Possibly Colicky! Help!

Hi K.,
My first daughter started screaming at 2 weeks old and didn't stop until about 11 months. I exclusively nursed her because she would not take a bottle. So, believe me we tried every kind of medicine, rocking, vaccuums running for noise, the whole bit. We were able to find things that worked for a while but nothing solved the issue. My understandung of colick is that it is unexplainable ditress. So, when my second daughter started screaming at about 2 weeks old I thought I was in for another year of screaming and no sleep. But her Doctor promptly instructed me to stop eating all dairy products (and I mean all). I continued to nurse but also introduced Nutramigin formula which I fed her once a day or so. She settled within a few days and her first year was a happy one. I still feel sad that we didn't know this with the first one (she is 12 now) but thankful that we didn't have to endure 2 screaming years!!! I highly recommend that you don't just take the diagnosis of "colick" as your answer. Try the dairy thing, then try eggs and peanut products, just keep trying things. You will find a solution.
I wish you well. Take care,
B.

I would second the removal or drastic cut in dairy in your diet. Just remember to take calicum supplement. After I stopped eating dairy products my daughter's mood got better and we didn't have unexplained crying episodes...

Good Luck!

I don't have time to read all the responses, so I hope I don't repeat. The video "The Happiest Baby on the Block" by Dr. Harvey Karp was a lifesaver for us. Also, make sure it's not reflux. That helped our little one's too, to get them on meds. The video was a 15 minute permanent cure, though for our son. GL!

I use gripe water and love it. It just sounds like he is processing all the food and if he is producing diapers then he is just dealing with a bad tummy. some pepermint essential oil in olive oil on his tummy will help cut down the bad stomache...and a warm wash cloth on his tummy.
I have even used maalox with lots of success. 1/2 of a teaspoon about 1/2 a hour before he eats. or when he is gassy followed by a pacifier.
He may very well be feeling gassy and then crying to which you are feeding him and adding to it.
I found a dvd called dunstan baby that helps break down the baby "language". It has made all the difference with my 2 month old in helping me to interpret the different cries.
I know this one is all over the place but I really feel for you on this one.

If you don't already have a sling, go for the NoJo Baby sling from Dr. Sears. Babies just loved being all squished up and close to you when they are tiny. It helped my second and third SO much (wish I had known when I had my first). It's also helpful when you need to make dinner or vacuum or whatever. AND this one is super soft, all fabric, so you can just lay him down with it still on. Good luck!

Sounds like colic. Some babies have colic for a while, others never do. My youngest had pretty bad colic. I talked to my pediatrician (who is also a lactation consultant - very helpful). She said to nurse him on just one side until that side is completely empty. You can tell because you start feeling kind of a pulling sensation that radiates around through the muscles (not really uncomfortable, and sort of hard to describe, but hopefully you'll know it when you feel it). This makes sure that he gets the fatty hind-milk which is important for brain growth, plus the fat in the milk makes it stay in his stomach longer, so the sugars get broken down more before the reach the intestine (usually, it's the undigested sugars that cause gas and pain of colic). If he's still hungry after draining one side, let him take the other side, but he won't eat as much from there probably. It takes a few days for your breasts to get used to it, and you may feel a bit engorged during those days, but they adjust really quickly. If you feel or look really lopsided after feeding him, stuff a couple of extra nursing pads in to even it out :)

Also try the tummy hold when he is uncomfortable. Hold him face down, with his head near the crook of your elbow and his tummy on your palm. His feet can kind of hang down. Still hold him close in to you so there is the security of being next to mama (or daddy or whoever). The pressure from your hand on his tummy can help releive that gas and pain.

Try a trick I used with all my six kids and 21 grandkids. Dissolve a small piece of a candy cane in about 1 1/2 oz. of warm water and feed it to your son. His tummy will warm up, he will not want to nurse and pitch a fit, and he will fall asleep more quickly. Don't use a BIG piece, a small one will do, it's just the minty taste you need. Hope this trick works for you, too! Congratulations on your new little one!
S.

