8 week old awake screaming all night

[abigailwendover]

Feel like I'm being tortured. I haven't had any sleep at all tonight. Whenever I put her down in her cot she wakes and screams - not cries, screams absolute blue murder to the point where my ears are ringing. I then have to calm her down before I feed / rock / cuddle her back to sleep, wait til she's fully asleep and try putting her back down, but each time she wakes up either immediately or within 5 minutes.

What am I doing wrong? Everyone else I know seems to have babies ego settle. Even the ones who wake regularly for feeds go back to sleep after those feeds 😭

[difficulttod]

Is she bottle or breast fed? How is she during the day?

[Timeforanotherusername]

Is it every night or just last night?

If regular speak to your GP. It could be reflux.

Possibly related to milk intolerance.

I had one who slept brilliant from a very young age.

And another who was a nightmare sleeper due to his reflux.

[babyandI]

Morning! My baby is the same 😢 for naps, I've found the trick is to lay her on my bed and feed to sleep, then I can sneak away without waking her as I don't need to move her at all, and at night, I let her fall asleep in my arms downstairs and by the time I'm ready for bed, she's deeply enough asleep for me to put her in her crib.

I think some babies just need the comfort- does she sleep in a crib in your room? Is it near you? Have you tried just putting your hand on her to get her back to sleep? White noise machine? Dummy? Not too hot/cold?

Good luck - it does get easier! My little one is 3 months and fell asleep at 8pm (in my arms), I put her in her crib at 9:30 and she's still asleep (and I'm missing her hence why I'm awake )

[babyandI]

Oh and like pp have said, get her checked for reflux/medical issues

[abigailwendover]

@difficulttod she's breastfed although I'm wondering if that's a mistake as all the bottle fed babies I know seem to be wonderful sleepers. In the day she tends to be ok earlier on but gets crabbier as the day goes on and often screams a lot from 5-6pm onwards.

@Timeforanotherusername last night was particularly bad but she'll often be awake for 3-4h at a time. I've got her 8 week check today so I'll ask the dr if it could be reflux / milk intolerance (she's breastfed but could age be allergic to something I'm eating?)

@babyandI she won't feed to sleep unfortunately so I spend a lot of time pacing and rocking her (my back is killing me!) maybe I'm too quick to transfer her once she's asleep...I normally wait 15-20 mins but maybe I should wait longer? She sleeps in a snuzpod next to my bed at night and in the sling or sleepyhead downstairs during the day. Dummy and white noise - tick and tick. Not sure what else to try. That's amazing that your little one did 8pm-6am! That would be the DREAM!

[Timeforanotherusername]

abigail stopping breastfeeding did not help with youngest. In fact it probably made him worse.

[babyandI]

That does sound difficult by what you're describing it does sound more like reflux maybe my little one is exclusively breastfed so don't give up too quickly if you think it's causing her sleep troubles good luck at the doctors today, let us know how if goes!

[Adviceneeded4]

Any other symptoms such as rash, green poos, being sick?
It may be milk allergy (cmpa). Keep a food diary for yourself and look for patterns. CMPA babies often have Soya allergies too so that is another ingredient to take note of. Don't give up breastfeeding too hastily as CMPA milk is foul However it is an option if a restricted diet is not for you. I really hope things improve soon.

Reflux is another option but CMPA used to be misdiagnosed as reflux a lot so keep both in mind.

[justanotherneighinparadise]

This is why people co sleep.

[Twizbe]

It's a total myth that bottle fed babies sleep better.

I had a combi fed one and a breastfed one and the breastfed one slept way better.

The evening fussiness is actually very normal and is developmental. That will start improving over the next few weeks.

I'd try some safe co sleeping and side by side feeding. It will help you get some rest and her get some sleep.

[GachaBread]

Could be an ear infection.

