You are doing great just by breastfeeding!!! and being a MOM!!! Good luck to you.

It is hard to know what is going on with your baby I know I have four of them my oldest is four and my youngest one is 1 month too. My is crancy to and I know he was gassy b/c I have so many. If your baby was colicky he would cry all the time. My suggustion is buying gass relief for the baby. It is just a liquid drop and works great. ALso try making sure he burbs good and put him on his stomace that helps relief presure it work. Also make sure he has a dirty dipper every night if not he could be constapaid and if so give him a bottle with water and a little karo syrup and it is a instant laxitive. I have to give it to my son. I hope this helps.

Hi C., I feel your pain. I have a 3 yr old boy and a 9 wk old boy. My younger son started exhibiting the same symptons around 3 wks of age. He actually started crying painfully when he would eat. I tried and tried with breastfeeding on him and he never would nurse so I pumped and gave him formula and bottle fed him. He would start around 4 o'clock in the afternoon and would cry and fuss and nothing would console him. At his 1 mo. check up I told my pediatrician and she said it was reflux. He's been on prilosec and reglan and a new formula. We are definately seeing a change but he also has colic along with the reflux. Every night around 5pm he will cry and cry and there's not much we can do. We've seen him gradually get better and the crying fits have shortened in length. The first few weeks of dealing with this was excruciating!!! One night he was crying so hard and for so long we took him to the ER just to make sure that there was nothing going on and the ER Dr. said its just colic and there's not much we can do but try to comfort him. I had to learn to just come to terms with it and I just walk with him or sit with him and talk to him thru it and other times I just put him in his crib and let him cry while I take a break for about 15 mins. Its very hard and exhausting but they do grow out of it and that is what I keep telling myself. Hang in there and definately call your pediatrician there could be some reflux going on as well.

Good luck

Hi C.,

Looks like most everyone that has written you back has "been there and done that". My son was an extremelly gassy baby. It lasted for 4.5 months and most people would say he had colic, but I never wanted to admit it. He was breastfed exclusively like your son and there is no need to give him any formula. Just make sure he is getting all the way to the hindmilk and not just sucking on the foremilk. You should consider contacting the La Leche League in your area. (Just google it.) The LLL leader can make suggestions on your diet as well as things to do to help him get to sleep. They can even come over to your house and make sure that he is latched on correctly and offer suggestions on better positions to minimize the amount of air getting into his stomach. Our pediatrician told us at my son's 2 week check up that the kid was going to be gassy - and he wasn't kidding.

We used to hold our son under the vent fan in the kitchen to get him to pass out. I also learned to nurse while lying down...about the only thing that saved me. The gas drops only worked about half the time. We also learned to pump his legs, a bit like riding a bicycle and then to push his legs up towards his chest. The result was fairly quick and you could hear the gas come out of him. After he got the gas out, he would pass right out. He also only slept in 40 minute intervals - something he does to this day. He does wake up after 40 minutes, then babbles and rolls over and goes back to sleep.
You will get through this. I wouldn't worry so much about acid reflux unlexx he is doing some major spit up on you. I had to eliminate citrus drinks and peanut butter and dairy from my diet. But the most effective thing for us, was the vent fan, letting him sleep in his swing (we had one that went side to side), swaddling, and the leg pumping - oh the leg was a life saver. (Try also to keep him from getting too overstimulated at night. I learned to change diapers in the dark just to avoid the extra stimulation.)

I know it is hard right now, but he will get over this. Email me back if you want. My husband and I haven't forgotten those sleepless nights and one day you will look back and laugh at it.

Take care
L.

My daughter is eight months old now. When she was 4 weeks she was very fussy at night. She would get fussy around 5ish. I would wake up to nurse her at night and often times she wouldn't go back to sleep for a while. I think it's possible that you and your son are in a similar situation that we were. Leah grew out of it fairly quickly. Hopefully, your son will grow out of it too. I know how you feel. I didn't know what to do either. Good luck.

