The mystery of cranial massage and the windy baby...

[Brillbryant]

Can anyone help me with my problem? My DS is VERY windy and seems to be in constant pain with all the classic symptoms ie legs drawing up, red face, hard tummy :( he's 3months old today. Last night my DH and I just lost it with each other, it's tearing us apart too! Do I take my baby for a cranial massage?

. Here's my problem, money is very tight at the moment and I just want to know that I won't be wasting my money. I completly understand that cranial massaging doesn't nessesary work for all babies and mine might be one of those. I desperatly want to take his pain away. Anyone had any experience with colic/wind and cranial massage? I need advice to help me keep my sanity and to help my DH feel like he can do something to help.

We had terrible colic with our DS nearly sent me over the edge after a difficult pregnancy and birth so I understand how it feels.

We tried the cranial osteopathy and although it didn't cure the problem it definitely provided some relief for DS and us!!! Where are you based? We used a training college who were really cheap. Qualified staff do the therapy but the students take the history and watch the therapy.

Happy to report that DS is now a happy 7 mth old who rarely gets upset or moans even when's he's ill - so it will get better promise . hang in there.

I struggled to not laugh during our cranial osteopath appointment and came back £50 lighter and apparently needing 5 or 6 more sessions. To me it was ridiculous. He didn't even touch her but could 'feel' the tension.

I was totally totally desperate to stop the pain and suffering my daughter was going through. I orderd the Dr Brown anti colic bottles and the day they arrived the colic stopped, no word of a lie, just like that and she slept a normal nights sleep when previously she had screamed from 4pm until the early hours of the morning. My husband and I had to sleep in shifts just to get some sleep.

We also used Colief, available from any chemists which also helped enormously.

I would almost guarantee that if you went out tomorrow and bought these two things (despite how tight money is) you would see an enormous difference. Could have actually sent you my dr brown bottles but gave them to another desperate mother recently and they also changed her life

My daughter (now 7 months) was terribly windy. We became experts at different burping positions (tiger in the tree works best), different types of bottles, feeding positions, massage but the thing that made the biggest difference almost immediately was camomile tea. A friend who is a natrupath suggested we try it and it was amazing.

DD was ff and we made her bottles up with the hot tea (1 teabag per litre). if you are BF you can just give her the tea between feeds or try drinking it yourself. Fennel tea is supposed to be great too (Fennel is the main ingredient in Gripe water) but i dont have any direct experience of it (and i cant bear the smell of fennel).

if i was in your position again and money was tight i would try the tea before a largely unproven (and some would say pretend ) treatment.

Go to youtube and look at baby massage to help babies with wind. Really helped when my DS was a baby.Every time I changed his nappy I would do the massage and during the night.
Hoppe it will help.

We had baby massage sessions through our local children's centre - great help. Like flowerbomb we bought dr brown's bottles - expensive but fab - worked well. You can also buy a comfort formula for bad colic and constipation from larger supermarkets.

Oh...and we did try cranial massage - first session of £50 then 2 at £35 - to be honest didnt find it made a lot of difference!! However, he is now a very happy nearly 7 mo, it does get better!!!

Second the recommendation of Colief, it's a PITA if you are breastfeeding as you'll need to express some milk to put it in, but it worked so well for us.

Ring your HV as you may be able to get it on prescription.

Good luck, colic is rubbish :( how many weeks is your baby? It had gone by 14w so you may be at the end!

Cranial massage may help but it is unlikely to be a magic cure so if money is tight I wouldn't bother.

If it's any help colic tends to completly go around 3 months as the digestive system becomes more mature. Because of this and because people keep trying different remedies you will find most people will claim they have one thing which worked for their baby when in actual fact it just happens to be the thing tried at the time the colic happened to go.

Baby massage might help you and DS relax a bit, my local children centre do a free course, might be worth calling yours?