Did your baby always cry alot before night sleep?

[sasha10]

my baby of 3 months and 2 weeks now is always cry before sleeping at night.
Amazingly, she nap easily by her own. I will just put her into her cot after feeding, and she will nap on her own. But when it comes to the night time..she will cry and cry and seems very hard to sleep. All her skill she acquire for nap time sleeping seems gone. Feel so heartache to see her cry so much before sleep..

sometime carry her also no use..and i have to swaddle her to calm her down. but yet..she is still crying before she fall asleep at night.
it's already 1 month like this..i am so afraid its becos i train her to sleep without being carry and sleep on her own in her own cot now.
but strangely..she has no problem sleeping on her own cot during 4 times nap time in the day time.

anyone has experience to share with me? i am soo confuse and really dunno what to do now. Her sleeping time now also keep dragg to later and later..last time was at 8 pm..and now to 12.30 mid nite..

 

[sherz4628]

My gal is like that too. She is one month 1 week old. Its always a struggle from about 8pm to 11.30pm at night.. The rountine would be cry and cry..feed milk at 9pm...cry and cry to be carried..demand another feed at 10.30pm...cry somemore and then fall aslp around 11.30pm to 12 midnight (probably coz exhausted le).

I don't know why this happens either..We carried her..sing lullaby..swaddle her..use pacifier..all no use..

Thinking if continue like this have to resort to yao lan.

At least your baby slps well in the afternoon..mine dun seem to want to fall aslp in the afternoon, so end up tired and cranky but still dun want slp. Sigh...

 

[sasha10]

today..at 10 pm i feed her for nite sleep..and before the feed over..she already start crying as usual..
I think she might scared of dark..or the kind of light at her room that she know is sleeping time. So i brought her outside living room with bright light to sit in the her rocker..

and u know what..she immediately stop crying. headache.
i don't know..maybe she just resist to sleep at nite time.
now playing with her daddy..she seems so relieve got out from the room..but keep sucking her thumb.

try not to carry her to sleep..otherwise she will get used to it and demand to be carry to sleep next time..i have a hard time to wean off carrying to sleep and to get her to sleep at her cot now. But after training her for 1 week..she is used to her cot already..

 

[angelwendy]

maybe she scare of dark... because my son also like that... so we will just keep the lights on first.... after he fall asleep the i off it... so far ok... hmmm i also dont knw y ur gal cry at night... maybe she just wan to be carry...

 

[sasha10]

Wendy, you are right..she is scared of the dark.
i just brought her to her room again..and she scream and scream..eventhough i only want to change her diaper..actually it's not so dark..i use yellow light..haizz..

after i turn on the white light again..she calm down again..

maybe she scare of dark... because my son also like that... so we will just keep the lights on first.... after he fall asleep the i off it... so far ok... hmmm i also dont knw y your gal cry at night... maybe she just want to be carry...

 

[cocraze]

I think wendy pointed out one common reason, scared of the dark.

My girl also still fussed when we carry her to the darkened room (yellow night light on only) when she is not ready to sleep. It is very obvious. She could be happily gurgling in my arms outside at the living room, then sudden cry once we step into her darkened room, then quiet again once I step out. Give her pacifier or rock her and sing Lullaby also no difference. She will cry and Throw her head/bend her back so that she's in a upside down "U" position.

No choice but to play with her a while more. Let her walk around, look at kitchen stuff, see laundry hanging on poles, see fridge magnets, see pictures. Talk to her, play with her a while then try again after some time. Worst time came up to about 2.5 hours like this. Repeat cycle many times, bring to room-come out walk-bring to room-come out....

Try giving her a favourite toy or pillow or bolster or blanket to hug? So she feel more reassured? You mentioned she Is better when sucking thumb in living room, maybe she needs something to soothe her nerves.

 

[cocraze]

My gal is like that too. She is one month 1 week old. Its always a struggle from about 8pm to 11.30pm at night.. The rountine would be cry and cry..feed milk at 9pm...cry and cry to be carried..demand another feed at 10.30pm...cry somemore and then fall aslp around 11.30pm to 12 midnight (probably coz exhausted ).
I dont't know why this happens either..We carried her..sing lullaby..swaddle her..use pacifier..all no use..
Thinking if continue like this have to resort to yao lan.
At least your baby slps well in the afternoon..mine dont seem to want to fall aslp in the afternoon, so end up tired and cranky but still dont want sleep. Sigh...