Hi C.,
I am not sure if this will help at all with your situation, but I found "The Happiest Baby on the Block" DVD very helpful in calming a baby in general. We could not find it until we looked on our Blockbuster online site and they had it. We just found the "The Happiest Toddler on the Block" as well and watched it. I like Dr. Harvey Karp's insight.

I have read that babies tend to get fussy in the evenings...the routine seems to get more busy and chaotic with Daddy coming home, making dinner, etc. Both my girls definitely turn it on in the evening, but do well during the night now. Hang in there. It's like a dance and once you find out your baby's preference, you will be so graceful together.

K.

A lot of good advice out there, and the only other thing that I can guess or suggest is that your baby may be "overtired". Normally when a baby is overtired it's harder to get them to sleep, and they will fight it with all might. Make sure your baby is getting enough sleep during the day and going down for the night will be so much easier. Watch for any signs: rubbing of the eyes, yawning, glazed eyes are a few. Once you see these signs try to put him down. At this age most babies will only last an hour or two of activity time and will need some shut eye.

Good luck - it does get easier, especially after the first 3 months.

C.

I don't really have any advice, but just wanted to let you know this is normal. I'm the grandmother of a 4 month old little girl that I babysit most days, & when she was 1 month old she did the same thing. She was fine for me all day long, would eat, never fussing, but then in the evenings starting around 7ish she was so fussy. I thought my daughter was just doing something different then me, & then I watched her in the evenings several times, and she did the same thing here. I just held her, walked her, layed her across my legs & patted her back, nothing really worked, but after about an hour, she calmed down & was fine. This last about 1 month, so hang in there, things will get better, must be collic.

C. -

Hang in there - it does get better. My daughter was never diagnosed with colic, but she did the same thing. Norah would be exhausted, but still fighting sleep. We had to swaddle her, rock her, walk with her and force her to fall asleep, only to do it all again in about an hour. All the while, I was nursing ALL the TIME, trying to increase my supply. We tried gas drops, etc. She simply grew out of it in a month or two. She continued to fight sleep for several more months, but was not fussy like she was in the beginning. If your MD has ruled out a medical problem, wait it out. It's hard to see your little one in pain or upset and you can't do much about it, but it does matter that you're there and trying to comfort him.

S.

Dear C.,

I've seen wonders with Colic-Ease, which is a purely herbal remedy. I've recommended it to friends, and they have been blown away (they tried the gas drops, and that didn't work). I hope you find the help you need. I'd also highly suggest calling a La Leche League leader for some advice - they always have something helpful up their sleeve!

Colic-Ease -- http://www.nurturedfamily.com/detail.aspx?ID=95

Sincerely,
R.

C.,

when our little guy was 6 weeks old he with diagnosed with GERD (acid reflux), but only upon my insistence that the doctor check. He woke up constantly and we tried all the same stuff. If my husband's coworker hadn't had a similiar problem, we might have never known how much pain he was in. just a thought..hope that's not the case with you guys but worth checking

Every first time mom has trouble distinguishing between collic and fussiness. It might just be that your milk is to thin...I had some trouble with all three of mine being fussy and I eventually went ahead and expressed my milk then added a little rice cereal to it to thicken it up a little bit. After that, the fussiness subsided and the sleeping all through the night began! it doesn't take much 1 tablespoon for 4 to 5 ounces. Pediatricians don't really like adding cereal so early, but mine said that after a month it's ok.

I am also a first time Mom and that sounds very familiar. I got to were I would put gas drops in his bottle while he took it. My baby was colicky and also had acid reflux, etc. I also used Dr. Browns bottles (those seemed to help some). The best thing I used was Gripe Water (can be purchased at Kid to Kid) and it worked wonders. I think that sometimes it is just a stage that you have to manage your way through....hang in there...it gets better.

