Need Ideas for Dealing with Colic

You could try swaddling him and putting an infant seat or his carseat in the crib to sleep in so he's propped up. This worked wonders for my niece and she slept in it(still swaddled) until 5-6 months. Also, infant simethicone drops for gas and reflux work really well if you haven't tried them yet. Good luck, it won't last forever. As for you, nap when he naps, day or night. The older ones should be in school or still napping. Use gates or locks so they can't get into any trouble while you're resting. Everything else can wait, or be done by someone else! Don't be afraid to ask for help from a friend or family member. Dad's getting plenty of sleep, so he needs to step up and fix meals, bathe the older ones,and amuse them so you can get some rest before he goes to bed. He's a partner, not just a breadwinner.

ugh. we are just getting thru colic ourselves. every night we had to try something different. but we always swaddled. pacifier and tried a combination of the baby bjorn or moby wrap, bouncing on the exercise ball, swing (on speed 6!), walking walking walking, car ride or just the car seat, laying her in our bed. White noise is a must. sometimes she just liked listening to the TV. She was miserable from 6-11 some nights. It was exhausting! Hang in there. Have you considered a night nanny for a few weeks? If you can swing it I'd look into it since he's having so much trouble in the middle of the night. Even if it's just a few nights a week - anything to help you get a break!

Putting my colicy one in a sling worked the best.
Really there is nothing that will work like magic and change your baby. Part of dealing with colic is hanging in there and knowing there is an end in sight. Good luck, I know how hard it can be!

One thing that was helpful for us was swaddling our baby, giving her a pacifier and placing her in a bouncy seat. Swaddling was a BIG key for her to get restful sleep! You might try some of the techniques in the book "The Happiest Baby on the Block" by Harvey Karp. It has a lot of suggestions on different ways to soothe a baby.

Infants often prefer sleeping in a more confined area. The crib is pretty big for them. We used swaddling and a moses basket for the first three months. You could even put the basket in the crib to create a smaller space for him getting used to the crib.

Hang in there. It will not last forever!!!

I agree with the Chiropractor. I had tried most of the other suggestions and it helped a little for a little but didn't get to the source of the problem. I went to Dr. Scharenberg in Wichita KS. The colic services are free because he knows how hard it is emotionaly to hear the constant crying. Miles, my son, went for a few weeks a few days a week. In between treatments a noise machine turned ALL the way up with white noise helped Miles get some calm. I also overfed Miles, which led to a lot more spitting up and more tummy pain I bet. Dr. Scharenberg says that is pretty common because you just don't know what to do and they usually are not crying when they are nursing. :-) Here is his website and he has a video explaining what he thinks causes colic. I hope you can find some help soon. I had a few emotional breakdowns and my hubby was able to take Miles downstairs. I then put in my ear plugs and got a few hours of sleep. Maybe if you show the video to your hubby he will cut you a break. The babies are in pain THAT is why they are crying. Miles is a healthy little guy, full of smiles now. Looking back, he must have been in a lot of pain to scream like that.
http://www.docscharenberg.com/
M. Pfeiffer

indian wrap and warm peppermint water if all else fails soy formula

Hello ~ you don't mention if he is on formula or nursed....babies little tummies have a hard time breaking down milk protein if he is on formula I would talk to his pediatrician about switching to a different formula. If he is nursed you should eliminate dairy from your diet. I went through the same w/my dd who is now 5 yrs old & my ds who is now 16 months...they were both nursed...what a huge difference it made in them when I eliminated dairy, dairy derivatives/milk from my diet. Congrats on your little guy!

Have you tried laying him across your arm so he is laying on his belly? That usually worked for both of our boys if they were crying like mad, the pressure on his belly from you arm and hand may help.

Our dr told us about the 5 s's from "The Happiest Baby on the Block" book. I thought he was crazy when he demonstrated it - you really do look ridiculous holding your baby like a football and kind of bouning/swinging around and sshhhhing in his ear...but let me tell you IT WORKS!!