Hi sherz4628,
is your child colicky? Cry for so long at night, does she end up with a lot of wind? What I do is gently pAt her stomach, if got hollow sound like drum sound means got wind.
My girl was colicky up til about 4.5 months old. She would cry very hard n loud cos stomach discomfrt and pain in passing wind. Then her strong cries make her suck in even more wind and it makes it worse. I tried applying ruyi oil, massage her stomach, All didn't work well. End up go traditional chinese medicine doc for massage and apply medicated pouch on her navel, sometimes works, sometimes doesn't. Then I raised it up with my pediatrician during her vaccinnation visit, pediatrician say maybe she's just fussing/throwing tantrums sometimes, and prescribed Ridwind colic drops. The colic drops work well, so I've still been using it ESP during her dream feed at 11pm+, cos she always doesn't burp after this feed(she drops to sleep and snore once she finish drinking)....

 

[sherz4628]

Hi sherz4628,
is your child colicky? Cry for so long at night, does she end up with a lot of wind? What I do is gently pAt her stomach, if got hollow sound like drum sound means got wind.
My girl was colicky up til about 4.5 months old. She would cry very hard n loud cos stomach discomfrt and pain in passing wind. Then her strong cries make her suck in even more wind and it makes it worse. I tried applying ruyi oil, massage her stomach, All didn't work well. End up go traditional chinese medicine doc for massage and apply medicated pouch on her navel, sometimes works, sometimes doesn't. Then I raised it up with my pediatrician during her vaccinnation visit, pediatrician say maybe she's just fussing/throwing tantrums sometimes, and prescribed Ridwind colic drops. The colic drops work well, so I've still been using it ESP during her dream feed at 11pm+, cos she always doesn't burp after this feed(she drops to sleep and snore once she finish drinking)....

I think sometimes is because of colic. So every 2-3 days I'll give her ridwind..other times, I think is just tantrum. I don't know..so scared this will become like her habit..scarly she think this is her sleep routine how..:embarrassed:

By the way, can I get ridwind from normal pharmacy or do I have to get it only from the pediatrician?

 

[angelwendy]

Wendy, you are right..she is scared of the dark.
i just brought her to her room again..and she scream and scream..eventhough i only want to change her diaper..actually it's not so dark..i use yellow light..haizz..

after i turn on the white light again..she calm down again..

How was ur gal now?? still cries alot?? hmm... maybe u on the light first.. till she deep sleep then u off it... i also do that now.. he is ok...:001_302:

 

[stonston]

My friend's girl used to be like that too. Her baby will cry until she is so frustrated she will call us over to save her.

Then they tried introducing a bedtime routine.

8pm - Quick shower if weather is warm. Wipe down if weather is cold.
8.30pm - Change into PJ then milk.
8.45pm - Lie in quiet room with night light on. Sometimes mummy/daddy will sing to her. Sometimes they just lie beside her.

In the beginning her girl fussed abit but eventually slept by 9pm. Now, it's so auto that she's sleepy after the evening shower.

 

[sherz4628]

My friend's girl used to be like that too. Her baby will cry until she is so frustrated she will call us over to save her.

Then they tried introducing a bedtime routine.

8pm - Quick shower if weather is warm. Wipe down if weather is cold.
8.30pm - Change into PJ then milk.
8.45pm - Lie in quiet room with night light on. Sometimes mummy/daddy will sing to her. Sometimes they just lie beside her.

In the beginning her girl fussed abit but eventually slept by 9pm. Now, it's so auto that she's sleepy after the evening shower.

So good.. My gal eyes super big all the way till 9.30pm...even then she will like 不舍得 to sleep...keep yawning but force her eyes to open...my hubby always say what does a 1 month plus baby have to 不舍得 about?? LOL

Another thing..whenever I want to do a wipe down she'll get impatient and start crying and screaming halfway through..haiz..it's always a challenge to finish wiping her..change her clothes and diapers...put cream and powder...all before she start crying..

