4 month old cries almost all night! PLEASE HELP!

Sarah - posted on 01/21/2009

my baby had collic and quite bad so he was fine in the day he use to go bed at 7pm at 10pm he started up and didnt settle until 2-3pm he did it for few months i had to buy drops to put in his bottle i tryed everything and that kinda worked. Try reducing sleeps in the day. x

Louise - posted on 01/21/2009

You could try reading a book called "On Becoming Babywise" by Ezzo and Bucknam. This book helped me so much with both my children in the sleeping department.

Dana - posted on 01/21/2009

My son would wake up screaming like that, and it was usually gas. Mylicon always fixed that. We eventually found out, right around 4 months, that regular formula was making him really gassy, so we switched to Similac Isomil (soy formula) and we never had that problem again. Of course, every now and then they have those nights anyway, due to teeth, ears, etc... But if it's night after night, it sounds like there's something going on. Good Luck!

Whitney - posted on 01/21/2009

You're probably right about him not wanting to be away from us now. I hope that's something he can get used to. It's killing me to hear him cry at night. I can't just let him cry it out. I don't have it in me to let him keep crying. Hopefully, tonight goes better.

Deborah - posted on 01/21/2009

If there isn't a medical reason as to why he's doing this it could be that your son could be craving your attention. He has now moved further away from you and he knows that you're away during the day and the way he solved his problem is by keeping you awake at night. Try to give him shorter naps during the day  about 15 mins shorter for each of his usual naps an put him to bed a little later maybe half hour later. Before bed though both you and your husband should try to spend some time with him playing, reading or just cuddling him. I hope this would be able to help you in some way .

Kristen - posted on 01/21/2009

My kids were normal happy babies too....just babies are scared at night in the rooms all alone! But, good luck tonight...I am sure everything is fine.

Whitney - posted on 01/21/2009

Here's the thing, my boy was colicky, but he's been over that for about 2 months now. I don't know what brought this on so suddenly. He's a normal, happy baby during the day. I've tried giving him rice cereal for the last 2 days, but that doesn't seem to help either. We have a doctors appointment tonight just so I can be completely sure that he's not in any pain. We'll see what happens!

Kristen - posted on 01/21/2009

I have two kiddos that were colicky and it is horrible for the whole family! A lot of babies cry because they have gas and I would suggest Mylicon. I have also used gripe water, which is an all natural way to help with colick and can be found at most Nutritional stores. Also, I would put a little bit of baby cereal in the last bottle before bed to help him sleep a little longer. That rice sticks to their tummys, therefore they aren't as hungry through the night. I think experts say wait until 6 months to start cereal, but I did at 4 months with both of my babies right before bedtime. Hope this helps!

And, just hang in there. I have been there and done that and I KNOW it is not easy. The nighttime crying won't last too much longer, I promise!

Carie - posted on 01/21/2009

that posted before i was done.

I don't think it is anything serious. But my mom kept telling me how I did that and it ended up being Colic.

Carie - posted on 01/21/2009

I would talk to your doctor. Safe than sorry.

Carie - posted on 01/21/2009

I would talk to your doctor. Safe than sorry.

Rebecca - posted on 01/21/2009

Hi! There are a lot of articles out there about the 4 month old sleep regression, for some reason some babies at 4 months old don't want to sleep as much. Not sure how long his naps are during the day, but maybe he is sleeping to much during day. My son sleep fine during the night at 4 months old, but would only take 30 minute naps during the day.

Check out http://www.bellytobellybutton.com/?p=75 for some sleep suggestions.

Also, not sleeping could also be because of teething, colds, ear infections, or hunger. Check with your pediatrician to rule these out.

Hope this is helpful.