HELP!!!! Do You Have Any "Cure-alls" for Colic?????

As all the mommy's have suggested so far, it is a digestive issue.
For my daughter the digestive issue stemmed from lactose. I was breast feeding, and the poor baby was miserable. I cut out all dairy from my diet and she was a changed child! When I lost my milk when she was 7 months and we had to switch to formula the the "lactose sensitive" bothered her, she had to have soy.
Please consider testing a lactose free diet with her. You will know in a day or two if this is the issue.

There is a product out there called Colic Calm that can only be ordered online. My Nephew and his wife swear by it!!!

Updated

There is a product out there called Colic Calm that can only be ordered online. My Nephew and his wife swear by it!!!

If you aren't afraid to go out at night, drive around a bit. If that bothers you (which would be pretty likely) how about putting baby in a stroller inside house or apartment and strolling around. Movement seems to help.

Hi C.,
I've been there twice! Many times I would cry along with my girls and sometimes even put the binky in my mouth and would bite out my fustration. It looks funny but keeps mommy's screaming to a minimum. :-)

My first we didn't realize that she has a problem with lactose until after she turned 1 (poor baby). Lactose free milk and she was a much happier child. It started with baby #2 and I had to cut out all dairy (no milk, no cheese, no sourcream, no yummy stuff). I won't say that she never cried again but if sure helped! Of course this only applies if you're BFing. If not try a soy formula. Good luck. It gets better I promise.

sorry......can't promise anything.

If you are nursing avoid dairy products and take a probiotic. If your baby is on formula then avoid cows milk. Try soy.

Good news is as your baby's digestive system develops this will cure itself. I'm sorry! I'd want to cry too if I were you.

Get help to spell you, and make sure Dad does his part at night.

In my opinion colic, is caused by an immature digestive system and/or sensory issues. That is why swinging, rocking, holding, often help. If its a digestive issue, she may be not handling your breastmilk well (my friend switched to formula recently and she has a different baby) or the formula is not right. Could be a lactose sensitivity. If its a sensory issue then a warm bath is really good, riding in the car, and holding them against you and letting them nurse all worked for us. My advice is to do whatever works.

First off, Mama-- get yourself a packet of earplugs. They will take that rattly edge off the crying--you know, the one designed to get a response from us.:)

Colic is usually caused by the immature nervous system developing and "coming on-line"; some babies need more stimulation and cry to stimulate themselves, and some are overstimulated, which results in their continuing to cry. This article from the University of Michigan is thorough and informative:

http://www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/colic.htm

A couple of things: if you are looking for a remedy for an upset tummy,the product you want is "Gripe Water", and can often be obtained at health food stores and lactation clinics. This water also has the correct proportions of the spices used, and if you follow the directions on the box, it will not have an ill effect on the child.

Second; research in Europe has shown very promising results in regard to treating colic with a series of pediatric chiropractic treatments. Another great article:

http://www.colichelp.com/colic-chiropractic.html

Just as adults can get 'stuck' and need adjustments to re-align the spine and bones, babies can suffer from this too. Birth and being squeezed tightly in a teeny womb for the months before birth can make it so that the body is not working optimally, and colic is one result of this. We have been taking our son to a pediatric chiro/craniosacral therapist since he was 2 weeks old (my husband and his mom have a slight scoliosis, so we are doing this as a preventative measure). My son is 3 and a half now, and we have seen no ill effect after any of the many treatments he's had.

For what it's worth, the medical community used to tell parents that colic was just a phase and send them home to wait it out. Now, with the advent of Zantac and all the other GERD medications, the diagnoses has changed from 'colic' to GERD. Hypothetically, this was so moms could go home with something in hand. How hard, though, for those mothers whose children DIDN'T have GERD, but actually have run of the mill colic!

Lastly, don't be afraid to set baby in the crib and leave the room for a few minutes if you need to. Especially if you feel you might hurt your child or yourself. Some people are likely to disagree with this, however, it's my opinion that a child who is not being comforted by being held, etc. and who is crying incessantly-- well, if being held isn't working, NOT being held isn't going to hurt. Moms need to take care of themselves too!

You have my utmost sympathy.

I had two sons who were colicky and would scream literally all day long. Didn't matter if I tried all the "tricks" etc, they carried on until 14 weeks and then it just stopped like flipping a switch.

I wouldn't wish colic on any new parent...even those who will try to make you feel badly and say things like oh, colic is just something the doctors make up to get you out of their office! Clearly none of those "colic isn't real" people have ever had to spend extended amounts of time with my children. Both of my boys screamed all the time - not just 3 hours in the evening either - despite being totally healthy, sleeping fairly well even as newborns, and absent any digestive issues. Thankfully they're both such happy boys full of smiles and giggles.

