Possible Colic

My daughter did that for the first year, not to scare you.
What helped with her is Zantac, b/c here she had reflux but the type where it does not come out, instead of constant vomiting. as well as putting her on Nutramigen formula. The combination of these two helped tremediously.

Congrats on the little girl!!! My daughter was very fussy (colicky) for about a month in a half and i think it was because my milk was coming in to fast. Once it slowed down she was so much happier. nothing really help but to just deal with it. (My husband brought a sound meter home from work she was hitting 99 decibels)

It does sound like colic. There are two types of colic - one you can't do much about, but one is caused by milk products. If breastfeeding - don't consume any dairy products for a couple days and see if there is any improvement.

My son cried for hours when he was a baby, too. He had acid reflux, but I don't know if that's why your daughter is crying. When we were really desperate, we put him in his car seat and swung it back until he fell asleep. (We swung it so he was going forward and backward). Because it's heavy, we usually bent over and held on to the back of a chair. It's h*** o* your back, but it's so nice to hear the silence! It worked every time and I even tried it on my nephew and he responded right away. Last year I saw an article in the New Yorker about colic and that technique was even mentioned in there! For some reason babies respond to it in a way they don't respond to the swing. Good luck!

Hi M.,

We used the Happiest Baby on the Block DVD to help with our son when he was little. It is a great resource. Gymboree also offers classes which you can take. The techniques discussed are great for calming a fussy baby.

Congrats on your new baby!
J.

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you may want to switch formula. I had the same problem with my son. I ended up using Nestle Goodstart (purple). it did wonders. I do feel for you it is very very hard and i know you feel helpless. also try holding her on your arm with her head in your hand and wrist and her belly on the rest of your arm that helps some. also my sone liked his bouncy seat that vibrated. little tummies is also something to try. i also had him sleep on his belly when i was up to check on him and his side when i put him to bed. he refused to lay on his back. hang in there it will get better i promise!

If you are breastfeeding, even if you are eating dairy, it can affect your child. Cow's milk has proteins in it that are not easily digested by humans, and can cause problems for a lot of children, infants, and adults. Goat's milk is actually closer to human milk.

There is a great book that I wish I had when my kids were infants. It is by Harvey Karp and called The Happiest Baby on the Block. When you get there, his book about toddlers is good too, it's called, The Happiest Toddler on the Block. The baby one talks about a calming reflex to help your baby calm down and sleep and stop crying. There is also a video. Best of luck, I know it's awful when your baby cries and you can't seem to make it stop. We've all been there, know that you are not alone!

M.,
My baby was crying all the time as well. It turns out he wasn't getting enough from the breast milk. I put him on formula and he started doing much better. I've never heard of going to a chiropractor. I always used to give my babies a massage myself and I used to execise their little arms and legs. They seemed to like both. Maybe you could give that a try. Also, a lot of first time moms don't realise how helpful it is just to swaddle their babies. Babies like to be warm and cozy and they like to be cuddled. Even when you can't constantly hold them a nice soft receiving blankent can help with that. It gives them the feeling of being held. Good luck with whatever it is that you try.

I have been there. I used to have the hold the baby and do the up and down motion. She did not like side to side rocking it was almost and up and down bouncing motion. I did this so much that I built up muscles in my thighs. I'm sure I burned a ton of calories. I would tell the doctor that I was getting so tired from all the bouncing. It will pass. It's like paying dues in motherhood. www.livegreeneasy.com

M.,

First, talk with your pediatrician before you try anything else to rule out a medical problem (including gas, GERD, etc.).

My daughter cried from the age of 1 week through 15 weeks. She did not have any stomach problems so it was not a gastroinestinal colic. She simply was overstimulated and energetic and she cried it out every day from about 4 PM to 11 PM. She cried constantly unless she was breastfeeding or catnapping. Nothing worked - the vacuum, the swing, rides in the car, the dryer - you name it, I tried it. I simply resigned myself to the fact that she was medically and physically OK and that she needed to cry every evening. So I just went on with our normal activities. I did keep her in a sling or the Baby Bjorn when she got big enough so she knew I was there for her. I fed her, played with her, read to her, bathed her, and cuddled her all the while she was screaming her head off. I just acted like it was normal. And of course I nevered scheduled anything out of the house during the "witching hours". I also used a cosleeper so she knew I was nearby at night. Cosleeping reduced her screaming from 6-7 hours to about 3-4. She would calm down when she knew we were going to sleep.

It is very difficult to go through but they do outgrow it - usually around 13-15 weeks. So you are halfway there!

Good luck and remember to take some breaks to regain your sanity. Unfortunately my husband refused to help me (he still does - he never does anything with the children except a very occasional play time for 10 minutes a few times a month but that is another problem) and I have no family in the area so I had to deal with it myself. There were times when I thought I would go insane. However I have to say it was an excellent bonding time for me and my daughter since I carried her around with me.

Good luck and if you want to talk, send me an email.

A.

