OMG: He starts screaming at 7pm and DOESN'T stop!! HELP??

[aliceinwonderland]

He was an angel the first week of life. The day before turning two weeks, he started this routine of screaming uncontrollably around 7 pm every night...NOTHING, except the boob, works. He then falls asleep with it in his mouth, and don't you dare move him into an upright position, or to the crib, or anywhere, because he goes at it again!! This goes on for a few hours. Even when at the boob he will behave frantically, shake his head from side to ide when he realises he doesn't have something in his mouth!
WHAT TO DO?? Is it because all of a sudden it's very hot here (NO AC in my my house?). Can I give him some water?? He is exclusively breastfed...

THANKS SO MUCH!!

[Marisa6826]

Welcome to the world of the Witching Hour. I''m kind of thinking out loud here, so bear with me...

His little digestive system is starting to kick in and it could be gas. Have you tried burping between boobs? Also, are you feeding on demand? It sounds like he gets so hungry he flips out a little. How's your let down, maybe too much if he starts waving his head around?

If it's really warm where you are, what are you dressing him in? He should be good in just a dipe and a onesie.

You might want to try some Mylicon drops or Gripe Water (Whole Foods). The gas drops did nothing for us, but the Gripe Water was our saving grace.

He really shouldn't need water so early on, but if you do give it to him, I would boil it first. He's still so very new.

I'm wondering if it might be bit of reflux. Is he spitting up a lot?

Keep us posted

-m

[JLiebCamm]

That all sounds very familiar to me! From around 7pm-11pm the only way DS was happy was if he was nursing or if I walked him around the house in circles (and pacing in one spot was not good enough; it had to be from room to room). We used to have friends and family come over in the evening just to give us a break. My MIL always called it colic but I had plenty of other people tell me that this was normal newborn behavior.

As far as the water is concerned, you will probably get mixed responses on it. In my case, the ped recommended it but the lactation consultant advised against it. I do remember some reading somewhere that excess breastfeeding could lead to gassiness but my lactation consultant said that this wasn't true.

In my case, I continued to breastfeed on demand and never did start the water. After a few weeks, DS became more and more pleasant. But definitley enlist help if you can in the evenings for your own sanity!

[toomanystrollers]

Eri,
I wouldn't give him any water. If he's nursing and plenty of wet dipes - he's fine. Plus tommorow, the weather in here in MA will be back to normal :)

Have you tried a pacifer? Our three were/are bf'ed and used a pacifer early on with no nipple confusion whatsoever. They gave up the bink around 5 months old on average for us.

FWIW, his behavior is totally normal for his age - he will outgrow it. Our three went through a 2-3 week period where the grouchies would start around 7pm and hopefully ended by midnight.

I swore by my cotton adj. pouch (www.kangarookorner.com). Neve practically lived in it 24/7 for the first two months. I would put her in the pouch and then bouncey bounce around the house. Other tricks - car rides, fans, and vacuuming (white noise) - always worked for Neve - plus nice clean floors.

ETA: evening walks outdoors in the stroller can work wonders too!!

Hang in there!!

[papal]

Eri.. he does sound colicky. Have you tried Gripe Water? You can get Baby Bliss gripe water in Whole Foods stores (http://www.babys-bliss.com/) or you can get Woodwards gripewater in indian stores. At his age, I would just give a teaspoon, diluted with a couple of teaspoons of water, in a bottle or with a syringe. It really worked for us.
You can even make some at home if you have dried fennel seeds.

Do you think he is getting enough rest during the day? If he is not, maybe he is getting overtired and over-stimulated?

Tightly swaddling Leela, laying her on her left side with me/dh next to her, in a darkened room and giving her a pacifier usually calmed her down.

Have you tried the 5 Ss... swaddling (this is KEY), side-lying, sucking, swinging and sshhhing. Dr. Karp's book, Happiest Baby on The Block was very helpful to us when Leela turned 3 weeks old. Make sure you get a TIGHT swaddle on him. If you need a Miracle Blanket, i can mail you one, i have one to spare.

Do hang in there mama... I remember those evenings.. they were very rough on us.. but it does get better soon.

Let me know if you need the book or the blanket, i would be happy to mail it to you.

ETA:
Is he arching his back and spitting up a lot? That could be a sign of reflux.
Also, for gas pains, try cycling his legs.

[cchavez]

Go get the book "The Happiest Baby on the Block." The suggestions will help you tons! gl!

[aliceinwonderland]

Thanks all...I had forgotten about the gripe water...will go do research on it. A couple of things:

He does take a paci usually, but at this point he's too frantic to take it.
The bouncy does help a bit (he just gave me a 20 min. break)
Pleanty of wet diapers.
Re B/F: My breasts are FULL (milk-shower full) in the morning despite nursing at night, but soft in the evening...Could he not be getting enough??? As Isaid, milk does come out, and PLENTY of wet dipes...

