Dealing with a Colicky Baby

Hello..
My name is A. Im 26. I had a very colicy baby!! She was in the NICU the first 30 days of life and did not eat the first 26! It was any mothers nightmare. When I brought her home I was so estatic however. She suffered severely from colic! I could do nothing to calm her, I was exhausted and she was as well.
If you are bottle feeding try the Dr. Browns bottles. Those seem to really help. Also, give your baby infant Milicon drops or Gripe Water before each feeding. I burped her every ouce of milk so that the air bubbles would be release easier. I also found a noise maker which was a LIFE SAVER! For whatever reason the constant "white noise" is soothing. Whenever you baby sleeps or naps turn the noise maker on! Warm baths also really help. I gave my daughter two baths a day. After her bath, with the noise maker on she was sound asleep and so was I. I hope some of these tips help.
Hang in there! It will go away and it gets easier : )

1 mom found this helpful

I totally understand what you are going through! The first 3 weeks of my daughters life she was colicky. We went to another pediatrician for a second opinion. And he wanted to rule out that maybe she was having a hard time digesting dairy and/or soy in my breastmilk. He had us give her a hypoallegenic formula (Similac's Alimentum, or there's Enfamil's Nutramagin) for 5 days. It worked wonders!!! I tried cutting dairy and soy from my diet and go back to breast feeding...but after much thought, I decided to just keep her on the Alimentum since it was working so well for her. Also, our baby loved to be bounced fairly hard...it really calmed her. However, the Dr. said excessive bouncing causes like an acid reflux in babies which also leads to colicky symptoms. Good luck!

I totally feel for you. My 3 month old has colic. She is 14 weeks and still has it. She got it around 6 weeks and it seemed to peak at 12 weeks. She was three weeks early so the pediatrician does not think it is strange she still has it. Two things I have found that help are to take her for a walk when she starts screaming. I think just being out in the fresh air helps calm her. Today I walked with her in her stroller for 2 hrs. Since the weather has been rainy and you can't always go outside I have found that running the blowdryer close to her helps. (From Dr. Karp's Happiest Baby on the Block.) I lay the blowdryer on the couch close to us on the cool setting and I hold her while she sucks on the pacifier. It usually quiets her for about 45 minutes. I just today bought Baby's Bliss drops for colic. I hope they work. Just know that it is going to take time. Everyday I hope that she will grow out of it - and everyday she screams. But I know one day it will end. Hang in there. It may be a few months still.

keeping your baby skin to skin will make him most comfortable and secure. when the baby cries, he does swallow more air. so that can make him more uncomfortable.

try all kinds of positions to see if one makes him more comfortable. often you'll find that holding him like he's laying down on your forearm will help.

have his head by your elbow, and your forearm along his tummy. if you sway side to side it's like he's going in a motion from head to toe.

some babies like to be swayed from the ear to ear direction. there was research on this and that's why you'll see some infant swings swinging side to side instead of front to back.

but as hard as it can be, try to stay calm and patient. the more stressed you are, the more stressed the baby will become. having calmness will also be soothing to the baby.

if you feel that you absolutely can't take it anymore and you are home alone, put your baby in a safe place, like a crib or basinet. go to another room close by and take a couple of minutes to gather yourself together.

it can be frustrating at times, but it is safer for you and your baby if you are relaxed. many parents don't realize they've shaken their baby until it's too late.

join a mom's group nearby or church group so you can get together with other new or experienced moms. i'm sad i don't live closer.

Dear E. G,
My daughter who is now a beautiful 18 year old!, was a very colicky baby and I know what you are going through. My Mother-in-law gave me an old trick which helped. In a baby bottle with aprox 2-4oz of purified water, warm it just a little. Drop a peppermint candy (like the kind most restaurants give away) in the water and swirl the water around until pink in color. Remove the candy (the tricky part) and let the baby drink the water. It works like "pepto". Good luck!!!!!!!! Lisa in Corona

I am a mommy of 3 girls ages 15, 12, and 3 months old. Look up on the internet through google or such about colicky babies. Lots of advice.
Are you breastfeeding?
Try swaddling your baby. Wrap the baby tightly (not too tight) there's a way to do it, so he feels secure. Try to re create the womb. It was only weeks or days since your baby was firm, snug, warm and secure in your womb enjoying the steady motion and loud noises of your heartbeat and blood swooshing through your arteries.
Invest in a baby swing that helps a lot, they like the movement. Ask your doctor if it's okay to give your baby mylicon (simethicone) drops to soothe the gas.
Do you have someone that can come and help you with the baby? Taking turns holding? Like your mom, family member, or friend? That will give you a break and soothe some of the frustration.
I heard baby massage and relaxation works well.
S.

My baby had colic (he is now 5 mo's old) and it was very frustrating. I felt like a bad mommy and was so emotional. Remember that your health, especially emotionlly, it key right now. It is ok to put him down when you are at a breaking point. It won't hurt him and it will give you some piece of mind. If it has been an espcially rough day, I would have a glass of red wine. Your son can feel your tension as well so it is important to take care of yourself. Yes, it did take a while for him to stop the constant crying (around the 3rd month he calmed) but know that you are not doing anything wrong, it is very common and it will stop. Be good to yourself and when it gets hard, put him down in a safe place, walk out of the room, relax for a few minutes and then go back to him. If you smoke, STOP!! I have a good friend that found that her colicky baby was due to her smoking cigs. I wish you many hours of peace and tranquility! :)

Hello,
I did have to deal with a colicky baby. I used a formula that was from Enfamil that is made for gassy babies. Also I laid the baby on there tummy and it seemed to help a lot. The other thing that I would suggest is when they are lying down try bending there legs up and into there tummy to help alleviate the gas. Also there are colic tablets out there and they also seem to help take away some of the gas. But for the most part you just have to be patient cause I'm not sure what it is that actually keeps them from being colicky.

Hi E.,
Have you tried Dr. Karp's method (i.e. Happiest Baby on the Block) for calming and soothing a newborn?? I have found that almost every baby I have worked with who was diagnosed as having "colic" really didn't have colic...he just needed the re-creation of the womb to calm down. I would recommend finding a local teacher of the Happiest Baby or finding a postpartum doula that knows the method to teach you how it all works. It's truly a miracle and such a quick fix! Let me know if you need help finding someone to help you.
Good luck!
D. Burns

My baby didn't have colic, but she is a super gassy baby. I couldn't get her to swallow the mylicon or the gripe water, so I started putting mylicon in every bottle. It took about 24 hours to really see a difference, but boy was she a happier baby! I highly recommend getting the Target generic instead of the brand name if you're going to be using it that much since it's about 1/3 the price. Also, Mylicon doesn't get rid of the gas, it just makes it not painful, so don't expect a decrease in the farting.

As far as coping emotionally, enlist the help of others. Who do you have in your support system who can take turns watching the baby. Even if you just get out of the house for an hour, that can really help. Do leave if you can though because I know for me at least, listening to my baby cry in the other room is actually more stressful than trying to comfort her myself.