To think that people are lying when they say BF babies do not get colic

[ErikaMaye]

weeps in desperation Infacol not working. Colief not working. Have tried everything. Can I have a magical cure please, oh wise MN?? sleep deprived ramblings

Have tried cutting out dairy. My diet is generally monitored anyway as I have ME - possibly sending me that bit more crazy with extra tiredness thrown into the package! - but didn't help. I have found that he doesn't get as much trapped air if he's fed laying down, but obviously that's not always possible. Tonight - so far - has been okay. Am going to try and get some sleep.

Just so frustrated - I hate my poor little man being in pain (can't remember who asked, he's six and a half weeks). And I'm just so tired.

Thank you for all your advice and comforts that it does end. Will reread this thread next time he's screaming!

Make that now...

ErikaMaye - the first 6-8 wks are really the very hardest. It does usually start to ease a bit around now. And it doesn't go on for ever (just feels like it). DH walked DD up and down for hours when she was a baby, just so I could get a slight bit of rest.

I really hope he gets a bit easier soon (if he isn't already, he'll be smiling soon and that is lovely and makes it all worth it).

Hope he stops screaming for you soon tonight.

YANBU! My DD was BF, suffered from evil colic, I was a 16yo single mum, no-one had told me about colic. At one point, I knocked on the warden's door at 2am (I lived in a mother and baby unit) and just said, here you go, I need to sleep and walked off leaving the bemused warden holding my baby! And if I had a penny for every time I was told 'it'll pass by XX weeks', first 12 weeks, then 16 weeks, then 20 weeks. I finally got through it by the time she was 6months old. I'm SOOOOOOOOO glad neither of my DS's suffered from colic. In fact, just the thought is making me shudder!. All I can say is that it does (eventually) pass. Hope for you it's sooner rather than later.

All my DCs were bf'd and 2 suffered (or rather my DH and I suffered) colic. It was the same every evening, walking up and down the room with them for 4 hours while they screamed non-stop. In each case, it stopped at 13 weeks.

So they are lying.

YES, they are LIARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Both my exclusively BF babies got collic. Non of the over the counter remedies worked, but remember you can combine some of the different remedies (check with the pharmacist / health visitor)

Walking with baby in a sling for the WHOLE day helped with no 2 - quick walking (was running v. late that day ) for about 30 mins helped. Baby massage helped - ask your health visitor, feeding with baby in an upright position, bicycling baby legs gently after a feed with bubs leaning back against my propped up legs (I laid on back - baby head on my crooked up knees IYSWIM) Non-dairy diet helped (DH is lactose intolerant) walk up and down stairs to try and get effective burps out. Some say white noise (put them in front of a turned on washing machine etc)

Good one - send OH (if available, or a good friend/relative if available) out with baby in a pram, or even better a sling, during collicky hours (ours were from 5.30 - 10pm every night) for a lovely walk, then you don't hear them crying so can relax a bit better. Sit down with large gin or glass of wine cup of tea or soya milk cocoa and relax / doze. Two benefits for me with this one. DH and I didn't row about what should be done to help poor dc and baby got lots of fresh air ready for a lovely nights sleep.

Apparently it's not good to keep feeding them - I did this with my first one ie baby is crying, must need more milk, oh no, baby is crying EVEN MORE NOW as according to DH and the net, this just stores up more bubbles.............obviously DO feed them what they need etc.

Remember - it DOES get better, I promise you and if you're worried do ask the doc or health visitor.

Good luck xx

Haven't read the whole thread but it can be caused by positioning and attachment not being quite right. It might be worth getting it checked or phoning the National Breastfeeding Helpline - 0300 100 0212.

Udo's Choice "B. Infantis". Otherwise, it's simply a matter of hanging in there ... it passes, I promise!

Thank you... So glad to hear its not just me. Felt like I must be doing something wrong.

Erika- LissyGlitter here from the november group. Poor DD2 here looks like she is the same. I am typing one handed while I hold her in my other arm, trying to hold her dummy in while she waves her head about icking and generally making noise. DP just can't cope with it at all, if she starts while I am in the bath or whatever he panics.

Our exclusively bf baby had colic for 6 MONTHS, and it was horrific. Oh, the nights we spent bouncing him up and down on the bed (I'm sure the neighbours thought we were having frequent and fantastic sex), and not being able to sit down if we were holding him, without him screaming the house down ... One thing that did seem to have some impact, and this could be entirely coincidental, was Ashtons & Parsons teething powder. Best of luck, you have my heart-felt sympathy!

Haven't read all messages, but my DD was b/fed and got colic during stay at gran's. Cdn't work out why - same diet (me), same routine. Went back home and it stopped. Only difference - at gran's I was teetotal, at home had a glass of wine in the evening!

