Help! Bubba hysterical!

[Mumtoason]

Hi,

My 5 month old is an ok napper and sleeps fairly well at night. However 30mins or so after going to sleep at bedtime he wakes up. At first it's a few moans but this leads quickly to a full blown meltdown - I have never heard screaming like it! God knows what my neighbours must think we're doing to him.

It doesn't matter how quickly I get to him, he still escalates. Holding and hugging don't work. Patting and shhhhing don't work. We have tried putting him to bed earlier too. The latter is hit and miss.

After about 30mins of screaming then crying he'll fall to sleep. I stay with him the whole time and rub his back and shhh him every so often to reassure him he isn't alone?

Is this a phase? How can I help him not to become so distressed? He looks and sounds so upset, it breaks my heart!

Anyone been through this?

Trapped wind perhaps?

Have you tried holding him with your arm under him near your elbow. Hard to explain, see this video m.youtube.com/watch?v=2p3T5xv1snM&desktop_uri=/watch?v=2p3T5xv1snMYoutube

As it is at bedtime, have light on as dim as possible and stay in this room, so once he has calmed down, you can then put him back to bed.

Thank you. I do keep it nice and dim and quiet and this helps.

Would it be normal for trapped wind to only occur at bedtime?

No, it can happen anytime, often following a feed. Many babies get a feed at or near bedtime, so it can occur.

It could be teething. Teeth growing hurts and when they are active during the day they may not notice it as much, where as at night once their brain starts to go to sleep then the pain from teething will be noticed.

Look out for signs of teething. Pharmacist can suggest teething gels suitable for your sons age. Bonjella I think can be used from a few months old.

Yes try the tiger in the tree hold and check his mouth. If it's always 30 minutes after bedtime, have you tried changing the time he goes to bed?