5 month old cries every 20 minutes at night

Hi there,

My 5 month old daughter cried every 20 minutes last night - and often does so. She is asleep when she starts crying and will wake up if I don't pick her up and rock her when she starts crying. (She is not hungry and often refuses to suck for comfort unless she is really relaxed and calm). We co-sleep (bed share) and when I try to put her back in the bed, most of the time she will start crying again and I will rock her again. She feeds to sleep often at the beginning of the night, and sometimes will comfort herself back to sleep on the breast without me having to get up and rock her, but last night she didn't want to be comforted by the breast - only rocking. She has in the past comforted to sleep on the breast every time she woke at night, so I did not need to get up, but that was only one night. Last night at around 4:30 I decided to put her in the hammock (sometimes she sleeps in there before coming into our bed, but not often). She went to sleep when I bounced it, but cried and needed me to pat and/or sing and/or bounce the hammock every 20 minutes until she woke (without crying) at around 6:30, which she does every morning.

I have tried the whole bedtime ritual thing - bath, massage, rock + sing, feed + pat, sleep thing. Ended most nights with us both in tears as she hates getting dressed / massaged (lying on her back). (Mostly she sleeps on her side next to me in bed). Didn't help her sleeping at night either, as she was more worked up by the bath and massage than relaxed by it.

Have been to doctor to check for ear infection - and there is none. Am also trying eliminating dairy, wheat, soy and food additives from my diet in case it is because she is sensitive to them (her daddy's fam have allergies and intolerances and ADHD). She has had bad, frequent poos since birth and a persistent nappy rash that just will not go away. Am hoping the elimination diet will help the poo and rash situation and hopefully also the night time crying (she stiffens her legs and arches her back when she cries at night).

Any help out there? I am dead tired and do not want to leave her to CIO. We play music - Peace Baby - all night and have for some time now, but also doesn't help. I'm going a little nuts here...

Could she be teething? Increases in poo and bum rash are a sign of teeth around here. You poor thing, i hope you get some rest soon. :hug:

Have you tried taking her to a baby chiropractor? I never took my DD, but I know others who have taken their babies and they have had amazing results... just make sure you see a good one with plenty of experience with babies.
Hope you get some sleep soon, hang in there - you are doing a great job :hug:

Hi..

I would suggest teething, only cause DD has similar symptoms (just not waking as often). We don't like giving drugs 'just in case', but if DD is really unsettled at night time, we will give a dose of panadol to see if there is any relief (only for 1 or 2 nights though), and has worked for us. I have also heard good reports on Brauers 'Calm', but haven't used it personally.

Hope things settle down.

Could it be wind. Have you tried something like Infacol or Infants Friend.

Hi - it kinda sounds like when DS has gas he needs to get out. Sometimes even after he's burped he needs to be rocked at calmed before he can get back to sleep.
Hope you find an answer soon.

some ppl have offered some great tips what have found works with my otehr kids is to put a clock tick tock tick tock in the bed with her its very rhythmic like your heart beat also put a top or something you have worn in there too. Maybe wrap her in ti or put some perfume on the bedding that u wear all the time a few hours before taking her to bed. Hope some or one of these suggestions work. good luck sweet!:hug:

Hi there,

Thanks for all of your replies. Of course - it might be teething! I hope it is only that. I didn't think of that. I feel relieved that that might be all it is. :-)

Thanks for your encouragement. One of my closest friends claims her daughter has slept 12 hours through every night since she was 6 weeks old. She is a schedule feeder and has a sleep trainer attitude to babies, and thinks so-called demand feeding leads to nightwakefulness... it is nice to get some encouragement from you guys that it is NOT my parenting that is causing this... THANKS!

I was going to say wind ... or teething, could be some heartburn too. You could try giving her some gaviscon (on 5 months my gp said 0.5ml gaviscon just before bed - but make sure, ok?)

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(she stiffens her legs and arches her back when she cries at night).

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Yeah, my dd still does this :( I would try the ant-acid if I were you ... just to eliminate that.

Good luck and I hope you and your darling sleep better tonight!!

