to think im cracking up

[stdorothymantooth]

Sorry I know this isn't the place to put this but not sure where else to go and need some advice. I have a 9 week old baby who has had colic from about a week and a half old, I have tried everything, and nothing works the screaming continues. Lately I have found when he's crying I can't cope with the noise and I just burst into tears, my husband helps out as much as he can but as soon as he starts crying I just start crying. Most days I can pretty much hold it together but today had a bit of a bad day (not baby related just general rubbish day) and I just burst out crying couldn't stop for hours.

When will this colic end????

I know nothing about colic or babies for that matter (one due v soon) but I am sorry you are going through this :( Hope you get some good advice.

I think I heard it stops after 12 - 14 weeks. I know, not that helpful but hopefully you can see an end in sight on that basis?

I know a few people who went through this and all agree it was categorically the worst three months of their lives.

Oh so much sympathy for you :( I've been through colic and it was the most hideous period of my life.

Can you tell us what you've tried? Then I can give you a list of things which might help.

Sorry you are going through this. Usually colic "stops" at around the 3 months mark.. Have you tried baby massage? I teach colic routines for colic babies and it is really effective. Is there a baby massage class near you?

I don't know honey, I have no experience with colic but plenty of experience with a crying / screaming baby and it certainly does take it's toll. Don't blame you for bursting into tears yourself (and me and my dh have done the same when dd was little).

What does your doctor / health visitor say about the colic? I think it's one of those things with no obvious cause, no sure solution, that your baby will grow out of... not very helpful I know.

Someone will be along with some brilliant advice in a minute...

It will hopefully end when he hits around 12 weeks.....so not much longer

I'm sorry you're having such a hard time. Has he been investigated for reflux? Have you tried putting him in a more upright position rather than lying flat? Are you bf or ff? I mix fed and used tommee tippee anti-colic bottles for formula which seemed to help no end with wind. Sorry for all the questions

Constant crying is bloody difficult (to put it mildly).

You poor thing - my DC3 had colic and I still haven't forgotten how awful it was (and he's nearly 13 now). I thought I knew what I was doing - I was quite confident having had 2 babies and my God, the colic was like nothing I'd ever dealt with before. He would cry for hours and hours and hours and there was nothing I could do about it.

It WILL stop. I can't remember how long it lasts but if you've gone 7 weeks or so then you must be over the worse. Have you talked to your HV about it? Everything else is OK with the baby? And don't forget your hormones will still be all over the place too, so with the sleep deprivation you're going to be crying over anything and everything - it's normal, and it gets better.

Hang on in there :).

My DS2 had colic and it was horrendous. It would have been even worse if it had been my first I think as you are all over the place then anyway.
I sympathise.
Have you looked into cranial osteopathy at all? I went for this with DS2 in desperation after it was recommended to me (I think on here) and he literallly stopped the colic overnight after the second session. WELL worth it.

Sweetie, hold on in there. It won't last forever. You are not a bad mum for feeling this way. I haven't met a mum yet - let alone a first time mum - who finds the new born baby, crying, lack of sleep etc a total nightmare. Speak to your health visitor. They are not there to judge, but to help you. Go out for walks. Also go to your GP. You may well have a touch of PND and they can help.

A final tip - try baby chiropracter. Worked wonders for my 1st.

Hi washnomore, have tried gripe water, colief, infacol, massage, bathing, rocking, switching formula.....

It stopped for DD at about 12 weeks yes.
I found an exercise ball useful to hold her and gently bounce when I was otherwise totally & completely exhausted.

HUGE sympathies! Our little girl had what I think was colic (really, really bad wind for hours on end, you could see the agony on her face) until she was about 10 weeks, so hopefully the end will soon be in sight! Have you tried infacol before every feed? That worked well for us, although you have to give it time to build up. Does he seem windy?

I completely sympathise. I have been there. Miserable crying baby and after a while, I would cry every time it started because I just knew how bad it would be. BUT these are my tips:

• IT ENDS! with your first one, you can't believe that it ever will and you are so exhausted and emotional that you don't think it ever will. But it does. I promise. Keep saying to yourself "This will end. This will end" and eventually it will (colic usually passes at about 12 weeks or so).

• you need some help. Fab that your husband helps but is there anyone else who could look after the baby even just for a short time while you have a rest from it? (either sleeping or leaving the house to go for coffee or something). I found that having a break recharged my batteries for a short time.

• try to find ANYTHING which works to stop the crying for a bit. Walking around in buggy, strapped in a sling to you, being played music, whatever. In my case, my DD just wanted to be strapped to me. Everyone said that I was setting myself up for trouble but it wasn't: she's a happy 11 month old who cries rarely now

• you could try gripe water, which is also meant to help

Most of all, just try your best to remember that it will get better. Some babies just do this. Best of luck and be nice to yourself. Leave all the housework, have a bath etc...

Perhaps it isn't colic, have a word with HV or visit GP just in case

Don't have anything to say apart from, been there, it was awful and it will end. Def speak to your health visitor to check all is well and with my dd I used to lie her on my knees face down and rub her back and that helped sometimes. I also used infacol but don't know if that's still 'acceptable' she used to start the minute I sat down for my evening meal and go through the night. Good Luckx

so sorry you're going through this. It was horrendous with my DS and only one thing worked - lying him on my shoulder and walking up and down the stairs. I think the bouncing would help shift the bubbles, cos he would let out an almighty belch and promptly fall asleep!

