Advice for Colic

Oh, I'm so sorry! I, too, was just in your position. I consider myself to be pretty knowledgeable about new babies, but it is so much harder when it is your own! The good news is that they really do outgrow it . . .

A few thoughts:

Take care of yourself! I know this is hard to do when your baby is crying, but take advantage of any and all offers of assistance so that you can get a shower, catch a few minutes of sleep, whatever might make you feel a bit better. You'll have more perspective and much needed endurance for the next day.

Know this will get better! Most "colicky" babies start to improve around 3-4 months of age. Even babies with other issues (mine had GERD, which is a type of reflux) get better eventually.

Is it really colic? Have you explored other possibilities with your care provider? Sometimes reflux, GERD, or food allergies can seem like colic.

Get breaks. Crying babies are hard work, and it is much, much harder when it is your own. Do you have family or friends who are offering to help? Take them up on it! You can return the favor later.

Since you are experienced with babies, you probably know all the basics -- but worth mentioning:

- Does skin-to-skin contact help? Warm water? Sometimes a bath together can help both of you.
- Is your baby breastfeeding? Would extra sucking (either at breast or with a pacifier) help? That can keep the stomach contents moving and soothe pain.
- Does rhythmic motion help? My son wouldn't sit in the swing, I know they are controversial but might be worth a try as lots of mamas swear by them.
- How about a sling? Sometimes baby wearing combines your warmth with the rhythmic motion of your walking . . .
- White noise?

Good luck!

J.
Birthways Labor Support and Postpartum Doulas

2 moms found this helpful

Greetings!! New research has shown that a lot of colic cases really turn out to be GERD (or gastric reflux). I would talk to your pediatrician. My daughter was colicky and they put her on Zantac; within a week she was sleeping through the night and napping much better. All of the colic symptoms were gone and she was definitely much happier. Good luck!!

1 mom found this helpful

Hang in there, T.! You are not alone!!

My daughter was colicky for about 10 weeks. She would wince and cry after feedings, which made me very upset and question my parenting abilities. She also would spit-up (but not enough for her pediatrician to be concerned). Around 10 weeks, she had a poopy diaper that had streaks of blood in it. I immediately called the doctor, who said it was an allergy and suggested trying a soy-based formula. Within a few feedings with teh formula, she was a totally different person/baby. I stayed away from cow milk until she was about 18 months and then I slowly introduced it to her system. She's over two years now and she drinks milk just fine.

Also, if it is gas, the pediatrician said gas drops to not work and Tylenol is better.

Colic is tough, so just keep looking for ways to comfort that little one. She appreciates all you do for her. :)

I'll be thinking of you!!
K.

1 mom found this helpful

First off, congratulations on your little one! I am the new mom to a sweet 4 month old girl who JUST got over colic. Believe me, i know how terrible this can be. I thought that we would NEVER see the end of it and then, we started having more good days than bad....it then went away completely by 13 weeks. We know that she has a dairy sensitivity but I am convinced it is a lower GI thing. She had a bubble last night that reminded me of the colic phase and I got a little worried. She pooted and went limp and fell asleep. Give it some time, I PROMISE it does end and when it does, the weight of the world also lifts from your shoulders!!!! I am thinking of you!

1 mom found this helpful

Hi T.. First thing first: My daughter had colic. My son had Acid Reflux. They are NOT the same thing! Acid Reflux (sometimes diagnosed as GERD) is a medical condition that should be treated. Colic is not always caused by something. Some babies are just colicky for no reason whatsoever. And, unfortunately, these babies simply need time to outgrow it.

Our Pediatrician told us, "When you bring her in for her 4 month check-up, she will be a completely different baby." And she was! It was as if one day around 3 1/2 months old, she woke up happy and the colic was gone -- never to return again! Your daughter is so very close to the age in which colic disappears! You've made it this far, you only have about 2 more weeks. You are a champ!!!

Some of the things that temporarily helped stop the constant crying were using the 5 S's approach from "Happiest Baby on the Block" (especially the "shushing") and by letting our daughter sleep in her swing. But she just simply had to outgrow it.

Best wishes and let us know if everything's better in a couple weeks!