When you find something that works for you and the baby - go for it. Just do your best and remember that you're doing your best. Make sure to carve time out of your schedule for alone/quiet time for you. Have your husband/partner, family member, friend watch the baby for an hour or so to give yourself some sanity time.

Good luck - hang in there! I've got my fingers crossed for you that around the 3 month mark (or sooner) it'll stop, without rhyme or reason, for your baby just like it did for mine.

I just want to say that I was told at 4 weeks my daughter was diagnosed with "colic" she definitely had all the signs, screaming like she was in pain for hours at a time. Her doctor assured me she wasn't in any pain but I refused to believe that so I switched her to a more gentle formula and it didn't work. Then I started to wonder if maybe she had an intolerance to milk from doing some research online, so I switched her to soy formula and she was a COMPLETELY different baby within a week or two. I am not kidding you, she is 12 weeks old now and ever since we switched formula she is the happiest baby you will ever meet, she NEVER cries unless she is hungry and now sleeps 11-12 hours straight at night. I am so happy I looked into other things, I don't even believe now that there is such thing as "colic" there is a reason your baby is crying. Her doctor has confirmed my daughter is lactose intolerant. I would definitely try to find out if something similar is going on with your little one, good luck!!!!!

Ugh! Been there. With us we tried everything - gripe water, diet change, colic remedies. It was not a food issue. It was colic. My husband and I would take turns walking around with her. Until he got home it was brutal (at the time my son was 19 months old). I would try to distract myself from the crying. I would keep a game of solitare going on the computer and every few minutes play a little bit and then walk around a little with her. The vacuum was the only noise that worked and it would only work for 5 minutes at a time. From 5-6pm she would scream and then pass out at about 10pm. Remember it is only temporary; at 12 weeks 2 days old it stopped. Totally different baby. The hardest part for me was that we couldn't really bond until after it was over and feeling like a bad mom. Try what you can and use what works for you. If at all possible schedule friends/family to come by at peak screaming time and give you a break or a distraction. Good luck! Oh yeah, it's ok to cry.

when my 13 mo old was a newborn she cried constantly. Dr mentioned colic. i however believe that babies cry for a reason and i was going to figure out that reason. I had been breastfeeding but determined that was what the problem was. So as much as i didn't want to i quit doing it and put her on a soy-based formula. She never cried like that again. My breast milk was giving her the worst tummy ache and gas. though the soy helped with everything in the way of her crying it did cause constipation. She takes Little Tummys Lax and that also works great and doesn't upset her stomach.

milacon you can get it at the pharmacy in the baby section. it is for colicy babies and does wonders.

No one really knows what causes colic...but my pediatrician had a theory which makes sense. Babies are used to the easy, mellow ways of the womb, and all the sudden they are thrown into the turbulent, wild world. He belived that colic is just sort of a baby's way of showing you they have sensory overload, and can't handle all the things coming at them. It made sense to me since it usually happens at night or at a regular time, is uncontrollable upset (because they can't control their environment or what is happening), nothing much seems to work or control it so the baby remains frustrated.

Milacon is for gas...which is way different than colic...though both can be misdiagnosed as the other. Though you can try it...it won't hurt.

Dairy and other issues are dietary...again not usually what colic consists of but can be misdiangonsed. Again...won't hurt to try different foods for mom or formula.

All the advice you have received is great...try eradicating food items that are known to upset stomachs. Try gas drops and gripe water. Driving and similiarly soothing distractions such as running a vacuum cleaner or sitting the car seat on the running dryer sometimes work...Even driving around. I think distrcation is the best thing you can try with noise or motion...but try it all, no advice is bad when it comes to colic.

I no longer believe in "colic" as its true defination is a period of time crying at the same time and point each day. My little guy screamed for hours when he was born and they said colic but there was no regularity to it, just seemed like all the time. I tried placing him in his swing or bouncy next to the bath tub and turning on the water.....worked like a charm most of the time. We then graduated to a SoundMedics sound machine with the waterfall sounds. Some type of white noise may help you.

But as most of the ladies mention check for the basic intolerences such as dairy etc. My guy had severe reflux not due to an allergy that we still deal with some. Does your little one do any grunting, clearing throat? Lots of spit up or sounds of it soming up only to be swallowed back down? Most babies do spit up but a child with reflux does it alot and especially if laying flat. The acid hurts their throats if it is consistently coming up.

Colicky behavior can be caused by a NUMBER of things... ruling those things out, one by one until there's nothing left to try is the only "cure all" I've ever come across.

