Baby totally unsettled after bath - help!

[chelly100]

So, I have a 5 week old baby girl called Holly... she suffered bad colic in the early days and we had a few rough evenings with her. We changed her milk from Aptamil to Aptamil comfort and she was much better.

I also started trying to establish a routine... I have a 3 year old boy you see and so I need the routine so that I know if I'm coming or going during the day!!!

Anyhow, she is fine during the day, not brilliant, but she is still so little... She feeds ok-ish and has good naps and one long sleep (2 hours or so) in the day. My problem starts at bath time. I feed her as much as she'll take half hour before her bath, she loves her bath and will sit there content and all happy, the absolute second we take her out of the water she just screams and screams and screams and screams.......

I take her upstairs to get her dressed and fed for bed, she starts drinking the milk but just screams, then I hear her swallow a load of air, then I know she has tummy pain.

Does anyone have any suggestions to remedy this? Why is she so screamy and not taking a feed after her bath? She only had 2oz before her bath (at 5pm) and her last feed before that was 2.30pm!

It gets to the point where I just have to leave her in her cot, screaming, which I hate. But it's so hard to listen to her... she took about 5-10 mins to stop and go to sleep tonight, which she did on her own.

I'd really like her to feed after her bath tho as she doesn't take on loads of milk the rest of the day and I know there's a certain amount she needs in 24 hours. Her weight is 10lb 7oz.

Any advice I'd be grateful...thanks.

 

[isil]

can I ask why you feed her before her bath? Could you not wait and just feed her after? I'm just thinking that maybe all the chopping and changing and half feeds is maybe confusing her. Or it could be colic?

She should be having 25-27 oz over 24hrs (according to the 2.5 oz per pound of body weight calculation!)

 

[chelly100]

I feed her before because she starts to get hungry. Her last feed before that one is at 2.30pm - I don't think she could go from 2.30 til 6.15, altho I haven't tried... she has a small afternoon nap and she does tend to wake up hungry from all of her sleeps. Maybe I'll try feeding her after her bath only tomorrow. Thing is, I'll be worried that if she does same as tonight then she won't've had any milk at all if I don't feed her before the bath. She took absolutely no milk tonight after her bath (a few mouthfuls), I guess I'll just have to try and see.

Thanks.

 

[chelly100]

Also, I have been writing down how much she feeds, the last week were as follows:

Amount taken in 24 hours:
6th Jan - 19oz
7th Jan - 19oz
8th Jan - 17.5oz
9th Jan 24.5oz
10th Jan - 24oz
11th Jan - 22.5oz
12th Jan - 25oz

So really she's not having enough milk as it is according to the body weight calculation! Having a baby is stressful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[tinytoes]

If I were you i'd bring bath time earlier. That way she can feed afetr the bath and go to sleep.
My LO used to always scream and have a tantrum after his bath. His little arms adn legs would go and he'd be so angry!! He'd be so worked up he'd even refuse to feed much. He'd scream and scream.
Anyway, I think he was over tired. I moved his bedtime to being earlier and it worked a treat!! (Like I moved bathtime from 9 to 7 and now its at 6 or 6.15) Also, it got much better as he got a little older, but making bath and therefore bedtime earlier really really helped us. He was just knackered and worked himself into a state not knwoing what the tired feeling was or not knowing how to deal with it I think.

 

[chelly100]

That sounds exactly like Holly, she screams as tho she's really angry, she kicks her legs and gets so worked up. She gets hysterical. This is the routine I'm trying at the mo, when do you think I should do the bath?:

7am - feed
9am - sleep (one hour)
10/10.30am - feed
11.30/12 - sleep(2 - 2.5 hours)
2/2.30pm - feed
4.15 - nap (45 mins to an hour)
5.15ish feed
5.45/6pm - bath
6.15pm - feed then bed

Except she obviously doesn't always stick to this, sometimes she doesn't sleep too well or will sleep longer then I've said and of course she doesn't follow the last bit at all!!!

So when should I do her bath? Maybe after her afternoon nap, then feed her and bed?

I have a little boy tho and so I have to fit in with his dinner and also my husband is home from work in time to help with my current routine... oh dear, what shall I do??!!!!