1 mom found this helpful

T., I am so, so sorry to hear that you are experiencing this. I was nearly insane with our daughter's colic. I tried all the herbal remedies, changed my diet (I breastfed), tried all the well-meaning advice. Got oh poor thing from people who don't get real colic is not just 45 minutes of crying per day.

I believe there is no one cure for colic. If the other suggestions don't work, try a chiropractor who specializes in infants. It is the only thing that worked for us. The chiro showed me some of the problems that I could actually see (like her legs not being even, bunched up on one side). There was already some relief after two weeks of treatment (2/week). I never have used chiropractics myself before, but tried it because I could not take her pain or mine (sleeping 45 minutes total in 2 days!).

Best of luck!

One Step Ahead makes a great tummy wrap that you can warm in the microwave that is great for colic. onestepahead.com
Also, if you're breastfeeding, make sure he's getting the end of the breast (the hindmilk). That's the fatty stuff. If they don't get to the end they just keep drinking the watery stuff and that hurts their tummies. The poop tends to be green and stringy when this is the case. Just sharing ;0)

I am a mother who had to live through 14 weeks with a colicky baby and, I respectfully disagree with the blanket statements that colic is either an reflux or nutrition issue. Oh trust me - I wish it had been that easy for my son as life would have been easier for him during his first few weeks. Besides, if this were truly a food or reflux issue then there is NO way the colic would have just stopped abruptly without rhyme or reason at week 14 for us.

Step #1 - Take your daughter to the pediatrician for a complete and thorough evaluation. Make sure it isn't a food issue (which it very well could be) or a reflux issue (again, which it very well could be). Get a 100% clean bill of health before proceeding. If the issue is either nutritional or reflux in nature, then the pediatrician should be able to provide some sort of relief instantly.

Step #2 - There are lots of soothing techniques you can try to help soothe your child. They might work and they might not work, but they might give temporary relief to your daughter. Things you can do include:

-(Following the 5-S technique by Dr. Harvey Karp's Happiest Baby on the Block)
-swaddling tightly
-'shushing' or providing white noise to simulate the womb sounds
-sucking on a pacifier
-using a swing
-putting the baby in a side-lying position
-eliminating certain foods from your diet if you're bfing (although this did ZERO to help us)
-PAY ATTENTION to her sleeping! Don't let her get over-tired and really try to pick up on her 'sleepy cues'. Start a long soothing routine prior to her sleep time to help her learn "hey, it's time to go to sleep".

Good luck to you and hang in there. Like I said, for us the colic just stopped at 14 weeks and it was like we had a different baby. You might be at the end of the colic phase with your daughter.

Hello,

I can completely relate, my daugher is 8 now, but when she was an infant, she had colic. What i found to make her the most comfortable was to keep her in a pouch in front of me with her legs dangling down and she would either face me or we'd turn her for variety. She's a twin, so she was premature --didn't have issues with her brother with colic.
I would also bicycle her legs--lay her down on her back, bring up her legs in a bicycle motion. I also breast fed, and was told that,doing that made it easier for her to digest, rather than formula. She was o.k by the time we hit the 5 month mark.
good luck and see if any of those things help.

Colic is the old fashion term when the drs do not know what is wrong but we DO now know that it is a food intolerance, it cold be wheat it cold be milk, are you breast feeding? If you are formula feeding it is easy you just need ot get the baby on nutramagin or that simalc alimentium, if the baby is still in pain you need to have her bottom swabbed at the pedatricians office for blood in the stool. The baby is screaming for a reason, every time they eat it is damaging her lining hence the pain and crying. Please to save her pain and not cause anymroe damage please consider your diet if breast feeding, have her seen for blood in the stool at the pedatricians office and switch to an allegy free formula. NOw if there is still blood in her stool after you swithc to the allergy free formula (not gentle ease or anythign like that the real nutramagin or alimentium) then your dr will put her on Neocate, this will save her and heal her but it is a medical food formula that only drs can prescribe and only after two weeks of the other formula if she still has blood can you ask for them to prescribe it. Good luck and please e-mail me if you have more questions, do not listen to your dr if they say it is colic, that is the "old days now!" find a new pedatrician that will help you and that sweet little girl.
oh yes I agree with it cold be reflux and reflux ph acid level can burn paper so it can be very painful and cause serious damamge that needs to be taken care of. Also PLEASE be careful becasue some of the probiotics for infants have lactose or milk in them and that is what your baby doesnt need right now. If you do the probiotic route which I am so for you have to make sure it is a powder that has not other wheat or gluten or soy or dairy in it, there is a great brand by klaire labs that is allergy free even corn! Oh yes and one more thing do not switch to soy based formulas, if ther is a milk or dairy allergy which the child or baby is also 80% chance she will have a soy allergy. it is the way the protiens re broken down. I know so much i hope i can help you.

