Seeking Help for Colicy Newborn

Does she have a swing for him? Papisan kind or other? That's what I do sometimes when I need to walk away. Put in a Baby Mozart video and let baby rock in swing... walk away for a breather.
Another thing that helped me - rubbing baby's gums with my knuckle. He was having pain there! It totally made him sleepy and helped me when nothing else would.

You should look up Dr. Sears online and see what he says. He and his wife also wrote a wonderful book called The Baby Book which has all kinds of advice for fussiness/crying/colic.
It might be the formula. These little people have a tough time in the evening sometimes - she's not doing anything wrong. No chance she's still breastfeeding???

She should talk to her doctor, but soy formula might not be the best...some babies have just as many issues with that as milk-based formula. And, if he's only fussy that one time of day rather than after every time he eats, I would guess it's not directly related to the type of formula he drinks. I agree with posts below about the "Happiest Baby on the Block"

She's definitely not a bad mom! It makes sense that she's frustrated when she wants him to be happy and is trying everything she can think of but it's not working. Something that helped me was getting a baby carrier, like a sling or a wrap or even a baby bjorn and wearing the babies as much as possible.

Good luck!

Snuggle spot...It is a baby bed/pillow that makes a baby feel like it is being held when you cant hold it. www.laneybug.net

I don’t know about you but I had a spoiled baby that only liked to sleep if someone is holding her. I got tired of sleepless nights so I invented this pillow that I call the Snuggle Spot. The pillow snuggles the baby so they feel like some one is holding them and they are safe. Babies love it, the first time I put my daughter in it she slept 9 hours straight and every night since! I put her in the pillow fully awake with a full belly, and swaddled. Since the pillow snuggles them the swaddle stays intact! I recently went out of town and I did not want to pack the portable crib, changing pad, etc. so I just took a chance and only took the pillow. It was amazing, even in a diff environment she slept all night. I just put her in the pillow in the bed next to me or on the floor next to me. It is the perfect Co-sleeper! I changed her diapers in it, She likes to watch colors and lights of the TV so i put it in front of the TV. It fits perfectly in portable cribs and in regular cribs. My Daughter has reflux and has to be elevated so that her formula stays down, The pillow slightly props her up so that she is comfortable and stays clean!!! If you have and questions or concerns or want to place an order feel free to send me a message. The pillow is totally custom, you can pick the fabric, name or saying.

I have had really good luck using a yoga ball(from walmart)instead of a rocking chair. My daughter always swallowed lots of air when she nursed and if she couldn't burp well afterward, she would be painfully gassy later and cry. Gently bouncing on the yoga ball helped her burp so much easier-I tossed my rocker bc it was just sitting there collecting dust. I bought a ball for my sister and her son-at first she thought I was nuts but after she used it, she thought it was a miracle. The bounce replicates that up-down motion babies get when you pace with them bouncing them in your arms. I recommend this to every mom, it is a sleep saver. Good luck!

I too had a baby with colic. My daughter started at about a month old and it continued for about two months. I would highly suggest your daughter get the book Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp. This book was a life saver for our family. The 5 "S's" really do help if you follow the steps to a tee. The information in this book really helped me to understand what my child was going through. Best of luck to your daughter and let her know that this is only a stage and it will pass.

Yes, definitely get The Happiest Baby on the Block by Dr. Harvey Karp. There is a book & a DVD if that's easier. His approach is based on soothing the baby by recreating the mothers womb. He uses the 5 S's:

Swaddling - do it tightly & make sure arms are both secured in there, baby may object at first

Side/Stomach position - while holding baby, have her on her side or stomach instead of upright, it will be comforting for baby to be tightly against you in this position.

Shushing sounds - Loud ones! No quiet shhhhh, very loud, close to baby's ear if you're making the noise yourself. Inside the womb the noise is totally surrounding baby & is louder than a vacuum cleaner, all this quiet out here can be unsettling for baby. You can make the noise yourself or try a vacuum or hair dryer.

