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Robin - one possibility is teething. My trio started getting their teeth VERY early. My little girl's first one came in at 19 weeks, and then the boys got their first tooth and 20 and 21 weeks. Their behavior was very similar to what you are describing. Good luck!

Susan
b/g/b born 1/7/03 at 34w6d

Susan
b/g/b born 1/7/03

Is it possible they're going through a growth spurt? Are they eating more at mealtime? When they get up at night do they want to eat for comfort or because they're hungry?

Robin,

I apologize but I can't recall our trips schedule at that age. However, I do remember our trips sleep patterns changing every few months. My suspicion at this age would be teething? Can you feel any bumps along their gums? Are they drooling a lot? I also would suspect a possible growth spurt. At your most recent doctor's visit did your pediatrician mention when your trips could start solids? You will get all sorts of advice on when this is recommended but in my opinion you and your pediatrician are the best ones to make this decision. Another question is have they recently reached any new significant milestones? Sometimes when the little ones are in the midst of learning something new this can affect their sleep patterns.

I hope their sleep patterns improve soon as it can be so exhausting and frustrating when they are not sleeping well. Not that you want to hear it, but my newly turned 3 year olds are still not the greatest sleepers...I hope you have better luck/success than us!

Cindy
Happy & Proud Mommy to:
Shannon Alexis 12
Trevor Jack 10
Sierra Brooke 7
Madison Rose 5
Mackenzie Lynn 5
Max Christopher 5

Check out any information you can find on "cluster feeding"--maybe call your pediatrician and ask. I vaguely remember my babies doing something similar. When they eat do they eat alot or are they eating smaller amounts at closer intervals--I remember mine did that, cried all the time and wanted to eat constantly but not huge amounts. My pediatrician told me to spread their feedings to every four hours instead of every three, worked like a charm but I can't remember what age they were.

Another possibility might be gas or constipation--are breastfeeding (something you've been eating) or did you change to formula or start them on cereal--all of that could cause gastric disturbance.

Good luck--I'd be interested to know what you figure out.

Robin,

All of the above posts are great. Teething, sleep schedules changing, starting solids because formula isn't enough anymore, all can be reasons why your babies are grumpy. At 5 months my girls had a witching hour where they cried for about 2 hours straight. YIKES!!! They were fine and didn't need anything, just had to cry. I took advantage of this time to vacuum and clean my house. The vacuum was the only thing that would stop them from crying (thankfully!!!). I know it is frustrating to see your babies so miserable but this time shall pass. I did live in the momment and I guess I still do. Just remember to hang in there a few more days and they will probably be done with crying and onto bigger and louder things!!!

Good luck and you will have happy babies again!!!

Khrissys3girls

Mommy to Lindsey, Kaylee, & Carly born 8/30/01 at 31 weeks
AND John Thomas born 1/17/06 at 39w3d

http://lilypie.com>

http://lilypie.com>[/i

Robin,

How are they napping? If they are not getting good naps they may be overtired. Try moving their bedtime back by 15 min. Wait a few days and movwe it back 15 in more. The additional sleep may be what they need.

Have you tried alternatig their toys. Put some away for a few days or maybe even a week or two. When you bring them back, it will seem like new ones to them.

Or like someone else said it may be teething.


Clelie Bourne
The Temporary Nanny
The Solution to Your Child Care Puzzle!
http://www.temporarynanny.com

Clelie Bourne, The Temporary Nanny

Nanny/Infant Specialist/Parent Coach
The Solution to Your Child Care Puzzle!
http://www.temporarynanny.com

Hi robin, our babies must be close in age, mine were born 9/2/03. I am too tired to remember how many weeks they are. They have had colds so I am not surprised by their crankiness but they have been cranky this past week or so. I was thinking teething too. Drooling is starting. I move mine from the excersaucer, to the swing, to the floor, the bouncy, etc...and round and round. They really like it when I bring them in a different room with me too. I keep a saucer by the sink now and a swing by the kitchen window.

I have g,g,g,g 18, 16, 10 and 9
and bbb 4 months.

How about you?

-peggy

Hey Robin,
My babies are 5 months old. I think our schedule is still about the same as it was at 4 months but we are now adding solids. Here's what it was (times are pretty much w/in 1/2 hour or so)...

8am - wake, feed (8oz), watch baby einstein or other playing
10am - as each one gets fussy they go down for a nap, about 1/2 hour
11:30am - feed (8oz), watch mobile and talk/read w/ mommy
12:30pm - nap - I am lucky b/c mine nap for about 3 hours every day
3:30pm - feed (8oz), family time, exercausers, playing, etc.
5:30pm - 1/2 hour nap when fussy
7:00pm - baths followed by bottles, then bed - I also give/gave mine cereal at night

Like others said, if they are acting fussy for no other reason then it's probably sleepiness or teething. Where do you have them nap? I found that mine nap best in their cribs. I tried letting them nap on the couch or wherever, but it didn't work as well as the cribs. I think they feel more relaxed in their room. Now if they start crying I take them back to their crib and they usually fall asleep w/in a few minutes.