 

[sasha10]

Wendy...looks like didn't really help leh.
she still cry a lot yesterday eventhough i have turn on the light.
in fact..i have all the bed time routine for her since she come back from hospital.
8 pm bath
8.15 massage and dress her PJ
8.25 Feeding
8.40 put her to sleep..

but no use..the moment reach feeding time..she is already restless and scared..
so now i add one more routine..
after feeding, we read her story book..which she enjoys and listen attentively..
dunno what will happen today..
i purpose didn't bring her out to avoid over stimulation..also no more video/TV (previously i always let her watch 'baby can read" video)..but now..i try to reduce the over stimulation for her..knowing that her nerve system still can't cope with too much changes in light and sound yet.

How was your gal now?? still cries alot?? hmm... maybe you on the light first.. till she deep sleep then you off it... i also do that now.. he is ok...:001_302:

 

[sg81hani]

I have the same problem currently too. My daughter is a mth plus and she sleeps easily during the day. We shower her at around 6.30pm and then feed. Her sleeping time is usually 7.30pm. Recently she will only get drowsy after latching on. I've read about comfort feeding and it's not a good idea to get baby depending on the titties to sleep. Nowadays, she falls asleep only if my mum carries her. I guess my mum, being a bit plump is more comfortable than me! It's going to be a problem though if she goes on holidays! My daughter likes her hands free and I only swaddle her body and legs. She will squirm and wail if her hands get trapped!

 

[sasha10]

sg81hani,
don't repeat my mistake that i regret so much. On the first month, my mom always carry her to sleep..becos of that..i have huget problem..cos my mom went back home (not stay in singapore) and she can't sleep anymore without being carry. I had a hard time to train her to sleep on her own without being carry..cos i had sleepless nites and days also cos she won't sleep without being carry.

anyway..last nite was the ultimate. She cry and cry and didn't sleep until 4.30 am. by 1.30 am i couldn't take it anymore..so just left her cry..and she really cry till 2.30 still couldn;'t sleep. Then i feed her again and bring her to my bed..i notice she got really frustrated..cos she want to flip but couldn't flip successfully. anyway..by 4.30..i finally carry her to sleep..and she finally sleep in my arm. Really a headache..and not sure when this battle will end.

I have the same problem currently too. My daughter is a month plus and she sleeps easily during the day. We shower her at around 6.30pm and then feed. Her sleeping time is usually 7.30pm. Recently she will only get drowsy after latching on. I've read about comfort feeding and it's not a good idea to get baby depending on the titties to sleep. Nowadays, she falls asleep only if my mum carries her. I guess my mum, being a bit plump is more comfortable than me! It's going to be a problem though if she goes on holidays! My daughter likes her hands free and I only swaddle her body and legs. She will squirm and wail if her hands get trapped!

 

[cocraze]

I think sometimes is because of colic. So every 2-3 days I'll give her ridwind..other times, I think is just tantrum. I dont't know..so scared this will become like her habit..scarly she think this is her sleep routine how..:embarrassed:

By the way, can I get ridwind from normal pharmacy or do I have to get it only from the pediatrician?

You can get Ridwind from normal pharmacies. So far I checked, its $6.20 at Guardian and $6.65 at The Living Pharmacy. Not sure whether Unity got sell or not.

I also have the same difficulty, not knowing when is tantrum and when is real pain. But I guess I learnt over time... My gal's cries are quite different when its real pain...she cries REALLY REALLY hard, so much so that her voice can get choked or sound as though about to lose voice within a minute of crying. An unreliable way is to see whether got genuine tears when crying.... Hahahaha. Tantrum cry got sound and close eyes but no tears....

Wendy...looks like didn't really help .
she still cry a lot yesterday eventhough i have turn on the light.
in fact..i have all the bed time routine for her since she come back from hospital.
8 pm bath
8.15 massage and dress her PJ
8.25 Feeding
8.40 put her to sleep..

but no use..the moment reach feeding time..she is already restless and scared..
so now i add one more routine..
after feeding, we read her story book..which she enjoys and listen attentively..
dont know what will happen today..
i purpose didn't bring her out to avoid over stimulation..also no more video/TV (previously i always let her watch 'baby can read" video)..but now..i try to reduce the over stimulation for her..knowing that her nerve system still can't cope with too much changes in light and sound yet.