M.- Sounds like lots of great advice and things to try. I will just add what worked for me. My son had reflux and was colicky from day 1. Even the nurses in the hospital were stressed by the time they would bring him to me in the morning. I changed my diet, tried different formulas (but he would not take a bottle)tried gas drops, we even had him on 2 different reflux meds. He cried every waking moment (or so it seemed) until he was 6-8 months old. The one thing that kept me sane was he did sleep OK at night (not through the night but woke, ate, and went back to sleep with little fussing). One thing I did was swaddled him in a "Miracle Blanket." He grew out of it at 4 months but it was so helpful until then. If you want to e-mail me, you can have the blanket...has a little tear but still effective. The other thing that was key for us was a super-early bedtime. Even my daughter (who was very easy) cried a lot in the evening until I started putting her down early. Most babies are crying this time of night because they are over-tired. My son slept from 6pm - 6am with one or 2 wake-ups to eat and be changed. Honestly, if he didn't sleep, I don't think I would have come out of this sane.
Good Luck and please e-mail me if you want. I know what you are going through.. it is not fun!
S.
____@____.com

Your child could very likely have acid reflux. Even if she is not throwing up a lot, she could have silent GER. My daughter suffered with this and if this is the case with your daughter, do not fear the medicine! I was so afraid to give her medicine, but it was a life saver. She was so much more comfortable and it saved the lining of her esophagus. Some babies with reflux resist feeding, but my daughter would feed more often because it soothed her. My brother's baby also had reflux but the doctors did not figure it out until she was several months old. He and his wife got absolutely NO SLEEP for months. Good luck with this!

M.,
My son had colic at 6 weeks until he was about 4 months old. He cried every night for hours, and my husband works nights so I was all alone. Make sure you burp her very well. Try mylicon and not sure if you are breast or bottle feeding but I bottle fed and used Nutramigen until I found out that Nestle Good Start was absolutely wonderful and affordable, although no price was too high for my son. He kept it down better and he slept better at night. He also had an upper GI done and we found that he had moderate acid reflux which was a contributing factor of the colic. After switching to Nestle and liquid Zantac he was a much happier baby, but be warned it took time for him to grow out of the colic completely. Get rest when he does and lean on friends to help!
Good luck...
Chris

M.! I usually don't have much time to respond to a lot but this one hit close to home. My 1 and 1/2 year old boy was colicky from day 1 and pretty much seemed to never stop crying until I realized he was sensitive to a lot of foods and had acid reflux. I would ask your doctor, but I in my opinion I would lay off of Dairy and see if that helps a little. Also, not all kids vomit with acid reflux. My son never did and I did not know he had it until I was at one of his appointments and he was arching his back and screaming and they asked if he always did that. I said yes and they were surprised I had not mentioned it before. Just let your doctor know all the symptoms yours baby is having and don't give up. Be persistent because it will get fixed!!!! :)

Check your milk supply. If she wants to nurse every hour let her. If your bottle feeding and she wasnt to eat around 2oz every hour to 2 hours let her.
Are her legs sharply moving up to her chest? Is she making a forced jerking sound as she does this. This can sometimes be from a gassy tummy.
If you are nursing check her wet and poopy diapers and see if they are enough and that will tell you if she is getting enough. Also many foods can be triggers like onions, chocolate, cabbage, pepperoni, garlic, milk, even cheese or too many carbs can affect some people!
If shes formula fed try the playtex bottles as they have less air in. Burp her after every 1oz. There stomach is as big as a walnut at this age so make sure your not over feeding her. Burp her even when shes not eating to amke sure all the air is coming out and not sinking down into her stomach or intestines.
Finally, is her cry high pitched and shrieking? This is a sign of pain usually. (sometimes tehy do this wehn they are extremmly hungry and their tummy is comletely empty, that sometimes hurts!). Some babies, although not many, have severe blocked tear ducts or hernias or twisted bowels that can cause pain. I would go this route last of all and rule out the above first.
Good luck

The chiropractor can definitely help, they can show you where to massage, accupuncture can help as well. Try also some Bubble B Gone that works great as well.
V.

I am just getting over colic with my son who is now 12 weeks. My peditrician started him on Nutramegen formula by Infamil. It helped by about 80% within about a week. He was crying every day around 4 pm until about 10 pm every night, driving me crazy, good thing he is so cute!

I'm sure the pediatrician is aware of this. I am a grandma to an 8 and a half month old girl. I would try changing the formula. We gave her pediatrician gas drops and also changed the formula. I believe I remember my daughter changing bottles as well, due to the air bubbles. Good luck!

I would definately try the chiropractor first. my nephew was the same way for the first few months of his life. The Ped's changed his formula and put him on all kinds of meds, until we were finally talked into seeing a chiro. from a friend. Turns out his hips were dislocated from birth. It saddens me that the poor little guy had to suffer all those months for nothing. I have since had both my children to a chiro within 3wks of thier birth.