Claire has been having teething issues for a while (drama queen - lol). If I think she's having problems then I give her a dose of tylenol. This only happens about once a week. I figure it can't hurt her to have tylenol once a week so even if I'm wrong and it's not teething, it's not the end of the world.

luvmytrio
Gavin, Garret & Claire
born 8/7/03 at 36w4d

luvmytrio
Gavin, Garret & Claire
born 8/7/03 at 36w4d

Robin,
Maybe they are just going through a growth spurt and are hungry. My boys went through this about the 4 months old. The only thing I could think of was they were still hungry. My dr had me start them on cereal in the bottle. This was very early as they were born 14 wks early, but it sure did the trick. Every few months they would get like this and I'm sure they were just going through growth spurts and trying to catch up.

Good luck!

Angel (mom to Justin, Andrew, Brandon 9 yrs, Angie 15 yrs)

They may need some additional bottle before bedtime, or perhaps a dreamfeed.

Not enough naps or nightsleep could be a big factor.

When you say you play "all the time", what does that mean? Literally all the time? Meaning, are they getting intense or direct stimulation "all the time"? If that's the case, then they are probably overstimulated and could benefit from some quiet times during waketime so they can process what their brains & body are taking in.

Are they actually ON a schedule now?

Have you changed/added the formula? Solid foods?

When mine would wake at that horrible 4 or 5 in the morning, I went ahead and gave them a courtesy bottle of 2 ounces or so. They were obviously hungry, I couldn't see any reason to force them to "starve" (in their mind) until the regularly scheduled feeding/nursing time. This tided them over & they would go right back to sleep until the normal wake-up time. I figured, hey, if they're body is telling them to eat NOW, there must be some biological reason, so who am I to ignore it? After a while this behaviour would fade away...

Tulip & The Three Amigos
Born at 35w5d on December 31, 2002 - Happy New Year's Eve!!!
Aimee, Let's bump heads!
Edward, Rollin' Rollin' Rollin', Got to keep on rollin'!
Hope, Bouncy! Bouncy! Bouncy! WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

YES! You *can* breastfeed triplets!!!
http://www.tripletconnection.org/dcforum/forum1/14349.html

Tulip & The Three Amigos
GBG born at 35w5d on December 31, 2002 - Happy New Year's Eve!!!

YES! You *can* breastfeed triplets!!!

I am a Velveteen Rabbit, and the birth, love, kisses & magic that are my children has made me Real.

Robin,

I think your babies were born at 33+ weeks, right? So they're just about 12 weeks adjusted? A growth spurt at 3 months is pretty common, which would explain the 5am wake-up. We breastfed and bottle fed both, and our pediatrician said to offer enough formula or EBM in bottles at a feeding so that a little was left over. I happen to have our charts out for the end of a fling boogie, and I can see we were increasing our bottle amounts at around 12 weeks adjusted (our babies were born at 32+ weeks) and even, on some days, adding an extra nursing session or bottle-feed at the end of the day.

You might also want to cut down on the stimulation if you feel like the babies are cranky and swaddle more: we gave up swaddling too early, and had great luck reintroducing it. We were never strict schedulers so I can't offer any pointers in that regard, but if you do an archive search on "schedules" and "meredith" or "annie" (make sure you check the 'search arcives' box), you'll get a variety of schedules posted by two baby nurses back in 2001 and 2002.

That all having been said, babies who cry and scream for no apparent reason starting at around 3 months often have reflux. If it's silent reflux (i.e., stomach acid rising into the esophagus but then getting swallowed down again), you and your pediatrician wouldn't necessarily see it. It could also be a milk allergy, and 30% of kids with allergies to milk formulas also have allergic reactions to soy formulas, so making that switch doesn't always solve the problem. Does the screaming have a pattern to it? After meals, at certain hours of the day, etc.? The answer to that question makes a big difference....You posted back at the beginning of December about severe gassiness, and if that hasn't gotten much better, you really should ask for a pediatric GI consult. Most pediatricians are not as knowledgeable about GI issues as they could be. And preemies are especially vulnerable to reflux.

Best wishes,
Jody
g/b/g born Jan 2001
http://www.geocities.com/hombiblio/

Jody
g/b/g born Jan 2001
http://www.geocities.com/hombiblio/