Is anyone awake? Colicky baby - at my wits’ end

[hereismydog]

My little boy is 7 weeks old and has colic and nothing we do seems to soothe him

He is fed, warm, burped and clean and being cuddled by DP in bed while I sit downstairs for a moment because I can’t hear myself think. We are going through gripe water like our lives depend on it; it seemed to be the magic potion for a few days as he would produce the most incredible burps and fall asleep smiling but now he screams as soon as he has finished eating and burping. He’s EBF throughout the day and has expressed bottles, I’ve minimised dairy in my own diet in case he has CMPA but seems to have had no effect.

Does anyone have any recommendations to help my precious boy please because I cannot bear seeing him so upset, and I am now at a point where I cry just as much as he does. We saw the HV last week and she seems to be of the opinion that this is normal, and has put us down for our next ‘review’ when he is 12 months old so I feel a bit unsupported by her DP is excellent with him and does all the baby care as soon as he’s home from work so it’s not all on me. Just looking for some advice and maybe a little handhold, please.

This was what worked for us too...infacol and lying tummy down on a forearm. And it eased off at 8 weeks.

The stretchy wrap always seemed to bring up extra burps too. If she wasn't burped properly during the day, it would build up and make the evening worse.

Fart that baby. Worked a treat for us. Everyone knows about burping. No one talks about farting. Fart that kid.

Hi have you tried giving small feeds more often? So if he goes 4 hours, could try halving that feed and going every 2. Afterwards swaddle him in a blanket and give him a firm, upwards back rub. The blanket doesn't have to be tight but it makes them feel that bit more secure. Some people don't like to swaddle but it helped all of my kids to settle as babies and I think it helps. I taught my friend's baby how to swaddle and the colicky evenings did improve. Go to the GP if you're really struggling with this, although I think it's something that is common and will get better over time. It's an exhausting and worrying time but you will come out the other side.

Poor you. It bought me to my knees with ds2. What have you tried so far, so we can help with suggestions. Keeping them sat more upright and sleeping more upright, propped up, in a car seat and the motion of driving helped sometimes, helped a tiny bit. What medications have you tried. Don't let the hv fob you off, this isn't normal. I was dismissed until Dh stepped in.

My first was like this and I hit rock bottom at around 6 weeks when it seemed to peak. He cried and he cried and he cried. Day and night but worse in the evenings. He wouldn't go in the pram, the car seat, the crib. We tried gaviscon, we tried all the infacol , gripe water , cut dairy etc. Essentially it was time that improved things. It really did settle down after 3ish months and gradually got better then. I really feel for you but know it's not your fault and some babies are just like this. I've just had my second and I'm astounded how different she is and it's a whole different experience.
My colicky baby is now 3 and very high spirited and intelligent! Still fights sleep though and always has.
My advice would be to seek as much support as possible. Don't expect a magic answer to make it stop but try and find strategies to manage your own emotions and get some time out. It's so so hard but you aren't alone and many of us have been through it.
Also get a sling as he may settle in there for a bit and at least you can get some fresh air.

Do you put headphones/ear plugs in when baby is screaming? It dulls the sound to a manageable level, so you can stay calm.

Their emotions feed off yours so might help. A friend of mine plays her favourite music in her headphones and "dances" baby to sleep in their rough nights

If it is "just" colic/purple crying you"ve probably got the peak now

If you are bottle feeding, those anti colic bottles made a big difference and might be worth looking at. I know Dr Browns were excellent but there will be new developments since then.

Thank you all for the handholds, we all actually slept last night! I went upstairs after about 15 mins and he was in his crib fast asleep, seems Dad had the magic touch. I just couldn’t cope with any more screaming and I think he was picking up on it and couldn’t settle with me. We’ve had a lot going on recently, I had a thyroidectomy last week so we were separated for a night, then I caught a virus in hospital and gave it to him 😫 poor babe has coughed and cried so furiously that he has a little broken blood vessel in his eye.

To answer some questions, I give him expressed milk because we had to get him used to being bottle-fed by DP and my Mum while I was in hospital, but also because I have a very fast and heavy letdown so he was constantly coughing and spluttering as he couldn’t cope with the flow, seems to do a lot better on expressed milk, with boob for snacks and comfort. His poo seems much better on expressed too, was previously very green and watery so I don’t think he was getting enough nutrients as he was giving up before he really got going with a feed. He is better at BF now he’s a bit bigger, and switches nicely between bottle and breast.

He has his 8-week checkup with his GP next week so I’ll monitor how he is, I have also suspected reflux as he doesn’t like to lie down and much prefers to sit up or be on his tummy or side. I have pretty bad reflux so I wouldn’t be surprised if he does too!

Pleased op. See how it goes tonight and tomorrow, and come back if you need any more help.

Oh you poor thing. My DS was very colicky for the first 3 months and I was in bits. I found gripe water didn't really help. I used to burp him and bicycle his little legs to get wind out. I also put some books under one end of his cot. And pace around for hours with him.

Then eventually it stopped. But it's so distressing.

When my son was a baby he was so colicky in the evenings and would scream for hours.
Playing this on YouTube always worked. There's a reason there is nearly 300 million views.....think most are me!

Did you find anything that helped? We are now looking at adding probiotic drops from bobbie organic because it says it should help with colic because of one of the strains that is in it. I am crossing my fingers that we will find some relief!

Hello! Gripe water did help with the wind, but the actual problem did indeed turn out to be CMPA and terrible reflux.

Now 11 months and the happiest little lad I’ve ever known!

My first was like this!!! Still have some ptsd from it. It was horrendous and everyone just told me "babies cry" but wow he used to scream for 5 hours straight. He deffo turned a corner at about 4 months and gradually got better and better. Hes nearly 4 now so it's a distant memory. I gave birth to his baby sister in jan and she did NOT cry like that and felt so easy in comparison. They've been such different children in every single way.