Colic - need advice

[BlueTwo]

Hi - I'm a MN lurker and occasional poster, and I'm looking for some advice for my cousin. Her 6 week old is suffering from what seems like really bad colic - and she is also only doing a dirty nappy approx once a week. My cousin is a walking zombie and at the end of her tether, and her health visitor and doctor just don't seem to be concerned. She has asked the HV to come round to her house and hopefully they will see that she really is in need of help - but are there any things which really worked for you?

My youngest is five now, and I did baby massage and yoga with them (I remember learning a hold where the baby was on their tummy along your arm which I think they said was good for colic) - and I had to use the drops a few times, but I experienced nothing like this. The baby is exclusively breast fed - could it be something my cousin is eating?

Any advice would be MOST welcome - I am also going to make sure she knows all about MN - have a feeling she'll find it really useful. Thanks

[BabyValentine]

Hi BlueTwo - please pass on my sympathies, I've been there and can remember how awful it was!

We did fennel tea (for me, BF - no noticable difference), then Infacol (useless), then Colief (expensive and negligable), white noise (okay), earplugs (no) and baby massage. Nothing worked, but please stress that it will end eventually. For us it was about 14 weeks.

What I would definately do, if I were to have another DC, is find a recommended cranial osteopath. Someone will be along soon with more advice I'm sure.

[howdoo]

It is awful, I really feel for her. We found that Colief did work for us, so is worth a go - anything is worth a go!!
My DS was 7 weeks old when we discovered Colief and the colic stopped within 2 days. I know it generally stops within 3 months, but when you're only 6 weeks in, that is not much comfort!

[MogTheForgetfulCat]

Oh god, it's ghastly, poor thing - I remember the walking zombie feeling so well from DS2...

Hate to break it to you, but nothing really worked for us - Infacol didn't seem to make any difference, ditto cranial osteopathy. Colief was an incredible faff for a BF baby. Had some little Weleda chamomilia granules, with a tiny little ladle that seemed to help a bit. But really, we just took turns holding DS2 while he thrashed and screamed. It was an awful time, but ended like a switch being thrown at 11 weeks. But that feels a long way away when your baby is only 6 weeks old.

Btw, I think doing only 1 dirty nappy a week is fine for a BF baby. I seem to recall mine going all the time at first, and then hardly at all for a while (DS1 once went 10 days, and then took out an entire outfit and the bouncy chair cover when he finally did go!) and then they start to go more frequently again.

Sometimes getting into a deep, warm bath with DS2 would help a bit, swooshing the water over him. But not always, and I was always a bit worried I'd fall asleep, so made DH perch on the loo to keep watch, so he wasn't so keen on that method.

[BlueTwo]

Thanks everyone for the advice ... sometimes it's nice to know that other people have been there too. I shall pass all the info on.
Blue

[shellmc]

hiya hun,

i have just recently posted on here about my ds having colic its sooo horrible to see ya dc in soo much pain and crying soo much.
Me and hubby found it hard!!!
We started off on infacol because ds was struggling getting his wind up from 2 weeks old, then we started using the gripe water which def helped!!
Last week ds had a terrible weekend and after seeing hv she sed it was colic he had, we tried the dentinox recommended by her def relieved the crying and helped with the wind but made my little one more sick!! Now got the colief and he is doing great back to his smiley little self!! LOL

On the dirty nappy sort ov things we had that prob with ds when he was 3 weeks old hv told us to alternate his formula feed with the ready made cartons (cow and gate) def helped him!!
This wont be any help i see as your cousins wee one is breast fed but thort id put it on if theres anyone else out there with same prob, dont know how it works but it did with us xxxx