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One of my closest friends claims her daughter has slept 12 hours through every night since she was 6 weeks old. She is a schedule feeder and has a sleep trainer attitude to babies, and thinks so-called demand feeding leads to nightwakefulness... it is nice to get some encouragement from you guys that it is NOT my parenting that is causing this...

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Shell - It is definately not your parenting causing this. You are doing a wonderful job!! What works for your friends and family may not always work for you... GL, hope you find the cause and start getting some sleep...

Shell, I hope you've had a better night last night.

IMHO your friend is lucky if she's got a bub that has slept 12hours a night since 6 weeks. She'll might claim it's science & discipline, I think "luck of the draw". The thing is that for the people who do get babies who sleep well it's easy to be proud and loud, it's a kind of parenting boast. But I think that it's the parents of the non sleepers who should be boasting, because lets face it, we're accomplishing just as much, but on so much less sleep - that's a waaay bigger challenge.

And FWIW - your gentle approach to soothing her, even though it's enormously hard on you at times, is probably creating a secure, happy little girl, who knows that her mum can be relied upon, a good thing I think.

Thanks again.

While I do know theoretically that it is NOT my parenting... it is sometimes hard to remember when one is living on almost no sleep... so I really appreciate being reminded. ;-)

There are some great suggestions on here - thanks. I don't think it is gas / wind - otherwise wouldn't I hear a burp and/or fart when I cuddle her? And I don't. Same with reflux - don't hear anything, whereas during the day when it happens (which it does sometimes) I hear it, and generally she swallows it and doesn't show any signs of discomfort from it (although once - and only once - I noticed she cried from it). But generally she doesn't seem to mind when a little bit comes up. I suppose it could be heartburn - as then there is nothing to hear. Would there be any other symptoms if it is heartburn?

On top of all this, she has come down with a cold / cough, so that probably isn't helping her to sleep better. She doesn't have a fever, but has an enlarged lymph node behind one of her ears. I went to the doctor (again) yesterday who suggested giving panadol. I am not a fan of medicating unless it is really necessary, but decided today it was worth it, as she seems to be in so much discomfort. I tried it... but she hated it. It came up with the entire contents of her stomach - a massive vomit. It claims on the packet it is "gentle on little stomachs"... but she certainly didn't think so!

Her nappy rash is really painful at the moment, which also could be contributing to the waking / crying at night. She is pooing almost hourly during the day, and they are runny, big, horrible poos, some of them green. She has been crying when I wipe her bottom and put cream on it - whenever the skin is touched. It must hurt her so much. I am trying to give her bottom as much time as possible without a nappy on... but it's hard as she sick, and also she is mobile (already) and doesn't want to lie still, or even confined to a small space where I have laid the towel down in case of more poo.

She is sleeping okay at the moment... better make the most of it and get some precious shut-eye myself...
Thanks again to everyone who has listened to me and replied. I have no family around to help me and this whole thing was starting to get to me. Thanks for letting me get some of it out. :-)

:hug: Sounds like she is really going thru a tough time, poor baby.

I would just caution you about the reflux .. they can get silent reflux, you won't hear it or notice it. So if this continue AFTER she is better (the poo's) I'll have a look at it if I were you. And about the heartburn ... I really don't know. The only way I know that DD has heartburn is if I give her something and she quiet down within 10 minutes after I have given it. Sound silly, but there is really no other way of knowing :( You could ensure that her head is higher than her stomach when you put her down.

Could also be the start of the flu or something ... not already full-blown, but think about it ... when you are feeling under the weather ... illness is not really far away. That could make her nauseas (hence the massive vomit) and make her lymph nodes swollen. Try giving something else ... I don't know what Aus have in stores, but there will definatly be other types of pain medication that she might keep down. Experiment ... I know you don't want to pump her full of medication, but I feel that if it makes her have a nice nap and get some much needed rest, she will get better quicker.

As for the nappy rash ... I think that I heard somewhere that you can bath her in bakingsoda ((?? help other mommies??)) and I know putting on some cornflour really does do wonders :) It's icky to wash off and looks gross, but it really does help the burn and to clear up the rash.