HO I have 2 boys and they went through the same.Imagine being safe and secure for your whole life,only to be by yourself all of a sudden.What worked for me is sleeping with my baby.I made sure there were many large pillows on the end of the bed so there would be no possible way for him to fall.My husband was kind enough to sleep in another bed ,which meant he got to sleep through the night,and it was baby and me.Many Doctors recommend this and that.The truth is you are the parent and I believe God gave us instincts for a reason.Snuggling with my little ones was the best thing ever.I recommend it and know this.....no one ever died from lack of sleep.Good luck and follow your heart.

If your son is screaming and crying when you lie him down after feeding but calms when he is upright you might want to consider acid reflux. My son had it. It started as fussiness when we put him down and progressed to screaming as he got older and the reflux got worse. If you think it's reflux you can elevate the head of his bed. That helps some. you Dr can also give you meds that help.

the good news is, as you can see from all these responses, you're not alone.. its not anything out of the norm..

my son is now 10 and everynight when he was an infant for several weeks he went through screaming and arching his back and almost fighting us between 6-7 every night, almost like clockwork!
the only thing that worked was to get him upright(may have been reflux) and walk w/ him outside.. a new environment w/ no tv and no radio or other people around seemed to help, he would stop crying and just look around at the trees and the sky, etc..
good luck, just remember to stay calm and patient even when hes going crazy..

Have you tried cutting dairy out of YOUR diet. It may not work but that was by baby's problem from Day 1 until today. It made a world of difference. I felt like I had adifferent baby. I just stopped BF (she is 7 months) and she is now on a lactose-free formula.

Hi C.-

First off - hang in there. It WILL pass. My daughter had gas/colick and reflux for four months and I was breastfeeding as well. I thought the bottles all gave her more gas and she didn't care for the formula at all. My suggestions are to try keeping him upright after feedings (swing or car seat, if he is sleeping). My daughter wasn't extremely reluxy, but I did notice she would make little swallowing noises and a little choking after eating and would then cry about it. Also, she did spit up more than I was comfortable with. The other stomach pains I knew she was having with the most difficult to deal with. She had such a hard time digesting and burping. I did find great success with taking Enzyme pills from the health food store before anything I ate. That broke down the food more for her in my milk, since I also suspect via reading, that for whatever reason, she didn't have enough enzymes in her digestion track to break them down.

Otherwise, a warm hot water bottle on the tummy, vibrations, the sound of running water, or I had even heard of some mom's having success with supervised tummy sleeping.

Best of luck to you and your husband-
Georgia

It sounds like I wasn't the only one that had these problems with my two! lol The pediatrician is a great help. With my oldest, I had to cuddle her and rub her belly until she went to sleep (an hour before I had originally been putting her down.) With my youngest, I had to cut dairy and garlic out of my diet and burp her for 15 minutes after every feeding. She wasn't able to get rid of the gas by herself and even prescription gas drops weren't helping.

I am a mother of a 4 year old son. I would recommend consulting your doctor. It sounds like your little one may have acid reflux or possibly isn't getting enough to eat through breast feeding.

If it is acid reflux, the doctor can prescribe medication to help. Also, sleeping in a car seat (instead of lying down) might help.

Talk to your doctor...that is what they are there for. Good luck.

Hello. I have a 5 week little boy also first time mom. I'm not sure but maybe he is hungry. I know my little one does not get enough from me breastfeeding him. I have had to supplement all along with formula. Consider 2 oz of formula, my doc recommends carnation good start although I feed similac see if maybe he's just hungry. I am using the avent bottle system and I have not had colic or gas problems at all!! Thank God. Also, I have started my baby on cereal and apple juice since last week per my pediatrician and my little one is sleeping from midnight through 5-6 am. You may also consider this. I spoon feed cereal 2x/day am and pm. We are getting into a routine where he has cereal at about 8-8:30 has a bath then I breastfeed 10 min on each side then 2 oz of formula to supplement if needed, he then drinks 4 oz of formula at about midnight and I don't see him again until morning when I breastfeed again and supplement if needed, then formula and apple juice w/water rest of day. From what I have been told your diet has alot to do with colic while breastfeeding. My doc said no caffeen, tomato products except for fresh tomatos, and limited dairy. My pediatrician is Dr. Ruenes in the med center. He is awsome!! Talk to your doc, hope this helps. You can contact me if you have questions at ____@____.com luck!!

