Dealing with Colic

did you try giving up soy? I had the same problem with my son. I stopped eating spicy foods, tomato sauce, soy and dairy...oh the things we do to keep breastfeeding. my son also has reflux. the zantac seemed to help. as for the gas pains we did a lot of bicycling with his legs. good luck!

If you don't want to run the vacuum all the time, I also used to put my son on top of the dryer in the bouncy chair while it ran. I got some laundry done while he slept there. He was like clock work exactly 7:00 p.m. to 12 midnight (no earlier or later). He was fine if we held him the entire time while standing, but if we tried to sit or even tried to sit on the arm of the chair he would start to cry. That was tiring. I can't remember how long his colicness lasted, that was 11 years ago. I know it eventually just stopped. The dryer and car rides worked for me. Good Luck.

Here's some helpful information about colic....

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/5/t051300.asp

http://www.llli.org/NB/NBJanFeb98p13.html

http://www.llli.org/NB/NBJanFeb07p30.html

http://www.llli.org/NB/NBSepOct96p136.html

My first son had colic for several months, so I feel for you. Hang in there.

Best wishes.

I feel for you. That is very frustrating and exhausting. You also feel like nobody is listening to you. You are an experienced mother, you know how newborns are and you know that is not normal. I can't tell you what is exactly bothering your baby but your story sounds very similiar to mine. My 2nd child had extremely bad reflux and is still taking medicine for it at 3yrs of age. All that I can say is just keep trying with your ped and they will eventually try and help you. Cutting dairy out of your diet was a good idea. Is your baby spitting up alot? A short term help would be to run the vacuum cleaner or hairdryer that seems to calm them down and they sleep for a little bit. Good luck and know that you aren't the only one out there. Somebody surely will have good advice.
D.

A good friend with a colicky baby had a lot of success with the Amby Sleeper - it's sort of like a hammock for the baby that keeps them all snug and a little upright (also great for reflux). It also converts to a jumper when they outgrow it as a bed. Might be worth a look! Good luck and congrats on your new baby.

Hi S.,
Purchase (if you don't already have one) a giant exercise ball. Sit on the ball with the baby and gently bounce. My Sister did this with her daughter and it helped calm her down.

Good Luck,
R.

Selina,

perhaps you are dealing with a candida issue, that can be passed on from mother to child, I had a child like that - a very high quality acidophilus/bifidus could be helpful.

Best of Mother Earth
www.bestwellnessconsultant.com

I wish you luck, my son is just out of the colic phase. I was breastfeeding and over hauled my diet and nothing seemed to help. I gave up on the breastfeeding and we put him on the hypo-allergenic formula and that helped, but there were still days he would just cry.

I wish you luck, it will end.

It'll take a few weeks for the dairy to completely leave your system. We had this issue with my daughter around 3 weeks, I gave up milk, and her gas probably went away around 5 weeks. That's great that you are breastfeeding! Her gas & colic would probably be so much worse if she was drinking formula.
I've also heard chiropractors can help colicy infants with massage techniques.
Good luck!

I used mylicon drops, also i had a friend with the same trouble and it was peanut butter that she was eating.... she stopped the peanut butter and he calmed down...

My son is 4 months old and began to show his colicky signs at 4 weeks old. It was a nightmare and I can totally sympathize with you. I tried EVERYTHING and nothing seemed to work. I finally spoke to someone who suggested reading the book "The Happiest Baby on the Block" (I bought it on Amazon.com). The suggestions it gave helped a lot to get him to sleep. I also put a sound machine in his room (Target has them for about $20) with a white noise sound playing pretty loud.
My son would only nap in his swing and we slept with him laying on our chest through the night until he was about 3 months old. It was just awful.
I can offer a glimmer of hope for you though, he slep last night in his crib for two 5 hour stretches, so the end of this WILL come eventually!
He is still a pretty fussy baby during the day but so much better than he was.
Another great book that I found very helpful was "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy baby". This book is the only one that gave helpful suggestions to get him to sleep in his crib at night.
I brought my son to the doctor all the time thinking they were wrong and something just had to be wrong with him, but they would always tell me to wait until he turned 3 months and I would see a change. I thought they were nuts, but it really did start to change after he was 3 months.
I feel so bad for you as I know exactly what you are going through. When it got to be too much there were days I just had to put him in his crib, close the door and walk away before I lost my mind! Once I was calmed down I could go back to him feeling more relaxed. He would start crying at about 3pm and it would last until 1am most days. And, like you, I had an 18 month old to deal with! I would show her a picture of her brother and she would mimic his crying sounds. It was terrible on all of us.
If you ever need to vent or if you ever want to talk to someone who understands, please feel free to email me anytime.

