Our son is 6 weeks old and for the past 2 weeks he just screams from like 8pm to midnight every single night. We've tried everything - different formulas, burping, changing, white noise. I feel like a zombie at work. Does this get better or is this just our life now? My wife is honestly breaking down and I don't know what to do.
6 weeks with screaming 8pm to midnight sounds like colic honestly. It's brutal I know. Have you talked to your pediatrician about it? My kid had something similar and knowing what we were dealing with helped us cope mentally.
Two weeks straight of screaming is brutal on everyone. Your wife needs a break too if possible. Can you take night duty some nights so she can sleep?
Hang in there, man. We went through the exact same thing around that age with our first. Turns out our son just had brutal evening colic and it lasted about 6 weeks total. The screaming from 8pm-midnight was brutal on my wife too. It does pass, I promise.
That sounds like classic colic, which is the worst. With our second kid we tried white noise, motion, different holds - nothing really stopped it but the swaddling and walking around seemed to buy us 10-15 minutes of peace here and there. Survival mode is real.
Six weeks is rough. Our three went through phases like this and honestly the best thing we found was tag-teaming with my wife so one of us could take a break while the other handled the screaming. Even 20 minutes to decompress helps when you're both stretched thin.
The first few months are so hard. That scream window broke us for a minute but our guy grew out of it around 8-9 weeks. Hang in there.
The witching hour is real and it's one of the hardest parts of newborn life. Your wife needs breaks during that time or she will lose it. Can you take the baby for those 4 hours even just on weekends?
6 weeks is rough and that 8pm to midnight window is the worst. Could be colic, could be just how he settles. Have you tried a white noise machine or swaddling differently?
This is the phase where shifts help. If you can tag team it where one person handles 8-10pm and the other takes 10pm-midnight it makes it way more survivable. You're not alone in this.
Two weeks of this straight sounds exhausting for both of you. Have you tried the football hold or white noise or swaddling? I'm not saying one magic thing works for every baby but sometimes small changes help break the cycle.
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This phase will pass but it's rough while you're in it. Talk to your pediatrician to rule out anything medical. Sometimes it's just the witching hour.