Maybe takes time lor. I also used to have a routine 'forced' by my girl upon me for night time. She would cry and insist to be carried round the flat after her daily wipe down (which unfortunately does not happen at the same time everyday, sometimes can be as early as 7.30pm or as late as 9pm), NO MATTER HOW TIRED SHE ALREADY WAS. Took me months before she can be more settled after her nightly wipe down. Nowadays maybe because I bring her out to my mum's place almost everyday, she gets used to settling to sleep after her wipe down after we bring her home. Plus, she flips around now, so I think she expends more energy in her short 'flipping session' after wipedown, so she sometimes even sleeps on her own, without needing me to rock her anymore. Oh btw, my girl is coming to 6 months...

and does it mean that you feed her at 8.25pm regardless of what time her previous feed was? Maybe there were instances when she wasnt hungry yet?

I have the same problem currently too. My daughter is a month plus and she sleeps easily during the day. We shower her at around 6.30pm and then feed. Her sleeping time is usually 7.30pm. Recently she will only get drowsy after latching on. I've read about comfort feeding and it's not a good idea to get baby depending on the titties to sleep. Nowadays, she falls asleep only if my mum carries her. I guess my mum, being a bit plump is more comfortable than me! It's going to be a problem though if she goes on holidays! My daughter likes her hands free and I only swaddle her body and legs. She will squirm and wail if her hands get trapped!

Generally, I noticed that my girl, when she was younger at about your gal's age, she would fall asleep better swaddled. She would initially struggle a bit and the swaddle would loosen, but eventually she does give up and settle down to sleep. Take heart! I was rocking my girl to sleep/sleepy state before putting her onto cotbed until she was 5 months. Nowadays, I still have to do that sometimes...

If you are not opposed towards giving her pacifier, can consider giving her pacifier to soothe her after latch on? I held out giving pacifier until she was about 3 months old I think. Also, have you considered wheter she is sleeping too much in the day?

sg81hani,
dont't repeat my mistake that i regret so much. On the first month, my mom always carry her to sleep..becos of that..i have huget problem..cos my mom went back home (not stay in singapore) and she can't sleep anymore without being carry. I had a hard time to train her to sleep on her own without being carry..cos i had sleepless nites and days also cos she won't sleep without being carry.

anyway..last nite was the ultimate. She cry and cry and didn't sleep until 4.30 am. by 1.30 am i couldn't take it anymore..so just left her cry..and she really cry till 2.30 still couldn;'t sleep. Then i feed her again and bring her to my bed..i notice she got really frustrated..cos she want to flip but couldn't flip successfully. anyway..by 4.30..i finally carry her to sleep..and she finally sleep in my arm. Really a headache..and not sure when this battle will end.

Have you tried to see whether she is attached to YOU personally, or she needs the carrying by ANYONE to sleep? Can someone else carry her (say your husband or anyone else?). Is she missing your mother, who has taken care of her the past month?

What Ive always done is rock my girl in arms to a sleepy state (eyes closed, breathing more stable and slow, but she's not in deep sleep yet) and I put her on bed to sleep. Sometimes, she wakes up as I do so, but I quickly pat her butt and/or place my hand on her chest so that she still feels secure. Then I pat until she's dozing off/dozed off state and then I leave her room.

Some babies need the reassurance that their caregiver is physically around them, so maybe slowly try to replace the intimate cradle position by being within their sight when patting them?

 

[Mummy to Baby V]

My boy was carried & bounced to sleep until 14 months old! Only these 1-2 months that he can fall asleep on the bed with light or no patting. But he still fusses several times a night to latch on. Today's nap was perfect -- slept through 2 hours. Usually he fusses after an hour or so. But just now was horrible -- took 1 hour to settle him; he was almost dozing off on the bed then sat up & wanted me to carry him again. After some struggling, he finally slept on the bed.

When he was younger, he would ALWAYS cry before sleeping, naps or night. Either hubby or I had to carry him before he calmed down. We can't stand his cries and prefer him to get more rest, so would carry him if he insists. I tried patting him to sleep, which he accepted only at 14 months old. Sigh...

