Newborn with Colic - any pointers??

[babyblue3]

My DS is 3 weeks old and has been a fussy baby since birth. When he is awake, he cries all the time. He starts off fussy and works his way up to a grating scream. It doesn't matter if someone is holding him or if he is in his bed. He is mostly breasfed, but gets supplemented with formula. He rarely has those peaceful awake times where he is just content looking around. I am at wits end and would appreciate any advice! This is my first experience with what I think is colic... my other DCs never went through this. HELP!!!

[TOK]

Hi babyblue3, colic is a nightmare. My ds had it too and being at my wits end is an understatement! Infacol worked for us, lying him flat, tummy down across our knees and rubbing his back. We also made sure when he was in his moses basket etc, that he was slightly raised at the head incase he had a touch of reflux. He did eventually grow out of it, but the infacol definitely had the biggest effect so I would invest in some of that asap! I know its really hard when they are crying all the time, hopefully you have some support at home so you get a break from time to time. Good luck xxx

[MissisBoot]

have you thought about cranial osteopathy? it could help settle him? how was your birth?

if it is colic the only thing that worked for dd was colief - you can buy it at the pharmacists - it neutralizes the lactose protein in their little tummies making milk easier to digest.

[DrCosyTiger]

Oh babyblue, you so have my sympathy. My DD was like this at the same stage and it's really, really hard. I never found a magic answer but some things that helped were:
Infacol - this really did seem to make a difference
Lying her flat and moving her knees up and down to her chest
Often feeding her again seemed to help - if I could get her to latch on again, which wasn't always possible. I wondered in retrospect whether her crying was always due to 'colic' or might sometimes have been because she was still hungry. Or maybe she just felt better being on the breast - it did sometimes seem to help in bringing up wind or encouraing action at the other end.
Colocynth crytals - homeopathic remedy. I'm a total sceptic about homeopathy but when DD was completely hysterical, a spoon of these on her tongue did often seem to quieten her down.
Above all, try and get as much help and support as you can, as dealing with a crying baby is very hard (especially as it sounds as if you have another LO as well). And hang on in there as it will get better. Can't remember exactly when DD grew out of it as it was a gradual process but certainly by 3 months the problem had completely gone.

[DrCosyTiger]

Oh and just to agree with tok - raising the head of the moses basket seemed to help too.

[babyblue3]

Thanks so much everyone! I actually have 4 DCs (ages 11, 10, 22 months, 3 weeks), so my home is quite busy. I am lucky to have a very supportive DH, and 2 older children who help out a lot. Will definitely go out and look for the infacol. We have tried Kolic brand drops, but they dont seem to be doing much. DrCosy - I agree about the breastfeeding! I latch him on even if I am not sure that hes hungry, because it seems to get things moving down there. Putting him on my lap also seems to work... sometimes. I am just soooo tired! He sleeps for 4 hour stretches, but then cries for at least an hour or two before going back to sleep. And its not just in the evening that he's fussy! He cries ALL DAY LONG! Sigh... 2 more months of this and I am gonna be a nervous wreck!