Colief is supposed to be really good, but it never worked for us. It didn't stop abruptly either, it was a gradual thing over about a week. For the first time in 3 months DH didn't come in from work and have a screaming baby thrust at him, it was heaven!

Hope it doesn't last much longer for you

The only other thing (and this might be a bit controversial) - when my little one was doing that, the health visitor came over while she was screaming. She thought she looked over-tired, and advised me to put her down in her basket and remove all stimulation. I sat beside her for 5 minutes or so, and she was crying, but then she fell FAST asleep. It hadn't even occurred to me that she could have been crying for a nap. I have to stress that I am not advocating leaving babies to cry, it's simply that I used to walk around/play music/rock her etc etc and she just got more and more upset, and it turned out it's cos she was knackered - I literally had no idea!

Do come back when you get a chance OP. The others are right to suggest ruling out other problems so do see a GP. In our case a wrap sling was a godsend - he could sleep in it, and like someone else mentioned overtiredness was the main problem. A lot of people swear by something called colocynth, a homeopathic remedy. It's hard to find but I have some which I'm happy to send you - PM me your address if you'd like it. Otherwise things like white noise, minimising daytime stimulation (sling is also good for this), devoting a week to getting him napping by whatever means so as to reduce overtiredness, co-sleeping and abandoning any notions of getting him to "self-settle" for a while might help you.

It is utterly brutal and I honestly can't remember how bad it was now, it's like I've blocked it out. For a year or two afterwards I couldn't talk about it without feeling tearful. But you will survive it, and so will he, and he'll turn into the best fun you've ever had. Hang on to that if you can. I know it's day after day of torture but it isn't forever much as that's hard to see right now.

Colic is the work of the devil.

It hit us at week 3 like a bloody bolt of lightening. We were beside ourselves. Up for hours on end. Baby not settling not sleeping.

What worked for us was a mix of:

• Infacol (takes a week to get in system)
• playing White noise
• cycling his legs when laid on his back
• swaddling with a miracle blanket
• singing to him
• books under one end of Moses basket

Not sure if the following helped but I also:

• quit caffeine
• avoided citrus ESP orange juice
• drank peppermint tea (aids digestion)

Easy for me to say but it will end. Feels like it won't and I spent many a night in tears. I was exhausted and barely functioning and then before you know it you'll realise that things have improved. Work on a day to day basis. Let your DH help so you can nap/rest. This will help you tackle the nights.

Others I know have tried (successfully and not so successfully) baby massage and cranial osteopathy. I figure that colic is so evil it's worth trying everything and anything.

You poor thing. It's awful, but it does pass, and at 9 weeks you're probably near the end.

Another vote here for Infacol (it does seem to take a while to start working) and for a sling (not least because it helps baby to fall asleep if part of the problem is being over-tired, as I think it probably was with mine).

And, FWIW, once this passes, it's incredible how quickly you forget about it and get on with your new, less exhausting, life!

I can totally sympathise, My LO had colic from 1 week old to 12 weeks. Heres what helped:

• Dr Browns bottles... Expensive but they DO work

• Coleif

• Cow & Gate colic & constipation formula (if you FF)

• rocking motions help - Put LO in buggy and rock backwards and forwards or put in car seat and do swinging motions

There is always a trigger bottle and a finish bottle. Don't give milk during the colic period..it causes more tummy ache for the baby. they act hungry however they are not, try a dummy or your little finger if you dont want to use a dummy.

I remember the worst night we had it started at 8pm and finished at 8am.. i drove her in the car for an hour just to settle her for a bit. But hopefully you wont have this!

You will be feeling low, it is an awful thing to go through, if you are feeling down more than often go and speak to your docs, i left it to long and a year down the road i am recovering from a nervous breakdown so please please speak to someone.

Has it been diagnosed as colic? One of my twins had reflux and was diagnosed at about 9/10 weeks. We tried switching formula, infacol etc, no use. Doctor finally diagnosed reflux and gave me gaviscon to put in her feeds, it did the trick.

Sending you a ((hug)), the screaming is awful and draining and there's nothing like it to shred your nerves. It WILL get better.

Aw you poor girl! And your poor baby! Have you tried....

• If you're ff, try Avent bottles. Screw the lid on then loosen it ever so slightly as it helps the baby gulp milk down without getting so much air into their tummies. Really worked for DD - she used to get huge air bubbles that made her bring up most of a feed.

• If you're BF, are you sure your baby is completely draining the breast? I've heard that if the baby isn't drinking enough to get to the fatty milk at the end of the feed, it can cause colic. I'm not a BF expert though, so you might want to get my claims checked out by a BF counsellor (your HV should be able to put you in touch with one)

A friend of mine had a baby who her HV said was just a 'vocal baby'. Seriously, the poor mite did not stop howling. Ever. Luckily my friend kept pushing until they referred her DS for tests - lo and behold he was allergic to cows milk (she was ff). She changed formula and he changed overnight.

Cranial Osteopath
and
Dr Browns bottles
and
White noise. Literally, we would put the hairdryer / hoover on full blast next to DDs cot and she would fall asleep. The minute the noise stopped she would wake up unless she was in a deep sleep . In the end we bought a CD of white noise and played it to her every night for about 3 months until she was in a deep sleep.

Saved my sanity

Short lived but dark days indeed, you have my sympathy.

I have no experience of this but a friend who did said the thing she would do differently was give the various suggested remedies a chance. She thinks they chopped and changed too much between things rather than give them a chance to work.