Is there any chance she might have caught a rota-virus?? First ( :lol: ok, not first thing, but thinking back ) thing that popped into my head .. I had dd checked for that also at about 5 months when she gave me LOADS of green, runny poo's. Turned out being nothing .. but it gave me the peace of mind

Yes, just googled the baking soda ... it's half a cup of bakingsoda in lukewarm water. (I would take that as half a cup in a "big" bath, not a baby bath)

HTH

My DD vomits if i give her panadol. I think the stuff is revolting. The poor little babes have only ever had milk before and they make the most disgusting cherry flavoured gunk! When DD was little i used panadol supositories, and now i give her Dymadon (still paracetamol, just a different brand) if necessary. It has an orange flavour and doesn't make her (or me) want to gag like panadol does.

Just to add to the teething theory, every time DD has got a new tooth she has got a cold or virus at the same time.

Hope you got some more rest last night. :hug:

Thanks again ladies. Thanks for the info about silent reflux - I will keep that in mind.

Last night I noticed that sometimes when she cried, it was followed by a burp or fart, so it seems wind is definitely not out of the question. I think it is either teething, or something is upsetting her whole digestive system. I do have a forceful letdown / fast flow. I used to posture feed when she was younger, but then I thought she got to a stage where she could handle it better without posture feeding. Now I am going to try posture feeding again. I posture fed this morning and she let out 2 massive farts and a massive poo while feeding - actually she pooed 3 times in 2 hours this morning. So much poo - no wonder her bottom is sore.

I really wish I could take her to a doctor who would be supportive and take it more seriously. I have been 3 times in the last 2 weeks to medical professionals and they have been rather dismissive of me. Grrh!!

Could be that she is not yet ready to handle your letdown :dunno: YAY for the massive farts this morning :lol: I always says: "If it doesn't pay rent ... let it out" ;)

I hear your frustration about the drs :hug: I know how extreamly stupid I felt when I went from dr to nurse to dr to nurse when my dd was crying non-stop and not sleeping. Thing is ... it's really a guessing and elimanation kind of thing. I hate the fact that my daughter can't TELL me what is bothering her. I also think it would be SOOOO much easier if they could TELL drs exactly where they are hurting, don't you think? But yes, it's very mind-numbing when dr are so dismissive ... at one point I even told my pead, after he dismissed my dd's crying at night as an "all bubba's do that, nothing more I can do" (not that he did ANYTHING), that "YOU ARE NOT THE ONE SITTING UP WITH HER AT NIGHT" ... I actually shouted over the phone :redface: I changed peads after that ... and the new one really tried to help us more, did some tests, gave new medication. Anyway.

Hope the posture feed helps for the wind :)

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to update people. We went to the doctor again yesterday, as I suspected her nappy rash had become infected. It had. So DD is on antibiotics and has a prescription cream for that. It is yet to improve, but hopefully soon. It appears at least some of her nightwaking / crying at night is because of her nappy rash that she has pretty much had since birth regardless of what I have done to try to get rid of it (hence why we are trying an elimination diet - to see if she is getting bad poo and hence nappy rash from her being sensitive to something I am eating, or if it is just her trying to cope with my fast flow / forceful letdown).

Last night we tried for the third time with the panadol and this time she didn't vomit it up! Slept much better last night too, which is great. Just can't wait for this infection to clear up!

Thanks again for all your support. :-)

Hi Glad you got some sleep! Really hope the nappy rash improves soon - poor little thing!
Forecful/fast letdown can cause poos like that, as you know, so maybe posture feeding will help. Also, when my DS had frothy green poos (and was quite unsettled etc) for a while, the doctor suggested expressing off some foremilk before feeds to give his gut a break from so much lactose. This cleared it up almost straight away. Do you express past the 'worst' of the letdown before feeding - it's something I've seen recommended.
Intolerance to dairy or wheat proteins can also cause problems, but I think that's fairly rare.

I don't know if you've ruled out reflux, but symptoms of silent reflux include swallowing lots and snuffles/difficult breathing (as it can irritate nasal passage etc). DS used to get this but appears to have grown out of it.

Good luck