J.

the best thing i ever used is what my grandmother taught me. you make a small bottle of tea (regular tea. Just barely color the water it should be extremely weak. It always worked for me.

I haven't experienced this but I have heard great things about chiropractic care and colic. I think Eola Family Chiropractic in Aurora and Naperville Chiropractic in Naperville work on babies, there is a small manipulation they can do to help relieve symptoms of colic. Good luck, I know it is not easy feeling helpless, but hopefully these guys can help you out! They are very willing to talk to you on the phone about your concerns as well if you don't want to take her in right away!

I was happy to see several suggestions of Gripe Water here. You can get it at Fruitful Yield and probably some other places.

It's a simple herbal remedy (ginger, fennel) that soothes the stomach. Our son, who takes regular formula, would get really gassy and uncomfortable after his bottle. We started adding a little Gripe Water to his bottle and it helped a lot. I wish we'd know about it for our daughter.
As for dairy and wheat, my personal opinion is that they are awesome. Hardly anyone is really allergic to them. But once you stop eating them, your body loses the enzymes required to digest them.
Of course, we did take our daughter off dairy for a while, but she has it now with no problem. (Imagine life without ice cream!)

One other thing, if you are bottle feeding, pay attention to the flow of the nipple. We found they have to be 'broken in' at the beginning, have a period of good flow -- 2 or 3 weeks maybe, and then get worn out and need to be replaced or the milk flows out too quickly. If she's getting too much or not enough out of the nipple, it introduces air into the stomach, painful swallowing and gas.

Also, make sure all the parts of the bottles get cleaned regularly. Some of them build up residue at the bottom and need to be taken apart to really clean.

Based on the research I did when my twin daughters had colic....colic is really acid reflux.

Try elevating the crib mattress by shoving a rolled up towel UNDER the mattress or buying a crib wedge. Keep your baby elevated for at least 30 min after meals. (swings are good for that)....and if you are breastfeeding, stay away from spicy foods and you can also take silica 6x (homeopathic remedy) which will get passed thru your breastmilk to the baby...I noticed a big difference when I started taking the silica 6x because zantac had stopped working and was just keeping them awake.

According to Dr. Sears, colic is often a sign of an intolerance or reaction to dairy and wheat. If you are breastfeeding, get rid of dairy to see if that helps ease her symptoms. If not, try wheat (which I know is difficult, but try for 2wks) and denote any improvements. If you are concerned about calcium, you can try some rice milk which is easy to digest for both mom and baby, don't do soy, it is a bean and can be difficult to digest. And add probiotics to your diet. PB8 is a nice brand from www.vitacost.com

If you are formula feeding, try switching, Nutragimen is finely broken down and has no diary or gluten in it and add some probitics. There are a number of studies that is showing probibiotics is helping to ease many digestive discomforts and it helps reduce colds and flus (double bonus!!) I've written about probiotics in my family health column: http://www.examiner.com/x-7158-Chicago-Family-Health-Exam... feel free to browse.

You may want to read this family health story as well...http://www.examiner.com/x-7158-Chicago-Family-Health-Exam...

This mom talks about colic in her son and how it provided clues to her son's ailments, which were ignored by docs.

I am also doing a FREE infant nutrition seminar next Tues, Oct. 6 for 4m-12m: at 6:30pm, call them to register
2116 N. Halsted St.
(between Dickens Ave & Webster Ave)
Chicago, IL 60614
###-###-####
www.giggle.com

We will talk about ideal first foods, how to make homemade baby food (a huge cost savings...), the importance of DHA and how to recognize early potential food allergies (colic is one of them), etc

I hope you get answers so your baby feels better.

J. W. MPH
Maternal and Child Health Educator
Chicago Examiner Family Health Expert

have you tried infant probiotics?

This is a copy of my earlier responce to that question......

