Ten week old screaming all evening

[EeyoreIsh]

My ten week old dd screams continuously in the evening and will not settle. I offer her feeds, wind her, check her nappies etc etc. I think she's overtired as she really struggles to nap longer than 30 minutes in the afternoon. I try to encourage her to sleep but she gets overtired.

She has had constipation since my milk came in, but it's not CMPI as I'm already dairy free. She's been checked out at hospital because of the constipation but they found no reason for it.

Is it normal for babies to scream and cry so much? It's really uncontrollable, for hours at a time. Could it actually be a result of something that's causing her constipation? She can be perfectly content in the day, it's just the evening.

Same here with my 7 week old EBF DS. He is ok during the day but fractious at night and only poops every 3-5 days, although he isn't partcularly constipated when he does go. Feeding is usually the only thing that calms him but lately he acts 'crazy' on the breast, shaking his head around and licking rather than sucking. He is a bit better than he was a few weeks ago when, if he wasn't feeding or sleeping, constantly crying but he still can go from smiling to crying hysterically in the space of about 5 minutes.

It could be 'witching hour' my baby went through this a bit earlier, at about 6 weeks. He would literally cry and feed from about 6/7pm until about midnight. My very contented, happy day time baby turned into this crying, screaming, feeding monster come the dark hours!!! This lasted for about 3 weeks and then it calmed down as quickly as it started. I would literally dread the evenings. My only advice is, if it is witching hour, it will pass! Have you established an evening routine? It really helped us. Bath baby at the same time every night, take in to a dimly lit bedroom, put on lullaby toy, feed, turn light off, feed some more. It may take a few weeks but it worked for us. Give yourself a break now and again, deep breath and shake out your arms to release tensions before you take baby back. Stay calm. Good luck xx

www.mommyconnections.ca/blog/2013/07/02/10-tips-for-surviving-your-babys-witching-hour/

My oldest dd (now 11) suffered with constipation I found luring her on mat without nappy on for a bit then just wiping over her bottom with warm water and cotton wool got thing moving really quickly, could be that causing upset pain!

Also I have no Experiance of it myself by isn't colic screaming same time everyday?

My little boy did evening screaming for a few weeks. Things that worked a bit 1) white noise app 2) sling and out for a walk or march round the house. It gets better! Good luck!

We're treating her constipation with lactulose so it's not that. I suspect it is a witching hour thing... She's had plenty of sleep today but she's still having a meltdown. It's so hard to watch.

I hope it passes soon. We're going to start an evening routine tomorrow.

Is it only the evenings? In which case I would say over tiredness

Don't have a full blown routine as this can overstimulate baby and make things worse

Try switching to nighttime mode at 6pm with a change then feed in the dark

Also if she doesn't nap in the day try using a sling - this was my saviour for a nap resisting baby, which both of mine were!

This is colic - unexplained, inconsolable crying during the evenings. The only thing you can do is ride it out (feed as much as possible, if she'll take it) and it DOES get better at about 12 weeks.

Agree with not starting a routine yet - it won't actually help as she's still very much settling into the world. Routines are best after about 6-9 months when they're more themselves and not quite so raw.

Sounds like MiniPP1. He was horrific. "Diagnosed" as colic. What worked for us was white noise and swaddling. We had to ride it out and it was rough. I hated the evenings. Particularly any evening I was he alone. It will improve!

Every child is an individual so you need to find what works for your DD and for you.

Tiger In The Tree hold -
With very young children, make sure you support their head. It can be easier to do this sitting down, so you have more support from your knees. Also stops you falling over. The aim is to get some even pressure to the abdomen to help persuade gas out.

Classical Music - Put on ClassicFM, a CD, Spotify, streamingsoundtracks.com (if you like movie soundtracks), Yoga/Relaxation music. Find something to help you and your DD relax. The calmer you are, the calmer she is likely to be.

Darkness - Some find it helpful to be in a dark room. The darkness helps production of melatonin, aiding sleep.

Sling - they are great. Babywear, if you can't hold them all the time then wear them.

Someone else - don't do it all yourself, take a break, let your partner or someone else take over if you can.

It does get better, this isn't for ever, though it may be a few months.

You could try cutting out other allergens although it's a pain - it might be something worth trying if you're willing. Soy is a very common allergen and egg can be as well.

But it does sound like it could just be overtiredness and normal colic. I hope it passes soon!

Your milk supply might be low in the evenings - could try expressing and giving a bottle feed around 7pm?

My other suggestion would be to pop baby in pram and go for a walk to get her to sleep, hopefully she will then doze in pram all evening and by the time she wakes up the witching hour may have passed.