My baby cries himself to sleep

amother

Wed, Mar 27 2024, 12:32 pm

My routine is either I bathe him or change him, I close the light and I feed him. Even before I put him into bed he starts crying his head off. I try to calm him by offering a pacifier, rocking him in my hands, and talking to him. It doesn't help much he just cries himself to sleep. Sometimes I'll try to nurse again and I'll fall asleep like that and sometimes he just wears himself out and falls asleep.

Am I doing something wrong or are some babies just like that? He's usually not a big crier.

He is 4 months old.

amother

Jasmine

Wed, Mar 27 2024, 12:35 pm

Sounds like he’s overtired. Try putting him to sleep half an hour before he starts crying.

amother

Wed, Mar 27 2024, 12:38 pm

amother Heather wrote:

He doesn’t want to be left alone! He knows what’s about to come.

Due to his crying I usually only put him into bed when he is already asleep.

amother

Wed, Mar 27 2024, 12:40 pm

amother Jasmine wrote:

Sounds like he’s overtired. Try putting him to sleep half an hour before he starts crying.

I usually wait for his regular cues that he is hungry and not so happy anymore and I nurse him then. He doesn't cry before that.

Success10

Wed, Mar 27 2024, 12:40 pm

Some babies have a "colic hour" in the evening, although it's usually more newborns. Still, it's likely a phase that will pass. Try to hang in there and keep up what you've been doing until now.

amother

Plum

Wed, Mar 27 2024, 12:41 pm

amother Heather wrote:

He doesn’t want to be left alone! He knows what’s about to come.

OP doesn't leave him alone. The baby cries while she's with him.

amother

Ivory

Wed, Mar 27 2024, 12:44 pm

How long does he cry for?

My third baby was like this. It was like she needed to be crying in order to fall asleep….
No, I never left her to cry, but it seemed no matter what I did she would just start crying and then fall asleep. So eventually I accepted that this was just how she put herself to sleep, funny as that sounds. But she would only cry for a few minutes (I was holding her, before the tomatoes start. I never did any sleep training with any of my kids).

amother

Wed, Mar 27 2024, 12:46 pm

Success10 wrote:

Some babies have a "colic hour" in the evening, although it's usually more newborns. Still, it's likely a phase that will pass. Try to hang in there and keep up what you've been doing until now.

Thanks!

By now I know it passes soon enough so I don't panic, I just wanted to know if it's normal.

amother

Geranium

Wed, Mar 27 2024, 12:47 pm

amother OP wrote:

I usually wait for his regular cues that he is hungry and not so happy anymore and I nurse him then. He doesn't cry before that.

Do u first bathe and change when you see he’s hungry? Could it be he’s distressed by the time you get to feeding him?

amother

Wed, Mar 27 2024, 12:59 pm

amother Geranium wrote:

Do u first bathe and change when you see he’s hungry? Could it be he’s distressed by the time you get to feeding him?

To clarify he cries after nursing happily.
Definitely the days that I bathe I don't wait until he is fussy because it takes a while and also water can make you hungry so I don't want to wait till he's hungry and then just make him wait longer. I actually try to do it soon after a feeding for that reason. The same as usually was changing him but if he is not happy takes me a minute to change him that wouldn't make a difference.

He loves to bathe and loves loves to get changed. He's always in a good mood when I bathe and change him.

amother

Wandflower

Wed, Mar 27 2024, 3:13 pm

amother OP wrote:

Maybe he needs to burp and then nurse more.

michimochi

Sun, Apr 07 2024, 11:21 pm

Hi, sorry I'm late. I just had to chime in because my baby was doing the exact same thing until literally this week. It was overtiredness. I started putting her to bed earlier and like magic she fell asleep faster and stayed asleep sooner. (We do still have some pick ups and out downs.) If I miss her new bedtime by even 20min she goes back to wailing. Give it a try. I read that the ideal bedtime is between 6 and 8pm. Her old bedtime was between 9 and 10 (I know, I know...) so I tried earlier and earlier until we hit the magic number, which for us was 8. If you do try this, let us know how it goes!

amother

Mon, Apr 08 2024, 11:47 am

Thanks everyone for the advice.

I think he passed the stage! For the past few days he didn't cry even if he when went to sleep a bit later. I hope it stays this way.