Feeding FAQ: 0-8 weeks – Formula Feeding

My 2.5-week-old daughter does not settle after her 10.30pm feed

My daughter has settled well into the routine as detailed in the Contented Little Baby Book. However at day 10 she started developing problems after the 10.30-11.30pm feed. She takes the feed well (currently 3-4oz) and is awake when put into her cot and swaddled. She then cries intensely for 1-2 hours, wailing as if she has a severe pain. If I go in to her and lift her she stops crying, but once laid down into her cot the intense crying starts again. I have winded her and given her Infacol. Eventually she settles herself or may cry through to the next feed as happened on one occasion.
She does cry down at the morning and afternoon nap times but settles very quickly. The crying after the 10.30-11.30pm feed is far more intense than this.
Could you suggest what might be wrong and what I might try to help her settle more quickly after 11.30pm? I have looked at the sections on Colic and Reflux but the symptoms are different as she feeds well and gets wind up.
She is quite a sleepy baby but feeds well at every feed.
Her ‘poo’ is also concerning as it is runny with white bits in it (sorry!). I did wonder if she might have an upset stomach.
She is fed at 7am 4ozs, 10.30am 4ozs, 2pm 3ozs, 5pm 3ozs, 6.30pm 2ozs, 10.30pm 4ozs, 2.30/3.30am 3ozs. She weighs 8.11lbs.
She naps at 8.30-10am, 11.30-2pm and 3.30- 5pm. She settles at 7pm.

A baby who is as small as yours should not be left to cry for a long length of time. There may be a couple of reasons why your daughter is upset at this time. The first is hunger and the second is not being tired. To help her settle better at this time try splitting the feed in the same way as you do at 5/6.30pm. This will help her overall intake and a period of being awake as well should help her to settle better for the next part of the night. All babies under the age of 4 months do need a spell of being awake between the hours of 7pm and 7am. As your daughter is quite a sleepy baby in the day letting her have a further spell awake in the late evening should help the problem.
To help her take a bigger feed, wake her at 10pm. This may take a time as some small babies can take up to 20mins to wake fully. You may need to begin at 9.45pm by putting on the lights and undoing her swaddle. Let her come round naturally and then bring her down to a well-lit room where there is some background noise such as the TV or radio. Once she is fully awake offer her 3ozs and then wind her and give her a break. During this time let her have some kicking time under her mat. You do not want to stimulate her too much but you do need to keep her awake until 11.15pm. If she is sleepy let her have a kick on her change mat, with no nappy on during the time you change her. At 11.15pm take her back to her room and lower the lights. Offer her a fresh bottle of milk containing another 3ozs. As she probably first fed about an hour ago it is safer to make up two separate bottles for this feed so eliminating the risk of stale milk lying in the teat. Swaddle her before feeding so you are able to settle her down as soon as she has winded.
A formula-fed baby may not have so many stools a day as a breast-fed one and on the whole they are slightly more solid, but still are fairly soft in their consistency. If you are concerned about the contents of her nappy take her to your doctor’s, preferably with a fresh specimen for him to examine.