Upset in the evening?

Ludo

OK...this may be a stupid question, and has probably been asked loads of times before, but it has been bugging me for weeks now. We have two 7 week old boys who sleep soundly most of the day only waking every 3/4 hours for food. They will stay awake for an hour or so quite happily and then drift off again. They are starting to stay awake for longer now after some feeds during the day and like being entertained and some company which is all fine.

However, when 10pm rolls around they get mighty upset and this usually goes on until around 1/2am. The reflux they suffer from gets much worse at this time also. They settle nicely to sleep in our arms (or at least they are awake but very clam) after their 10ish feed but as soon as we put them down, they wake immediately and start crying. They generally stop straight away if we pick them up and this goes on for a while. We try extra feeds at this time also sometimes to see if this is what they want but the reflux kicks in then and it all comes back up and the whole cycle has to start from scratch as they will be hungry again within a few minutes.

I don't think it is colic (but could well be wrong) as they will be quite happy and quiet when held. I am guessing it is a wind problem but not sure. Have tried Dentinox but it didnt make any difference and IMHO made it worse (but that could be a coincidence). Will try Gaviscon starting tonight. Don't like using these kind of "drugs" but at this stage we have to just so we can get some sleep ourselves.

Anyway was just wondering why this only happens in the evening/night time.
I know when I have a cold myself, it always gets much worse in the evening also. Why is that?

Any ideas greatly appreciated. Apologies if none of the above made sense...3 hours sleep per night for 2 weeks in a row has me a bit cranky and wanting a bottle (of whiskey) also :rolleyes:

Nevyn

I would suggest not giving any over the counter remedies to infants with out consulting your dr.

I would suggest getting them checked out by your dr and/or your local baby nurse who can be contacted via your local health clinic.

The first year can be really rough on parents, have you tried having a nap when you get home and when they are a sleep to help ?

Ludo

They were at the doctors earlier this week for the routine checkup. It was the doctor who recommended Infant Gaviscon to us although, as I said, I have held off on using it as I don't like giving medicines without good reason.

They have also been seen by the nurse last week in her usual visit. They are doing very well in all respects other than the reflux and being a bit phlegmy (sp?) which I gave them saline drops for.

Napping..hahaha. Oh how I wish.

Get home from work...feed + change one of them...wash and sterilise bottles...feed + change the other one...gather up all clothes, muslins, bibs, sheets, etc and put in washing machine...cook the dinner for ourselves (optional step)...feed the first one again...do washing-up...move clothes from washing-machine to dryer...uh oh...number one son is rousing again...go back to start and repeat most steps...oh look it is bed time

Not havin a moan here or anything....I don't mind it all. Just curious as to why it gets worse at night really.

Nevyn

Do you have friends and family that can pitch in and give a hand ?
Even if it is just to drop in a lasanga or a casserole ?

undecided

You might try to keep them awake between 6pm and 10 pm feed maybe some play and a bath. Dont think its colic coz you wouldnt be able to get them to stop crying even in your arms. Also try seperate their sleeping areas and see if it helps.

Thats all I can really offer. Other than it does get better when they start solids!

littlebug

Poor you

The reflux is a bugger alright. Gaviscon was an absolute godsend when we started my daughter on it at 5 months. That said she screamed day and night and wouldn't sleep for more than 20 minutes at time. Lying down obviously really hurt. Since your babies sleep well by day it may be that there is more of a build up at that time of night. Tilting the cot might help a bit... or in that phase before 10pm move them around more and keep them more upright to allow the digestive system to function better and release any trapped wind etc. Since they're ok earlier in the day maybe gaviscon in nighttime bottle would suffice.
There again... a lot of young babies have a fussy phase for no particular reason.... it can stop as suddenly as it starts.

If the reflux continues be very careful when it comes to introducing solids ... it can actually make things a lot worse rather than better if they start too early. In fact I would actually hold out for as long as possible on that one because their little digestive systems are a bit more fragile than others'. I learned that the hard way

Oryx

Oh god, reflux.... its hard to understand what thats like unless youve seen it in action.:) My little guy was put on Enfamil (sp?)a thickened milk, at about 7-8 months, and it worked very well. But a doc would have to recommend it to you, as theyd know your children. And my daughter doesnt have it, but still at age 2 if she gets upset, she gets sick, so upset alone can contribute!

Babies can have a 'stormy' stage at some point in the day. It was even mentioned in one of the baby books I read. (though I usually take them with a pinch of salt) I cant say mine had as regular a pattern as yours, but it did often seem that as soon as I wanted to sleep, they knew, and kicked up.

All you can do is look at whether your night time sleep routine does anything very different to how you get them to sleep during the day. Babies are very observant and even the youngest ones will cop a change in the routine or your attitude. But look for triggers. Is the room colder or warmer than the daytime one, is there a lot less, or more noise? Are they lying flat, when during the day theyre propped slightly? That kind of thing could be upsetting them.

That said, I made my night routine different for my kids when they were little, so that as soon as they were put in their cot, it was night sleep, as in a big long one.:) They slept in a pram during the day.

Ludo

Well tried the Gaviscon in last nights feed...all I can say is OH MY GOD. I have never seen such a projectile puke

Complete disaster. Went back to normal feeds and all went fine for the rest of the night. Tried Gaviscon again this morning and another huge projectile puke :eek:

Won't be trying that again. Back to normal bottles now and all ok...well, as ok as they can be with the reflux.

Back to square one.

Oryx

About the reflux. In my sons case I found that extra feeds after hed been sick made it worse. I know the 'exorcist' type puke can look loads, but actually theyve probably kept some down. I never gave top up feeds, but if the next feed was early so be it.

SarahMc

KtK wrote: »

Babies can have a 'stormy' stage at some point in the day. It was even mentioned in one of the baby books I read. (though I usually take them with a pinch of salt) .

This is so true, although I didn't realise it was referenced somewhere, I just thought it was something older parents and grandparents knew. Most infants will have their "bad time" in the day. Get through it, enjoy it, and as undecided said, it will get better as solids start, and you probably won't even remember this!

Latchy

An old treatment for colic you could try is a lil bit of warm 7 up which
Will (hopefully ) get the wind out of baby- both ends and has being known to work ,but make sure its only warm -not hot .

You could try 1 or 2 tablespoons.