Is This Normal for Newborns?

My daughter was colicy from 8 pm to midnight for about a month. After trying the vaccuum, cryer, hot water bottle, etc. the only thing I found that helped her was laying across my belly. After midnight I could put her in her bed and she slept all night.

Try swaddling him and giving him gas drops. Sometimes babies like movement so you could also try putting him in a swing or bouncer that vibrates. I breastfeed also. Wheny baby gets really fussy and just seems unsettled, I will lay him in bed with me and feed him. Depending on how comfortable you are, you could try moving him once he's asleep good or let him sleep next to you. Hope this helps. Good luck!

I havent read all your other responses but..Try swaddling him. That always helped my babies! Congrats on being a mommy! My kids are the best thing that's EVER happened to me. And good luck!! :)

To deal with a gassy baby, use babies magic tea. It will soothe your baby and you too!!!!

Bless you heart, but I have to tell you, you got a fussy baby. Could be a reflux thing. Could just be over stimulated during the day. My first started fussing at 5 pm and didn't stop till he had it all out mosly about 10 or 11 but sometimes much later. We were much in need of sleep. Not only does the vacuum work but we taped it and played the tape! Really a white noise machine would be a more practical solution. People would suggest putting him on top of a running dryer. There were times I wanted to put him IN the dryer (I am just kidding, people)!! They would ask if I pinched him and I would answer, not yet..... ( kidding!)
Good luck, this too shall pass. Mine is 20 now.

I would guess that becuase he is sleeping ok during the day, that it is not something you are eating (I think that would affect him day and night). It could be Colic - is it at about the same time every evening? My son was a colicy baby - you could set your watch by his fits- at 6pm every night he would scream non stop until 9 pm. Then he would be fine. Fortunately, they do outgrow colic. One thing to try that my Dr. told us was to simply turn on a vacumn cleaner in the same room when he is crying. The sound simply overwhelms their senses and they forget why they are crying-- unless it is something serious, then they will continue to cry or start back up with the vacuumn running. Luckily, colic is typically outgrown by about 12 weeks. Good luck!

Well I hate to admit it, but I slept all 3 of my kids in a swing at night until they were close to 2 months old. Mine were very colicky when I ate dairy as well, so I stopped that. My twins would sleep like champs during the day, and they woke up at 9p, and it was miserable crying night. Good luck

Sometimes, it is something you are eating. My friend who nurses can't eat dairy right now otherwise her baby gets like this. It could be colic, maybe not severe... it's worse at night usually as the baby is laying down.

Really though, it sounds like it is normal!

Dr. Sears has some great advice for this... look on the left hand colomn, the fussy babies, sleep problems and breastfeeding/feeding sections could be of benefit to you:

http://www.askdrsears.com/about.asp

It is normal but here's some things that might help. A really solid eat, play(just being awake), then sleep schedule about every 3 hrs could help. Put baby to bed awake each time. Also I wonder if baby's tummy hurts? Try elevating the mattress just a bit near the head.

swadling helps my twins but my oldest hated it, so try and see if that helps. definitely DO NOT put a heating pad in his crib, not only is it an extreme fire hazard if babies get too overheated it increases the chances of SIDS and fever. it could be reflux or he probably just really loves being close to you. I hate to say it, but you may have to try a lot of different things until you find what works for your little guy. My oldest was the same except he would also spit up and choke. I couldn't lay him down to sleep for months, but he had reflux really bad as do my twins. Congratulations on your new baby!!!

Dairy isn't the only thing that can give a baby gas. Do you drink pop? Lots of sugar? Spicey food? Have you given him gas relief drops? My son is 11 months and I breastfeed and he only gets gas at night also wich sucks. Ity could also be the formula wich has a lot of iron and my older boys were formula fed and had lots of gas until they got used to it. How long does he go between feeding? My ped. said no sooner than 2 1/2 hours from the last feeding(if he started eating at 2 then he shouldn't eat again until 430) it takes 2 1/2 hours to digest and eating too close together can make a baby gassy(did that with my 1st) It could be colic but breastfed babies geneally don't get colic wich doesn't mean they can't. Newborns are so tough. You are both just trying to figure things out. Good Luck. I hope this helps you out a little. Also breastfeeding.com is a great website I lived on it the first couple months I started nursing.

I had the same problem with both children. Things got much better when I removed dairy from my diet. They slept better and were a lot less fussy. Soy was also an issue for my daughter. I would try removing dairy and see how he does. Both of my kids had reflux too. Talk to your pediatrician and see what he says. It also helps to elevate the head of the mattress if it is reflux.

AWW! He loves his mama!!! It sounds like he just wants to sleep in your arms. All babies do. However, when he is older you want to make sure you can put him down and he can fall asleep on his own. Since he is still so young you could always put a rolled towel on both sides of him. This might sound gross, but if you wrap the towels in a t-shirt that you have worn he will still be able to smell you. As far as colic, my girls did not have that. I do remember when my oldest was a newborn she had very bad gas at one time. We could not get her to burp and thought she must not need too - big mistake! The doctor told us to lay her on her back and "pump" her knees to her tummy. This helped move the gas around so she could pass it. Your diet could be a cause of gas. Try watching what you eat that could be spicy. I remember spicy foods being a no-no!