Swinging - Baby swings are awesome once the baby is calm or after they have gone to sleep. I would "swing" my babies in my arms, twisting my body back & forth at the waist while holding them on their sides, their stomach to mine to help calm, sooth & get them to sleep. Always worked better than bouncing/walking them

Sucking - Breast, bottle, pacifier, finger. Triggers a calming reflex, realeasing natural chemicals in the brain

Do these things in order from Swaddling to Sucking to flip all the switches in a baby's brain.
Changed my life when I got this book - Baby and I were so much happier & healthier.

Good luck, tell your daughter to hang in there, before she knows it that sweet little baby will be all grown....

S.

Just and added thought, if she knows that he gets fussy at about the same time every night she can be proactive about his needs and make sure that anything he might need is already taken care of, fed, clean diaper, not too warm or cold and give him his favorite toy. Knowing that she already has all her bases covered can help with the frustration and maybe even hold off the fussing for a while longer. At least she knows that he has everything she needs if she needs to put him in his crib and leave him alone for a few minutes to keep herself from going crazy.

I also agree with the "Happiest Baby on the Block", it's a lifesaver and the toddler one is great too.

She is not a bad mother. I went throught this with my daughter for 2 1/2 months until I discovered Nutramigen. It is liquid gold!!! My daughter would cry for hours . I have tried every formula out there and it is the best I have found. I wish I would my doctor would have reccomended it to me sooner. I hope everything goes well!!!

Do some research on GERD and acid reflux in infants... If any symptoms are similar, you could get immediate relief with treatment.
Does she arch her back when she feeds? Get more irritable when you lay her down ? Sleep better upright on your chest?

I had the same trouble and thought maybe it was gas but it came to my mind it couldn't be gas the time was too exact. I found out he was tired... i wasn't putting him to nap when he needed it. It built up at night because that is the hardest time of the day for babies. My indication for my one who is now 2 1/2 mo. (i also have a 7yr old) is he yawns. When i see him yawn it's nap time. It doesn't matter what time it is. I put him in his crib. If I'm not home i put him in his fav. sleeping position and not interact with him so he can relax and go to sleep. It's solved the prob. completely. My son used to scream for about 2 hrs at that time from every night for many days. Now it's stopped all together. Good luck

Oh, I feel her pain!! Tell her she's not alone...many a mom has been there! My 1st daughter literally cried every night all night for the first 4 mos of her life. I was sooo miserable!

The baby swing was a saviour for me. I bought a good one with a bucket seat for a small infant. It immediately stopped the crying. I put her in it most of the day and night, but it helped.

Also, she may want to try the baby gas drops. Also, just snuggling the baby might help. She can take the baby to bed w/her if that works.

Finally, with my 2nd, I was prepared and ready for a fight. I found she loved to sleep in her bucket car seat so she slept in it for the first 4 mos. She was not colicky like the 1st. I think she felt cozy there. Have your daughter try anything (DON'T WORRY ABOUT WHAT ANYONE SAYS) just so she can get some sleep. Good luck, happy sleep....

Try the book The Happiest Baby on the Block. It discusses the five S's which, from my experience having five kids and working in a daycare, are magic!

The first is swaddling. The trick is that swaddling has to be done VERY tightly.
I'll let you read the rest, it's an amazing read and will greatly improve baby's disposition and sleep habits!!

HI D.,

My son did this at the exact same age and exact same time of night. He grew out of it after about two weeks. The doctor told me it wasn't colic, just a phase that he was going through. It was very difficult, in fact we began to dread evenings because of it. We got through it by inviting other family members over in the evening so we could take turns 'walking the floor'.
Good luck! I'm sure this is temporary.

Have her read the book "Happiest Baby on the Block" by Dr. Karp...it is very good and addresses just what your daughter is experiencing. Good luck to you all!

New babies are very often fussy around that time. Its called the "witching hour" :) Sometimes there is not really any reason they are fussy.