I am not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet but at @3 and 6 weeks, babies go through growth spurts and very often they are more needy and cry a bit more. My daughter experienced this. I wouldn't necessarily assume colic...that is kind of a generic term anyway. Because of the growth spurt, that explains why he wants to nurse more. Just save your sanity, nurse him and hopefully in a few weeks or so, it will get better. Their digestive systems are still very immature as well so things like gas and pooping make their little tummies hurt. I would also recommend attending the next La Leche League meeting in your area. You can check the website www.llli.org for the date and location. You will find a lot of support for new moms there and lots of answers to any questions you have. Good Luck, S.

My baby would cluster feed in the evenings too. It was hard at first to feed him for 30 minutes, have him take a 10 minute break, then feed him for another 30 minutes, on and on for 2-4 hours each night. Once I got used to it it wasn't so bad. And it didn't last forever, only a month or two. Time goes so quickly, enjoy the bonding time with your baby. And don't worry about over feeding him, if he wants to nurse he probably is hungry or wants the comfort. My son is 8 months now and is still smaller than most babies his age.

You are doing great! Follow your instincts. My mother gave me that advice when I had my first and it has proven to be more right than not. The other thing to remember is that it never hurts to call your pediatrician's nurse to ask any random questions. I say better to be safe than sorry. I haven't talked to a nurse yet that wouldn't want you to call about anything if it concerns you. Good luck!

I'd skip the mylicon drops. My pediatrician is great about keeping up on the latest studies and sharing info with me and he advised me a proven side effect of mylicon and similar drops is. . . gas.
Two and a half weeks is really little still. Sounds like you have a high-need baby, which takes some getting used to. I had the opposite experience as you're having--my first child was very high-need and needed near-constant nursing and holding as a baby and then when my second (and now third) came along, I've wondered if something was wrong because they were content to lay on a blanket and goo.
Here's what helped my cope with a high-need baby. I hope it can be useful to you, too.
Contact your local La Leche League Leader for breastfeeding advice and plan to attend a meeting. Babies and children are welcome, all services are free, and you can borrow great books from their lending library and talk to other breastfeeding moms with gentle, responsive parenting styles. You can find your local group at www.llli.org. Really, LLL has saved my sanity a thousand times--highly recommended.
I loved the books "The Baby Book" and "The Fussy Baby Book" by Dr. William Sears and Martha Sears and the DVD "The Happiest baby on the Block." They are also sanity-savers. These items are probably in your local LLL library but you could find them cheap online, too. "The Baby Book" is indispensible, I think, and I often give it as a baby shower gift.
Consider using a baby sling so you can move around to soothe your baby. I love my Maya Wrap brand ring sling, but there are lots of styles and brands out there. There are tons to see at peppermint.com and thebabywearer.com. Some of my mom friends love mei tai style carriers--Babyhawk is a popular brand.
Be observant about your diet to see if there are correlations between your baby's fussiness and what you've been eating. Dairy is a common culprit, but most of the time nursing moms do not need to adjust their diet to keep their babies happy.
Recognize that your baby is still new and human milk production is very much a supply and demand thing--the more he nurses, the more milk there will be for him. Many babies like to "cluster feed," meaning they nurse very frequently for a few hours to bulk up for a long stretch of sleep. Feeding on cue and without doing a lot of mental gymnastics will help establish your milk supply. Watch your baby, not the clock. Babies like to nurse for soothing as well as for food--all sucking should be at the breast during these early weeks.
I got a lot of good soothing ideas from "The Happiest Baby on the Block." It sounds like your baby is just overstimulated and tired and completely DONE with the day. My third baby is a sunshine but has a screamy time at the end of the day--I kind of think of him as a stressed-out celebrity who's just HAD IT with the paparazzi. ;) Maybe your little celebrity is complaining about slow service and a long day on location? ;) (This is not to minimize your stress, just to offer a bearable perspective.)
I hope you have some extra help so you can nap with Baby and aren't feeling too overwhelmed. In my experience, things do start to settle down but a high-need baby is definitely a test of your patience and your ability to be a sensitive, responsive, intuitive mom. It sounds like you're already that kind of mom. best wishes!

K.,
If you use bleach or ammonia for cleaning may cause some of the same symptoms. My son is 18 now, but had many problems as a baby, I was a clean freak, but used many of the wrong chemicals for my sons health. My favorite was pinesol, however his symptoms stop when I switched to natural cleaners. Not sure if it relates or not, hope it helps.