 

[Vickie]

Yep I'd try to do what tinytoes said and move bathtime earlier, than bottle after and bed.

As for the ounces honestly my little girl should be eating around 30 ounces (should have been for 2 months now) but most days eats closer to 24. She's always gained weight and length so I try not to worry much about it (hard I know) but I know that she knows when she's full

 

[tinytoes]

maybe try the bath at 5 or 5.30 if that'd fit with your little boy?.. Hopfully the fun bath time should put her off being grumpy about not having her feed yet? Or you could give her a tiny feed to just tide her over?

I remember how stressful it was....I used to find it really draining at the end of the day. I thought it'd never end.

 

[chelly100]

I guess I could do her bath at 5pm or as soon after she wakes as poss, my little boy could help me which he'd love, but somewhere I need to fit his dinner in! My only concern tho is that she's be going to bed at like 5.30-5.45pm, that seems way too early, no????

I forgot to mention, I do wake her at 10/10.30pm to feed her and then put her back down again and let her take the lead thru the night.

It is stressful, having two children as well is so hard, I know what you mean when you say it seems like it'll never end. I feel guilty because I'm kinda wishing Holly's little life away by begging to get a few more weeks in, when's she's like 12 weeks I know it'll be easier, is that totally selfish??! x

 

[greenkat]

I think if she's happy in the bath then maybe it's something you do as you take her out that's upsetting her?

My LO gets upset getting out of the bath -I like to make sure the room is warm, her clothes and a clean nappy are to hand so I can get her dry and dressed asap, and the light's are turned low. I bf so I usually feed her right after too, not before. - it seems to help her get over it quicker.

 

[chelly100]

I don't get time to get her dressed before she starts screaming! It's the absolute second that she knows she's getting out of the bath that she starts. As far as I'm concerned the room is warm enough, I cuddle her in her towel, everything... I even try to feed her asap, before I've got her dressed in case she was screaming thru starvation (unlikely tho as she has a feed shortly before bath)... nothing works. She is a bit grumpy during the day but nothing like at bathtime. Her new nickname in my house is Moaning Myrtle..........!!!ar

 

[bex]

I'd forget the bath. I only bath Niamh once or twice a week, mainly because my 3 year old had very bad eczema so i don't want to dry her skin out. I top and tail her everyday instead. I can understand that you want to get into a routine and i understand how difficult it is, i've got a 3 year old boy aswell but if shes getting stressed out i wouldn't bother with a bath every night.

 

[doumauk]

Have you tried bathing with her?She might enjoy that alot better and when you both get out together she might not realise shes getting out as you hug her against your chest.Its great bonding and definately seems to take salims mind off getting out the bath.Your 3 year old could stand at the side and pass you the things you need etc so he doesnt feel left out. Also try massaging her on your knee for a few minutes after or just hold her to your chest and shhhh her. Do you lie her down to get dressed or hold her?I find holding them makes it alot less stressful for them. I would also leave the feed until after the bath. Some babies dont like bathing with a full tummy. If shes that hungry she will take her milk after shes calmed down.

 

[lady3]

My LO was exactly the same as yours. She loved her bath and would be calm and content in it. The minute you took her out though, she would scream and turn red. As Tinytoes said, I think she was so tired that she didn't know how to handle it. It was the only time she screamed.

Anyway, I moved her bath to the morning time and that helped right away. She stopped screaming after her bath and fed better. I now always give her a bath after her first nap (unless we're going somewhere). At night, I changed her routine to having a massage as she got into her pjs, then a feed, story, then bed. It has been so much better for both of us.

 

[Sarah88]

Savannah is exactly like this, and it doesn't matter what time I bath her. I feed her before her bath and the only way to settle her is by feeding her... Would be interested if theres any different solutions than changing bath time.

 

[taperjeangirl]

So, I have a 5 week old baby girl called Holly... she suffered bad colic in the early days and we had a few rough evenings with her. We changed her milk from Aptamil to Aptamil comfort and she was much better.

I also started trying to establish a routine... I have a 3 year old boy you see and so I need the routine so that I know if I'm coming or going during the day!!!

Anyhow, she is fine during the day, not brilliant, but she is still so little... She feeds ok-ish and has good naps and one long sleep (2 hours or so) in the day. My problem starts at bath time. I feed her as much as she'll take half hour before her bath, she loves her bath and will sit there content and all happy, the absolute second we take her out of the water she just screams and screams and screams and screams.......