there is new research that indicats that acidophilus in childrens dose can help resolve colic symptoms

http://www.parenthood.com/articles.html?article_id=10148

here is a link to some great information!

A. L

I too recently dealt with colic, my son is now 9 weeks old. I tell ya, this sounds funny but the vaccum cleaner works .. (or even a machine that plays just white noise) it is a constant sound and it soothes them, I placed it right outside the bedroom door, so it wasn't soooo loud, but it works. Also my son liked laying there with his diaper off. I would run the vacumm cleaner for about 20 minutes even at night and it always works. Good Luck, I know how exhausting it gets !

My son had colicky issues the first month of life and I tried everything. The Dr. Brown bottle seemed to help a lot (I was breastfeeding too). The chamomile tea seemed to help and wouldn't hurt if you took some too. That way it's integrated into the milk and helps you relax a bit. My Mexican grandma swore by it. The other thing I ended up doing (which is soppose to be terrible), I put him to sleep on his stomach. With absolutely nothing in the crib and a tight fitting crib mattress! That really did help. You just have to keep an eye on them. Hope this helps.

I totally know what you are going through and I sympathize with you. Just know that it does get better. You do have some great responses.

My son did have colic and reflux. It was a nightmare. Of course, check with your ped to make sure nothing else is going on. We did have an air purifier in his room on, it helped with the constant "hum". We did switch to Dr Browns bottles, it did help him. We also went to alimentum formula, which is ungodly expensive, but it made a HUGE difference.
Good luck to you....

B.

We tried those remedies for colic also... The one that really seemed to help was acupuncture. After a treatment, our twins fell asleep for a nice long nap - something they hadn't been doing. We went to a specialist in Chinese medicine vs. a chiropractor who does acupuncture. I hope your daughter is feeling better soon and that you're able to get some rest, too!

Hang in there. My son has colic, and unfortunately nothing has helped. He is starting to have more "good days" and fewer "bad days". They eventually outgrow it! Get away for a couple hours if at all possible to keep your sanity! GOOD LUCK!

Hi S.,
I am responding to you based on what my mother has told me. Both myself and my brother were colicky babies. My mother is gluten intolerant. She did not know that at the time. She cannot eat foods that contain gluten such as wheat flour (breads, cakes, pastas etc... that are made with wheat flour). I am pregnant and have recently discovered that I too may have this intolerance. Her doctor told her that if she had avoided gluten while breastfeeding, we would not have had colic. He also included dairy and sugar in this statement. It may be worth a try for 3 days or so. You can still eat corn flour, rice flour, potato flour, and MANY other foods that don't contain gluten. There are gluten free breads, pastas, and so on. I'll tell you, after three days of being gluten free, my mother and I both felt amazingly better. I am pregnant now and plan to stick to this diet while breast feeding. Then I may begin to eat dairy and sugar again.

Good luck,
R.

What does dr. say about changing over to formula? Sad, especially if this is your 1st but I had too. I was too nervous and caused the baby to be cholicy. I didn't even realize that I was nervous but it showed up in my blood pressure.

I read somehwere that a probiotic will help colic symptoms. You should be able to find some at Whole Foods or a nutrition store (like Vitamin Shoppe). My daughter was colicy and her pediatrician recommended chamomile tea or pepermint tea. You probably want to check with your doctor on that since you daughter is so young. Good luck. Just remember, it will go away.

