My sweet little angel screams from 8pm until about 12am

[StaceyKim]

She is perfectly happy all day long taking nice long naps, nursing well and sleeps from 12am-5:30am-ish. This is all great but for some reason DD starts screaming from about 8pm. This is right after I put DS to bed and of course we don't want to wake him up. DD is only 6 weeks old. Anyone have advice?
We have tried the swing, bouncy, music, white noise, heartbeat noise, holding, shhhing, elevator move, nursing and then more nursing, bottle of BM, walking and probably a few other things.


TIA!

[miki]

Gripe Water? Holding her and sitting on top of your clothes dryer? That's all I can think of. Good luck.

[jk3]

We were completely against the idea of co-sleeping but we resorted to this at about 6-8 weeks. For some reason, this worked for us in those early months.

Has this been happening for more than a few nights? My DS's cranky time was in the late afternoon + there was very little we could do at that point. I hope this improves!

Jenn
DS 6/03

http://lilypie.com/baby2/030603/2/5/1/-5/.png

[llcoddington]

I think I remember going through the same thing. I don't remember anything that worked really well for us. But, I do remember that it suddenly stopped around 3 months. Do you have a carrier of some sort? I had a Bjorn in the beginning and Lauren loved being held in it. A pouch or wrap might help you. She would feel close and secure.

Lana
mommy to Lauren 12/5/03

[Karenn]

Mylicon drops would often stop DS's fussing when he was that age. The taste seemed to distract him and settle him down a bit. I hope this stage passes for you soon! Good luck!

[ShayleighCarsensMom]

My DD did this too and we figure dout that she was getting too much stimulation during the day and not enough downtime. They say a good rule of thumb is to go on a two hour schedule...nap, eat sleep kinda thing (in whichever order..)
Good luck, it will pass!

[jd11365]

Oh, the memories are coming back! Kayla screamed from 7-10 every night...nonstop. And of course she stopped right before her daddy came home to witness it all and help.

My best advice...GRIPE WATER!!! Go get some right now...stop reading this message and get to the store... It saved my sanity and Kayla was a muuuuch happier baby.

Just remember, it all gets better after 3 months! :) Hang on girlfriend, you're halfway there!

Jamie
Mommy to Kayla
May '03

[mharling]

I remember that being a very common age for nighttime fussiness. Lane had a brief spell of it; we would give him some Mylicon and swaddle him tight (with arms out). One of us would hold him on the couch or slowly rock him.

Good luck!!!

Mary
Lane - April 2003
Little brother or sister on the way - EDD March 2

[mary b]

Stacy,

I feel for you!! My first DD did this from 4 weeks until 14 weekis and it was NOT fun!! We tried everything you said and the only thing we had mild success with was playing OVER and OVER the Andy Griffith theme song!! YIKES I know, but it worked and of course, DH kept his cool with the screaming since that's his favorite show!!

DD #2 didn't start it until 8 weeks and then did it until 14 weeks.

I know everyone says it normal and not that you are worried about the long term effect, but they do outgrow it and become "normal"!!

HANG IN THERE!!!!
Mary
Mom to Noelle and Lindsey

[StaceyKim]

I know a few people mentioned gripe water and mylicon drops but I have several friends who used this and their kids got constipated. Did this happen to anyone? My DS has been sleeping through it but I am still afraid he will wake up too.
Thanks for all the advice!

[starrynight]

Have you tried swaddling? That worked a little when my kids went through this and also the mylicon drops do not constipate, at least not for my one kid that needed them. They actually helped her go and got rid of her gas, but as far as gripe water goes I have no idea. Good luck!!

[papal]

Seconding or thirding the Gripe Water!! :)
Stacey, if you have an indian store nearby, they will sell some Woodwards gripe water. That is what we used and it was a life saver!
Also, swaddling in the miracle blanket literally saved me from checking myself into the colic-mama-trauma-center.

[MamaKath]

So been there!!! The thoughts that pop into mind randomly:
*Maybe try slinging (ETA- I found that slinging my dd earlier in the day really helped with the evenings. She seemed to be better able to integrate her surroundings without having as much stress.)
*Try Co-sleeping
*Growth Spurt? (Typical for 3w, 6w, 3m, 6m)
*Fore-milk/hind-milk imbalance? (What is the poop looking like?)
*On the subject of poop, maybe it is the change in that that happens around then (from every feeding to a couple times a day or less)
*Maybe an intolerance to something you are eating (DD had serious colic, now as a 5 year old she is majorly allergic/intolerant to dairy; Again take a look at the poop)
*If you have a classic styled pram (or can borrow one), alot of babies like the bouncing motion
*Put her in a stroller and take a walk (if someone else is home of course with your first)
*sitting in the bouncer while you take a hot shower (dd liked the steamy bathroom)
*Overstimulation? Maybe there is too much going on at another point in the day that she seems to be handling really well, but is causing her some stress?
*Mylecon (sp?) or Gripe water, both of which I have seen work wonders for some babies

Soon you to will be saying posts like this bring back memories in an almost fond tone. Hang in there!!! :-)

[brigmaman]

Stace, that seemed to be Brig's "witching hour" as well when he was younger. He only wanted to nurse and even that didn't always work. We tried most of the things mentioned. We co-slept from the beginning, swaddled, ran the a/c, and tried gas drops. I think what worked the best for us was the Gripe Water that pps suggested. It never made ds constipated. We were also told to try chamomile tea and my grandmother also suggested fennel tea (similar to gripe water).
I'm interested to find out more about the miracle blanket, in case #2 is the same way.