Some people have found that gripewater works when Mylacon drops don't. We have 2 brands at Bosom Buddies. We also have Harvey Karp's Happiest Baby on the Block on video...it can work like a miracle too.

Be cautious about introducing formulas of different kinds before you have explored all your breastfeeding options. It may be the typical fussy time for your baby; if nursing calms him, go ahead an nurse...even if it feels like non-stop. It'll calm both of you. Typically there's a growth spurt around 3 weeks; your milk supply is at it's lowest in the evening; maybe he's "putting in his order" for more milk over the next few days.

While what you eat can affect him, the fact that it is regularly in the evening says to me it's probably not a food sensitivity, but there are many things to experiment with before you are really depriving yourself of a varied diet. For instance, have you had an afternoon soda or coffee that may have caffeine in it?

It's great to be asking for help...work with La Leche League or a lactation consultant if these tips don't help.

S.

I've lived through colick! Sorry you're in the club! Gripe water helped more than anything. Looking back I think it was my breastmilk, probably dairy. Do you nurse? If so, try changing what you eat in the morning or lunch, especially if you are eating the same thing every day. He could be very sensitive to your foods. My third was very sensitive to thrush (I ate bread at most meals, and the yeast was too much for her). Gave her terrible gas pains. I gave her some alternative medicine drops for it, and she was back to normal in 24 hours, and of course cut back on my bread intake. Follow your intuition, RELAX (because they really sense your emotions), and know that at least he isn't this way all day long (my first was). :( Good luck!

Hi, K.! Both my kids acted similarly, and both got 100% better when I stopped eating dairy. Their little digestive systems couldn't handle the dairy yet; they got past that at about 7 months and I was able to start eating dairy again. Give it a try. Good luck, and congratulations on your new little miracle!
S.

K.,
Don't worry. My friend had the exact same thing happen with her baby. And she end up going to the doctor, and they told her that the is colic. You guess well!!

Try doing mylicon BEFORE you feed, to help release gas.
It could be reflux too. I had issues with what I ate in my breast milk and had to basically go to bread and water. After mos of this I did go to Nutramigen formula and it was like a huge relief for my baby! She thrived, no more pain and had normal digestion. It is predigested. All babies can have reactions to what you eat, sugar, wheat, eggs, dairy, coffee all of that. So you can modify what you are eating and make sure you wait two hours after you have eaten to nurse.
If you are really having a hard time, then it always best to see your Pediatrician. Reflux shows up at night, when they are laying down.
Rubbing his tummy in a circular motion helped my daughter too, kind of relieving that gas.
I am willing to bet it is something you are eating causing issue though. Mylicon before helps break down gas, but won't solve the problem.
If all else fails, I strongly suggest trying Nutramigen. It was a godsend for my daughter.
We tried everything, lactose free, soy proteins, me changing my diet completely and it seemed the Nutramigen helped her the most.

Your baby could be colicky - I had two out of three. So if so, by 12 weeks they will be done with it & hopefully sooner. You may just have to bear and grin it. The first time (one of my twins) had it & it was awful. The second time with my daughter, I at least knew it would end at some point & kept crossing off the days.....

My baby girl did this too she's now five weeks old and it stopped a couple of weeks ago. It happened right after I brought her home up until she was about 3 weeks old. I was going crazy as well. She'd be fine until about 1 am and then it would take me until 5 or even later to get her to fall back asleep! It was horrible, especially when my two year old wakes up early. I just kept nursing her because that's what worked. I contacted the local Leche League. We were having a hard time feeding on one side so I got some helpful advice. Sometimes babies cluster feed to get your milk supply up. Also, make sure you're not eating anything that would upset your baby's stomach. After we got her feeding better on the one side and after she increased my milk supply she's done much better. She's actually sleeping 4-5 hours instead of keeping me up now. Good luck and hang in there, it won't last forever, even if it is colic.

For the poop, she does it a lot too and its normal. The more they eat the more they poop since breast milk goes through their system so quickly, It will slow down. With my son, he started off this way too and it slowed down. She seems to be doing the same thing but she pretty much poops with every diaper.