Are you familiar with therapeutic essential oils? They are plant based, many healing properties and safe. Please note that they are very strong. Most of the time essential oils are not recommended for children 0-3 months. But you may contact professional aromatherapist who may recommend 1 drop of Lavender or Roman Chamomile, mix with 1/2 ounce of non-toxic, fragrance free lotion and rub clock-wise on tummy. Essential oils must be pure, unadulterated, free of pesticides and chemicals, unadulterated. You can also try Almond oil (cold pressed)is excellent for children and there are healing properties in it. There is more information about essential oils and children at http://antiagingchoices.com/Aromatherapy/about_aromathera...

Hi- I am a speech therapist and work with babies with feeding problems. I would suggest 2 things - 1) make an appt with a gastroenterologist (GI doctor) there are a a variety of GI issues that can cause what you're describing but are best diagnosed by a specialist. 2) you can contact your local early intervention office - just google early intervention and your state or zip code - and ask for an evaluation for feeding. There may be some things that a speech therapist, nutritionist and even a physical therapist might be able to do to support your family. Good luck

Please get her to a GI dr. She probably has colitis and reflux and you do not want to ruin and make holes in her gi system. It is obvious the food and she might even need neocate formula. please just get her to the gi and let them do a fast sample to see if there is blood in her stool. Even the ped office can do it. They take their finer and put in in her but a bit and then wipe it on a slied and look under a microscope and if it lights up there is blood.
please no soy milk dairy wheat i your diet, tried one food at a time. is she gainign any weight?
goood luck
J.
it is NOT colic, that is what drs say when they do not know the answer.

Both of my children had colic. I nearly went nuts with the first one. He screamed all the time. I found taking him to the chiropractor for a massage weekly and putting him on an expensive formula by Enfamil, nicknamed liquid gold because the can was gold, to be a lifesaver. Once I put him on that formula he improved. I put my daughter on the same formula after 3 weeks. My doctor discouraged me because of the price but I did not care. Anything that keeps your baby fed and happy is worth everything. My son still has stomach issues but they are not major. He is a healthy 10 year old boy. There is hope so hang in there.

I know you have received a lot of good advice from others but I wanted to add one more thing. My daughter had many of the symptoms yours' does and it turned out she had GER (gastroesophogeal reflux). Luckily my lactation consultant referred us to a pediatric gastroenterologist who diagnosed her at 6 weeks. If you need a name ours' was Christopher Smith at Central Dupage Hospital and he also has offices in Aurora and other places. Once my daughter started taking zantac and prylosec she was so much better. She did go on a nursing strike while dealing with the GERD and I had to pump my breastmilk because she associated nursing with pain. She took it fine from a bottle and after being on the medications for a month or two went back to breastfeeding. I know several people on this list have suggested switching to formula but I would not give up the breastfeeding if possible. My lactation consultant wisely told me that if my daughter was having trouble digesting the milk made especially for her, how did I think she would do with formula which is not made especially for her. I rented a double pump and continued to provide breastmilk to my daughter until she decided to nurse again. I am so glad I did. Good luck and hang in there!

Does your daughter unexpectedly arch her back and pull away from the breast? does she vomit at all? have hiccups or sneeze alot? My son was tempermentaly (sp?) described as colicky, but we discovered he had GERD. His cries were clearly 'pain' cries. he arched his back during feedings and would scream in pain, he had vomiting occasionaly, hiccuped constantly and sneezed about 50 times a day. Contrary to popular belief, it can happen with breastfed babies as well.. but they believe it's not as severe as in formula fed babies.
The ped. started him on Zantac twice a day and he became a different baby within an hour of his first dose. It typically shows up around the 2-6 week mark.

distended abdomen, especially if it's hard, is most likely caused by her crying and taking in so much air. when the gas drops dont quite cut it, we put baby on her back (usually on my lap with my legs out in front of me) and move her legs in a bicycle motion. this helps push the gas that's already made it's way into the intestines/digestive tract, out.

also, i have not had any luck with mylicon, we use little tummies gas drops, and they seem to do the trick. it's a little less expensive too.

