very colicky 10 day old baby.....help needed

[larlylou]

I have a 10 day old baby girl who seems to be suffering from bad wind. It generally happens at night time and is quite easy to soothe by putting her close to your stomach. I push her knees into her chest/cycle, wind her, etc to help her. What I am worried about is that she keeps wanting to feed - is this a bad thing to do when a baby has wind - is it making it worse? I have tried a dummy on her for the first time last night (I so hate them but if it helps her...!?) and it kind of worked. Once she is soothed on my chest, it is impossible to get her to lie back down on her back or side in the cot and so she ends up sleeping on my chest for the duration of the night. Today though, she has had wind this afternoon from 3pm until now. I have just fed her, winded her and she seems calm at last.

Am I doing the right thing, has anyone any tips that may help. I am feeling really tired and finding it quite difficult to cope with (also feeling very tearful). I also find it especially hard coping with the demands of my toddler who is being so good bless him.

Sorry its long and it probably doesn't make sense but I thought I'd see if there was anyone out there who is experiencing the same thing before it all kicks off again tonight.

[Nemo1977]

my ds was the same so we had to use infacol which is suitable from birth and turned him into a different baby. Maybe ask someone to run to pharamcy or even tescos etc do it.
hope she stays calm for u

[oooggs]

I can totally sympathise. Ds was exactly the same and it is heartbreaking. I usd to cycle his legs. How are you feeding, breast or bottle?

[HappyHuggy]

I found that infacol works really well for my boys, then i'd just feed them again. I was lucky though cause they didnt erally get colic.

I hope she settles for you xxx

[outofsync]

I have to confess that I put DD in the conservatory and shut the door - not for too long though (before I am reported to ss).

On a serious note baby massage helped alot. Or maybe she just grew out of it.

[hummingbird123]

I found that dentinox worked very well for me and I added a syringe full to a drop of cool boiled water and gave this to her just at night when she suffered. HTH

[larlylou]

She is now so overtired because she never settled into an afternoon nap due to her wind. I sent dh out this evening for Infacol so she had her first syringe tonight. She wasn't too keen and was a bit sicky after her feed (not sure if it is related or not). Now she is in her cot trying to have a pooh and is becoming a little more unsettled so we'll have to wait and see. I don't think its going to be an instantaneous result but hopefully over a few days we will see an improvement...here's hoping. Ooogs, I am breastfeeding her. My first ds was never colicky or windy so I have never dealt with this before...its like being a first time parent again! Sometime soon she must settle...surely?

[hewlettsdaughter]

larlylou, sorry you're having to go through this. Have you seen this page of info ? (written by a fellow mumsnetter).
I always found with my dd that this hold helped.

[hewlettsdaughter]

Not sure about the constant feeding. I always ended up feeding and wondered the same thing as you. It's hard to not feed them though when they want it, isn't it.

[serah]

I had this larlylou, and I posted on another colic question post about it - I asked if they were feeding alot - answer - yes.

A friend of mine explained it to me and helped me through it - my DS was feeding to relieve the pain in his tummy. By feeding, the pain in his tummy then got worse. My friend (experienced mum) had him, and got him to sleep instead of feeding. We never looked back.

I bottle fed, but if you are breastfeeding, another helpful hint followed, about just feeding on one side only. I can't say much about this as I know nothing about it basically, but if you search the archives (try my name and colic as a subject) you will find the explanation.

Good luck. Its very wearing - you have my every sympathy

[donnie]

colic is soooo wearing and draining for both you and your baby.....we had this with dd1 and dd2 ( 10 weeks) has it sometimes but not half as badly. We never really 'cracked' it but dd2 grew out of it.It is true about overfeeding though, babies love to suck and don't realise that more and more feeding will make their tummy ache worse.Keep on with the infacol and the dummy....good luck, hope you manage to get some restxxxxxxx

[helsi]

coleif iis maeant to be good but we found Dentinox the best. Infacol didn't work for us.

[katymac]

I think I used camomile tea with DD - but I can't remember from what age...sorry

[Calmriver]

Poor baby girl.

My girlie was the same. She is 11 months now.
Is she being breastfed or bottlefed?
The best bottles are those ones with the system inside.Dr Browns, etc.
I breastfed, but dd used to cry so much with that too....
...You can see how painful it is, and you feel so much for them!

I recommend those bottles, OR lie baby on your lap-head on your knees-and gently rub tummy in circular motions.

Doesn't last forever.

Love and pain-free wishes for your baba

[serah]

Careful with colief... I was advised it is really only for lactose intolerance, of which there are relatively very few cases. It gave my baby terrible wind (bum end)!

[boris09]

Try wearing your baby in a sling as much as possible or go out for a walk with her. The movement is meant to be soothing. Also, try feeding your baby in an upright position, propped up with pillows.

[larlylou]

Thanks for all your messages of help and support. Last night did get better but it took time. She is breastfeed exclusively and instead of feeding when she was wanting it (to suck) I was sticking to her 2.5/3 hourly feeds that she has been setting so as to not overfeed her. I have tried the dummy at times but that is hit and miss with her. I am not sure how long to give Infacol a chance...I don't see that much difference with the wind and it is making her a little bit more sicky. She is asleep now but this morning suffered which is a first - it seems as though she is getting it all the time now and not just at night...is this common?

Could it be something I'm eating. Also, she gets quite nasaly and bungy sounding after feeding - I did get this checked out by the Doctor who said it was probably just a cold but she isn't showing any other signs (no runny nose) and is not always blocked sounding, usually just after feeding.

Thanks for all your support - hugely appreciated and role on when she grows out of it!!!!

