Extreme fussiness/caved and gave a soother

[@llli*bonniefleming]

Hi everyone. My LO just turned 5 wks today and lately the evenings have been unbearable. She used to cluster feed for hours before crashing and that was fine but now the last week she has been border line inconsolable. I try to nurse her for comfort but that doesn't even work now. She pulls off the breast, pushes and just screams and cries. The night before she refused to leave my left breast. Wouldn't have anything to do with the right, this went on from 9pm to 3am! Because of all the sucking my milk lets down and totally peeves her off and she freaks. Shouldn't she need to feed at some point? During the day she feeds about every two to 3 hrs. I am at a loss of what to do. Last night was so bad. She cried and screamed for ever so I finally broke down and gave her a soother (one of the soothie brands). Quiet at last last! So I waited until she was calm for a bit then removed the soother and nursed her a tiny bit before she returned to hysterics. Around 11 she finally ate and was sleeping by midnight and didn't need the soother after that. I plan to only use it to get through these crazy fussy nights. I did try using a finger but it didn't work as well.
I thought things started to get better as they got older?
I saw my dr. Yesterday and she mentioned colic, and suggested I give her a probiotic proven to reduce symptoms of colic, biogaia. I gave her a dose last night but it takes a few days. Any other suggestions? I'm so paranoid about nipple confusion! I have to leave Saturday for bit and hubby will need to give her a bottle.

I don't know what I'm asking for here but any feedback or advice would be great. Thank you!

[@llli*emmysmum]

My lo is 5 weeks also and I have been dealing with the same thing. At around 7 pm she would start screaming and acting colicky . Nothing I did seemed to help I bounced, rocked , and walked for hours to no avail. Somewhere in there I noticed that whenever I at dairy during the day her "attacks" at night were really bad. Once I cut out dairy for a few days I had a new baby. I also use a soothie because she loves to suck and gets so offended when I let down. I have also pumped from one side and then let her on, she doesn't seem to mind that to much either . My lo loves to float in water. Yesterday I ate something that must of had dairy in it because at 7 sharp she started getting uncontrollable. She was crying so hard she was gagging herself. I bounced and rocked until I got into the bath as a last resort. I held her head up and let her body float she immediately relaxed and passed ALOT of gas and fell asleep. I have also found that pitying her high on my shoulder with her arms resting on top of my shoulder and patting really helps to. I hope some of this can be useful to you. Hang in there. as my mom always said " this to shall pass"

[@llli*lilysmama27]

bonniefleming that sounds like some nights we have had! Very frustrating.. I hope it gets better soon!

We tried a bath with her the other night before her fussy time and she seemed to enjoy it but the fussy time still struck. No matter what I eat too she fusses every night on cue. Around 7. It started around 3 weeks and there were nights she had us up until 3am. Now usually we get her to sleep between 9:30 on a good night and 11:30 on a less good night, but even that's not bad if she stays asleep!

[@llli*lilysmama27]

Oh, my lo is 6 weeks tomorrow. We caved at 4 weeks and bought a soothie. I didn't want to and still dislike the thing at times but at times it helps. I have forceful letdown too so sometimes she just wants to suck and not deal with another letdown, I guess, but as long as she's had enough to eat I let her have the soothie because it helps her get to sleep sometimes. and sometimes it just calms her down enough that I can try feeding her again when she's been fussing at the breast. She seems to have a love/hate relationship with my breasts but as long as she does show me she loves nursing at times I have to accept that sometimes she loves the soothie too. ha

[@llli*nathansmum]

I remember those fussy evenings oh so well. Dh and I would joke that LO must hate 7:30.
I introduced the soothie at about 4 weeks, despite swearing that I would never use one and I felt sort of guilty about it, but now I am so glad I did it. It has been a lifesaver in so many situations where nursing was not possible -like the supermarket or bank line-up, long road trip, short road trips, when he refused to nurse on a plane and started SCREAMING because his ears hurt. Plus it enabled me to take a quick break during the fussy period because Dh was able to hold him while I ate or took a shower. LO is now 7 months old and I use the soothie when he is teething and becomes super fussy at the breast because he can't comfort nurse. I also put one in his crib at night and he will find it and pop it into his own mouth and go back to sleep when he wakes up but isn't hungry. He also switches back and forth without a problem. No nipple confusion here
I think it is okay to use once in while as long as your latch is good, baby is gaining well, you have already established a good milk supply, and you don't let it replace eating. Some babies just need to suck a lot. It might be really handy for your Dh to use after feeding her, because often breastfeeding babies want to keep sucking after they eat, but can't with a bottle.
The fussy evenings usually peak at around 6-8 weeks so it should get better soon

[@llli*bonniefleming]

Oh thank the heavens I'm not alone. I tried cutting dairy but didn't make a difference. She's gaining we'll (1lb on two wks) as of Tuesday. I just started loading up on movies and tv shows and watching tv to make the time pass. I usually end up walking around the room bouncing her. But at least the shows make it more bearable.

[@llli*nathansmum]

Try to enjoy it while it lasts! My LO is crawling now and sticking everything in his mouth, so I am constantly chasing him around and pulling him off of stuff. I miss those days of being cuddled up on the couch with baby for hours watching shows and reading.

[@llli*babyk1345]

does diary affect fussy time at night? after reading some of these posts, i noticed now he wasn't too fussy if i didn't have my cereal and milk. also my LO is 6 weeks old and starts to get fussy after 5pm. so wanted to try a bath before bedtime but i don't want to bathe every night. today i had diary and he's fussy again in the crib - even after sleeping soundly in my arms twice and soothie 3rd time around. have to keep trying things to keep our sanity on top of our 22month old!