Check out Dr. Harvey Karp "The Happiest Baby on the Block"--all about why babies do this and what to do to help---the Five S's--swaddle, side lie, shake, shush, and suck. It's a built in reflex that works great, but you have to follow the exact instructions. Highly recommend it!!
J.

I don't know if this is something you would even consider but I used to work at a Chiropractic office and we saw a lot of babies and treated them for Cholic, constipation, stomache issues etc. It's amazing everything chiropractic can help with. I know a lot of Chiropractors don't charge for babies also so that may be an idea.

Does he spit up at all? I read somewhere that often times babies who are"colicky" actually have acid reflux. Just an idea that you might want to look into. If he is struggling with acid reflux mylicon drops wont help you need to get a liquid antacid. Good luck and congrats. Remind yourself that the crying won't last forever :)

Hi, Congrats on your little bundle, he sounds pretty normal to me. Babies go through a cluster feeding in the evening where they fuss and fidget and want to nurse non stop for about 3-4 hours in prep for the long night ahead even though the long night ahead usually only lasts about 3-5 hours, hardly seems worth it, I know but thankfully this only lasts a short while. He could be gassy, and after talking to my doctor he said that mylicon was something that you had to keep giving even after the symptoms if you wanted it to work, that it wasnt just something that worked right away but more of a preventative thing. Kinda like the antacids that you have to take for a week before they take full effect. Warm bathes helped my little one.

Good luck.

My daughter did this for awhile too--it was so hard. What helped calm her down, is I would get into the shower, and hubby would hand her to me. I would stand with her up against my chest or tummy, and let the water run on her back. She would calm down and relax. Then I would hand her back to hubby, who would cuddle her in a towel for awhile, and then dress her while I dried off and got dressed. Also, walking with her helped. We had a June baby, and hubby would hold her and walk around the block--somehow being outside with the regular rhythm of walking helped her calm down as well. Good luck--it is hard, but they do grow out of it. Also, as was mentioned previously the Happiest Baby on the block was good--unfortunately I read it AFTER our season of colic. :-)

Hi K. - congratulations on that new son of yours! I'm not picking up that this is colick. Young babies cluster feed in the evenings and along with that comes lots of dirty diapers. Since he is still so new, I would try swaddling him well to see if that is comforting. My babies all had "witching hours" where they were just plain grumpy and was probably due to low blood sugar after their naps. I would also examine my diet and look at what I'm eating in the afternoon that might be available in my breastmilk by evening. You might try cutting out some different foods for a few days and see if that makes a difference. Places to start would be dairy and then cruciferous vegetables like broccoli etc. and then nightshades like tomatoes and peppers.

Some good resources are "Baby Whisperer" by Tracy Hogg and "The Happiest Baby on the Block" by Dr. Harvey Karp

Hi K.

well, it usually takes a couple weeks for babies to kind of "wake up" a little.. you can easily be lulled in to thinking they are a dream baby by how much they sleep for the first couple weeks.

but, that said... I don't think your baby has what I would call severe colic. My friend's kid would basically scream and cry every minute of the day that he wasn't either eating or sleeping, for basically the first three months of his life. somewhere around 3 1/2 months this stopped, dramatically.

not to belittle your experience, just wanting to give you some perspective. what you son is doing kind of sounds like what my daughter did. we called it the witching hour... she was pretty easy for most of the day, but from about 5pm to 7pm every day she was really fussy and was not easily soothed. it was weird, but short-lived (though difficult at the time.) what we ended up doing is taking her for a walk (or we'd drive to the mall and walk there if it was too cold) each evening for about an hour. at first it was fairly inconvenient, but honestly way better than sitting at home listening to her cry.

Our daughter went through 8 weeks of colic and it was insane! It started 9 days after she was born and sounds exactly like your little guy. So happy during the day but at 5 pm it was completely a different story. We tried everything from the drops to Gripe Water to different formulas. Unfortunately, NOTHING worked. She just had to grow out of it. The dr. said she just needed to learn to be a baby. My advice, try anything you can, maybe something will work magically. Otherwise, have a very supportive person around you. My husband and I would take turns rocking her and holding her until it all ended. Good luck and bless you during this difficult time.

