Colic, breastfeeding and food sensitivities?

[mumofthreeboysS]

my 8 week old has colic and is screaming/fretful anywhere between 6 and 10pm most nights. Some nights he's asleep by around 8.30pm but on those nights I can't work out what I did differently to achieve it!

Have any of you found certain foods/drinks have caused or aggrevated colic?

Anyone found any other solutions?? I've tried feeding him on the boob from 7-8pm and sometimes he feeds to sleep, other times he wakes again and it doesn't help. My DH gives an expressed bottle or formula at 10.30pm so i try not to feed too much before that or I won't have any milk to express.

[tiktok]

If you are restricting his access to the breast in the evening, then this could be the reason for his unsettledness....it's worth responding just by feeding.

You will still be able to express.

[mumofthreeboysS]

thanks tiktok- I can see your point- I don't want to be denying him the boob but we're trying to follow a routine (Gina Ford). I did find I couldn't express as much after feeding him around 8pm so it does affect how much I can get out.

Sounds awful though-I'm not trying to deny him comfort- just trying to figure what works for us all- I have 2 other kids who I ff so I'm really proud of how far I've come, but just finding ebf really tough and need a happy medium.

[tiktok]

Can understand your feelings, but ebf is often made tougher by following GF's routines.

Clearly, what you are doing now doesn't work for you all :( Your ds is 'screaming/fretful' for hours each evening, and you are (understandably) stressed by this.

You may well have a bit less available for the pump if you feed at 8 pm, but you will still have sufficient...and if you feel you could have expressed more, you can just bf your baby after the 10.30 bottle.

Many babies are unsettled and fretful in the evenings and for many of these babies, breastfeeding meets their needs for comfort, contact and eating/drinking.

Please be sceptical of Gina Ford's advice - why should it work for every baby? :)

[mumofthreeboysS]

Well ds was better last night after feeding on the boob for an hour at 7 then DH cuddled him for half an hour and he eventually settled. I hear what you're saying- it's funny I never thought about the comfort aspect of feeding as I ff the other two- poor things must have had a harder time settling without the boob to comfort suck on. I am a bit worried I'll end up feeding him to sleep and it'll be hard for him to self settle when he's bigger but I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get

[mumofthreeboysS]

..to it!

[Shellywelly1973]

Dd is 3 & half week old.

She is very unsettled in the evenings. Dd is my 6th dc. I just consider this typical New Born behaviour. I nearly drove myself mental after dc3 trying to find out why she was so unsettled. Sometimes babies just are unsettled!

Like everything- it will pass!
Take care of yourself .

[mumofthreeboysS]

Thanks -shelley you're so right- I spend far too much time trying to find solutions (and m DH is even worse!) instead of accepting it as a phase that will pass. Not everything can be fixed- I need to just embrace the chaos!!

[mumofthreeboysS]

And wow 6! I'm struggling to cope with three and sometimes think I should have stuck to two (tho of course wouldn't be without ds3 for the world!) Any survival tips??

[TheScience]

Most little babies want to cluster feed in the evenings. I would just settle down in front of the TV and feed and cuddle him as much as he wants rather than restricting feeds if it is making him miserable.

[leedy]

What TheScience said. Get yourself a box set (I'm convinced DS1 thought Don Draper was his real dad), someone to bring you chocolate/wine/whatever and camp out in front of the telly with your feet up and baby in your lap, feed, cuddle, whatever, until he properly conks out. He'll grow out of needing to do it, I promise! As a bonus, both of mine often did a really good chunk of sleep after their cluster feeds, as if they were tanking themselves up for the night.