# Evening Meltdowns in 6 week old...help!



## emilyash (Jan 20, 2009)

Please offer your advice or suggestions..
For the last week, almost every evening my 6 week old son has lost it...starting around 8 o'clock he just gets very fussy and progressively work up/mad, working himself up into a frenzy. If I try to nurse him (the usual panacea) he bobs and pulls and I just watch him escalate (but it's the closest thing that "calms" him). Last night he screamed until about midnight. (This is interspersed with 5 minutes of calm-almost sleeping, then his eyes fly open and he freaks out). He works up a sweat he's crying to hard (and we hold him and rock him and talk to him during the fits to no avail.) We're not sure what's wrong. We THINK he might be overtired and fighting sleep...we're going to try to carry him in the wrap or sling late this afternoon to ensure he gets a nap (which hasn't been happening in the afternoons), but this is heartbreaking to watch and exhausting to all of us. Oh, we've tried the Gripe Water, not sure if it's having any effect. Any advice or suggestions?


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## emilyash (Jan 20, 2009)

Oh, a few more details:

All day he's fine, in a good mood, alert, hanging out, chillin'.

And once he goes down, he's fine, and he sleeps most of the night except for 2-3 semi-awake night feedings.

We're co sleeping, and we try to put him to sleep on one of us (but often these meltdowns are starting before we even bring him to bed).


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## Moonchild77 (Apr 15, 2008)

my ds2 is 10wks and started exactly the same thing 3 wks ago.

I bring ds1 to bed at 7 an ds2 started to freak when i tried ti stay downstairs with ds2 and dh.
ds2 just wanted to REALLY go upstairs to bed! never thought a baby that young "wanted"that, but is true with him!
Now I go up earlier with ds2 or do try to carry him in the wrap to sleep. he sleeps only in arms/wrap/sling every day, like 4/5 times 45min/1 hour and cann only be awake 45 min!!!!!!! any longer and hhe freaks out!


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## fireweed (Nov 27, 2007)

We called the post 8pm evening the 'witching hour'. I think it lasted til about 12 weeks or so. All that worked for us was bouncing with her on the exercise ball, with the hair dryer on full blast(cool setting of course







)

You should get your hands on a copy of the 'Happiest Baby on the Block', by Harvey Karp(if i remember correctly).

This too shall pass...


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## hipmummy (May 25, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *fireweed* 
We called the post 8pm evening the 'witching hour'. I think it lasted til about 12 weeks or so. All that worked for us was bouncing with her on the exercise ball, with the hair dryer on full blast(cool setting of course







)

You should get your hands on a copy of the 'Happiest Baby on the Block', by Harvey Karp(if i remember correctly).

This too shall pass...









: Totally normal, could be a touch of Colic, but nothing the happiest baby on the block will not help!


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## *~Danielle~* (Mar 27, 2005)

Went through this with my son. He would latch on and cry and pull off and I would use the exercise ball and bounce him, and walk him and cradle him, and swaddle him and nothing really worked until one day I just decided he wanted to go to sleep and I had to start looking for his tired cues around 6ish and I realized he was just overly stimulated for that 7-10pm time slight and needed lights out and minimal noise. Hugs. I think it is very common.


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## wild fire child (Jun 25, 2008)

I go through this every night, though it's not so bad now as it was 2 weeks ago (he's 8 weeks tomorrow).
I've found that he is really overtired. I stay up until midnight to get DH off to work, so he's mad around 11pm. Bouncing doesn't help, singing doesn't, a bath will for a bit, having daddy hold him sometimes will, and switching rooms sometimes will. A bath usually does for a while. I often give him a bath until he fusses, which wears him out, and then sometimes he'll sleep or sometimes I have to take him outside into the cold and pace, which puts him to sleep.
I've noticed that on days where we go out during the day and do something, we don't have problems at night, so I think it may be partly that he's bored being home all day without anything interesting to stare at.


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## in_ca (Apr 13, 2008)

Sorry, it's tough...we now Moby our 6 wk old son around 8pm and go for a walk. This ensures he's slept or was at least resting before bedtime around 1030pm and doesn't get overtired-wound-up. Also seems to help with gas if that's the problem (sometimes it is). Gripe water works sometimes for us; if nothing else, it just breaks the screaming cycle, but we use it ~ 1/week only.

As PP mentioned, naps throughout the day and late afternoon also seem to be important.


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## blind_otter (Sep 22, 2008)

Hi mama, I just wanted to say from what I understand this is normal behavior. At least in the playgroup DS and I go to, and I had that experience with DS. I would stand on my head and juggle with my feet to make that baby happy, at that time! Heck, I still would.









Anyways, you will get through this. Just keep trying different things, and don't expect one thing to magically work. Usually something will work one day, or for a few days, then suddenly it doesn't. Walking, rocking, bouncing on exercise ball, put baby in sling, turn on the clothes dryer/dishwasher, sing, talk, read a book out loud, warm bath, massage, vibrating chair, swing, listen to music any and all in any combination....you get the idea. Let Dad have opportunities to soothe baby, too.

