Colicky baby can't feed and scream at the same time

[angstybaby]

My 4 week old spends about an hour a day crying with what I assume is colic: he pulls up his knees, clenches his fists and screams inconsolably. The only thing that helps is holding him upright and jiggling him. Is this colic?

When he's crying he won't latch on and feed: it seems that being horizontal is painful, another reason I think he has colic. My husband thinks he's hungry and that we should express and bottle-feed. I think that the baby won't feed until he's calmer. This can take an hour. Should I be worried that my baby is starving during these periods or will he feed if he's hungry?

I might be a little neurotic as his weight is a little low: he got back to his 8lb 1oz birth weight at 2 weeks but hasn't gained since then (he's now 4 weeks). He is very long, like his dad and both parents are pretty small framed. Is a baby ever naturally skinny? It seems counter-intuitive...

Many thanks

My dd was like this and had reflux it was awful! When she got to a few months she started puking after feeds. May be worth a check with doc. Have you tried Colief drops to see if they help get them in boots

Poor you - it is so hard seeing them get so worked up. I'm afraid I don't know a lot about colic but my now four month old does this if he gets overtired and its very very hard to calm him and get him off to sleep. It is at the same time of day? Could you try and pre-empt it with something relaxes him e.g. a bath, baby massage etc before the crying session starts.

Have a look at this page if you haven't seen it already:
www.mumsnet.com/babies/crying-comforting-and-colic

I was actually looking for instructions on the 'tiger in the tree' hold which small babies often find calming.

The no weight gain is something that will need to be looked at, at this age. You could try posting on the feeding section as there are some breastfeeding experts on there. Is your GP/HV giving you support and guidance on this?

Hope things improve for you soon.

One word. Colief. Wish we'd found out about it at 4 weeks.

colief has been ordered; we await delivery with baited breath...

the hv comes tomorrow for a weigh-in so hopefully he's gained. we went to see the gp but he just looked scared at the prospect of a baby and declined my request to weigh him.

thx for the link ThisIsYourSong - very handy and thx to all for the advice

Oh god, this post takes me back to my DD 7 years ago. She seemed to cry from dawn till dusk (and I had a 17 month as well). It went on for about 10 weeks. We tried Colief but through desperation also took her to a chiropractor, this did seem to make things a little better. Also, talk to your HV.

agree with above advice regarding colief - the most wonderful thing known to man/woman - if you have a colicy baby.. may i also suggest the following:
Dr Browns bottles with MAM tets - sounds strange but the mam tets are the best. 2 drops of colief and within a couple of hours all is peaceful.

Might be worth a tri[ to GP - I got my colief on perscription which was great as it costs over £10 for a tiny bottle.
Dummy also helps - please dont shot me down for suggesting that - was advised by a midwife when DD was born.
good luck

Just be prepared that it is a faff to prepare colief when you're breastfeeding. You cannot give it neat like infacol or dentinox. Also you cannot add it to cold milk from the fridge as it is an enzyme and needs warm/ body temp milk to work. We used it for 5 days as that was how long it lasted, I think it helped but we used infacol after which was much easier but different drug (its wind-eze for babies). I have a slow let down and couldn't just hand express easily before a feed so i'd have to pump and keep it in the fridge, then get a little bit out, warm it up, add the colief then give it using a spoon or syringe, and doing this every 2 hours whilst trying to find time to pump was a nightmare! My DS eventually had reflux and needed prescription medicine which he has just finished at 7.5 months.

Your HV will also be keeping an eye on weight gain, and if she thinks you need to be referred to paediatrician she will liaise with your GP to see a consultant. GPs are very general and HVs are the more knowledgeable specialists when it comes to babies and toddlers.

Can you try feeding him in a different position? I found a variation of the rugby hold (baby sort of tucked under your arm on the same side you're feeding on) allowed me to keep him in a much more upright position whilst feeding.