I should have mentioned all of the things we have tried- which is everything that has been mentioned and much much more. Running the vacuum, wearing her in a sling/wrap, carrying her on my arm, laying her on her tummy, bouncing in all kinds of ways, mylecon on a regular basis, etc. I was breastfeeding plus supplementing when this all started. Now she is on formula only (started refusing the breast several days ago). I am still pumping to store some milk, but she is no longer eating breastmilk. We switched formula to the stuff that is "Sensitive- for fussiness and gas" last week. WE have tried all forms of formula-powder, concnetrate, and ready-to-feed. Oy!
This is why I am now considering some alternative meds. I am one who is always reluctant to turn to medicine, so this is a tough deicison for me.
Thanks for all of the input, please keep it coming...
Hi all! My sweet 6 week old daughter is proving to be a colicky baby (easily the 3 X 3 criteria). We are at our wits end. Someone mentioned to me today that they knew someone who gave thier baby Lime water to treat the colic and that it is great. When I look up lime water and colic on the web- I also find a product called "Colic Calm". Have any of you ever used these remedies? Are they safe? My pediatrician is not big on natural remedies- she usually tells me its up to me...so any input would be helpful
Put some white noise on the tv or run the vaccum, rub her belly and love on her. Sometimes we are all too quick to give our kids a cure for whatever ails them. That's why most of the meds now a days do not work ne more. Children have become immune to them. Just love on her a little more :) She'll be fine. Good Luck!
Two of my kids that are now 18 and 15 and my grandson is colic. Mylacon Drops work awesome. They sell it in the baby section at walmart and any drug store. A candy cane also helps with gas. If the baby is screeming the also like noise. Like a vacuum cleaner and my grandson loves the sound of our 4 wheeler....lol. We also have a nature sounds picture and that even works for awhile. There are just a few ideas. Oh yeah one more idea, one of those bouncers with vibration and sounds works great. We can actually set me down with that.
We used Colic Calm and it did seem to take the edge off. It's black, so be sure if she spits it up, you have a bib on her! Another thing that helped take the edge off was Hyland's chamomilla tabs. In fact I recommend the whole Hyland's Kids Kit for teething, colds, etc. Another thing that really helped, I understand, was to wear the baby--get some good baby wraps and slings and wear her a lot during the day. The Moby Wrap is good, as is the Hug-A-Bub, and if you need more information on baby-wearing, see Mothering.com at http://www.mothering.com/articles/new_baby/babywearing/wearing-tips.html.
My second baby was VERY colicy!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All she wanted to do was CRY!!!!! It was very difficult! It made it extremely difficult ot fall in love with her, sleep, feed her, sleep, figure out what was wrong, sleep, have some quiet time! Then a friend of the family gave my mylacon drops, it was as if the clouds seperated adn angels came down from heaven! Really! Almost no exageration! :} My baby felt MUCH better!was able t oeat, SLEEP... We still had to put her on her tummy alot especially after feedings. She was bottle fed so we also had to burp her much more frequently. It helped ALOT! I would run up to your closest store and get some now and then take a nap!
It bothers me the amount of physicians who aren't ready to accept the fact that "natural remedies" have been used for years and are sometimes as effective if not more effective than not.
I used lime water with my daughter 28 years ago, it worked for us pretty well. My grandmother had told my aunt about it and she had used it on one of my cousins. When I was 17 and babysitting for a nurse who had a colic baby she used a 1/2 a teaspoon of Peppermint Snapp's in the baby's bottle. That worked for her although I don't recommend it!!!
What I have heard about Colic Calm has been pretty positive.
My prayers are with you! Colic can be very trying on the parents to say nothing of the pain for the child.
Take your baby to see a chiropractor, works almost every time. Delivery is a rough route for babies and the Chiropractor can realign any thing that is not right.It is pain free and your baby will be so peaceful afterwards.Some times it takes a few adjustments but it is money well spent.
get a big exercise/yoga ball and bounce the baby on your lap. i am not kidding that was the best thing for our colicky babies!!
also holding them with your arm in their tummies is good. face out, putting pressure on their stomach.
also if you're breastfeeding try cutting out dairy products. it can be hard for them to digest sometimes.
yes, the colic remedies worked for us too!! and even if you're feeling iffy about them, there is nothing toxic in them so it's worth a try, it won't hurt!
Hi Megan,
I suggest you take a "Happiest Baby on the Block" class to learn some calming techniques. I think you will find it very helpful. You're a little far away from me, but you can find other certified instructors by visiting their website. http://www.thehappiestbaby.com/
The exercise ball is also a great suggestion.
Blessings
Hi! I read all the responces and so far no one has asked if you are breastfeeding? If so it may be your diet. There is lots of info on the net about cows milk protein in mom's diet causing colic in babies who are sensative to it. (Your MD should also be able to tell you about this too). That was the case with all three of my babies. However we never know it with the first. He screamed for 5 hours a day! It's difficult to take all milk products out of my diet but makes an amazing difference in how my baby feels.
I would suggest Culturelle for kids. Just take a capsule and empty it into one of her bottles once a day. It helps with digestion and colic (and several other things). It may help, definitely won't hurt! You might also want to put a warm (actually heated, not just "cozy") blanket around her belly...the heat can sometimes relieve the colic. I would also suggest a chiropractor and/or a massage therapist. They have "magic" tricks up their sleeves : )
Megan,
I have used Colic Calm, not because my baby was colicky, but because he has acid reflux. It works well for gas, colic, and acid reflux. I spent a lot of time researching this product. Its all natural ingredients, and its true what some of the reviews on their website say: my baby likes taking it! The black color can stain, and it gets on their face and hands, but a baby wipe takes it off great. Anyways, I felt great about giving this to my baby over other products because the ingredients are all natural versus other products that have chemicals in them.
I will say Hyland Colic tablets worked WONDERS for me. I have been giving them to my son since he was 2 wks old now 11 mo and my daughter now 4 took them at 2 wks as well. They were REALLY bad and a friend told me about these and the Dr said it was ok. They melt in the mouth and my kids stopped immediately. You can get them at a health food store or I get them and other things at vitacost.com. I tried everything medicine and even took him to the chiropractor and that was a joke it did nothing so for the price I was not very happy. Hope this helps you out. Give it a try and let me know what you think. OH I also use a Happy Tummi band to go around his waist. I warm up the herbal pack and put it inside the band and place on his tummy and it helps alot as well...
If you end up using "gripe water" or "nursery water" - that may contain some of the same stuff that's in Mylicon...so I would check that out just to make sure she's not getting too much of it.
I would definitely get Dr. Brown's bottle's though. Yes, they can be a bit pricey, BUT neither of my daughters got colicky ever. In fact, they wouldn't even take other bottles - we tried (we were given other types of bottles as shower presents). When we got the dr. brown's bottles, they took it right away.
They also wouldn't take the powdered stuff. THey'd drink the Ready-to-feed no problem. I can tell you that the powdered stuff is VERY gassy. Our pediatrician's office recommended making a pitcher full each night for the next day's feedings - and to use warmer water to help the gas escape. We have a rubbermaid pitcher that had a flip top with rubber stopper - we'd close it to give it a good shake, and there was enough gas in there to pop the top open with enough force we couldn't hold it closed. So - we had to mix it up and let it sit for a little while before we could close the top and put it in the fridge. We did try that, but our first child particularly wouldn't have anything to do with the powdered stuff. We tried mixing it in with the Ready-to-feed with not much luck.
Anyway - I would definitely try the dr. brown's bottles and continue with the mylicon.
Hello Megan, this is strictly what I did for my third baby and it worked like a dream. After two babies I did a lot of not Dr. related ideas of my own. I would give my baby about 1/8th teaspoon of peptobismal and then give a drink of water or as much as they wanted. I also at times would give luke warm water and that helped also. Notice I said I for my babies so I didn't prescribe anything for your baby. :-) good luck kathy
Hi, I also had a colicy baby & I used colic calm that worked really well. The only problem is that it is black in color & was very messy. I used a pacifier/measuring cup which helps w/ the mess, if not... It worked great for us, I hope it does the same for you.
Hi Megan - our baby was colicky for 14 weeks. I tried everything - altering my diet, wearing, carrying, swinging, being still, taking rides in the car, making sure I burped extra well, laying on the belly, Mylicon, you name it I did it and NOTHING worked. We went to the doctor and asked lots of questions, tried everything they suggested. I can totally sympathize with you.
I know it doesn't help right now (and if you're like me you might want to scream at me for saying this) but it is highly, highly likely that at around 12-16 weeks the screaming will just stop. It will be like you have a different baby. My remedy was to count down the number of days til I had a non-screaming baby. When it got really bad, I would either call up my mother-in-law (adore her!) to come and help me or I'd strap junior into the stroller and go for a brisk walk around the neighborhood (somehow the sound of the traffic temporarily calmed him).
You could try every product under the sun and I totally hope you can find one that works for your baby. But, if you don't, don't despair because this won't last forever. My heart goes out to you and I wish you the best of luck. Have friends and family help you whenever you need a break from the insanity!