Poor Mom, 3-6 weeks is the worst time for crying, especially in the evening. For a lot of babies it peaks around 6 weeks; maybe she would feel better to know that. Swaddling helped us (LOVE the Miracle Blanket), as did walking/swinging and shushing. She should try to get him to nap during the day as much as possible so that he's not overtired going into the evening. I'm not sure soy formula is the answer; I have heard mixed things about giving babies (especially boys) a lot of soy because of the plant estrogens in it. There was an article in Time magazine recently - not sure if it's hype or a real issue. Anyway, please tell her that she's not alone, she's not a bad mom, and lots of babies are fussy in the evening. It will pass, and she should do whatever she needs to do to get some rest. Sleep deprivation makes everything seem more dramatic.

P.S., If he's spitting up a lot and seems fussy around feeding time, it could be reflux. There are medicines to help with that - check with the pediatrician.

I am sorry to hear about your daughter's difficulties. She might want to try Gripe Water. It is a holistic treatment that she can purchase at Whole Foods in the baby isle. Basically it is a purified water infused with various extracts and oils. It has been really effective with my second child and has worked quite a bit better than the typically Mylicon gas relief product. Good luck and I hope her son pulls through it quickly for her.

The baby may be overtired by 7:00. She should try to put him ot bed gradually earlier and earlier. When my oldest was a newborn, she would be ready for sleep as early as 5:30 or 6:00. I know it's counterintuitive, but it works. I was afraid if I put her to bed to early she would be up during the night, but when I started folowing her signals and letting her sleep, she quickly became a great sleeper the kind that goes 12 hours (and wakes for one quick feeding at that age). Maybe start trying to get him to sleep around 6:00 and see if that helps avoid the bad period.

My kids used to suffer with gas and colic like symptoms when they were small babies so I went to CVS and looked at all the medications available to help with those symptoms , there are many and basically all do the same , you give a dropper full before each feed. I also know that gripe water can work aswell but not sure how readily available that is here (I'm from England and can get it anywhere there). I am in Vienna and we have a store called Magruders that sells it.

My son was similar and could not have milk based or soy based formula. Both would hurt his tummy and by night he'd be screaming. The only kind of formula he could tolerate was the expensive allergy formula. I used Allimentum made by Similac.

This is going to sound a little odd next to all the great advice already given, but when my daughter got like that, I ran the vaccuum cleaner for a while. The white noise from it seemed to be very soothing for her and stopped her crying. We did that every evening for about a week. You can always call your pediatrician as well, just in case there's something else going on with him. Best of luck!

I don't know if this helps, but all my kids were extra fussy during that time frame when they were a month old. I think it's part of the wind down getting ready to sleep in longer stretches at night. Of course if there is gas pain and arching of back, then there's probably some other issues at hand. I typically held or rocked or bounced while holding them during that time. Sometimes a baby sling helps so you can keep busy while you hold them. I start laying them down for bed earlier and earlier, a few minutes earlier each night, hoping that they will learn to fall asleep with swaddling, a full tummy and darker (maybe not totally dark) room. It could also be an overstimulated over tired thing. Check the noise levels of the TV, the brightness of the lights, the soothing tones of voices, bright colors, etc. Everyone!! seriously everyone deals with a newborn learning how to adjust to getting ready for sleep and not being super sleepy from the whole birth process. They are typically their fussiest during that month. Scheduling when they are fed and sleep on a 2-3 hr schedule seems to help with gas. I feed my babies when they wake up, play for a while, or just carry them while I run around doing chores or errands, watch for sleepiness signs, like yawns and tired eyes and then lay them down, swaddled for a nap. I let them sleep as long as it doesn't make their next feeding longer than 3 hrs from the last. Then I wake them up or they wake up and I feed them, and start over again. When they wake up at night, I feed them, burp them and try to help them fall quickly back to sleep, lightly patting, swaddling, until they fall asleep and over again through the night. I feel for your daughter. We all feel like the worst moms our first times. It's all good. They call it a learning curve for a reason. She'll be great at it in a few months.