Good luck!

get some chamomile tea bags either at a health food store or even Jewels carries it make sure it decaffinated then brew a cup per directions and dilute it in half,you can add a tiny amy of honey let it cool and put in a bottle and le baby drink it,this will calm and relax her and ease the discomfort from colic,works like a charm,you can give it a couple times a day if needed,
hope this helps
H. LPN specializing in pediatrics

Have you tried a gentle tummy massage? Lather your hands with baby lotion, gently go up the right side (colon ascends), next go up and over top (transverse colon- looks like a reverse, upside down L), then go full, upside down U.
It's called an I Love U rub. Do for about 5 minutes. Also gently take feet and roll baby's knees into tummy. Your little on will probably still yell, but once things release, there is usually a major sigh of relief. Make sure you keep a diaper underneath. This worked really well with a nephew. Good luck - It's hard to have a baby in distress.

Call Dr. Weissbluth!! ###-###-#### I think he will cure colic with good sleep for your child. He will "cure" your child so fast... Those gas drops, in my opinion, are a sham. You can tell him M. sent you. I promise you will thank me if you do what he says... Let me know :)

4 of my boys were allergic to milk and soy. I could not nurse them and had to buy Alimentum formula. 2 of them required Zantac too. We did not figure out the allergy for my first until he was 3 and always complaining his belly hurt. As a baby I nursed him and was told he had COLIC! The Dr had me stop nursing anf give him soy formula!! No wonder he was miserable!! My 2nd had colic symptoms but also had bloody poop one day! So we figured out he had the same allergy immediately. From that point on I had my newborns get tested.
Instead of allergy testing we did "sensitivity" tests. It was non invasive...it tells you what will effect their little system. Hope this helps. If you have any questions please let me know. I have gone through this 4 times :)
J.

S., some babies are just colic and it takes a while for it to pass, but have you tried giving her a little formula? Sad to say but some babies just can't handle mommy's milk,my youngest was that way she cried for 3 months while breast feeding, we slowly weened her to just formula and she was so much happier.

S.,
Both of my children had colic, and I also breastfed them. I am sure the doctor has told you to make sure you get a burp out during a feeding session and after. My boys were both hard to burp. I found that if I sat them up on my leg facing sideways and supported them with my hand under their arms/chin in front they would burp for me. Also, exercising their legs helps them to move the air bubbles out. I also tried infant massage. There is also something called a colic hold. If I remember correctly, you stand up and hold them facing down with one arm supporting their head and belly. If you look this up on the internet, I am sure you can find a better description than that. Colic is so frustrating so hang in there. One other thing that worked with my colicky babies was to turn on the vaccum cleaner. The noise stopped the crying instantly. I did a lot of vaccumming those first couple of months(haha).

try the Dr. browns bottles.

When my son was in pain, it took 30 days for the dairy products to clear from my breastmilk. He takes medicine for GERD. Not sure if your daughter could have it too. Quitting dairy has helped a lot.

You should give a try to babies magic tea. It's safe and healthy for newborns and soothes from colic and other tummy troubles.

Sorry to hear you are having a rough time...I've read a lot of the responses and it is hard to determine just one reason for all the crying. Sounds like some of the crying is food related and some of it is getting her settled down to sleep. Some amount of crying is normal like at nap times and feeding times. I agree you should take her back to the Dr. and ask lots more questions, have her tested for reflux etc. For my 2 kids, getting them on a daily routine really helped eliminate much of the guess work on the why of their crying (yes, they ate, pooped, played, changed diaper - now I know it's time for nap with all that fussy crying). Every baby is different but if you stick with somewhat of a routine, you'll get to know the why's of her cries as the days go by. My daughter (now 20 months) cried hysterical for 5 mins (like a jet plane no matter what we did) when we put her down at night and then was fast asleep. My son (now 4) never cried like that. Now that my kids are older, the crying makes more sense w/ their personalities. Good luck!

Which other obvious foods have you eliminated? With both my kids I found out that cinnimon aggrevated colic and had to stop my morning flavored oatmeal. Also many don't realize chocolate will aggrevate it as well as highly acidic food and drink like O.J and even some tomato based foods. I pretty well had to go on a very bland diet to help. On another note my son was diagnosed with gastric reflux and was put on zantac that helped clear up many of his "colic" symptoms. Check with your dr amd find out if that is a possibility.