I have a few possible ideas to help. My twins are 4 weeks old, and of the two the boy all of a sudden displayed behavior similar to what you're describing around 2 1/2 weeks. The first thing that is most helpful is Dunstan Baby language which was created by a woman with photographic hearing. She discovered that babies have a universal way of crying for certain things, so you can hear a cry and know what your baby needs. There is a hungry cry, a burp cry, an uncomfortable cry, a gassy cry, etc. I can't begin to tell you how helpful that has been, our son has definitly had a lot of gas, but knowing why he is crying is only half the battle. The second thing we found helpful is Gripe Water. My mother-in-law swore by it with her coliky daugher, and it has definitly helped. It's a natural remedy made of a few basic ingredients, the pharmacy makes it in house. We got ours at Rock Canyon Pharmacy, here is the website, you can look on it for more info, but I'm guessing a pharmacy near you would have it too. http://www.rockcanyonpharmacy.com/
the last thing was about how your son only wants to nurse and he poops a lot. Sometimes when we've tried everything to help our screaming son with his gas: massage, burping, gripe water, etc. and I know he's already eaten, I still feed him so that he can get a full stomach again. I read this in the book our pediatrician gave us: when babies get a full stomach it signals to their body and they have a bowel movement, and that can be helpful to babies with gas trapped in their intestines or colon to help them release the gas.
Well, I hope this helps a little. I know how frustrating a crying baby can be! Good luck!

Hi K.,
Congratulations on your new baby! Such exciting days with a baby in the house. I would take my baby to the chiropractor. Birth is such a traumatic event. It is amazing what a little adjustment can do for the wee ones.

Blessings,
T.

You've gotten a lot of great suggestions... I'll try not to duplicate too much. www.askdrsears.com has a list of things to try for calming a fussy baby.

My DS1 went through a phase when he was a few weeks old where he'd cry & cry and refuse to eat. Turned out to be gas and when Mylicon wouldn't help, the yoga ball worked wonders. I also did some baby massage and baby yoga (you might check your library for the Itsy Bitsy Yoga videos...that program is awesome!) We had a few rough weeks and then he was fine. (He was pretty high needs all along, but the big crying sessions mellowed out.)

My DS2 has suspected Milk-Soy Protein Intolerance, which means if I eat even a tiny bit of dairy or soy he's got GI upset. He's 10 months old now and is happy as a clam as long as I don't accidentally eat any problem ingredients. A food diary would help you figure out if he's got an intolerance.

You might check into reflux. Reflux babies sometimes nurse like crazy 'cause the breastmilk helps soothe the pain, but then the reflux kicks in... so they nurse again... and on & on. Try keeping him upright for a bit after he eats and see if that helps. If so, talk to the ped about reflux.

Best of luck to you! And congrats on the new little one!

My oldest son was colicky really bad. My mother in law is big into natural remedies and gave me a baby hot water bottle to put against his stomach when feeding him. It made a huge difference. When one of my other kids had colic I used one of those rice packs that you can warm up in the microwave and just kept it against their stomach while feeding sometimes after. I never had to use mylicon or anything else because it worked so well for them.

Good luck

A.

Hang in there. Plan on him acting that way. Have dinner ready, use paper plates, etc. Have your other boy in his pjs already etc. Half way through the evening (the crying part), run to your bathroom and take a shower (to drown out the crying) and spend 10 min taking care of yourself. When you come back you'll feel a whole lot better!! You might try giving him one bottle of formula at night, maybe your milk supply is low due to the time of day and the stress of him crying....But if he is pooping alot and is gassy there isn't much you can do except examine your diet and eliminate any foods that cause gas (it will take about a week or more to see a difference).

Hang in there and take breaks from the crying.
R.

It could be a food allergy - to something you are eating in the morning - that wouldn't be passed into breast milk until later in the day.

My 2nd son was allergic to dairy. So I became dairy free so we could continue to breastfeed. He ended up with Colitis and was colicky until we figured it out (he was a month old by then). Dairy is the most common, but there are 8 or 9 different food groups to check out. Our research found that the newest research is finding that (in many instances) colic is related to food allergies. BTW, he outgrew his allergy around 7 months.

You might check with your Pediatrician and start keeping a food journal for yourself. Good Luck.