The most COMMON causes of colicky behavior (since colic by definition has no "cause") :

- Ear Infection
- Allergy
- Gas
- Light sensitivity (I knew one family who used dark swimming goggles to "fix" this)
- Sound sensitivity (ear muffs)

My own son fell into the gas category... and has a simple "fix". He was a marathon burper. First burp would happen in a normal period of time (under 5 minutes)... but if I kept patting and rocking for 45min-1hr he'd get a huge DINOSAUR burp. Bwraaaaaaaaap! As long as we did marathon burping after every feeding... he was a super happy baby. Skipping even 1, however (like when my mum had him or someone else wanted to burp him) meant a whole 12-24 hours of misery STARTING several hours later.

I read a LOT while kiddo had to be burped. Baby over the shoulder in the same arm as the book, patting with the other hand and rocking with my foot.

He was quirky in a couple of other ways as well... and missing those he would be in full flail. We *couldn't* swaddle (he hated it), *couldn't* cosleep (also hated it), *couldn't* ever use a paci (tick him off big time... if he had something in his mouth it needed to be giving him food)... and he was prone to sinus infections. Clear ears... but his sinuses would cause him a lot of pain and then he'd be throwing up constantly at night from the post nasal drip. A little infant decongestant (pseudoephedrine hcl) fixed him right up.

My heart goes out to you, I've been there myself. With my daughter I suspect it was a milk protein intolerance. So stopping all dairy if you're nursing can be something to try. Otherwise, my best and hardest advice is to not take it personal and have someone (your husband, family and/or friends) spell you for breaks. You NEED breaks, especially with a high need colicky baby. If the ped has checked them out and nothing is amiss, accept that they will cry and know that eventually they will stop. You're doing a great job and this too will pass. An infant swing (check the age minimum) and a pacifier can also be helpful.

Leave the baby with someone and give yourself a break. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES do you give an infant chamomile tea!!
Try calling a health-food store and see if they have any suggestions.
Ginger is generally thought to be very helpful but ANY OTHER HERB is off limits. (Ginger is a spice)

warm peppermint water and soy formula. and swaddling.

Check your library or bookstore for the DVD Happiest baby on the block. THe Doc who wrote it has some strategies that might help and does a nice job of instructing on implementing them. Good luck!

Hi C.. MR wrote an excellent post. It's important to also note that ALL infants become fussier and fussier, week after week, until the fussiness peaks at 6 weeks old (6 weeks after gestational 40 weeks). So if your baby was born at 40 weeks, you are having the roughest week! (If your baby was born at 39 weeks, you may have 1 more week to go.)

The good news is that 80% off all infants start decreasing their fussiness after that point. It doesn't happen overnight, but you will see the decreases each week. Only 20% of infants will maintain that intense fussiness for another 6 weeks. (That's what I had with my firstborn. I don't wish this on anyone.)

Like MR mentioned, if you find something that seems to work (swaddling, swinging, spraying holy water, doing an Irish jig, whatever!) just keep doing it. This time is very difficult, but it will pass. My best wishes!

Gripe Water and Mylicon got my 2 girls through it. My daughters liked to be held face down laying across my forearm and being rocked. Also, if your nursing eliminate dairy, chocolate and carbonated drinks.

http://www.babyslumber.com/happiestbaby.html

swaddling, sucking, swaying, and shushing were like a miracle for my baby.

Hi C.,

Is she formula fed or breast fed? If she's breast fed I'll let the other ladies comment but if she's formula fed then I have a suggestion. It may not be her tummy but the formula as all are full of synthetic chemicals. There is no way to tell which chemical/additive is the culprit and actually provoking the pain. Personally, I can't eat my favorite cookies anymore because they substituted hydrogenated oil for the real stuff. You'll probably find it in the formula as well.

My niece's little one was having this problem and we switched her to goat's milk. It's the closest to human breast milk there is and is not full of additives that you can't tract. (We used the Meyenberg brand from the refrigerated section at the grocery store. They do have liquid concentrate on the shelves and even powdered in the health stores.) Her colic and spitting up vanished immediately.

We now "make" a formula by 2 parts goat's milk, 2 parts distilled water and 2 parts juiced carrots for vitamins and fiber. It's not much more expensive than formula and it was certainly worth the sleep and her comfort :) Hope this helps...

M.

Hi C.,
My son who is now three was also very colicky. I remember how difficult it was to see him going through all of this and feeling so emotional myself. And, yes, I did cry too!!! His pedi told me that if it was true colic that the only real "cure" for it is age-- that by 3-4 months we would see dramatic improvements. And, just as the doc said, my son woke up one morning at about 4 months old like a different baby. It was amazing, really. He still had terrible reflux until about 12 months, and we had him on Nutramigen for his sensitive tummy.
I saw this item in a One Step Ahead catalog just the other day, so I thought I'd pass the link along to you in case you'd like to try it. You never know-- maybe it will work! :-) http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId...
Whether or not you find something that works, you will get through this! Do your best to take breaks-- find someone to watch your little one for you so you can get out for a while, especially during those very fussy hours! Take care of yourself too! God bless you and your baby! Happy New Year!