Every baby is different, so try what helps your family sleep best. One thing for sure is that "This stage shall pass."

 

[ling.er]

Guess my newborn baby also like tat ?? Cos mid nigh after feed he dun wan get back to slp.. imagine from 3am make noise / cry till 5am + = = Change diaper / Give pacifer , rock him on rocker all dun wan.. Some time i carry him on my body then he calm down abit.. But after few min will cry back .. Some time nv .. depend on his mood .. Im so tired .. Try many way alrd = =" sometime in afternoon nap also like tat T.T really duno wat to do ... Anyone cn advice ?? :wong19: He juz comin 3 wk only... As some mummy say if carry him n rock him till slp i scare nxt time he use to it..

 

[popsie]

This is termed "purple crying" - many pediatricians here all mention it to us new parents & it's often brought up in my prenatal classes as well. The crying is unexplainable & can stretch for hours, but the baby is healthy. Whatever it is, just never ever shake the baby forcefully in bid to get him/her to stop crying.

See link for more info:
The Period of Purple Crying&

 

[Mummy to Baby V]

Guess my newborn baby also like that ?? Cos mid nigh after feed he dont want get back to sleep.. imagine from 3am make noise / cry till 5am + = = Change diaper / Give pacifer , rock him on rocker all dont want.. Some time i carry him on my body then he calm down abit.. But after few min will cry back .. Some time never .. depend on his mood .. Im so tired .. Try many way alrd = =" sometime in afternoon nap also like that T.T really dont know what to do ... Anyone cn advice ?? :wong19: He just comin 3 wk only... As some mummy say if carry him n rock him till sleep i scare nxt time he use to it..

Just follow your mothering instincts to soothe your newborn. Afterall, you have carried and rocked him through pregnancy. Baby needs some time to get used to the outside world, which is so imperfect compared to the cosy womb. Try babywearing him for a few hours each day?

 

[rubberseed]

Guess my newborn baby also like that ?? Cos mid nigh after feed he dont want get back to sleep.. imagine from 3am make noise / cry till 5am + = = Change diaper / Give pacifer , rock him on rocker all dont want.. Some time i carry him on my body then he calm down abit.. But after few min will cry back .. Some time never .. depend on his mood .. Im so tired .. Try many way alrd = =" sometime in afternoon nap also like that T.T really dont know what to do ... Anyone cn advice ?? :wong19: He just comin 3 wk only... As some mummy say if carry him n rock him till sleep i scare nxt time he use to it..

Babies are not programmed to sleep on their own at this stage, so they usually need someone to carry them or help them to go to sleep. There are many "theories" on how to get babies to sleep better (e.g. let baby cry), however, be careful of such claims as there is very little research on this method for infants, most of the current research are for toddlers (Research on Crying it Out). A good read is this website on sleeping for infants, it can also give you more ideas. Another excellent page is 31 WAYS TO GET YOUR BABY TO GO TO SLEEP AND STAY ASLEEP EASIER 8 INFANT SLEEP FACTS EVERY PARENT SHOULD KNOW
where you can read up more about your infant sleep cycle (it really help me!)

Just also remember that colic (excessive crying and fussing for babies at night) is normal and often peaks at 6 - 8 weeks. It was a trying period for both me and my husband during week 6, when she started crying at 8.30pm and would fuss till 11pm. There was even one particular night when she had to be carried throughout the night. However, she has since settled and is sleeping well at night (i.e. approx. 9.30pm to 6pm with 0-2 feeds). Our night time routine:
7pm - feed & wipe her clean with warm water
8pm - turn off lights in the house, lower TV volume, talk to/play with her softly/gently (nothing loud)
9pm - feed her again in her room with orange light, change diapers and carry her to sleep in the dark, we try and put her down when she is drowsy and then pat her. sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. she usually falls asleep 1/2h after feeding. Just ensure that the "carrying" is also not over stimulating, i.e. carry her in the same room that she sleeps, rock/sing softly & slowly.

During the night feeds, we just switch on the orange light, avoid eye contact or talk, feed & change her and rock her to sleep & put her down when she is drowsy. Entire process no more than 30-45min.

good luck!