6 wk old screaming for hours every evening..

[llynnnn]

Hi
I hope someone can help me. For about the last week now our 6 week old daughter has been incolsolable from about 7-11pm each evening. Once she finally goes to sleep she does sleep well only waking a couple of yimes until about 7am. I have been reading about EASY would this help us? and how can I settle my daughter to sleep in the evening as she naps for most of the afternoon then wont sleep again until 11pm as she is so upset with herself?

Thanks
Lynn

[~Kiki]

She could be hungry. Have you tried clusterfeeding and tanking up before bedtime?

What is a normal eating and sleeping schedule for your lo?

[andrea21]

Does she have wind at all?

My Ds would screm most of the day,but did go down at night time...
I started cluster feeding at 6weeks and he slept all night with no feeds,but then at 3.5months he was hungry  so I put him onto the bottle.
I think if I had put him onto the bottle early he would of stopped screaming,as I was feeding every 2 hours.
But you live and learn I guess.

Hope you are going OK,I no how it feels when they are screaming all day...

Andrea

[* Paula *]

llynnnn,

Welcome to the Boards

Can you post your routine for us on what a typical day looks like from the time you get up, what she eats (amounts if bottle fed) (how long if breastfed) when she has activity, sleep etc.

If you do get onto an Easy routine, it will definitely help your lo get into a consistant routine of eating, napping, tanking up and sleeping during the night.  If you are saying that your lo sleeps most of the afternoon, she may be screaming at night as she is not tired enough to go to sleep.

Wind could definitely also play a case - does your lo battle to bring up wind?  If so have you tried winding drops?

Post your typical day, and we can help you get started on EASY.   

Paula x

[llynnnn]

Thanks for all your replies. I have only just started noting our daily routine but it goes something like this:

E 7.30 (3oz)
A
S 9.15 - 10.30
E 10.30 (3 oz)
A
S11.30-1.30
E 1.30 (3oz)
A
S 2.00 - 4.30
E 4.45 (5oz)
A
S 6.15-6.45
E 7.00 (3oz)
The rest of the evening varies a lot as my daughter is very unsettled and wont really sleep
A Bath 8.30
E 9.00 (3oz)
S 9.30 (on and off until 11.30 feed)
E 11.30 (3oz)
S 11.45 - 2.30
E 2.30 (4oz)
S 2.45 - 7.00

She usually only wakes up once in the night but last night she woke every three hours throughout the night and would only settle with a bottle of which she had about 3oz.
Does this look ok? She is now 6 weeks and weighs 9lb 15oz.
I have been giving Infacol before each feed for about the last two weeks and she does seem to get all her wind up after each feed with a couple of large burps!!
Thanks again
Lynn x

[* Paula *]

Lynn,

Your routine looks good.  You may want to shorten your A time as it does seem a bit long for a 6 week old.  A 2 hour A time is more for babies of between 4-6 months.

At this age the A time is usually just a nappy change, and swaddling in a dark room before being put into the cot.  It could be that although she naps well, by the end of the day she is just too over stimulated and hence the reason it is taking so long to settle to sleep in the night time.- Does this make sence?

Is your lo Colicky at all?

[llynnnn]

Tomtom's Mum thanks for your reply. I have tried to put lo down to sleep but she just wont sleep until she is really tired. I have tried swaddling her and doing the ssh pat technique etc but she will just lie there with her eyes wide open for 10 mins then scream. what else can i do to help her fall asleep on her own?
She does seem a little colicy i think. She draws her knees up to her stomach like she is straining etc and she does have a lot of bottom gas all throughout the day but our hv says this is just down to her formula?. I have heard baby massage can help though so I am going to enrol at the local classes

[Petunia]

Inconsolable screaming for several hours at the same time every day is a hallmark sign of colic.  If this is what your baby has, I'm so sorry.  Being on EASY will certainly help your baby and you.  Being on EASY will also show you if your baby truly has colic or not!  But, if she really has colic, you'll just have to help her through the next couple of weeks or months until is goes away on it's own.  Just know that you haven't done anything wrong.  That time of night will simply be her time to cry.

I have a teeny disagreement with the previous poster.  By the time my lo was six weeks (she's only just 10 weeks now, so I really do remember) she was ready for an hour to two hours of A time after most daytime feeds.  The key was to watch her cues.  But, I started with EASY from birth, so she was used to being 'awakened' after having fallen asleep while feeding by a diaper change.  So I still did that if she fell asleep during feeding and if she woke up, then she was ready for A time.  If she still looked sleepy and started getting grumpy than it was back to bed she went.

[* Paula *]

Lynn,

Have you had a look on the Colic boards, If you post some questions there, I am sure you will get some support.  I have attached a link to the boards.

https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?board=13.0

If your lo is not ready to go down after minimal A time, then the best you can do is just watch her - every baby is different, and not all have the exact same A time    As soon as you see the first sign of tiredness, the begin your wind down routine.

Let us know how you get on, on the Colic boards.

[NatT]

May not be at all like this for your lo, but I had same problem, set your clock by it 7pm - 11pm.  It was what I ate for lunch i think - came on too quickly for dinner i think- but then sometimes it was evening, because i would have a glass of lemonade and that would set him off with wind.  Chicken also did it for me, spicey foods,.  I fixed it by having very bland dinners - fish, rice, steamed carrot etc.  No sugar.  Sugar definitely did it.

[~Kiki]

I had a very similar situation around the same time with my lo. I noticed that not only was she very grumpy, but gassy as well. I talked to the pediatrician and she wanted to put her on some medicine, but being breastfed I asked if it could be something I was eating. My mom said that my sister and myself could not handle dairy. To this day it still gives me some tummy problems but I LOVE cheese and ice cream. Anyhow, I cut out dairy from my diet and she doesn't have the gas and is so much happier. Just another idea. Good luck!