We had the same problem with my granddaughter. Because she is one of three (triplets) the other two needed therapy to help develope their muscles. The therapist told us she may have gas. We started giving her gas drops for babies and what a difference. Problem solved. Well worth a try.
Barbara

My daughter was a non stop cryer too. The best thing we did was get her a tummy tub, or spa baby tub. It is a tub that looks like a flower pot wide at the top and narrower at the bottom, it takes 6 inches of warm water, she will float in it with a little support from you mom, and as she is in the fetal position again she will calm down. When we got it, it was instant! She stopped the hours and hours of crying. She would stay in the tub for about 15 minutes, it stays warm because of the smaller surface area, and it was a miracle for us. go to www.spababytubs.com and order one you will be amazed. I put her in it as soon as she seemed like she was going to cry her usual 4-5 hours starting at around 4 or 5, if I caught her before she was out of control she slept longer at night. Even if she was crying, not stopping, as soon as she was in the tub, she calmed down, it was awesome. Try it, they will ship it to you fast as well. She still loves her tubby, she is almost 2. We say bath time, she runs for the bathroom, grabs her tubby and says "Bath?" with a huge smile on her face.

Hi M.! Congratulations on your new baby girl! My daughter had colic. Have you tried using a swing? We had one that could move in two directions (side to side and front to back) - it didn't work all the time but it did work. Experiment not only with the direction but with the speed as well - of course make sure her head and neck aren't flopping around. There are also swings that play music and have mobiles. Again experiment. My daughter didn't like the music or the mobile - it was to much stimulation in the beginning but every baby is different so try different combinations until you find the ones that work for your daughter. Hang in there - one day she will grow out of it... they all do.

Maybe colic. Try Mylicon drops.

CHECK OUT YOUR "FEELINGS" WHEN SHE CRIES. Are you irritated; impatient. Are your movements REALLY tender? Are you 'rushed' when you feed/change her?

These are NOT accusations...but ATTITUDES make a difference. She will 'feel' your patience or lack of it. Be sure there is nothing physically wrong; then 'let love flow to her'. You will be shaping her 'outlook' emotionally for years to come. This first year is an opportunity that passes quickly...and you will never be able to 'go back and do it over'. Loving her in this first year is the very most important thing that you can do this year. NOTHING is more important.

KayMarie

It never fails, I also give this advice when it comes to colic (and someone else always responds that I am nuts)--my daughter was breast fed and perfectly fine until 5 weeks old when she would scream non-stop for 3-4 hours every evening. I adjust my diet to basically nothing. I removed all dairy, etc. After a few weeks an amish lady asked me if I had tried a chiropractor. I thought she was crazy. After a few more horific nights I decided to try it (make sure to find one that specializes in peds). We went into the office and Maddie was screaming her head off! Within 5 minutes of the adjustment (which really seems more like a massage); she stopped. Within 2 hours or so she had filled 2 diapers with poop. I took her back weekly for a month and then monthly until she was a year old. I can't say enough great things because I saw it first hand. She also started walking at 8 months old which some studies attribute to being adjusted. Either way I would definetly recommend giving it a try because it worked SO well for me. Good Luck!!

Swaddling may work but white noise is a lifesaver if your baby does have colic. My son cried for hours in the evening and there were things that helped sometimes but nothing helped like the vacuum. I've heard there's a book that has some great tips. I believe it's called "The Happiest Baby on the Block" but that's not exact. Other things I've tried: going for a walk, massaging baby (tummy and legs), lying baby on his tummy on my thighs and massaging his back, and cutting out dairy, gassy and spicy foods (if you are nursing).

my little guy always cried non stop until...one day I realized running water soothed him. I used to sit and hold him in my bathroom while I ran the shower. Worked everytime. Yes, it was a "waste" of water and my water bill was the highest it ever was but....it was worth my sanity and his comfort.

Definitely talk to the pediatrician to make sure it is just fussiness not anything else...

Hi M.,

I feel your pain. I breastfed my daughter so for me changing my diet helped. But just like other moms suggested, swaddling is very helpful. Also the vacuum cleaner always quieted her. Instantly!!!! Try your vacuum cleaner. They also sell CDs with the vacuum. That really worked for us!! Good luck!

Try "wearing" your baby in a sling. It works wonders for most babies.
Also, chiropractic is probably the most effective, natural remedy for most causes of colic. Find a chiropractor that is experienced with babies.

It could be colic. have you tried mylcon drops? those are for gas. another thing if you are breast feeding be careful of what you eat,it can effect her. If giving her formula she may be having reactions to that. is she spitting up after you feed her? If you do not have a baby swing buy her one and put her in it,it will help> I have one for sale if you are interested let me know. new it is $129 but i would like to sell it for $60. it is in awesome condition.another thing you can do is buy a vibrating seat,made by boppy. it has heartbeat sound which helped my son alot when he was fussy. it will get better i promise. also rub her tummy in a circular motion left to right. another thing to do is take her legs and move them in a bicycle fashion and also do them in a counter clockwise fashion and up and down. sometimes that does help release the gas. take it easy,you are doing great.
D.

Sounds like colic to me! I would make a journal of her behavior and eating patterns to take to your peds office and have them look to see if they think that it might be colic or another problem. Good Luck!