Ratty baby at dinnertime

[Mellymoo]

Hello

I have a DD who is 11 weeks old. Pretty much right from the start, she is pretty ratty every dinnertime.

She has 6 bottles a day (or in 24 hours). SHe will have her 2nd to last bottle about dinnertime, but then won't go to sleep. She'll carry on crying and we will try for up to 2 hours to get her to sleep, we try everything but nothing works.

In desperation, we'll give her another bottle - she have all of it most of the time and then (most of the time) she'll go to sleep without too much fuss.

I don't like giving her bottles so close together though - they say you're supposed to wait at least 3 hours in between feeds.

Why is she doing this ? I don't look forward to dinnertimes because it is at least a couple of hours of her crying all the time.

GP and Paed say there's nothing wrong with her.

Last night after her dinner bottle (6pm) she had another bottle at 7:45pm (water and everything else didn't work). She was hysterical after that too - at 9:15pm we gave her a 60ml top up. She didn't go to sleep until 10:30pm. So that was 4.5 hours of her crying and carrying on.

I'm exhausted.:crying:

I know it will get better eventually, but what can I do in the meantime ? Her bottles are 140ml each.

Should I increase the volume of her bottle (the can says she can have up to 180ml 5 x each day) Would this then drop that late last bottle and get her to sleep ? I'm worried that even if I increase her bottles to 180ml each, she'll still want that 6th bottle.

Thanks

[Zada]

dont stress. have u got a sling to carry her in while ure doing dinner?

My boy sometimes will have like 400ml in one go lol.

[peachie]

Not sure about the bottle feeding part but do you have a bedtime routine you follow? From about 10wks we started doing the same routine each afternoon. We go for a 1/2 walk with the sling around 4:30pm, then have a bath followed by a massage and then a feed and bub is in bed by 6pm. He sleeps then til 10pm when he wakes for another feed. It took about a week for the routine to kick in but it works a treat now.

I've got a few friends who were having trouble getting their little ones to bed and once they introduced a daily bath, followed by massage the babies seemed to relax and be happy to go to sleep for a few hours. Good luck!

[alanasmum]

Is she finishing all her bottles? Especially the 6.00pm one. Is it possible she is still hungry. Try increasing the amount in the 6.00pm bottle and see if that makes a difference.

I agree with the other mums about a bed-time bath and massage routine though. It might help your bub to relax and get a few hours sleep before her next feed.

[Mellymoo]

Thanks girls - yes, she does polish off all of her 6pm bottle. Actually, she polishes off the milk in every bottle most of the time.

After she has had her 6pm bottle, I try to get her to wait until at least 8:30pm for her next (and last) one. Doesn't always work though. But after she has that very last one, she will sleep right through until 3:30am when she has her next one, then she goes straight back to sleep, and wakes for her next one at about 8am'ish.

I must admit, I don't have a 'routine' as such with the bathtime thing. I guess because with another little one at home and not being able to predict that we will be home at the same time each day to carry out the routine, I just give her a bath whenever I can.

As for the massage, I tried it once and it was a disaster so am not keen to try it again - she cried and carried on after she got out of the bath and wasn't relaxed enough so when I started massaging her, she got even more annoyed, so I haven't tried it since !

Anyway, glad to know I'm not alone

[GraceUnhearing]

dont listen to what 'they' say

if shes having the other bottle shes probably still hungry.

DS is breastfed but is still demand fed his feeding pattern is all over the place.

shes probably going through a growth spurt and needs the extra.

have you tried bathing her at that time?
maybe that'll clam her down

[Pinkbug]

My mum told me that normally babies will be unsettled around dinner time and no one knows why!! mine is like that until the routine and everything was established and now she is back to normal...

If u think she is still hungry feed her... I do that sometimes and still do... it depends on how big the feed was previously and also there is a growth spurt..

Just do whatever u feel best... that is what my mum told me.. if u feel ur baby is hungry feed her if u feel she may have wind burp her.. if u feel maybe wet nappy check.. there is no written rule in how to do things with ur babies... all are different! follow your insistent

Good luck! :hugs:

[alanasmum]

If she is pollishing off all her bottles, it sounds like she is still hungry and that could be the reason why she is so unsettled at night time. She is also possibly going through a growth spurt at the moment and needs some extra milk.

I would be inclined to give her more in each bottle, especially the 6.00pm one. Don't be too strict with following what the formula tin recommends, it's just a guide. Take a lead from your bub. You might find that her feed times change a bit (including when she wakes at night) but that's okay. Just go with the flow. When DD was little if she finished a bottle I would always offer her more.

And don't be afraid to try massage again. As babies grow older and become more used to their surroundings they change a lot. DD used to scream blue murder when I bathed her as a little bub, now she can't wait to get in the bath and practically jumps out of my arms to get in there! Just make sure that bub is not too hungry, bath her, have the room nice and warm, try a short massage and then a feed. :yes:

[Mummy2Noah]

Dont Stress hun very very Normal!!!
Noahs unsettled period is also Tea time it normally last the whole time between feeds!!
Very Very common!! And theres not much you can do but cuddle bubby!!!:hugs:

[~Emmylou~]

Aaah Arsenic Hour!
Between about 5pm and 7pm here it's always hell, babies are usually unsettled around that time of day.
From what your describing too I was also thinking she may have a bit of colic? Usually that causes inconsolable screaming late in the day/evening for hours on end that starts very young and usually stops around 3 months or so.
Hang in there it's hard, but it's true sometimes it's nothing you're doing/not doing and all you can do is cuddle them and ride it out.
I also agree if she wants the bottle let her have it. Babies don't understand the concept of spacing feeds, they're hungry - they want to eat. If it settles her I'd just go with it.

[Mellymoo]

Thanks again girls, makes me feel a bit better to know other people out there are going through the same thing.

Actually I bought something at the chemist which seems to help a little bit - it's called "Infants Friend" and seems to calm her down quite a bit. That, as well as Brauers "Calm". They're all natural and although they're not a cure, they seem to help in calming her down a bit.

"Arsenic hour" ?!? My friend told me they call it the "Witching hour". It's true though isn't it ? Babies seem to turn into something different at dinnertime !

Thanks again