My DD Leana was born just before Christmas and so we are just now trying to establish a routine. Our biggest problem is that during the late night hours, between 11 pm and 4 am we have a vicious cycle of eating for only 5 – 7 mins., which leads to a great deal of gas. DD is not a good burper to begin with and therefore we enter into a struggle to work the gas out. Our attempts at trying to relieve the gas tend to turn into over-stimulation and then DD ends up screaming/crying until she passes out from exhaustion. She then sleeps for maybe a half hour and then wakes crying/screaming. It is hard to tell if she is now hungry or still suffering from gas. She has difficulty taking a soother, so we have trouble determining if she is now hungry or just needs to suck.
This seems to happen every other night and is getting worse. I don’t believe that it is colic, I think it is a lack of routine. I am having real difficulty in putting a routine together. My first DD, Lauren was an Angel baby and was able to sleep for 3 hour stretches in the day and sleep for 6 or 7 hours at night from about 2 weeks on. So this is uncharted water for me.
I noticed that in the sample 0 –3 month routines, that the feedings are happening during the day at exactly 3 hour intervals. Are these babies being woken from their sleep to achieve this or are they waking on their own? I am finding that my DD will eat, have an activity for 45 – 60 mins and then sleep for up to 3 hours which makes it almost 4 hours between feeds. I am wondering if this contributing to our evening issues. I also think that I have yet to firmly establish a routine, so I am very unsure of what to do at night to address her needs.
Any insight that anyone is able to provide would be greatly appreciated.