THANKS!!!

[toomanystrollers]

Eri,
It's a very small % of women who can't produce enough breastmilk. I don't have the exact figure in front of me. If you're concerned, try to get in on a breastfeeding support group - most have hospital grade scales to weigh the babes on.

Honestly his behavior sounds totally normal - sad, but true.

[californiagirl]

Do whatever keeps him quiet without hurting him. It will pass.
What worked for us:
Walking the baby in a sling (outside is better than inside)
Squeaking toys (continuously -- sometimes less obnoxious high pitched noises, but not usually)
Sticking a finger in her mouth, nail side down (my finger works better than anybody else's because it tastes like mommy)
Bouncing her in her hammock
Swaddling her, combined with any (or all) of the above
Occasionally bouncing up and down on the yoga ball

[Rachels]

Eri, if you need some help or someone to weigh in, I can give you the name and number for an absolutely amazing LC here. She makes home visits and is worth every cent. But I agree with everyone-- this sounds pretty normal to me.

Many women find that babies with colic suddenly get a whole lot better when dairy is eliminated from their mothers' diets. Their little bellies just may not be quite ready for that yet. If dairy doesn't do it, there are other foods to try-- wheat, soy, eggs, and nuts being the next in line. But dairy is the first and most frequent culprit. If you want to try cutting it out, you have to be religious about it: absolutely none, in anything, for two full weeks. It takes that long to clear your milk and his system. I was dairy-free for a number of months, and it made a huge difference for Abigail. It was hard at first, but quickly became second nature.

If I can help you, give a call anytime.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[Momof3Labs]

ITA with Dr. Karp's book Happiest Baby on the Block - his soothing techniques for a newborn are amazing. Also, make sure he is getting enough sleep during the day, and let him nurse all he wants in the evening (it is called cluster feeding and perfectly normal) as he needs. He might be hitting that 3 week growth spurt, too, and NEED to nurse that much. Please don't give him water; breastmilk is so much better for him, and it is better for your supply to let him nurse.

Try the pacifier again, but don't wait until he is frantic to give it to him - offer it when he is calm, and keep in mind that you might need to hold it in his mouth for him.

I hate to say it, but this is a common time for colic to start, so it might be that nothing works well and you just have to make it through each day and know that this too shall pass...

[aliceinwonderland]

I really don't think I have a supply issue...We went to the ped on Thursday, and he has gained ahead of schedule, is almost 9 pounds now, so exeeded his birth weight. His diapers are also plentiful...
I just think he's needier at night, and needs to nurse longer. I just need to reconcile to that...During the day, he's usually back to being an angel: we go for strolls EVERYDAY, and we go over these Boston potholes in our pram, he gets thrashed around, yet sleeps soundly. Then at night, Erik the little devil lurks...

Tonight is a bit better...Diary MIGHT have a little something to do with it: I haven't had much yesterday and today...

ANY SIDE EFFECTS to giving gripe water??

THANKS SO MUCH!!

[aliceinwonderland]

Thanks all for suggesting the book. Being a faithful member of these boards long before I gave birth paid off, as I had read most of the Happiest Baby on the block book previously. I do try the Sshh method loudly in his little ear, along with rhythmic fast movements (we waltz together a lot !), and that works sometimes. The swaddling is out, he HATES it, and is much to strong to stay wrapped. It's also warm here now...

THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE, you are all lifesavers. Quite frankly, reading that almost all of you had this with yor babies is the greatest consolation of all!!!

[Melanie]

Ds was not colicky, but we had screaming nights, too. One thing that would help was to take him near running water. It would soothe him. Sometimes it had to be really loud at first so he'd notice it over his screaming.

Another thing that I couldn't believe worked was the baby swing. I ran out for some mylicon one night and Dh couldn't take it anymore and was at his wit's end so he put Ds in the baby swing - guess what? He stopped crying and went to sleep. Of course he was a bit older than your tiny one.

[papal]

Eri, do you think you could be swaddling too loosely? A regular blanket never worked for us.. she always got herself loose.. the miracle blanket truly has and continues to be a lifesaver for us.. it is very hard for a baby to get out of it. Also, it is guaranteed for life.. so you will get as many replacements as you want if it rips/tears etc.. i am on my 4th one! I can send you a used one if you like otherwise the website is www.miracleblanket.com. I truly do not know what we would have done without it.. swaddling her tight calms her down almost immediately.. even today.

Good luck mama.... Erik might be cluster feeding in the evenings... i think the 2-3 mark is when they have their first growth spurt.