All the best!

My son was the exact same way. What I finally noticed (and it is still true to this day and he's almost 3) is that he tended to run colder at night. During the day he stayed warmer and would even sometimes sweat while he napped but at night he needed to be dressed warmer, etc. So I concluded that it could be that he was getting cold when he left the warmth of my body. What I did was (and yes, I know, its not technically recommended to use electric heating pads with babies but I found a way to do it safely!) I put a heating pad UNDER the mattress pad and sheet of his bassinet. I would turn it on low when he woke up to eat. After he was asleep I'd put him down on it and at that point I turned it off and unplugged it. I also did start dressing him more warmly at night. So this way the change in temp from me to the bed was very gradual, as it takes time for the heating pad to cool, and by then he would be in a deeper sleep. It wasn't a perfect solution, he's never turned into a great sleeper, but it definitely bought us some time between wakings and eased that frustration of knowing that he needed to sleep for more than 10 minutes and SO DID I!!! So see if his hands/ears tend to be cool to the touch, maybe this would help him too. Good luck!

Does it seem like maybe he has gas, but when you finally get him to burp he cries harder and arches his back? If he does, it could be acid reflux. Reflux babies usually seem to sleep better when they're not flat (like when you're holding him). I went through it with mine. When I was pregnant I had really bad heartburn- mostly just @night. Wonder if it's the same for babies. They were given a script and were MUCH better. Hard for me to say if that's what your baby has because I have limited info.
It's pretty normal for newborns to have a fussy period (usually seems to be around 10pm). You could try to feed him a little more frequently during the day in hopes that he sleeps longer stretches at night.
Hang in there. I know it's not easy-been there 4 times. With my 1st (12 years ago) I was told it was colic. 4 years later, my second was diagnosed with reflux. I've read some places that some docs now think that colic is actually reflux. Sorry if my ideas are a little scattered- I only had a few minutes, but wanted to send you a message because I feel for you- I know what it's like to be up half the night.
Even if it's not reflux, it won't be like this forever :)

I think all newborns are different but here's what mine were like. Both my babies cried more in the evening than any other time of day. My oldest was formula only and my second was both formula and breastmilk. Both mine had a lot of gas in the evenings and I used Mylicon or the generic version in every bottle which is completely safe. I,also, layed them across my lap and slightly raised their rears up so that gas could escape more easily and rubbed their back for a while. Sometimes this worked and sometimes not. I would continue with your nighttime routine even if he doesn't take to it for weeks or months. Eventually he will and you'll be happy you stuck to a routine. When my newborns cried, I immediately picked them up and walked, rocked or stood and slightly bounced in place until they calmed down. I, also, let my newborns sleep with me for as long as they needed so everyone could get some sleep. Eventually, both my infants slept in their own beds. By the way, from what I've heard colic is usually in the evenings for a few hours at a time. Good luck and enjoy even the tough times. My oldest turned 7 yesterday and it seems like we were just going through all this with him.

My son was colic and he did the same thing. If it seems to be the same time every night then that would be my guess. I would think if it were your diet it wouldn't be just at night. With my son the pacifier saved me and swaddling, and placing him on the couch next to me belly down just patting his behind. I would have to do this for hours (sometimes I just wanted to cry from exhaustion) but after a few hours it would pass. Giving a warm bath and massage can also help. I always bathed my children at night. I felt it helped to relax them. Most people bath in the morning and the babies sleep great, then night time comes and wide awake. A bath not only exhausts them but it relaxes them. Massage with some baby lotion to relax and then swaddle him and see if that helps. Also, Chamomile tea really helped (check with doc first) I used to boil some tea and give that during the crying spells and it would bring up a lot of gas. Good luck I know how hard it is, but usually after a few months it passes. Just get your rest during the day when he sleeps and recruit as much help as you can to keep your self sane. Keep us posted!!!

If it is gas, you can also buy the drops that you put in his bottle to help it. It could also be formula that you are using, maybe he needs soy or a different type of formula. I would talk to your pediatrician and see if they have any other advice or tips.

If its reflux I suggest that you add a little sea salt to her bottles, or you can take it and she will get it in the breast milk if you nurse. It sounds crazy, but my daughter suffered from acid reflux beginning at 2 weeks...I took her to Dr. Chalmers in Frisco, TX and this was his solution. It worked within 24 hours. She has not had additional issues since. The sea salt you use makes a difference...I use the salt I got at Dr. Chalmers...Premier Pink Salt. If its colic a baby friendly adjustment worked great for my baby girl, also done by Dr. Chalmers. All of her discomfort subsided almost immediately...you can look up more on Dr. Chalmers at www.chalmerswellness.com.

Good luck and enjoy that baby!