[bumptobabies]

i feel for you my ds had it. i found the best thing was chamomile. in the bath, ie essential oil you can even use tea bags in the bath, also chamomile in a carrier oil like olive oil then massage the tummy in a clockwise direction, i also made chamomile tea you can either add this to your milk and let baby take from cup or bottle or use it to make formula.
chamomile is great for the stomach and generally relaxing the body.
good luck

[merglemergle]

hi larlylou. Snap! Dd is 11 days old today and has exact same problems. Maybe its a star sign thing?! We also have a toddler who is also being amazingly good, so we feel we're neglecting him too. Its really hard and tiring, isn't it?

The only thing working at all during the colic hours are long walks with daddy in the sling. Infocol not much help, nor chamomile, sorry.

I am also experimenting with cutting milk out of my diet, as I notice she is worse after I drink milk/cheese (don't eat milk and have a really milk-heavy diet). Has someone suggested cutting out multi-vitamins, thats meant to help?

[larlylou]

Merglemergle, I wondered about vitamins. Until today I have been taking vitamin c with zinc but stopped today on the off-chance that it could be that. I am also considering stopping dairy but I don't eat that much to be honest. My midwife is due round this morning so hopefully she will be able to help a bit. I heard that fennel tea is good (for me to drink heaps). She is settled in grandmas lap at the moment and is having a good sleep which she needs as she had so much awake and in pain time.

A friend suggested massage so I am contacting someone this week about that. I'm going to try antyhing to help her and me (for both our sanities).

Why is it though that it is so sporadic and not at the what they say 'usual evening colic time'. This is why I wonder whether there is a factor contributing to it rather than her just being a 'windy baby'.

I do hope that you are coping well with it and hopefully they will soon sort themselves out and grow out of it (my Mum said in 12 weeks time there will be a difference...I'm not sure I can get past 12 days!).

[bumptobabies]

im an aromatherapist so anything on the massage front ask away.

[larlylou]

thanks Bumptobabies - is there anything I can do to help her ease the pain on her tummy and are their any safe oils you would recommend using on her?

My midwife has just been and she believes that it is dd being a bit of a pig and over gorging and my milk flow being very fast for her and her having to gulp quickly to keep up with it. I should be feeding with her propped up a lot more rather than on side and to stop in between each course as she says so she has a bit of time to digest. She also said not to get too used to Infacol and use it at night times only ... I will give all this a go and see if it works.

[donnie]

sweet almond oil is fine fro new borns - as a moisturiser or massage oil. I got a bottle in my health food shop for about £4 and a little goes a long way. Make sure tummy rubs are clockwise and not anti clockwise was the advice we had, HTH.

[knat]

hi although my dd is now 21 months she was terribly windy as a baby and as never stopped. We did try various things and stuck with infacol best of a bunch i think. However over the last few months, as although she is not as bad as she was as a baby she does still get very windy, we have been using colccythus powders (not sure of spelling) which is basically cucumber powder and was recommended by our pharmacist (I presume most chemists will sell it) It's very good and she doesn't squirm anymore after her nighttime bottle like she used to. I think when they're very small you can give it to them dry in their mouth justbefore the feed or mix with a little milk or water as a paste and give to them. It is quite expensive (about £7.00 for 40 powders) but some GP's give it on prescription. May be worth a try as effectively a herbal remedy

[bumptobabies]

as suggested use almond oil use 5ml oil to 1 drop of chamomile essential oil as this helps with the stomach be sure as to massage in a clockwise direction.

[highlander]

larlylou, I've just returned from Canada, and my local health authority pretty much poo-poo the "colic is caused by wind' theory. There's a fair bit of medical evidence to storngly suggest that "colicky" babies have no more wind in their systems than calm babies. However, colicky babies cry more, so potentially injest air, giving mums and dads the impression that their baby is windy.

Reflux, however, is another story and should be ruled out by a GP before you read on...........

We were all steered toward a book called "The Happiest Baby on the Block" by Dr Harvey Karp. He describes why and how to calm a screaming teeny baby by something he calls the "5 S's".

Swaddling - make sure the arms are locked down. I never tucked in DS's feet.

Side/Stomach - crying babies freak out if you try to calm them by holding them with their back facing down

SSSSSH! - making LOUD, white noise sounds mimics blood flow in the uterus. It must match the volume of the baby's crying. Saying SShhh in the baby's ear worked with my DS, but some people need the hoover on, or a hairdryer, dishwasher, bathroom fan etc.

Swing - waltzing with your baby stimulates the vestibular system. Ie go back and forward and up and down. Those vibrating baby swings are supposed to be ace. An electronic toothbrush wrapped in a towel and placed on the baby's stomach is also supposed to be quite soothing (never tried it).

Suck - only when your baby has started to calm down - allow her to suck - boob, dummy etc etc.

To start with, you'll probably find that this sort of crying comes in 3 to 4 cycles over 15 mins, before your baby completely relaxes - that's when you let them suck (I seem to remember the Baby Whisperer giving a good demo of this).

Don't worry if your baby completely fights the swaddle - just quickly continue on with the other S's.

This sort of "purple" crying reaches a peak at 6 weeks old. We started the 5 S's when DS was 4 weeks old and we thankfully never noticed it getting any worse. By 8 weeks, all we had to do was loosely wrap him in a swaddle and he would immediately stop crying.

We used a commercial swaddle called the Miracle Blanket. The seams are quite thick though, so make sure it is completely flat down your baby's back, with no bumps.

DS was in a swaddle pretty much 24/7 until he was 9 weeks old.

Good luck - this sort of crying is awful. Sometimes I had to lay DS is his cot and walk away as I was worried I was going to throw him against the wall. it really pushes you to the edge. It will pass!!