Salena, This may not be the most popular reply. but you may want to try her on a soy formula for a day or two and see if that makes a difference. Some babies can't do milk of any kind. We all want to be able to breast feed them but sometimes it just doesn't work. I had one child who was not able to have breast milk. He screamed day and night. nothing worked till they put him on prosobee formula (do they even make that kind anymore?) If she doesn't come around soon I would take her back to the doctor. The distended stomach thing sounds a little funny. And if your doc doesn't give you anything that helps then maybe find another doctor till you do get help. Good luck. It is a hard thing when the baby can't / won't eat. And your probably really tired still. I will say some prayers for you.
S.

I didn't read the other posts but I think wearing your baby (especially upright) can help with colic. Hang in there, it seems like forever now, but it will pass soon. You can do it!

S.:

see a lactation consultant to help sort out what is bothering your daughter..

P., RLC, IBCLC , CST
Breastfeeding and Parenting Solutions

My son and daughter were both very fussy until we found the right foods to avoid. Trial and error can work, but it takes a long time, as the food you eat stays in your system for awhile. Common food allergies are egg, wheat, dairy, and sometimes soy. If you are going to substitute the milk you drink and avoid dairy, I suggest going to Rice Milk, just in case the problem is soy products. If you can, the best solution would be to bring the baby with you to the chiropractor. They can tell what foods to avoid by doing a muscle test on you, while the baby lays on your tummy. This has worked wonders for us, as we are a house full of food allergies.
Once we figured out the right foods, the constant runny noses, constipation, gas, and extreme crabbiness melted away within a week. We use an awesome chiropractor in Plainfield, IL if you need a referral let me know...

I am sure you have received tons of suggestions & unfortunately I don't have time to read them all, but as mom of three who has been through more than my share the only thing I can say is - if you don't agree with your doctor and think there is something out there that can help you, find a different doctor!!! I had ton - even for one visit - and it changed everything for my daughter!!
Good Luck!!

I haven't read all of the other postings, but my 7 mo old daughter had colic too, and I honestly don't know that there is much you can do. We did gas drops and I do think that they helped at times. I also did bicycling with her legs and that too helped, when she would let me put her down. I mostly just held her and walked. I think that they just need a lot of extra love in the beginning, and believe it or not, you will get used to it and adjust. Just be patient and have faith because it will end. My little girl stopped about 9 weeks, so hopefully yours will too.

Take a break when you can and lean on those you love, they can help out, you just won't feel like they can!

Best Wishes!

S.,

Are the bowel movements normal? (meaning soft, brown in color) If they are small and hard, as if she were constipated or green in color, there could be another issue. Foul smelling and off colored stool can be an indication of an infection or if she's been on antibiotics recently, it can throw off the normal balance of the digestive tract. Bloating in the stomach and a smaller, harder stool indicates constipation or the stool actually sitting too long in the bowels. There can be several reasons for this.
In my daughters case, after months of thinking she was "colicky", we found out after consulting a specialist at children's memorial in Chicago, that she had inner fissures in the anus. So because of the pain when she'd poop, she'd actually hold back more. They did a simple procedure to realiign her anus and rectum that corrected the problem. She was on natural stool softeners for about 4-6 months and has been totally fine since. I don't know if your daughter throws up at all...but my daughter had projectile vomiting as well up to about 8 months. That ended up being a dairy allergy, which passed by age 2.
Ask questions like this to your pediatrician and if they don't know and this continues, I would seek the advice of a children GI doc. Dr. Gunasekharan at Lutheran General in Park Ridge, IL is excellent.

congratulations on your new baby. i'm sorry to hear of your baby's colic. if you've stopped dairy you also need to stop eating any whey, as this is in the dairy category. some mom's in my breastfeeding support grp had to cut out wheat as well. it's challenging but will make it better for your baby.
my support group meets weekly on mondays in naperville. we have an online support group (via yahoo) that my lactation consultant is part of and often gives free advice. the support grp info is listed under 'my businesses' but its free and i do it only on a volunteer basis (as does my LC).

i recommend trying a homeopathic gas remedy. this helped my DD when she was obviously gassy and cried over it. this is the one i gave her: http://www.enkueros.net/20012.html

better still, see an homeopathic Dr. we love ours in Naperville. www.dupagehomeopathic.com. she is giving a free talk on 3/15 about homeopathy (see her homepage for info). feel free to email me offline if you want. i know a homeopathic remedy would help your daughter.
jen s. (naperville)

Some people swear by "Happiest Baby on the Block" book/DVD and there are even classes available.

