Colic - Standard formula plus Colief OR Comfort Milk?

[LuckyAugust]

My 4 week old ds is starting to show signs of colic . Tried switching to cow and gate comfort milk using Dr browns bottles and both medium and fast flow teats. Even making up with really hot water and both types of teats didn't dissolve the milk properly though and caused more wind problems because the teat kept clogging up. So last week I switched back to standard formula but adding in colief drops. Still no improvement though and my poor little one clearly in a lot of discomfort. Do colief drops take a while to build up and help relieve colic? (think thats how infacol works?). Do I continue with standard formula plus colief or should I switch back to comfort? If switching back would any other teats work in dr brown bottles? (spent a fortune on these!) Please help!

[tiredchristmasmum]

Hi lucky,

I've been there, it's tough. I would stick with normal milk powder and colief. The comfort milk is too thick for them to suck at 4 weeks (it frustrated me too, it says suitable from birth but won't go through the teats!), stick with the bottles and normal milk, and colief, I think it's 4 drops per bottle to start with, but I'm sure you've triple checked the instructions as I did!
After we tried everything with our dd, colief worked after 2 days. If it's not working, are you sure it's colic? Eg is crying same time, early evening? Or is it with every feed?
If colief does start working, visit your Dr, you can get it on prescription, but only if you can evidence that you've tried the cheaper options.

I hope that helps. It really really is tough. My dd was a different baby once we'd found the right solution, until then I just cried with her some nights, it's exhausting!

[LuckyAugust]

Thanks tiredchristmasmum. I ended up switching back to comfort milk last night. We've tried the colief and standard formula for a week now and no improvement, if anything he's got worse. Its mainly on a night, unsettled and pulling his legs to his chest and his tummy feels very hard. We only tried the comfort milk for a day before I gave up because of teat clogging problems so I'll give it another try but for longer this time. When making his bottles today I've shaken them for much longer than I normally would and so far only one blocked up teat. If having to shake them as vigourously as this to dissolve the milk I'll have arms like steel before long . Thanks for replying. It certainly is frustrating and awful to see my little one in such discomfort x

[omama]

Can you not get variflow teats for dr brown bottles? I know tomee tippee, avent & mam do them. We use them with comfort milk for dd & have never had any trouble with clogging.

[tiredchristmasmum]

Well I hope it works for you! If he's still in discomfort, you could try the baby cycle thing to help with any trapped wind (YouTube it to see how), or have you tried gripe water? The original one tastes disgusting (I did try some, yes. Anything for my pfb ) but boots do their own apple flavour which can help with painful tummys.
In time, it'll all get better, and your ds will be a lot happier.
Trust me you'll have arms of steel anyway soon enough as your ds gets heavier! My dd weighs 10kgs, my arms have never been so shapely!! Best of luck!!

[LuckyAugust]

Thanks ladies. I contacted Cow and Gate for advice about there comfort milk yesterday. Still huge problems with it clogging the teats up, even though I'm using warmer water and shaking until my arms are ready to drop off!. No great advice from them other than too switch to Y cut teat which in the Dr Browns bottles are for babies aged 9+ months. I really don't feel comfortable switching to this teat when ds is not even 5 weeks old and I have read such bad reviews about them. I really didn't want to change again but after another clogged up teat in the night I was ready to throw the bottle out of the window so I'm back to colief and standard formula. I hope I don't make him worse by changing again but will try again and if not joy visit our GP. I did go on youtube and google baby massage techniques though which seem to be having some success. My ds tends to pump his wind rather than burp it out and using the cycle and knees to the chest technique definitely is making him pump more. Hoping this with the colief will do the trick. Thanks again

[LuckyAugust]

• Searched on baby massage techniques not googled it on youtube!

[tiredchristmasmum]

I think you're right to go with your gut re the teats. Anything fast flow would cause feeding problems, and you don't want him to associate feeding with stress/discomfort.
One more thing I've thought of (then I'll leave you alone!) is to swaddle and play white noise during the screaming 'episodes'. You can get free apps on your phone to play 30 minutes of noises like a stream, and this then leads to association with being calm. After a few nights, playing this during last bottle before bed, after swaddling, worked miracles. We still use white noise now! (mainly because I'm so noisy even when trying to be quiet and it helps drown out everything I drop/knock over). Good luck!

If colief doesn't work chat to gp.

[LuckyAugust]

Thanks for all the advice tiredchristmasmum- very much appreciated. Dare I say that since switching back to colief he's been much better - this is day 3. I think in combination with the baby massage; the cycle and knees to chest movements in particular, its working great and I have a much happier boy! . Thanks again

[Sorehead]

We use SMA comfort milk with Dr Browns bottles (size 1 teat) and have no issues with clogging. I found it helped with DS's colic more than normal milk + Colief (and is much cheaper!)

The other thing that seemed to help we're a couple of Bowen therapy sessions. I am was very sceptical of this type of thing but I was at breaking point so willing to try anything. Not sure whether it was a timing thing and he grew out of it or if it was the Bowen but I've noticed a massive improvement since he had it.