Newborn screaming all night

[Coco1oco]

This is a long one but wanted to get as much info in as possible.

Our baby is 10 days old and is great during the day with feeding & sleeping albeit is quite hard to wind - I'm not sure if he just doesn't have much wind in the first place? I've tried the countless positions but only ever get the odd burp.

However the past 2 nights he has squealed solidly from 11pm to 4am, and I think he only sleeps at 4 as he's that tired.

He will lie on me and fall asleep but if I try and put him down he will squirm and the start his roaring, also one wrong move and he'll cry. I am really worried about falling asleep with him on me and something happening to him and I want to avoid co sleeping too as it would worry me too much.

He is going red with the crying and scrunching his legs up which makes me think there could be trapped wind from the say building up.

Is this normal? Midwife said about witching hour but this is longer than an hour or two! I just want to cry as I feel so helpless and exhausted. Husband helps too but he will be going back to work so can't have him sitting up all night.

For info he is formula fed and is taking 3oz bottle every 3 hours or so but I think could take more. He is trying to guzzle the bottles, although I am trying to pace & wind despite his protests.Midwife said not to up it just yet but maybe should be doing more feeds?

Please reach out to this charity. What you are going through is very tough

https://www.cry-sis.org.uk/

If you’ve tried with his wind, then just leave it. Some cultures don’t even bother winding babies!

The most likely reason a baby cries inconsolably, is hunger. Try feeding him.

My first was like this and never really got to the bottom of it but think it might have been reflux. We got gaviscon from the doctor to give before feeds which helped a bit. Raising the head end of the crib and a dummy also helped. I found that no-one took me seriously and said things like “all babies cry” so you really need to listen to your instinct and advocate for yourself. It wasn’t until I had my second that I realised that it was far from normal. Hope you find something to help.

More food and co-sleep. He's tiny. He needs to be close.

Is there a reason you're not breastfeeding or feeding on demand?

Just checked GF feeding times and the suggestion is a feed at 2/3am or basically 3hours between feeds at this time

My DS and another friend's baby only slept on our chests for the first 6 weeks or so. Co-sleeping didn't work, he needed to be upright because of reflux.

DH and I took shifts.

Going back to work is NOT an excuse to not help in the night, unless he's a surgeon or a driver. He absolutely must still help. Dads of newborns everywherr are tired, everyone will understand.

My DH is a police officer but it's a desk job. He helped loads. I slept 9-1 or 2 am and he slept 1/2 -7am so he would be fresh for work.

We slept in shifts for the first few weeks so baby could sleep on one of us. This worked out to be the best way for all of us to get enough rest.

Look up purple crying too. It doesn't solve anything but really helped us to understand that this can be totally normal.

P – Peak of crying. Purple crying is the period when your baby is crying more than ever. This starts at about two weeks and continues until about three to four months of age. Some babies will cry less than others – but you’ll still be dealing with a lot of crying during this time.
U – Unexpected. The crying can come and go without any explanation
R – Resists soothing. You may find you’re unable to soothe your little one, no matter how hard you try.
P – Pain-like face. During the purple crying phase, babies often look like they’re in pain - even if they’re not.
L – Long lasting. The crying can last for 5 hours, or more, per day.
E – Evening. Your baby may cry more in the late afternoon and evening.

Try giving bigger bottles to see if that helps. But from experience it is normal for babies not to want to sleep in their crib when new born. My first slept on us until she was 12 weeks old. It’s tough, but if you’re bottle feeding neg then you need to share the nights. When my DH went back to work I did the lions share but he still got up early and held her from 4.30am so I could get some sleep then. We shared the weekend nights equally.

My current 10 month old would spit a dummy out if hungry.
try 4oz.
im pretty sure it’s something stomach related by the scrunching legs.
absolutely could also be wind but try bigger bottles first
best piece of advice I got given was if you’re using tommee tippee bottles, try the Variflow teats x

Hey, it’s a tough time right now, but this too is a phase, it shall pass. Repeat this mantra.

you haven’t mentioned wet and dirty nappies, is baby producing them?
constipation is horrid and can happen when you transfer to powered milk from pre prepped if done too abruptly.

according to birth weight baby needs a minimum of 65ml every three hours.

any jaundice? Any risk factors at birth or in pregnancy that need considering?

infacol can help a lot, give it with every feed though for justice effective.

sounds like he may still be hungry so I would try increasing bottles. Also try Infacol it he’s got colic that will help, wished I’d used it sooner for mine as it definitely made a difference. Another thing to try possibly white noise? Good luck, it does get better!!

My little boy was like this, we initially thought he was just a colic baby but as he got older we realised he was more sicky after feeds than peers. We then thought it was reflux and were given gaviscon but eventually prescribed dairy free milk as allergy testing showed a cows milk protein allergy as well as a soya allergy. It ciuld be nothing more than separation axiety as others have said but it could be reflux and also worth considering, if it doesn't improve that it could be an allergy.
Most GPs/midwifes/health visitors will dismiss a possible allergy if baby is gaining weight, however if you feed on demand the chances are they will continue to gain weight even if it's a little slower.
I hope you find a solution for you and your baby, I remember how long those nights can be.