Try giving him a warm bath after your nightly feeding

I'm a mother of 4. Ages 20 year old to 22 months old. My youngest child was breastfed. I would take your baby to the pediatrician to see if he is gaining weight appropiately. He may not be getting enough milk. I would also try and give him a couple of spoons of baby rice cereal. He may still be hungry. You may also try the over the county gas medicine for babies. He will outgrow this behavior in a few months if it is not medical.

Call your local lactation consultant! DON'T GIVE UP! It makes sense to me that if you are having the same results at the same time of day/night look at your diet or routine. One common problem many children have is an allergic response to a Mom that is drinking cow's milk. If nothing else, a warm bath will always sooth a sore tummy...then a warm towel from the dryer wrapped around the belly...bare tummy-to-tummy with you might also work too!! I hope something I said helps!
-A.

I had a daughter who had a lot of the same problems you described. She would by fussy and cry from around 8ish until she was so exhausted around 10 or 10:30 she would fall asleep. We tried everything that you mentioned and nothing seemed to help her either. I was told that she was colicky and eventually she would grow out of it, usually by the time babies are 8 weeks old or so. It was so strange, one day she just woke up and was different. That night, no crying tantrums. She justs takes her blanket and lays down and goes to sleep on her own in her bed. I found that laying her down really helped and seemed to calm her down. I don't think she liked all the fussing over her, swaddling rocking etc, she just wanted to be left alone. Of course this is looking back on it. She is now 18 months and great. I hope this gives you some hope and helps you. If she was my first child I would of been really nervous too. She is my second, thank God for her older brother who is 4. He seemed to calm her down sometimes when nobody else could.

You are doing fine. My son is 18 mnths old now, and this time last year I was in your same boat. For me, there were 2 problems. 1. If you are breastfeeding, make sure you are not having caffine (tea, soda, coffee, chocolate...). I was breastfeeding and would have tea during the day, then when I would nurse and try to get my son down for the night, he would be exhuasted, but fighting and screaming. Once I stopped with the caffine, He was able to get to sleep much better. 2. Look for acid reflux. My son also had this and it made it hard for him to sleep. Does your son just want to be held, will not lay down, does he seem to kind of choke when he is nursing, does he spit up a lot, does he kind of girggle while/after eatting, just some things to look for. If so, his Dr. can give you some drops to help him.

Those are the things that helped me when I was at my witts end. I hope they help. I'm sure you'll come through this soon. Good luck and I hope if I didn't help you someone else did. M.

Have you tried switching your routine as to when you feed him? I personally got a lot out of the book "On Becoming Babywise". If you keep an open mind and remember that you can/should adapt things to fit your comfort level and parenting style, this book may help you. The main practice that helped my fussy baby was following an "eat/play(alert)/sleep/eat/play(alert)/sleep" pattern to his day. I was trying to feed him then put him down during the day and he would have problems. I don't like to go to be on a full tummy immediately after eating so maybe he doesn't either...that's what I came up with. Of course at night you want to eat/sleep/eat/sleep. The book explains that stuff. I wasn't super strict with time (it doesn't say you should be) I just followed his lead and it worked itself out. My son kinda created his own pattern and I worked with that to make us both happy. I breastfeed also and the book gives guidelines for that. Good luck, I hope this helps some! Angela