[firstbaby]

First of all, you have my total sympathies for the crying spells - DS would cry for 5 minutes and DH would be ready to pass out from panic!

I have to also recommend Happiest Baby on the Block. Swaddling was a great help for us, also. I didn't think DS liked it because he would break free but I wasn't swaddling tight enough and it would instantly calm him when I did it right.

Keep us posted - I hope your little angel comes back around the clock soon!

[JElaineB]

One thing that calmed DS down a few times as a newborn was running the vacuum cleaner. Something about the noise it makes can be soothing to babies. I know someone who recorded the vaccumm running for a couple of minutes, looped it to play continuously and burned it onto a CD to play for their little guy!

Jennifer
mom to Jacob 9/27/02

[mharling]

Eri -
Have you tried swaddling him with his arms out? Lane didn't care too much for swaddling either, but if we did it with his arms out, he was much more tolerant and it was very effective.

Lane went through a brief phase of evening fussiness. Swaddling him and cuddling tight with a pacifier did the trick for us.

Good luck!!

Mary & Lane 4/6/03
[link:www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b370a2992536|Birthday Pics!!]

[quikeye]

Hi! I don't have too much more advice to give than it is normal, and will pass! :) I was where you were with DS from 2-9 weeks, with the worst of it being at 2-7 weeks. He would scream like a madman, and I was constantly comfort nursing him. I couldn't find anything else that worked, so I comfort nursed him regularly until he stopped wanting his human paci (about 6 weeks or so). We sometimes would "nurse" every hour, just lingering like that. It is exausting, and I had to enlist dh's help (cooking, getting me water b/c I couldn't move from the nursing position or we would have aother screamfest, etc.) We've practically worn a pathway in our carpet for all of the walking and bouncing we had to do just to keep him quiet...

Our ped said it prolly wasn't colic (and it wasn't) since he was generally worse in early evening (witching hour) and slept well thru the night (cosleeping)... We ruled out reflux as well (though he would spit up a feed several times a week). I had to make sure I would burp him btw breasts (he's still excl. bf, but we don't need to burp anymore). Found out that the burping would help get rid of the air that the feeds were sitting on-- when we didn't burp, the bubbles would still come up with a LOT of bm as well (so disheartening!) I really think that he was just one of those "4th trimester," hug me, nurse me all of the time babies... I've talked to a lot of moms who've had the same baby as me, apparently! (My mom says I was the same, "payback"!)

The side to side just sounds like baby rooting for the breast-- I know it looks frantic and he'll probably make it seem like it is, but again it's normal :) I just wanted to extend our thoughts and let you know that it will likely pass with no rhyme or reason-- there's just something "magical" about the 2d-3rd month that makes them "civil" :) Best of luck; I know "months" seem impossible to endure/fathom now, and they did for me! But looking back they're dim compared to the fun times we have now (even though he's till a fussbudget!)

[aliceinwonderland]

Thanks...what do you know, I reconciled myself to being a human pacifier, and he had a better night last night...Also SLEPT (!!) from 1230 to 6 am...Of course he was ain bed with me, and not in his crib, but still. Now it's morning, and the angel is back. Right now he is in his crib wide awake looking at his mobile. We'll see what happens tonight...everyday is an adventure...

Thansk again.

[jd11365]

RUN, DON'T WALK TO GO GET THE GRIPE WATER!!! I swear, we called it liquid gold because it was so precious in our house. Like Marisa said, it was our saving grace. We had absolutely no side effects except for peace and quiet. There is nothing medical in it, just sodium bicarbonate to bring up the bubbles and a little fennel and ginger to soothe the belly. I brought it to my ped who said it was fine. Also lay him on his back and bicycle his knees into his belly...that always made Kayla feel better and helped her to pass gas.

I promise, at 3 months you will have a different baby...hang in there...it goes by faster than you think! HTH!

Jamie
Mommy to Kayla
5-1-03

[aliceinwonderland]

Having DH drive me to the store now to get the gripe water...Hopefully it comes with instructions on how to use for tiny babies :)

[mattysmom]

we faced the same challenge during these hours. the only thing that would work for ds was if we took him for a walk. so, we'd walk the streets of cambridge every night for hours... and he'd be perfectly content, until we returned home. but then he was hungry, we'd feed him and maybe he'd sleep a little. good luck!

[Vajrastorm]

If he likes white noise, try the "For Crying Out Loud" cd. Will save you from burning out your vacuum, hairdryer, or having the water bill from you-know-where.

Aine had colic pretty badly, and out best bet was bouncing on an exercise ball with LOUD white noise.

Every baby is different, I think, so keep experimenting to see what works for your little guy.

I tried eliminating things from my diet, but it didn't seem to have an impact.