Personally I think a lot of babies get all freaked out at that time, developmentally, because it is very hard to grow so much, so fast.


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## Sheryl1678 (Sep 15, 2006)

My DD2 cries every night like she is really, really upset and it turns out that she just wants to fall asleep. I know that doesn't really help you though since yours seems to bounce awake. Maybe a quieter/cooler/darker environment?


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## Erin082 (Jan 25, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *emilyash* 
Please offer your advice or suggestions..
For the last week, almost every evening my 6 week old son has lost it...starting around 8 o'clock he just gets very fussy and progressively work up/mad, working himself up into a frenzy. If I try to nurse him (the usual panacea) he bobs and pulls and I just watch him escalate (but it's the closest thing that "calms" him). Last night he screamed until about midnight. (This is interspersed with 5 minutes of calm-almost sleeping, then his eyes fly open and he freaks out). He works up a sweat he's crying to hard (and we hold him and rock him and talk to him during the fits to no avail.) We're not sure what's wrong. We THINK he might be overtired and fighting sleep...we're going to try to carry him in the wrap or sling late this afternoon to ensure he gets a nap (which hasn't been happening in the afternoons), but this is heartbreaking to watch and exhausting to all of us. Oh, we've tried the Gripe Water, not sure if it's having any effect. Any advice or suggestions?

I haven't read all the other rplies, yet. Sorry. But FWIW my lilbits is 6 weeks too, and I have noticed the same thing. I have figured out its because she super tired. She wants to nurse to sleep, but isn't "hungry" so my let down just makes her angry. A few things that have worked at our house: I put her in the sling and pace the floors, singing quietly, ar just shhhhhhh ing.
I will put her on her tummy across my lap, and gently pat her bottom, in a rhythmic way/ sometimes, I'll lay her on a blanket with a mirror or her activity gym. I lay next to her, and though I'm not sure why, it distracts her for a while, and calms her down. it usually takes a combination of all these and other little tricks. After time has passed she usually nurses contentedly ( i guess shes hungry again) and drifts off, if she hasn't fallen asleep in the sling etc already.


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## trillian11 (Apr 13, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *fireweed* 
We called the post 8pm evening the 'witching hour'. I think it lasted til about 12 weeks or so. All that worked for us was bouncing with her on the exercise ball, with the hair dryer on full blast(cool setting of course







)

You should get your hands on a copy of the 'Happiest Baby on the Block', by Harvey Karp(if i remember correctly).

This too shall pass...









:

Sometimes it took a LOOONG time to calm DS down...usually the exercise ball worked for me if I could do it long enough. Sometimes I'd sling him and bounce. For whatever reason, we also often had luck with dancing to the Vampire Weekend album. That still pulls him out of meltdowns!

Good luck







It really will pass!


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## Cheshire (Dec 14, 2004)

Our son had colic and screamed his head off for hours. A few things that worked until he just outgrew it:
- the vacuum cleaner turned on (he would quiet down in a heartbeat, yawn, look around at things but if we turned the VC off he would tune right back up to 100% full blast until we turned it back on again)
- going outside
- walking while holding him tummy down laying on one arm with his bottom in the crook of our arm and his head by our hand (I think the pressure on his tummy helped him feel better)
- patting his back in a heartbeat like rhythm (bump-bump rest bump-bump rest bump-bump)


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## emilyash (Jan 20, 2009)

Thanks for all the suggestions. And...whoa! I tried some of what I could figure out of the Happiest Baby stuff (swaddled him, held him on his left side, ran the hair dryer and gave him a pacifier) and he was asleep in about 10 minutes, and stayed asleep when I put him in his cosleeper next to our bed, where he stayed sound asleep until I brought him to our bed for his first night feeding.

Now hopefully it will work again tonight. If not, I'll try some of these other suggestions. Thanks everyone.


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## Hopefulmama (Jul 16, 2007)

My heart goes out to you. I'm so glad that Happiest Baby worked for you. It was our only saving grace with both kids. It didn't work like a charm every time but it worked better than anything else. I wore out a hair dryer with both kids! DS also slept in vibrating bouncy seat-semi-upright for awhile during the night when he would wake and freak. It will pass. Never be far from the hair dryer! I would also nurse while holding the swaddled baby and the hairdryer in the other hand while swaying back and forth. We always said we should've taken a video so the kids would remember later! Hang in there.


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## erynw (Jun 13, 2007)

My baby did this around 6 weeks too. She seemed really uncomfortable though, arching her back, very tight stomach, etc. Calm one minute and fits the next.

My mw recommended I drink Fennel tea (Fennel is often the ingredient in Gripe Water). I started drinking 2 cups a day and her pains stopped. I can't say for sure if it was the tea, or whether it was a developmental thing which she passed, or maybe there were other things we figured out which calmed her, or maybe even a combination...?

Needless to say, I am STILL drinking the tea, just in case


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