Hi Christi,
My son had a hard time early as well.
My Mom said I needed to reduce sugar and fat in MY diet, and that would help. It did for a little while. He was just not getting enough to eat. Maybe he is ready for a little rice cereal with his milk. My brother had to go on the bottle, because he was allergic/intolerant to Mom's milk. He even had to use soy milk (Isomil). If you are using the Mylecon (simethicone) drops before every feeding already (they only work well if you give them BEFORE feedings), try doubling the amount before that feeding - our pediatrician said that even drinking it straight would not hurt anyone, so this is very safe. There are so many things that could be irritating the little one, but the drops help most of them. There is no shame in calling the pediatrician - that is what you pay them for! FYI, my son never slept quite right until he started eating "sausage and potatoes" at age 1 yr. He was just hungry. Our chiropractor was able to help his gassiness at age 11, and he is great with babies. If the pediatrician can't figure it out, and the extra food does not help, he may be a little crooked from the birth - I know we both were! Pain makes for grouches in all age groups.
The Best of luck to you - call me if you have any questions, I had 1 year of colic from 8pm-midnight (constant screaming, unless he was taking a breath), so I feel your pain - and his!
D.
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PS I just read all these other responses - most are very good advice. FYI: Screaming like that from pains in the abdomen is not normal, and leaving the child to "cry it out" is not a solution - it is a cop out! You do your best, and that is all you can do. If you have to walk the outside at night until your baby can say "moon" (like I did), anything to help his pain or distract him from it is a kindness, and his personality will reflect the kindness you show him now later on. If there is no pain, and the Drs can't find anything wrong, a radio or other soothing noise in the bedroom might help. Cars and clothes dryers also are famous for putting babies to sleep. My daughter slept well with a blue ice pack on her little tummy! She was an over-eater. I do not advocate spoiling a baby, but there are troo many things that can be wrong to assume that nothing is wrong or that "all babies cry". If your Dr. saus anything bone-headed like that to you, get another one! There are a lot of good, helpful, and learned pediatricians in the area!!

Dear C.

First of all, don't worry. Being a new mom is hard and whilst it may feel that you don't know what you are doing, you are probably doing everything just fine.

Have you tried reducing your intake of dairy products? A friend of mine has just had her second baby; her first had a few problems with gas, so she decided to cut out all dairy products from her (the mom's) diet and, so far, the second baby has had no problems. You can get all the calcium you need form other non-dairy products (I think brocolli is a good one).

But, if you are worried, call your padiatrician. See what s/he says. That's what we pay them for!!

Good luck! It gets easier.

H.

My baby was the same way. I would turn on the bathroom fan and shut the door and sway back and forth and something about the noise would make her fall asleep. Sometimes during the day and when it was loud I would leave the fan on when I put her in the crib to help drown out the noise.
Good luck!

Congratulations on the baby! And what a wonderful headstart you are giving your son by breastfeeding! Hang in there. I BF my DD for a year, and at about the same age she did the same thing! EXHAUSTING! But this too shall pass.

What I did...

I didn't want to give up dairy, so I looked closely at my diet. I was eating a lot of nuts--cashews, peanuts, peanut butter, etc. I cut them out completely and she seemed to get better. I was able to eat them again in a few months without her having any difficulties. I can't swear that the nuts were the problem, but it may have helped.

I also discovered that I was missing her sleep cues!! Duh!! First time mommy, too! She needed to be put down at 8ish, and I kept missing her window. Then you could FORGET trying until 10pm. And if you somehow missed that time, she would LOSE her MIND until midnight! She kept 'telling' me she was tired by pulling on her ears!! What is that!?!?! I just thought she liked playing with her ears. Major DUH! Anyway, once I figured that out, we had smoothe sailing from there.

So like Christine said below, watch for your baby's cues. And like most everyone else said, evaluate your diet, call your pediatrician (they really are there for you!) and hang in there! Breastfeeding is the best way to get your son through this.

Remember we Mamasource Moms are always here for you!

Best wishes,
Sherri

I also had trouble with fussiness with my baby. She is just about 6 months now, and I also breastfed at first almost exclusively, then tapering off to about 50/50 and now mostly formula.

Until 2-3 months old, about every other night we had a lot of trouble getting her to sleep. We think the culprit was gassiness, even though we tried drops, etc and nothing worked. She did like being held on her stomach on one arm in a flying position (palm on her chest, elbow between the legs), which would calm her down right away but it takes a lot of arm strength and walking around and we would wear out. None of the other "gas hold" positions worked for her. Also, watching running water usually calmed her down a lot and sometimes while she was fussy she would fall asleep in her car seat next to the shower if we turned it on.