I take her upstairs to get her dressed and fed for bed, she starts drinking the milk but just screams, then I hear her swallow a load of air, then I know she has tummy pain.

Does anyone have any suggestions to remedy this? Why is she so screamy and not taking a feed after her bath? She only had 2oz before her bath (at 5pm) and her last feed before that was 2.30pm!

It gets to the point where I just have to leave her in her cot, screaming, which I hate. But it's so hard to listen to her... she took about 5-10 mins to stop and go to sleep tonight, which she did on her own.

I'd really like her to feed after her bath tho as she doesn't take on loads of milk the rest of the day and I know there's a certain amount she needs in 24 hours. Her weight is 10lb 7oz.

Any advice I'd be grateful...thanks.

Hiya :wave:

Our Daisy was exactly like this and I put it down to colic.
I was doing the same as you, a small feed before bath then some after, she screamed nomatter what I did.

I noticed you were using Aptamil, I was using that too, and moved to easy digest which helped a little.
Then my HV suggested taking her off Aptamil as alot of babies are not taking to it so well but alot of people use it because it is supposed to be the closest to breastmilk.

I moved to Cow & Gate and we now have a completely different baby.

i do try to bath her about 30 mins after she has had a full feed though, so she isn't hungry and doesn't need a bottle staright after.

Hope it gets better for you, sorry if I rambled on a bit!!

 

[kayjor04]

hi!!! I had this problem with Jordyn when she was young too... she was crazzy upset after her baths... depite my house always being very warm.. finallly a friend suggested i give her her paci (dummy, soother.. whichever you call it hahaha) either during her bath, or right before i take her out. and it works WONDERS!!!!!!!! just a suggestion!
goodluck!

 

[malpal]

So, I have a 5 week old baby girl called Holly... she suffered bad colic in the early days and we had a few rough evenings with her. We changed her milk from Aptamil to Aptamil comfort and she was much better.

I also started trying to establish a routine... I have a 3 year old boy you see and so I need the routine so that I know if I'm coming or going during the day!!!

Anyhow, she is fine during the day, not brilliant, but she is still so little... She feeds ok-ish and has good naps and one long sleep (2 hours or so) in the day. My problem starts at bath time. I feed her as much as she'll take half hour before her bath, she loves her bath and will sit there content and all happy, the absolute second we take her out of the water she just screams and screams and screams and screams.......

I take her upstairs to get her dressed and fed for bed, she starts drinking the milk but just screams, then I hear her swallow a load of air, then I know she has tummy pain.

Does anyone have any suggestions to remedy this? Why is she so screamy and not taking a feed after her bath? She only had 2oz before her bath (at 5pm) and her last feed before that was 2.30pm!

It gets to the point where I just have to leave her in her cot, screaming, which I hate. But it's so hard to listen to her... she took about 5-10 mins to stop and go to sleep tonight, which she did on her own.

I'd really like her to feed after her bath tho as she doesn't take on loads of milk the rest of the day and I know there's a certain amount she needs in 24 hours. Her weight is 10lb 7oz.

Any advice I'd be grateful...thanks.

Hiya :wave:

Our Daisy was exactly like this and I put it down to colic.
I was doing the same as you, a small feed before bath then some after, she screamed nomatter what I did.

I noticed you were using Aptamil, I was using that too, and moved to easy digest which helped a little.
Then my HV suggested taking her off Aptamil as alot of babies are not taking to it so well but alot of people use it because it is supposed to be the closest to breastmilk.

I moved to Cow & Gate and we now have a completely different baby.

i do try to bath her about 30 mins after she has had a full feed though, so she isn't hungry and doesn't need a bottle staright after.

Hope it gets better for you, sorry if I rambled on a bit!!

I to started using Aptamil, Lexie developed colic and changed to the comfort. Again helped a little but then alot of mums on another forum suggested i try the Cow & Gate comfort...... What a difference a totally differnet baby!!!

I also give bottle then a little break then bath! However i do then struggle to get her to sleep straight after as she is to alert!!!
If only they were all the same and came with a handbook!!!!!!

Hope you get sorted soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx