Colic - Edgewood,MD

Hi M.,
My daughter cried from being 1 month old to 5 months old. i believe that they may be crying for a reason and tried every acid reflux medicine out there as she spit-up a lot and hated drinking her bottle (only took 2-3 ounces at a time and still does). Prilosec from a special compounding pharmacy in Warrington helped the best. We changed her to soy formula and when she was 3 1/2 months old we put rice cereal in her bottle. these things all helped a little more each time we found something. by the time she was 5 months old and on solid foods she was a different baby. the baby bjorn also helped a lot as she wanted to be held all day!

Hi M., I can understand what you are going thru. We had similar issues with my son who is now 11 months. He used to cry often at night till we have started giving him Gripe water. We buy it from an organic shop nearby. link: http://www.colicease.com/index.html.

Thanks,
Mable

Hi there,
When my daughter was colicky, I'd swaddle her in a blanket and rock her in a chair while letting the vaccum run right next to us. She would stop crying within five minutes. Hope this helps!

First, I want to say I feel sooo sorry for you. My second daughter had "colic" until she was 5 months old.
Have you tried white noise?
My daughter loved to listen to the vaccum. We burned 2 of them up. lol
Next, try putting baby in a swing. The motion somtime sooths them. Does she take a binkie? Sucking sooths too.
This one worked for us, but it was rather annoying. I would get next to my daughter's ear and say shhhhh. That worked sometimes.
I believe you already heard about swadling.
On those long nights I would take a bath with her. I would sit in the water and put her on my chest. The feel of the warm water and my skin helped her.
One more thing, I would hold her in my arms, tummy side down, with her head resting on my forearm and then I would swing her back and forth. Or You may also want to try and put her on her lap on her tummy.
Not everything works all the time. Try combinations and see what works best for your baby. The swing and the white noise worked for Emily. I remember walking the floors with her and counting the days until she passed this phase. It was a trying time and I do feel for you. Good Luck....it does not last forever.

THe dr told me that my son had colic when he screamed for the first 2 weeks of his life. I switche from Similic w/iron to Similiac Isomil w/soy. Since then he was a diffrent baby within 24 hours. It seems my little guy was allergic to the soy. BUT during those first 2 horrible weeks I bought this musical machine that had swish sounds like the ocean (my dr. suggested this) It worked sometimes, also I ran the vacume (which may sound strange) but that also worked sometimes.. I would put the vacume on and just place it against the wall. I would fall asleep myself sometimes in the rocking chair. But like I said after he started on soy he was alot better. BUT then 2 weeks later he started crying for about 1 1/2 after each feeding. He was diangned with acid reflux and put on baby ZANTAC. This helped for a while....evenually I had to put cereal in his bottle to help the formula not come up (it's called silent reflux, they dont throw up...but it burns there throat and chest very bad). Hope this helps...

I definitely second the miracle blanket...worked wonders :) My son was sleeping through the night at two months and it was an absolute sanity saver!

Baby Bliss Gripe Water is the one I highly recommend.

Please rest during the day, when baby is sleeping.

If you need a break, ask someone.

Babies sense when you are "fried".

I read an article about colic babies and it said that you should recreate the sounds the baby heard in the womb. Like placing the baby near or on the washer till they calm down or fall asleep. Sorry I couldn't be more help.

Hi M.,

"Colic" is just a word people use to describe a fussy baby--it is not a diagnosis. Some doctors use this term when they are not sure what is causing the baby to be fussy. There is a cause, and I urge you to press your doctors to find out what is wrong. The most common causes of colic are acid reflux and a milk allergy. Look for signs of reflux (spitting up a lot, screeching in pain and pulling in legs) and milk allergy (blood in stool).

My daughter had reflux and a milk allergy and screamed for the first four months of her life until she was finally properly diagnosed. She went on Zantac, and I stopped eating all dairy (she is breastfed). This made a world of a difference. At nine months, she still has reflux, but she has outgrown her milk allergy.

Also, the miracle blanket (www.miracleblanket.com) was a lifesaver for us. She woke up every one to two hours at night and was up for the day at 3:00 a.m. until we started using the Miracle Blanket--she then slept through the night at age six weeks.

Listen to your gut--is your baby just fussy, or do you think she is in pain? If you think she is excessively fussy and may be in pain, don't take "colic" as an answer. Keep pressing your doctors until they find out what is wrong and treat it. If you think she is just fussy, the book "The Happiest Baby on the Block" is great for techniqeus to soothe a fussy baby.

Good luck--I have been in your shoes, and it is not easy. It does get better!

I had that problem with my daughter, major issues with formula, if it didn't make her gassy it made her constipatied. We found out she has acid relux so her are my suggestions from the million different things I tried, first I switched bottles, I went from Playtex ventaire to Dr. Browns, that helped alot, then I kept her propped up after eating and bought a wedge pillow, that keeps her inclined in her crib, I am currently using emfamil Acid relux formula, that saved my life,(cause at first it was just gas then puking all the time.) but I had tried Similac advanced, similiac low iron, similac isomil, enfamil nutramigen, then the enfamil ar. For her the colic was a food thing her stomach was rock hard all the time it was awful and she screamed in pain, so I did leg excerises with her, move her legs like she was riding a bike, and also warm compresses on her belly,or put her on her belly on my lap and patted her back that seemed to soothe her. my doctor told me to put a 1/8 teaspoon of cod liver oil in her bottles to help her go, her stools were always formed, or switch to enfamil as lipil is the same thing(and smells much better, if she has craddle cap, or very dry skin it's diffently a food issue.After my last switch to the emfamil her craddle cap and excema cleared right up! I nursed her for 6 weeks and did gas drops(but they only helped mildly and I was at the doseage limit.) at first but any thing I ate irriated her senstive stomach so if you are nursing at all watch your diet.I feel for you cause you must be exhausted. Hopefully some of this helped, the isomol worked good for the gas for us,just not the bowel movements. Good luck to you and hopefully you will both get some sleep

A.

My son never had colic, but at night he did cry alot. So some things that he like was me holding him while the vaccum sat next to us but it was turned on.They love the noise. Another thing was running water helped him fall asleep.
Good luck to you
It always works out one way or another.

HI M.,

First of all congratulations! I know its overwhelming right now, no one tells you how hard its going to be to me a new mom! My son had colic, and only a few things worked for us. We went to our local healthfood/vitamin shop, and got Gripe Water, you can even order it online. I am sure that Babys R Us carries it as well. Its a liquid with cammomile in it, it helped us so much! He also loved the sounds of our kitchen exhaust fan, the vacum, hair dryer etc. I spent alot of time in the kitchen rocking him to sleep, Sometimes thats all that seemed to help. We found online a cd called "For Cryin Out Loud" and it was all the sounds he loved, rain, vacums, hairdryers,washing machine etc. We found it on amazon.com for about 10 dollars. Unfortunately Colic seems to go away on its own, and it can become very exhausting for you. Just remember she can't help it!! Believe me I spent many nights walking around our house, even pushing my son in the stroller at all hours to help him, and then one day it just stopped!! Good luck!! and write back if you ever need anyhthing!

If your baby is on formula you may want to talk to the doctor about changing it to something else. When my daughter was first born we had to change her formula from similac to similac soy and finally we ended up with Enfamil Lactofree. That helped tremendously. We also had mylecon prior to changing the formula and we used Dr. Brown's bottles. Good luck! S.

M.,
If you're not already, start swaddling her. Second, it's very possible it's the formula. Since you've chosen not to breastfeed you'll need to be very aware of what she eats. It's not uncommon for babies to tolerate pre-mixed formula MUCH better than powdered. As well, you can also try elevating her slightly using a wedge to keep her head higher than her belly. That may help if she's suffering from any reflux. Gripe Water is wonderful stuff for fussiness in babies. It's not to late to nurse her if you want to try that route. I don't know your situation, but breastmilk is nature's perfect baby food, and might help. You can always consider donor milk from <http://milkshare.birthingforlife.com/&gt;

I'll add more if I think of it.

Blessings,

Rolinda
Wife, Mother, Friend.

I am sorry to say but you almost have to just ride it out. I am dealing with the same thing right (this is my third child with colic) and there is literally nothing you can do except let it run the course. This one seems to be the worst one for me. It is terrible b/c all you cannot do anything to stop it. It is so tough. Send me a message if you need someone to talk to.

Have you tried infant massage? I read that it can help to soothe a baby with colic...maybe not instantly but it can help after a few days...plus it's a great bonding experience for baby and mommy.

HI my son had colic and my doctor who I love told me about Grip water and it is the best. You can buy it at Whole Foods or other Natural food stores. I found giving it before the bottle really helped alot and you can give it throughout the day. I hope this works for you. Having a colicy baby is no fun and we all need sleep. good luck

I watched a baby who had colic and i turned on the sweeper and it worked wonders!! Try it and let me know!

My son was very colicy for the first 3-4 mo. He was breastfed, so we couldn't blame formula! What worked best for us was a lot of movement and wrapping. White noise never really helped, but did drown out his crying! We would tightly swaddle him whenever he was put down (swing, bed, etc.) The rest of the time I held him swaddled or used the Moby Wrap (www.mobywrap.com). The Moby was wonderful! It holds the baby very securely against you and my son would usually calm down and sleep within 5-10 min. Even after the colic stopped, we still use it when he's worked up or for travel. Good luck!!

Hi M.! I have a 2 and half week old son who was crying (up until yesterday) whenever he was awake. Not to mention he barely slept. I changed a couple things this week and yesterday and today he has been like a completley different child.

First, I have him on Enfamil Prosobee formula. I also use the Dr. Browns bottlems. It seems to work really well! He seemed to be a little constipated...and if your little one does too...this should work. I went and bough Karo surup at the grocery store. I put about a tsp. in each bottle and within an hour he was going to the bathroom. He has been sooo happy, sleeping 4 hours at a time, and hasn't cried since.

He also really likes to be swaddled. Whenever he gets fussy... I wrap him in a blanket, put his pasifier in his mouth, hold him really close to my chest, and rock him. Works pretty well!!

Good luck...I know how frustrating it can be!

The book: The Happiest Baby on the Block, has alot of great tips for dealing with colic.

Mylecon! It was our best friend when my daughter was colicky. Also, make sure your baby sits up about 45 degrees or more during feeding and for about 20 minutes afterwards. Also, she was on Good Start Supreme, which tore her little belly up, I changed her to Good Start Essentials and that helped a lot as well since it doesn't have the "comfort proteins" in it.

My daughter had this, thank God her's only lasted about 2 weeks. Changing her formula helped. We now use Similac Isomil Advance, we also dilute it and mix with breast milk. You may also want to find info on gas or acid reflux, this is sometimes what causes a baby to be colic. Also, placing her on her stomach helped. A few other things: a nice warm bath with Johnson's lavendar soap, Gripe Water, and tight swaddleing. Hope this helps and hope your little one finds relief. Good Luck!

I don't think my daughter had colic, but she would wake up during the night and cry for hours. We would run the vaccuum, and this would quite her down after 20-30 min.....(I can't imagine what the neighbors were thinking at 2 in the morning). When she got a little older, 3-4 months, we would hold her a different way. She used to love being held, her face away from us, and sitting up, kind of like sitting on a fence. And of course we had to stand, and either walk/rock back and forth, or kinda bob up and down.
Best of luck! It will eventually pass.

I can help!!! I had my daughter in September they had her on Soy formula. She would start screaming at about 2 and continue all night long!!! I am 32 and swore each night I would never have more children. After a month of the doctors telling me it was colic I was not convinced that nothing can be done for colic. I am a firm believer that children do not have COLIC. I believe that something is wrong. Please trust your instincts. I took her back to the doctor and demanded to see a specialist. They gave me medication for acid reflux and put her on nutramagin formula. it is very expensive compared to others, BUT it was the best thing for my daughter. After 2 days she slept through the night at a month old.
Let me ask you,
Does she seem to scream more often than seems normal during the day?
Does she have regular bowel movements?
What I did that helped me before the formula worked was laying her on her belly to sleep. I know they do not want you to do this so I understand, but my daughter loved it. I also would swaddle her. we also gave her mylicon gas drops for baby.
Please remember this, she is screaming for a reason. I firmly believe she does not have colic.
what is the formula? please send me a message back at ____@____.com I can completely understand what you are going through.

The best thing you can do for a baby ('colicky' or not) are Harvey Karp's 5 s's (http://www.thefussybabysite.com/coping/the-happiest-baby-.... We were so overwhelmed with our son's crying, and after reading that book, I at least felt like we had tools to help calm him and get him to sleep. My son is 3 now, and we can see now how his 'colic' was at least in part his temperament - he still reacts strongly to discomfort and to change. But not every baby who cries a lot will end up with a sensitive temperament...that was just out experience.