Six month old screaming inconsolably after dinner

[yogpot]

Looking for a bit of help! Sorry; long explanation ahead.

My six month old son is currently weaning, two meals a day. Going exactly as you’d expect, food all over, but a decent amount actually goes in and he seems to enjoy sitting down to meals with us. After dinner, his dad gives him a bath and a bottle.

Until a week ago he was EBF but he is having some weight gain issues so I’m topping up with formula.

Only issue is after bath he just starts screaming the house down. He did this when he had a breastfeed after his bath instead of a bottle too, and would only calm once the breastfeed began. However, now it’s a bottle from daddy rather than breast from mummy he does not stop screaming. Full on red in the face screaming. It’s really, really upsetting. Still happens if I give him the bottle too. He will eventually just pass out asleep after having his milk.

What could this be? I don’t think he’s starving hungry as he has breastmilk at 4pm and dinner at 5/6pm and the bottle happens around 6.30-7pm. I suspect he wants the comfort of the breast, and if he’s still awake after his bottle I do let him top himself up and fall asleep on the boob.

Giving up his evening bottle of formula is not an option for us because he really needs the calories (dropped below second centile, started on 25th) and for whatever reason breastfeeding isn’t cutting it. I’m not willing to die on the breastfeeding hill, and I’m certainly not willing for him to!

I doubt it's food & milk related. Sounds like overtired / over stimulated

He is a pretty terrible napper. He’ll have a good long morning nap three hours after he wakes up but often only manages one in the afternoon or two short ones. Funnily though, the odd day where he does do normal napping we have the same issue.

Could you give him formula at a different time of day? Then he gets comfort milk at night, but still has the benefit of extra calories

Have you tried not bathing him just to see what he does?

What food is he having. My DC at the same age was in pain after eating egg. The Paediatrician said stop the egg for a while. When we tried again months later he had an allergic reaction to it. So it might be he’s intolerance or allergic to something he’s eating. Or that the formula is giving him stomach ache. Is that the only bottle he’s having all day?

@DragonbornMum yes that’s a good idea. We’ll try and lunch time bottle.

@chillichutneysarnie he does sometimes skip the bath and it seems to make no difference. Also the bath is the highlight of his entire life, he bloody loves it. Maybe he cries because we take him out… I also hate leaving the bath so I empathise 😂

@User837463839 oh your poor little one. Only allergen he’s had thus far is dairy, no egg yet. It is his only bottle of the day - but the screaming begins before he’s started his bottle.

Today we’ll try a lunch time bottle. His sleep is also hilariously bad at the moment. He’s been up 8 times 😑 bless these little creatures they are such a bloody mystery.