Our first son was horribly colicky and it was so h*** o* me. We took the Happiest class in anticipation of the same thing with son #2 and we never needed it. But, the class did give some really good ideas.

Good luck and don't be afraid to ask people for help so you can get some sleep!

I watched a movie from the library called The Happiest Baby on the Block, and it was a miracle for me when my son had colic. It is also a book. I highly recommend watching it ASAP. Good luck!

A.

My son was never diagnosed as colic, but had many of the same issues. We ended up feeding him Alimentum by Similac. At the time, this was 6 years ago, it came in a ready to feed can. This helped immensely. I was told it didn't have a corn product in it that most do, even our breastmilk can. He doesn't have any allergies now, so you needn't be worried about that now. But it was much more gentle on this stomach and changed our lives. Hope it helps.

Are you sure it's just "colic?" My daughter was very colicky but come to find out she has acid reflux which causes colicky behavior. Check out the symptons online to see if that could be a cause.

I agree with trying some of the Happiest Baby on the Block techniques.

I do want to tell you that my heart goes out to you, as our baby was colicky for the first three months. It was nonstop screaming and was hell and torture for a first time mother. Just like everyone predicted, at around 3 months (well 14 weeks) it turned off like a switch and he's been a completely different baby ever since. I was so scared that he would never be happy or content, but clearly that isn't the case today at 12 months!

Hang in there, get people to help you because you WILL need to take a break from it all, and reach out for support when you need it. I totally feel for you!

There is really nothing to do. YOu have to ride with it and comfort the baby as much as possible. And have a lot of patiance. I am a mother of 4 grown children now and 2 of them had it. I have 2 boys and 2 girls and it effected both boys. The girls were fine. I knew the boys had it specially after changing their diapers, and giving them their milk and knowing they were dry and feed, they still struggled with colic. It only lasted about a month, just to give you and ideal, but it wasn't everyday either, just a few times a week. By the way, it doesn't matter if you breast feed or not. One was a breastfeed baby and the other one was with the baby milk, Simlac.

DM

Are you taking a prenatal vitamin? A nurse told me it may cause colic. I never got to try it as I stopped breast feeding after 6 months. It's worth a try!

One of my daughters had the same problem. We tried everything then an old remedy came from my mom and grandma that worked. Put a peppermint disk in a bottle of warm water. The peppermint seemed to soothe the gas and the discomfort. I am not sure if this will work but I thought I would throw it out there.
Good luck.
S.

I've heard and read in multiple parent magazines and natural health magazines that probiotics do wonders to help colic. If you are nursing, taking a good probiotic yourself should pass through your breastmilk. If formula feeding, go to Whole Foods or a local natural health foods store where they sell probiotics with dosage recs for children. The nautral foods stores should also have other natural products to help with colic. Aura Cacia (sp?) makes a plug-in diffuser- maybe try their lavendar in there for calming. But make sure you use 100% essential oil, notihing with synthetics.
Good luck!
C.

My son was colicy as well. He did end up being allergic to dairy and peanuts (he was tested at 11 months or so). I also gave up dairy before we knew for sure, and it didn't seem to help, but I wonder if I would have seen anything if I had kept going. That said, you have to cut out ALL milk protien and do it for at least a month. I don't know how much you've researched the milk allergy, but there are many ingredients that are milk protien even if they don't say milk. Check out godiaryfree.org for a list of milk ingredients. I am still breastfeeding and so both of us have a diary free diet. Lastly, he did cry for a long time, so I don't know if there was anything else we could have done. And so, you may or may not find a solution, but I want to encourage you not to give up that it is just colic. If you have a feeling there is something wrong, pursue it. You are her mom and know her best. And I know you want her to be happy and healthy. Good luck and remember that 'this too shall pass'.