How can cutting out dairy in the mothers diet help when breastmilk is......well, dairy, isn't it? I don't understand. Is there not milk protein in breastmilk?

PE - cow milk protein / cow lactose which some people are intolerant to. Sounds mad I know but my friend BF her dd until she was 4 as she was so intolerant to cow's milk and it was the only milk she could tolerate (hats off to my friend - that's dedication, plus no cow milk tea for her )

I think it's like how some people can tolerate goat or sheep milk but not cow milk IYSWIM.

As I understand if the mum drinks cows milk, the cow milk proteins pass into her milk and then into bubs, tho I could be completely wrong as I am not an expert and for all I know this could be an urban myth. But I was willing to try ANYTHING when my dcs had collic!

hmm, okay, makes some sense. Thanks. Will investigate further. Its one of those things I've heard a lot but didn't sound quite logical to me, and it can be hard to seperate the facts from the nonsense you hear about bf, you know?

Ta.

Exclusively BF baby here, and DS did have colic. Infacol only worked once it had built up over a number of days, and I didn't think it worked particularly well (he seemed less distressed, but still very whingy). At one point we stopped the Infacol thinking it wasn't doing much, and he promptly got worse. We were very lucky though, it was a only a few weeks and seemed to just go away.

Stay cool, there is not much you can do about it though I found the Harvey Karp stuff handy - ish. Sometimes handing baby over to someone else and getting a break is a great cure. I've read that studies have definitely proved there is no long-term damaging effect to a baby from hours and hours of screaming, they will forget all about it, so don't feel bad.

breast fed babies DO get colic. Think its more immature gut not coping with milk than any wind issues. I used a sling with ds through the entire day, co slept as sucking eases the spasms, white noise with vacuum cleaner, driving in car seat. tried everything possible and went mad for 3 months. Then it stopped!! With my dd went on totally milk free diet. Soya, no cheese etc. coffeemate in tea (yuk) checked all labels (biscuits have milk powder in them!. DD was perfect baby - no colic (also totally bf) Does milk free work? Who knows but its worth a try, I could not BEAR another 3 months of 24/7 torture

Who says that? I've never heard that. It's definitely not true though.

PE - good name BTW

Forgot to say - I had ds2 cranial ostepathed because I'd heard it helped - and he didn't get colic at all. Ds1 certainly did though - big time. Things that worked for us were: cranial osteopathy, the Karp routine (swaddling, shushing, rocking), getting outside (not easy at this time of the year as it's usually evenings) and above all ACCEPTANCE - yes, babies do cry, then they stop, it really doesn't matter in the long run, they will still pass their A levels! Ohm and baby massage is good too, if only for general bonding, soothing purposes. I think some babies just have painful tummies and it all gets too much for them. They grow out of it. To all mums who are in the eye of the storm right now, hang in there.

MW in hospital told me BF babies don't get colic.
HV said it was a case of the Breast Feeding Police and that of course they get colic and yes that is probably why my 3.5wk old baby screams from 9-12pm.
Best of luck, and if nothing else know you are not alone.

I'm quite sure DS had colic at the newborn stage when I was still BFing him. No one ever tells you these things when at the hospital!! Argh!

Hope you get some relief soon for your baby, I know how distressing it can be.

Have just read through the thread and glad I found it, my four week old litte boy has just started on the bumpy road of colic, last night was an all time worst! Alternate between feeling really helpless that he is in so much pain - and feeling so tired I could fall over.... he is now fast asleep not suprising really as he must be knackered! Problems usually start around 7 o'clock and then he is up till after midnight screaming and fretful and last night was up most of the night! I am wondering if he doesn't feed enough in the day as at night my DH gives him a bottle of formula (BF during the day and early hours of the morning and trying to express) this has now turned into about 14 oz formula so I am wondering if he is getting enough during the day and if this is contributing to the colic??? Think I am going to try and express all day today and give him this in a bottle to see if I can get him to have more to drink during the day?????? Will keep an eye on this thread for lots more useful tips but so far thing it looks like we are just going to have hang in there for the next 8 weeks (he is only 4 and a half weeks now and it pretty much started when he turned 4 weeks......)

Its all the threes- three hours a night from three weeks til three months. Our BF DS1 was a textbook case. He cried from 5pm until 8pm every night. Nothing we could do except cuddle him. DS2 was BF too and didn't get it at all. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

I thought our ds had colic but someone pointed out that breast milk supply is at its worst in the early evening and that it could be hunger - i expressed during the day and gave bottle and this really helped !

also ds diagnosed with silent reflux - gaviscon helped loads. felt bad later when learnt that apparently 'agressive' winding makes it worse and of course we had spent hours sitting him up rubbing and patting over sholder etc...