Please write and share what you have done to relieve a baby with colic! She is 2 months old, breastfed and our sixth child. We have not had one this demanding before… I struggle with, is she is truly hurting or am I “ghast” spoiling her?! She spits up A LOT for a breastfed baby, the others did not do this, also difficult to burp.. SO all advice will be appreciated. I am heading to our natural foods store tomorrow to see if they have a magic medicine<G>
Heather, has she been evaluated for reflux? I had a baby who spit up a lot and cried a lot and it ended up he had reflux. Just a thought. I had a simple colicky baby, too, and the only thing that worked with him was for me to change MY diet. I had to completely cut out dairy, chocolate, cruciferous vegetables, etc. I had to keep experimenting and finding things that he did not tolerate well. But he did not completely stop until he was about 3ish months old. I know, it’s hard!
Some people swear by a gas-absorbing drop that you can get over the counter. I think it was called mylicon. But I don’t know that it ever did us any good–I tried it on the colicky baby but couldn’t tell any difference. I’d have tried almost anything after a certain point, except my grandma’s recommendation of whiskey. LOL
Be sure and take some time for you, get a break occasionally. I don’t think colic ever persists until teen years <lol> but it sure can seem long for the mommy sometimes! I think I walked my firstborn up and down the hallways of our little trailer something like a million miles before he outgrew it, and he was HEAVY! LOL
The only way my first would sleep when she was little was in the sling. She was colickly, but not as bad as you are describing. If she was wailing and nothing helped, we wrapped her up (it was winter) and took her outside. For her, outside was a reset button. It instantly calmed her down. That didn’t work with the second one. 🙁 I think she was literally in the sling 10 hours a day or more the first 2-3 months. And if she wasn’t, she was swaddled up tight. For her, it just took time to outgrow it. It sounds like you are almost past that stage. But as bookworm suggested, I would make sure it isn’t reflux or some other issue that could be addressed.
I agree w/ bookworm, check the possibility of reflux. My son was exactly the same – huge spit up, hard to burp and would arch his back and cry when I tried to nurse him. He had reflux and took baby zantac Rx for about 2 years before he outgrew it. He was a different child w/in 2 days of starting the zantac. I had to mix it w/ equal amounts of grape juice to cover the flavor for him, but boy was it worth it!
For ordinary fussies/colic, the mylicon did nothing for us, but Gripe Water was a big help. I found it at our local organic health food store. As a side note, it does the trick for curing hiccups, too. My 8 yo dd gets hiccups often and this makes them go away in a minute or two, though I don’t know why.
Oh, I forgot to mention that I don’t follow the back to sleep “rule” either, especially for my son. They slept on their tummies. For him it was an ABSOLUTE NECESSITY. One doctor scolded me about the increased risk of SIDS and I told him that if he could get my son to sleep on his back instead of screaming for hours, more power to him – he could try it. He gave in and said, “well, some babies just don’t like being on their backs.”
I found on line a product that has slipped my mind on the name but I’m sure if you wanted to look into it with a bit of search you’d find it. It is charcol for baby’s it’s like milcon but charcol will go into the tummy grab the bad and bull it out in the stool. It is totally safe and was a life saver for me.. if I could only remember the name ❓
Also, my children LOVED to be swaddles so tight only I can get it that way, dh get’s nervous so he leaves that to me. Also, your diet is a concern, I had to cut out diary also with our 2nd. Then things got better.
My youngest also spit up a lot but she was not very cranky. I had to change my diet. I cut out as much sugar and simple carbs as I could. I also ate more complex carbs and flax seed. She didn’t stop spitting up until she was about 10 months old but it was mostly when I was eating my “forbidden foods.” She also loved the Moby Wrap once I could put her in front facing. This cured the crankies when she did get them.
I don’t know if this applies to you but both of mine were very demanding as infants and “colicky”. With my 2nd ds, I actually went to a lactation specialist and it turned out it was a nursing/supply problem remedied in about a day. he was getting too much “soup, not enough cream” meaning he could never empty the breast and get to the richer hindmilk that settles their tummies and keeps them full longer. Thus much spitting up, crying, gasping while nursing (forceful letdown – I was almost drowning him!) Solution was so simple don’t know why a sleep-deprived mommy didn’t think of it. Nurse on only one side until empty (even at separate feedings, even if it means you only nurse one on side 4-6x in a row!) Don’t switch back and forth or even offer the 2nd breast until baby indicates he’s hungry and it’s all gone. Much discomfort and lopsidedness ensued for me; however after 12 hours he was eating calmly, no longer vomiting masses of thin milk, and didn’t have as much need to burp as he was no longer gasping while drinking. Maybe this will bless you too. (BTW, both were born at home with a midwife and we were both astounded at the wisdom of the lactation specialist – we started telling everyone we knew and it was not just my problem but a common one apparently!)
~Heather
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