Tell me it gets easier!

[mamaneedsanap55]

Dd is 6 weeks old and such a screamy, unhappy baby. She cries intermittently during the day and always goes utterly crazy between about 6-8pm every. Single. Night. I've read this is the 'witching hour' for some babies and it certainly feels like that here. It's really annoying because it's the time that we like to sit, eat and chat with older dc and it just can't happen as she religiously bawls at this time.

She's formula fed and having infacol. I'm starting to suspect an allergy as she's had a few dodgy nappies and is very unsettled after a feed sometimes. But maybe I'm just clutching at straws trying to find a reason for it.

Is there anything we can do to try to improve this? I know it won't last forever but I'm burnt out and struggling so much with the screaming. My other dc were really chilled and I just don't know how to handle it.

Bump. I'm also beginning to feel resentful of dh which is totally unfair as he does his bit alongside working full time but I just feel envious of his freedom I guess.

Have you tried putting her to bed at 6?

My DD did the same, as soon as I started making sure she was in bed for 6, it stopped?

She's probably got CMPA and reflux. My eldest was exactly the same. Complete nightmare grumpy baby.

Give them a dummy if they don't have one already. Get DH to deal witn older children. Accept evenings will be shit for a while. Do what you need to get through each day.

I weaned DS1 at 4 months (under medical advice before anyone starts droaning on about how terrible a mother I am!) and he was a different baby then.

Thank you for the suggestions. I might try putting her to bed earlier. At the moment she stays up with us (asleep on one of us after after we've spent the last 2 hours trying to soothe her from the horrendous crying) until we go to bed. That's when we give her the last bottle and she tends to sleep quite well. This is why I'm not convinced it's CMPA as surely she'd be unsettled all the time even during the night?

She's refused dummies so far but might be worth trying again. She just seems so angry and unhappy.

I was wondering about putting her in a sling. It could be a build up of wind throughout the day and the sling would keep her more upright (gravity helps with digestion) and closer to you. The other things is baby massage for wind which I think is circles on the stomach and cycling the legs around. (It's been a while since I have had to do it! )
Sounds really stressful! One of my friends used to put their baby in the car seat and drive a couple of junctions up the motorway to get them to sleep every day! Haha! Whatever works for you! Xxx

Mine had the same problem. She was a bit allergic to a type of milk and she became as angry as a bee at exactly 6 pm.
Check the formula or change it, and ask your husband to pick her up and walk while she is upright...it sometimes works with colics.
He has to help as otherwise you will become more and more stressed and eventually crack.
Putting her to bed early increases her tummy pain. If you are by yourself put her in a small baby chair...
Good luck!

I don’t know but sending strength, it’s hard! Some babies are so sensitive, maybe she is just very tired. Sorry if that’s no help.

This sounds very much like my baby, we've been to the doctor's twice and he doesn't have reflux, he doesn't have allergies, it's just colic and nothing can be done but wait for them to grow out of it. If it was allergies or reflux I think she would be reacting badly immediately after being fed and it doesn't sound like that's the case for you. We tried going dairy free for a while just in case and that actually made it worse, we had a nightmare day where he seemed to scream solidly all day and barely slept in 24 hours.

I know how you feel, it's relentless, frustrating, upsetting and exhausting. I just keep telling myself he will grow out of it, it's not forever. We're at 6 weeks too and I'm hoping to wean at 4 months if the doctor approves it as he said that would probably help so I'm counting down to then, 11 weeks to go! Some people say their babies just grew out of it on their own at around 12 weeks so we might be half way through it.

In addition to Infacol something that's taken the edge off a little is Colief drops.

Also if you suspect reflux you can buy infant gaviscon without a prescription, it did nothing for us and the doctor later confirmed it wasn't reflux but I don't think it would do any harm for you to try it and see if it makes a difference.

My son was the same it was colic
So I tried to lengthen the amount time in between feeds and gave him a dummy to help with it.
Cleared up in no time

I was feeding him too much milk and not spacing 2/3 hours in between

If he was hungry after 2 hours I'd try to give a smaller feed
Space for 3 hours and give a larger feed especially the 6/7pm one

Honestly I could've written this about DD1. She's screamed almost continuously till she was 6 months old. I now suspect she had an allergy she grew out of, probably silent reflux. I wish I'd looked into these things at the time. I tried but every gp and health visitor just told me "some babies cry". What a load of crap!

Usually down to an undeveloped muscle at the top of the stomach thereby leaking acid and causing pain. - this resolves around 6 months old.

Best to keep them upright or head above stomach AT ALL times - nappy changes, towel under mattress etc etc because everytime you put them down they get heart burn. hence whey they are happier in a chair or car seat or pram if raised.

Try it, you’ll have a different baby in a couple of days

I promise it gets better. The first bit is grim - or it was for me. I also had a very screamy baby and in his case it did turn out to be a milk intolerance - I wish I’d pushed harder to get it sorted but as a new mum it was really easy to be overruled by healthcare professionals. Might be worth trying a dairy free formula and seeing if it makes a difference. My son was SO much happier once his stomach settled and he could sleep well. And as others have said, elevating the head of the Moses basket in case there’s reflux involved. Good luck!

This is exactly what I think will happen because her symptoms are so non specific. She's had a few slimy nappies that could have had mucus in but I honestly couldn't tell. And other than that there's nothing to suggest an allergy, just the crying. She feeds well and is putting on weight. It's just so frustrating not knowing what the problem is. She does grizzle a lot after feeds as if she's in pain but that could just be wind.

I'm so sick of it every day and I feel awful saying that because she is a lovely and much wanted baby. But gosh it's hard.

All I can say is that it does get better! Keep the faith, I know it seems intolerable!

I suggest you take it in turns to do the evening shift!

Have you considered acid reflux? Also have you got a baby carrier / sling. I wore my 2. Its a life saver. It gives you hands free and mine were more settled.

@Whatever00 I have got a sling and it does seem to settle her but it kills my back after a while and I'm not sure if I'm using it right as her head always seems to flop out!!! I'm following the instructions so maybe it's just not a good sling or I'm doing something wrong :-(

My baby would scream all night from 12-5. Not every night, but often enough to make us miserable (Christmas Eve was particularly hard!)

He was prescribed Pepti 1 even though we weren't convinced he had a milk allergy. It made a massive difference. We didn't have a bad night after that.

He's 7 months now and he's back on normal formula and he's absolutely fine.

It will get easier, but that doesn't mean you have to suffer without help until then!