Colic? 4 weeks

[SuzySunshine]

So I am at my sister's for a few days helping with my nieces. My newest niece is 4 weeks old and for the last 5 nights has been REALLY fussy/gassy starting about 8:30 and goes to about 11:30.

It seems like 4 weeks is late to start with colic?? It also seems late in the night for colic? Tonight we tried putting her to bed early, at 7:30, so we'll see if that helps.

I know that isn't much info but I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas??

Thanks!

[Pollyanna]

Not late for colic, it's actually a bit early. Colic typically starts around 6 weeks and can happen at any time but typically in the evening. DD3 had colic starting at 8 weeks until about 12 weeks. She screamed from 8pm until 1-2am every. single. night. There was nothing that made it better and it stopped as quickly as it started. Big hugs to your sister. Has she tried Mylicon, it's always our drug of choice for gassy babies. Good luck!

[SuzySunshine]

She has not tried Mylicon she has talked about it, I think that is next. A had colic but that was so long ago I just don't remember the timing. Thanks!

[diggitydot]

Has she tried taking a shower with her? DD1 had crazy colic and the only thing that soothed her was to jump in the shower.

[SuzySunshine]

Nope, another good suggestion, that is why I'm asking you guys!

[scrub-jay]

We never got a colic diagnosis, but we had similar behavior around 4 weeks. Running the dishwasher was the only.thing that soothed dd. We'd run it over and over while holding/baby carrying her.

[ladymoreta]

Also, the 5 S's (from Happiest Baby on the Block). Sucking, Swaddling, Shushing, Side or Stomach, and Swinging or Jiggling. I think there are some YouTube videos on it.

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

Dd had it from weeks 6-10. Showers helped, gas drops didn't really. We switched places a lot so that you never got psycho frustrated.

[alison]

I would say the good news is that the baby is probably trying to get her sleep organized into day and night. The fussiness in the evening is pretty normal for that age. Tough tough tough, because the crying is definitely much louder at 4 weeks than it is when they're first born.

[SuzySunshine]

Hopefully it's just a sleep adjustment, tonight is going better but the issue is her DH has to take a business trip 2 weeks from today and the fussiness usually starts at the end of big sisters bed time routine and big sister is having a hard enough time adjusting they don't want to have to mess up her bedtime routine too. Fingers crossed...

[spotty_dog]

My babies were always fussy in the evenings, and I find that most families learn to expect that dinnertime through late evening is the witching hour. Mine seemed to be cluster feeding to prepare for a slightly longer stretch of sleeping: http://kellymom.com/parenting/parent...fussy-evening/

I definitely found with my second baby and a little experience under my belt, that at least with the 5 S's I could switch off the crying part and get her to nurse calmly and sleep a bit (even if she was up again 5 minutes later since she was still in that witching hour).

If I understand correctly, the expectation is that when dad goes on the business trip, mom will be able to handle the older child's bedtime single-handedly without any disturbance from the newborn needing her as well? And the concern is that this crying behavior will interfere with that expectation being met? I'm afraid that IMO, newborns are needy and unpredictable, and the expectation seems a little bit too high for a 6-week-old. When my second was a newborn my husband was on an ED block and usually not home in the evenings. It wasn't pretty but I managed (sitting in the dark nursing baby while comforting big brother?) Your sister's family *will* get through the newborn challenges and come out the other side to find their new normal, nobody permanently the worse for wear.

[Thirteen]

4 weeks is the first big growth spurt, and every month after is also a growth spurt time until 12 months.

If it's not colic, I suspect a growth spurt.
I always realized them in hindsight: hoping good things for your SIL!
(DS just cried, and nothing worked).


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SuzySunshine]

She did better last night so hopefully it's not colic but thanks for the tips!