GRIPE WATER!!! I wish I had known about it when my daughter had colic!!! Walgreens carries it. It's herbs like dill and ginger, all natural. My friend told me about it a couple years ago and my daughter used it with my grandaughter. She was crying because of gas and my daughter gave her a few drops and she stopped crying within a few minutes. You can also just put it in their bottles. It's with the gas products in the baby section, RUN to Walgreens now!!

Good luck, I feel your pain my daughter cried and cried and you feel so bad for them and you are so tired you just want to get some sleep!!!!

Hi,
Have you heard of "Gripe Water" ? You can now find it at drug stores. That helps to calm down infants. I have used it for my daughter.

T. - Have you considered Cranial Sacral, baby probiotics, or pediatric chiropractic or acupunture? (no needles) These all offer parents and babies suffering from a variety of chronic concnerns a very low risk solution. Sometimes you have to try a few practitioners or modalities before you hit the one that works. But it is worth the time and effort as these things affect your childs development. And they are crying becuase something is wrong. The baby probiotics is the least expensive and easy to give on your own. If you have questions about that please let me know. We also have many practitioners in our network. I'm happy to help.

J. L. - President & Founder BirthLink

My daugter who is now 8, suffered from horrible Colic, it was a nightmare for me and for her. I tried everything and we were both so exhausted. I talked to other moms and my doctor and there was so much advice, I didn't know where to start, I tried some things and it really didn't help. I knew I had to do something, so I changed her formula to Soy and it helped immensely. There are only so many Mylecon drops you can give a baby and my mother in law would give her some diluted Chamomile tea which helped a little. Use your instinct, mother's really know what is best. Good Luck.

I feel for you. I know that dealing with colic is very difficult. My first son had it and I used to cry right along with him sometimes. Nursing him every time he fussed and holding him in a frontpack (with his tummy facing mine) between nursings seemed to help the most. Sometimes I would sleep with him in the frontpack, propping myself up on pillows in bed.

Here are some resources that I hope can be helpful for you...

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/5/t051300.asp

http://www.askdrsears.com/faq/fb4.asp

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/5/t050100.asp

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/10/t106000.asp

http://www.llli.org/NB/NBfussy.html

http://www.kellymom.com/pantley/pantley22.html

http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/fussybaby.html

If you're not breastfeeding and might be interested in relactating, here are some suggestions for that...

http://www.llli.org/NB/NBrelactation.html

Best wishes,
J.

I was breastfeeding, so taking dairy out of my diet helped a ton. When I tried formula with her I at first tried soy formula to avoid dairy, but that seemed to make her even worse, and then I learned that the soy allergy goes hand in hand with a dairy allergy. It went away by about four months, and she had no reaction to dairy at all by six months.

Find a pediatric chiropractor near you for a check-up, I've see huge changes. www.icpa4kids.org is a great place to find someone and read some case studies.
Dr. J.

Hi T. take her to his/her pediatrican. Maybe they can give her something for it.

My son was extremely sensitive to a number of foods that I ate, and I had to remove ALL dairy (except butter) and any food that could potentially be gassy from my diet because I was breastfeeding. That included things such as all green veggies (including salad), onions, garlic, bananas, etc. Also the formula we used to make his cereal had to be free of dairy-- we used Similac Sensitive. He is now 2.5 years old, and he still can't have any of these foods.

I also agree with Gripe Water. For almost a year and a half, we gave it to him every night just as a preventitive and any time he was uncomfortable.

My daughter was colicky and someone told me to get gripe water. Got it and it was my BEST FRIEND! you can find it online. it's the best. I wish you luck.

Hi,

Is your baby having stomach pain, or the crying for hours on end without a clear reason? If it's the latter, I highly recommend reading Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp. He has amazing suggestions for soothing colic. Swaddling, sucking (pacifier), shhing (white noise) are some of the suggestions he has in his book. His whole concept is that babies cry because they are born 1 trimester early, and their nervous systems are not quite ready to deal with the outside world, so by doing things to imitate the womb (swaddling so they feel cocooned, shhing noise to imitate the sounds they heard in utero, putting them in a swing to imitate the swaying motion they felt as we walked around, etc.) you calm their little nervous systems down.

I know it's hard to watch your baby suffer, I hope it gets better!