Hunger and/or colic. I had s very colicky baby and was recommended to try infacol. It was a godsend x

I have a nine month old who was starting to clear 900ml of formula a day by five weeks. There is absolutely no way I’d have stretched him 3+ hours without losing my mind! Funnily enough, we were given totally the opposite advice to you, and our midwife was horrified when I suggested stretching feeding windows and said to always always let him lead! Xxx

Thanks again everyone, some more things to take a look at. I feel for anyone else who has went through this despite us only having the couple of nights so far!

I think too soon to tell but since the infacol he has brought up a bit more wind than normal.

Nappies had been OK and in line with what to expect - possibly a touch of constipation as since the infacol has had a couple more dirty nappies. Think this may be as has been able to break the wind.

Have upped the bottle to 4oz but is now only taking the 3 but will keep up the 4oz just incase he takes a bit more.

He was higher risk for jaundice due to antibodies I had, he did have a very slight touch of it last week but it's all clear now.

I did have a look at the purple crying but the scrunching of legs made me think it was digestion related.

I also thought potential milk intolerance / allergy and did ask midwife, she said it was likely if that was the case they would also have a rash. Can anyone confirm?

Bottle wise we're using mam anti colic bottles with the 0 extra slow teats. We did have the 1s but he was guzzling even more with those.

Also using white noise at night and trying to keep room ambient without bright lights etc.

Just praying it will pass soon, probably naive but I didn't think this time of crying was even possible! When I read people saying they cry along with baby, I can totally understand where they're coming from.

Going to tag team with husband from here on. As we thought it was a one off we were unprepared but we'll see how we go from tonight onwards.

This really sounds like silent reflux - had it with my first born. They guzzle and look for more milk because it soothes the acid in their throat but feeding more will only exacerbate the reflux. 3 oz sounds right to me for 10 days old (look at the formula bottle for the suggested amounts) so I wouldn’t increase.

Huge sympathy as the screaming for hours is dreadful. I rang my mum hysterically one morning after my baby screamed all night for 8 hours straight. I would strongly recommend you get a gp appointment (the midwives were useless for me on reflux). The gp prescribed omeprozole (sp) for our boy and within two days he was like a new child. Infacol is also helpful (and won’t do any harm). You can also try holding them upright after a feed for at least 15mins as that can reduce the reflux.

I really hope you are coping ok too. I know I felt dreadful with my first born and having such an upset baby actually knocked my confidence until we realised what it was. But you are doing amazingly and I promise you it will get better.

@Coco1oco, at that age my son didn't have a rash. He didn't develop rash/hives until he started eating solids and we were doing milk ladder work.

Have you tried swaddling?

Easing the constipation should help but silent reflux is horrid and definitely possible.

intolerance/allergies - come with vomiting and mucousy poos, not always a rash. Have had two of mine own with CMPA and lactose intolerance (one of each!) neither had a rash. One with eczema and disgusting nappies (lactose intolerance) and one with CMPA who vomited every feed up and mucousy stools.

@Rainandwaffle@MidwifeMumma2025
Thank you, so far no vomiting or mucus but will definitely keep an eye for any changes.

@Edenmum2yep! I had read that it could help. He enjoys it during the day but at night it's the opposite story. It will work for 5 minutes then he is off again.

I remember these days, for now I would add an extra ounce of milk and see how he goes. Try infacol or Gripe water for wind and massage his tummy.
I found putting a hot water bottle in the Moses basket helps before transferring after rocking them. Imagine if you were held or warm and comfy then put down in a cold bed is what I told myself.

My little one is nearly 20 months old but I do remember around the 2 week mark the feeding and sleep we're the worst, it will get better. Probably having a growth spurt and wants more milk.

I know it's exhausting right now, I felt so overwhelmed in those early weeks as the transition to motherhood and sleep deprivation is so hard, but it will improve. Keep pushing through and next thing you know you will be missing those newborn days 😍

I agree it could be silent reflux. I couldn’t believe how much milk my baby drank. We fed and fed and fed her. She would cry and eat her fists (can be a sign of pain). Arch her back etc. then suddenly pass out and sleep. The improvement was enormous once we put her on reflux milk.

Sleeping best when on you then crying once laid down is also another classic sign.

Have you tried bicycling LO’s legs around? And gripe water.
also bear in mind it could be a cows milk
allergy, my son had one and would scream all
night from 9pm-5am. We took him to see a gastroenterologist and he changed him onto hypoallergenic milk and he was a million times better

It is incredibly hard. Our LO had a congenital malformation that causes feeding issues, silent acid reflux, and screamed/purple cried from about 8-1. 8-1 is better than 11-4 I admit. We mostly couldn't put her down flat on her back until she weaned onto solids.

A few things that may be useful to know:

It is normal for newborn's to not want to be put down and not stay asleep when they are. This improves reasonably quickly and it becomes easier to put them down once properly floppy asleep.
Newborn digestives systems are under developed and issues processing their milk is 100% normal eg gassy, issues passing gas, tummy pains.
Deliberately burping infants doesn't necessarily help them much (and lots of other countries do not recommend it). Time upright after feed does.
Colic is just a descriptive term and does not therefore have a single cause.
Most up to date advice is feed on demand - I would try giving more.

For us we held her upright post feeds, did shifts rocking and walking her around, we tilted the next to me. It mostly just took time. For most babies that time will be a lot shorter than how long it took for her!

If he continues to wake screaming when laid flat (particularly without physically startling via Moro reflex) then maybe look at silent reflux - we got omeprazole which