The 5 s's are: Swaddling, Side lying, Swinging, Shhhhhhh, Suckling

We would swaddle, hold him in the side lying position (kind of like you would hold a football), then bounce and sway back and forth - DON'T shake (you probably know that but I had to say it!), and ssshhhhhhhh in his ear - our boys didn't take to a paci so we bypassed the suckling s! This always worked for us - within 2 mins they would stop screaming. As they calm down you can bounce/sway a little slower, and ssshhhhh a little quieter.

Good luck!

My 9 week old son's colic started at about 2 weeks. At first we weren't sure what was wrong. We tried switching to soy, which only made it worse, we tried the gas drops, which helped a little but not much. At about 6 weeks the pediatrician reccomended Nutramigen. He has been a different kid ever since. Something else that we do is we add gripe water in with his formula. It says to use 5 ml for older than a month, but we've only been using 3 ml and it is working out great.

You could try the gripe water first in his reg. bottle, you can get it at Walgreens or your local pharmacy. Then if that doesn't work, you may want to talk to your ped. about Nutramigen.

I wish you and your little one the best of luck!

I had one that was colicky and fussy. One of the things that worked for us was taking the belt off the vaccum cleaner and turning it on. The white noise seemed to calm him a little. I've also heard about strapping them in their car seats and putting it on the dryer with you there. Can you get a white noise machine and turn it on when he gets fussy ? Maybe put him in his swing at that time ? If he's not fussy after other feedings, I wouldn't think that it's the formula or something you are eating.

I want to add my vote to getting a copy of "happiest baby on the block".
It's a fast read, and much of the advice given here is all or part of the suggestions in the book. We used the 5 S's to calm our daughter for months, it was great. I was sad when she got too big to swaddle...

I just want to say that you have recieved some great responses so far but I think your husband needs to jump in and help out. Laying down a colicky baby and walking away is not the answer and could make it worse. Try having the baby lay on your chest skin to skin, try in the car seat once he is asleep and besides everyone else's suggestions there is not much else to do. My preemie had colic and cried until she reached six months (really four months adjusted). Nothing worked, I was eating crackers and water to see if it was anything in my diet, gas drops made her immediately vomit, she hated to swaddle, too small for the swing etc nothing made her happy. One of us would walk around the basement while the other slept in the bedroom. I think you need some help so you don't go crazy so get that man into gear and have him help out too!

It's not always due to something medical, but in our case it was. At 7-8 weeks my son became inconsolable from about 4-11pm!!! We went to the Dr. after I noticed his poop was mucusy and bloody one day. Turns out he had a milk protein intolerance. I was breastfeeding, and tried to remove all dairy from my diet, but eventually we ended up putting him on a special, partially digested milk protein formula (Nutramigen by Enfamil). Within a few days on the formula (once we converted him over by mixing BM and formula for a bout a week or so) he was a new kid. And I a new mom- as I had a 16month old as well. Hang in there... take it one moment at a time, and explore any medical reasons first. Good luck!

You are getting great advice: gripe water, checking what is in your diet if bfing or trying different formulas, Happiest Baby, and definitely NOT leaving your baby to cry at night.

I would also try taking him to a pediatric chiropractor. I am one, and I see colicky and reflux babies ALL THE TIME, and there is only one case in five years that I can think of that the adjustments didn't seem to help (and it turned out that baby had rare issue that was only discovered months after care). Most people don't think of chiropractic, which makes me sad, as I see such great results. And pediatric chiropractors are trained in gently adjusting specifically for babies. My youngest patient was 35 minutes old.

Anyway, you can find a pediatric chiropractor near you at http://icpa4kids.org/Find-a-Chiropractor/

Good luck!

Dr. Alyssa

My daughter was a happy baby until her 2nd week. She was "colicky". I did not believe that she would just cry to cry and we went to the doctor. I put her on soy formula and the doctor diagnosed her with acid reflux. She was a different baby. Just a thought, but it could help.
good luck, i've been there and it is no fun!