Nothing specific made the fussiness stop, it just got better with time (by the way - we tried modifications in diet for a week at a time and nothing helped: no formula, lactose-free, soy formula, and me not eating beans, chocolate, caffeine, dairy, etc). Also, she was a happy baby almost all the time but every other night she would have trouble. You probably want to call the pediatrician just to feel better, but just so you know, other people are having the same problem too! Just be patient :-)

My daughter had this same problem, but she also spit up a lot. She had acid reflux and the Dr. gave her a prespription and it made all the difference. Best of luck.

I'm not here to tell you how I feel or to sympathize with you. I want to offer you some ANSWERS! I am a Newborn Specialist, and I can set up some consulting with you. I can help you with issues such as getting your baby onto a schedule, training your baby to sleep through the night, reflux and colic, soothing techniques to calm a fussy baby, etc. You just tell me what the issues are, and I'll let you know how I can help you.

Normally, what I would do is send you an assessment form. You then answer all of the questions, telling me about your baby and your lifestyle, as well as what 'issues' you are having. You add in 3 days' worth of log sheets, logging all of the baby's feeds and naps. I will then take that information and develop an evaluation, which I call my Plan of Action. It is a road map for you to use to get you on the road to where you want to be.

This isn't any kind of spam or anything weird. You can view my website at www.nannyfornewborns.com to learn more about my services (I"m also listed on Mamasource). You can also contact me directly through my website.
Good luck to you,
L.
Newborn Specialist, Parent Educator, Infant Sleep Trainer
877-NANNY-USA ###-###-####)

My son will be five weeks old tomorrow. He's having the same problems, and my husband and I aren't quite sure if it's gas or colic. The only thing we've found that's successful, in the middle of his crying/screaming fits, and as a last resort after an hour or so, is to put him in his swing and let him cry it out. After only a couple minutes, he tends to calm down. Also, sometimes swaddling and rocking him close to my chest works. We've been giving him gas drops too (although for some reason, the hospital told us not to!) and they seem to help after a few minutes. For the last week, Quentin has slept rather well (just getting up once a night) but a couple of nights, he's had a "colic fit" in the middle of the night that lasts a couple of hours. Or it hits right before bedtime or first thing in the morning. Good luck with your baby!! If you find anything that works for you, please let me know!

You don't mention whether you're breastfeeding or bottle feeding. If you're bottle feeding, your baby may be intolerant to the formula (either the cow milk based protein or even the soy protein). If you're breastfeeding, your baby could be reacting to something in your diet. My older son was exactly like yours in terms of the fussiness and I only later learned that I myself had a milk allergy and that likely was causing his distress. In addition, I later learned that I was gluten intolerant (celiac disease), as is my son, so he may also have been reacting to the gluten in the wheat in my diet. He did settle down after a while, but he really had difficulty sleeping for quite some time - in hindsight, it was of course, due to my diet. With my second son, I was totally off dairy by the time I was breastfeeding him, but he also reacted if I had broccoli or orange juice. Also, your pediatrician should have staff that can support you. I worked with their lactation consultant, who provided some help. But, if you're breastfeeding, I would highly recommend you find a local La Leche League support group. They provided me with invaluable support.

Hi C.,
It's a tough class when you try to comfort your little one to sleep, isn't it?! My first son had that problem since born and now he's 3 years old. We tried everything we could and take turns just like you and your husband durning the night. My second son will be 2 months old next week and he doens't have such problem and sleeps well at night. I think you could try to let your little boy plays as much as he could during the day, and if he sleeps, that's ok but not too much deep sleeps. So maybe at the evening when everyone is ready to sleep, he could start learning to sleep well at night.
This is exact what my second son's doing now. He only gets up to eat once during the night. Hope this helps!!
Tiffany