Is it possible my baby was just 'over tired'?

Question

the last few evenings my baby (6 weeks) has been miserable and unsettled all evening, literally from the time he wakes up from an afternoon nap to the time we finally settle him into bed he's not entirely happy for longer than 10-15 mins unless he is feeding and seems to want to eat constantly (but is even fretful then!)

However, today he had an incredilby long sleep after we went to baby massage today and has been cheerful and eating 'normally' this evening.

was he perhaps over tired before?

Answer 1

hi,i think he has wind! It is so common for the evening to come and the colic to set in! Try gripe water! Good luck!  

Answer 2

with a baby so young there is a lot of guessing

its tough. he may be having a growth spurt where he needs to eat much more than usual and cries more, on days like these you need to nurse for longer otherwise having him on your breast for hours is no use, he is not eating but comforting himself and as you said you have some needs and happy mother will mean happy baby

Answer 3

Most likely your baby is going throgh a growth spurt. My baby gets fussy when she goes through a spurt, and eats more as well. Right now she's going through one, and I'm having to supplement every breastfeeding with 2 oz. of formula (mine is 6 weeks as well).

Hope that helps!

Answer 4

Are you sure he is latching on properly?  If he is fussing at the breast than something is not right with his latch or maybe he is protesting your flow (slow or fast letdown).  The crankiness could be from not enough food (poor latch) or from being overtired or a combo of both.

Check out this link for fussing at the breast...

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/baby...

Answer 5

maybe at six weeks he is having a growth spurt that is why he is feeding more than normal.

Answer 6

Let him comfort nurse, or does he refuse the breast?

Maybe it's a growth spurt

I'd let him nurse all day long if he wants, it'll be good for your milk supply, he'll be happy & full, he'll probably nap there & everybody wins.

God Bless

Answer 7

possibly, if he is upset and you are stressing he will pick up on it but if you were more relaxed after baby massage he will be too!

or it could be colic, that tends to effect babies around the same time everyday...mine suffered after his bedtime feed and took ages to go down after. so it maybe that the baby massage helped his colic.

whatever the reason, i wouldnt worry, if the baby massage made him feel better just relax yourself and keep doing it!

congrats and good luck

edit: when is he head butting you kicking and scratching etc? my lil man did this around 4 weeks and i thought he was in pain intially. i spoke to my HV who said it was normal and their way of bringing on your milk, however like you i couldnt sit and nurse all day (lovely for those that can, but like you i had other things i HAD to do as well as nurse) so i put mine on the bottle at that stage. i did have a friend however whos lil one was a month younger than mione, but she decided to stick at it and was really determined to breast feed till 6 months but even she gave up at 6 weeks for the same reasons. i think you are oding everything right. if massage soothes him i would be inclined to believe its colic, does he feed, then cry and come off. then try and feed again and then cry and come off again? if so its intestinal colic and the maage could well be relieving it, infacol wont help that but colief might. email me if you want more info...or check with your pharmacist. your HV should be able to help too if she is any good! (mine wasnt great till i moved!)

Answer 8

keep an eye on it. if the baby cries the same time every night for the same amount of time say 6-6  (eg) then it is possible the baby has colic or acid reflux. if it trapped wind the massage would have relaxed all the babies tight muscles. try to put the baby on his belly if possible with slight pressure around the belly area. if the baby stops then u know it is colic. also if his belly is very hard and he has his knees up toward his belly its most likely to be colic.

Answer 9

i think my daughter gets over tired too! she fights sleep then she gets really narky cos she is tired and cant sleep. most of the time, she will wake up 30min into her afternoon nap, i used to pick her up, let her waken properly and then play. but i found if i shhh her back to sleep, she is much happier the rest of the day, and bedtime is so much easier!

Nichola x*x

Answer 10

He could have been overtired, but it is much more likely that he was overstimulated.  Some babies are much more sensitive than others when it comes to getting stimulated.  

Noises that we don't even notice such as the  buzz of a florescent light or the hum of an air conditioner can be too much for tiny ones.  While as adults we have learned to filter out extra noise, sometimes for a sensitive baby it is just too much.

The massage probably really helped to relieve his stresses and comfort him!

If you notice this pattern again, try swaddling him tightly, and softly rocking him in a dark quiet room.  It may be just the peace and quiet he needs!

Best of luck to you!

Answer 11

Baby = little developing human?

Therefore teething, mild infection, development can all make baby tired.

Perhaps the child had a little bout of Colic

My guess Normal!  

Just watch for spots, rashes, discoloured skin, fever.

See doctor if you get too worried, as sometimes parents just know!