[Ohwhatbliss]

I promise you it gets easier around 12 weeks, hang in there. Screaming at that time of night CAN be due to baby being overtired, is she sleeping enough during the day? Google awake time by age charts if you're not sure. My son screamed for 2 hours from 5pm every night before I realised I was meant to be making him sleep during the day 🤦🏻‍♀️ As others have said, this is why lots of people either officially or unofficially end up co sleeping with very little babies. And again, you're doing a great job and this will pass

[Timeforanotherusername]

I promise you it gets easier around 12 weeks,

What a ridiculous post. Every baby is different.

I don't think my child screaming in pain overnight because he was lying down got getter at 12 weeks!

My eldest slept through from 4 weeks. Same parent, different children.

[UntilYourNextHairBrainedScheme]

Itbis probably reflux if she doesn't screem in your arms. You can tilt the mattress very slightly by putting a folded hand towel under thechead end which might help. Obviously only very slightly.

A lot of GPs won't really take reflux seriously or will dismiss it, so yes, talk to your GP but don't rely 100% in the opinion of a generalist who hasn't seen your baby suffering but only happily awake!

One of mine only really slept in my arms til she could roll iver by herself, and then she was fine. I didn't know about reflux as she was my first. There are medications which can help and it's important you get sleep - your baby's das should be taking turns, at least from say 6pm to 1am and you sleep then aside from when she needs a feed.

[DemolitionBarbie]

I'd make sure there is no allergy etc going on, and see if co-sleeping helps. Neither of my kids slept in a cot happily until 9 monthsish.

Is there someone who can watch her in the day so you can nap?

[Ohwhatbliss]

@Timeforanotherusername I'll qualify my post, MOST babies get easier around 12 weeks. Not a ridiculous assertion at all and one designed to reassure the OP, nothing more

[LividLaughLovely]

Mine was the same.

No issues other than liked to be with me. Has now rejected his crib entirely and we co-sleep. He’s robust enough now that I’m not afraid of squishing him and it was literally the only solution.

Husband is on sofa though 😳

[babyandI]

I agree with co-sleeping (safely). I co-slept with my little one for the first 8 weeks and it was just right for us, allowed us to all get a good nights sleep. Have a look at the lullaby trust website for safe co-sleeping advice.

[abigailwendover]

Just to update, we had a very fussy day (lots of screaming) but tonight has weirdly been a bit better. I mentioned reflux to the doctor but he sort of brushed it aside.

I think it probably is something to do with her tummy so will keep a food diary to see if I can spot any correlation/potential intolerance.

Thanks for all your advice

[BrizNiz]

Be careful not to over medicalise and jump to a solution based approach when it might not be necessary.

Babies have immature guts and often get painful trapped wind. Weeks 8 - 10 are prime for colic. I think mothers feel they need to do something so often try cutting out dairy, get medication etc but actually what the baby needs to do is grow a bit bigger and they will be fine (usually, after 12 weeks).

[YoBeaches]

You could try some gripe water or infacol and see if it helps. Both available at supermarkets and pharmacies.

[misselphaba]

All babies are different but baby sleep does tend to get easier around the 10-12 week mark. DD slept in her moses basket at night only waking for feeds whereas DS has been less keen. At around 11 weeks, this has got easier and he does settle in his cot pretty consistently now. I haven't really done anything differently. It's mainly because his reflux has settled down quite a bit and his startle reflex isn't as prominent.

[jdy123]

Just looking for some advice. We have an 8 week old who refuses to be put to bed in Moses basket in living room at night while we are downstairs. She just wakes up and cries. We usually take her to bed with us when we go up , where she'll then sleep in her next2me.
I know you're meant to sleep in same room until 6 months but do people ever put to bed upstairs with video monitor just for couple of hours before we actually go to bed ourselves? Or what do you do? If so, at what age did you do this?

[jdy123]

Crap wrong post lol ignore

[Twizbe]

@jdy123 this sounds like classic witching hours. They get super fussy during the early evening. Tends to start and stop at the same times each day. Both mine did it between 7-9pm.

It's a phase and they start to grow out of it around 9-12 weeks.

Until then I would make sure I'd eaten before it started and then just feed and cuddle through it. My eldest liked to be bounced with his dummy. My youngest was all about boob.

Around 12-14 weeks you can start putting them to bed earlier and get your evenings back.