3 month old - VERY strange behaviour!!

[bunny85]

Hi all,

FTM so everything is new to me, but this is something really out of the ordinary for our baby who is 3 months and 1 week old. He naps well during the day and normally sleeps well at night too (wakes up for feedings every 2h though, he is breasted, but that's fine as he eats quickly and goes back to sleep).

But for the past 3 days he's been acting very very strange! All of a sudden, he becomes absolutely hysterical every evening at around same time (around 7pm) and nothing can calm him down! He cries with tears rolling down his cheeks and he gets red and hot and he screams and wails and starts coughing. He refuses the boob and the dummy. On the first night, we thought smth was wrong with him and went to A&E. However as soon as we started the car he fell asleep. So we just drove around and he slept, he then slept at night as usual. Last night I managed to make him take a dummy and eventually he fell asleep in my arms after lots of rocking. Tonight same thing, he was not himself. Absolutely inconsolable and hysterical. Finally after an hour of this he took a dummy, calmed down, then he took a boob, ate, then dummy again and fell asleep next to me hugged up (we co-sleep).

What on earth has happened to him out of the blue? He has never had colics and he has never acted like this before. Any advice very much appreciated.

Silent reflux?

Does he stop crying if you hold him upright?

Scarlet, no he doesn't stop. He never had problems with reflux before, he naps and sleeps at night on his back.

Colic." Starts at 3m, lasts 3wk, cries for up to 3hr at same time each night" or so the saying goes

My son's started doing this. He has suddenly gone from happily falling asleep at 10:30pm to having meltdowns from about 7:30pm til 10:30pm. It's only been the last 3 days he's gone to sleep at 8pm!
It might be worth starting a bedtime routine earlier now. Anticipate the meltdown. My DS doesnt cry so when he does it's a proper screaming session. All i can do is hold him and rock him until he settles. I change his position and use a dummy too. Eventually he calms down and falls asleep. Then when he wakes up next, he's ready and calm for a nice feed and he'll doze off again. If he doesnt doze off, repeat meltdown etc.
The meltdowns are much easier to deal with as he's getting the hang of "oh, this means i'm tired".

I wouldn't worry if i were you :) you lose your evenings for a few weeks, but it's not forever :)

Ok, it's not that then. Wonder would he be starting to teethe...

It's early but not unheard of.

Around 3months my brilliant sleeper turned into a wailing screaming little thing that didnt sleep until very recently (8 month) and is still pretty crap at sleeping.

If your worried though go to gp and discuss any thing that might be worrying you

Colic. It's a bastard, but it does stop eventually. That evening thing is classic.

Is he going to sleep OK during the daytime? What does his daytime look like?

How long is he awake in the run-up to 7pm? I suspect over-tired and he needs his naps moving so that he isn't so tired by 7pm.

Colic

I think 3 months is a well known 'stormy period' babies brains go a bit crazy in development leaps

He may just be really over stimulated, my dd was like this and all I could do was sit with her in a dark room until she calmed down.

Definitely colic, first thing I thought when I started to read. It's horrible but it doesn't last, just a shock when you've had such a good baby prior to it starting, Been there and done it and it's hard but it does pass.

Thanks everyone!

Colic?? But I thought colic starts from few weeks old and actually goes by the 3 months old, not starts at 3 months! can it?!

I was more inclined to think he gets overstimulated and too tired during the day, despite his naps.

I really hope it's not colic...

Overtired? Both of mine went from a 7pm bedtime to half 6 at about this age because they were out of their heads by 7pm. Bringing bedtime forward by half an hour made a huge difference

Mine did this and I wish I could give you a magic solution, but we just took it in turns to pace the floor til she fell asleep. It lasted a while. At least 6 weeks I think. Then passed as suddenly!

Also, I though by definition colic is a cry that lasts 3-4h a day. Whereas he cries for an hour or 45mins or so, yesterday much less...

*thought

Both my two did this. Taking them into a dark quiet room and feeding to sleep worked wonders. I didn't think it was colic, seemed like overstimulation to me. Their little brains just overloaded for the day at that point

Definitely colic! Your description sounds just like my eldest. He didn't have a dummy until he was 3 months old and the colic hit, it was the only thing that helped a bit. It's awful but it does pass!!! 3 months is the classic time for colic to start and early evening is when it strikes, we could almost set a clock to our son.

Yes! As soon as I walked into a dark silent room he stopped tonight.

Mine is three months and does this sometimes. I think he is just getting overstimulated, it is usually in the evenings and he can usually be calmed by giving him a bath or massage, then fed to sleep.

I think having a bedtime routine and keeping things very quiet helps or did with my dd anyway.

bunny85 - when are his daytime naps and for how long?

I suspect over-tiredness and that his naps need a re-jig so that he is less tired come bedtime.

FATE, he wakes at about 8am, then at around 10 we go to the park in a pram and he naps for 2h there. After we get back home, I'd say he naps after every 1.5h of wakefulness for anything between 30mins and 2h.

That sounds fine, a good amount of daytime sleep. Maybe watch the timing of that last nap before bedtime? It could be that he needs a bit more sleep then so he is not so exhausted by 7pm

My DS started teething at 3mo. It was horrible. Might be worth getting a Sophie for him to gum on (I found she was nice and soft and easy for DS to hold - other teething toys were aimed at older babies and unsuitable) and seeing if teething gel has any effect.

I'd also be inclined to bring bedtime forward. I seem to remember starting our bedtime routine at about 8wo and he was in bed by 7:30-8pm. Do you have the TV on before he goes to bed? It might be too stimulating when he's already tired, perhaps.

I hope he feels better soon