Colic/lactose intolerant?

[julia1976]

DS is 5 wks today. Terrible colic, was just in eve but now during day too, screams and goes rigid. Tried infacol then gripe water now colief, no joy yet. GP says "just colic" but how do I know DS isn't lactose intolerant? GP away till 24th now. DH only sees DS when screaming for hours and worry that this behaviour is affecting how DH and I feel about DS Help!!

You poor thing. We had something very similar with DS (now 8 weeks). I thought that the screaming was getting worse and worse, and suddenly at about 6 weeks he went back to doing it in the evening, and at 8 weeks is now only screaming about 1 evening in 3.

You could try eliminating dairy from your diet (not a dietician, but imagine you would have to ensure you were getting enough calcium etc from other sources), but TBH they change so quickly at this age you'd never know whether the elimination or just age had improved things.

Is he managing to get burps up after feeding? Even with infacol and gripe water DS often only burps an hour after feeding (I tend to play with him and then burp him again before putting him down for a nap).

Is he producing wet and dirty nappies?

Forgot to add: bf didn't work so ff. DS is big boy 11lbs - just increased to 160ml/feed so not hungry but not settling after most feeds. How long does colief take to work if it works?

I envy parents whose babies grow out of colic - mine never did, and only got better when we realised what was causing it. I think it's really worth investigating further rather than just dismissing it as 'just colic'.

Ds1 had an intolerance to cow's milk protein (not lactose) even the small amounts he got through my breastmilk; ds2 had reflux and was on anti-reflux medication until 2yrs old. I am currently on an elimination diet to try to work out what's up with ds3!

The Dr Sears article here has a bit of info about colic, there's more on the rest of his website, and if you are breastfeeding I would really recommend www.kellymom.com

best of luck

thanks hopefully - many wet and dirty (once/day) nappies. gulps down feed and screams when I stop to burp him but burps easily enough (about 3-4 times/feed)

In that case it's probably worth persevering with trying to figure out what causes it.

If he's ff, then is there any reason not to try a lactose free formula (assuming such a thing exists...). I am fairly lacking in knowledge about such things, but perhaps if there is such a thing you could try switching gradually over a few days.

Oh, and we use infacol and the pharmacist said give it at least a week to 10 days to work, as it has a cumulative effect (I have no idea how, I'm just repeating what I was told!) I would imagine colief is similar.

Is it possible he is hungry again if he is gulping down milk? I don't know how often or how much a baby his age theoretically should be on, but could you try either giving him fewer bigger feeds, or more smaller ones? Again, I don't have experience of this, but people on breast/bottle feeding board might have some ideas - for instance, my DS's 'colic' improved massively when I started making him take bigger feeds and spacing them further apart, but with a bottle fed baby it might be the other way?

you need to try bifida infantis probiotic powder from a health food shop, you can give it to babies but it is difficult if they are breast feeding, so get some and take it yourself.

i can't recommend this enough. Do some research.

i have been reading 'digestive wellness for children' by elizabeth lipski. highly recommend. wish i had read it before my 9m ds was born.

colic is bad but weaning / allergies oh god!!

please try the bifida infantis powder.

good luck

Ooh, probiotics! Forgot about that - I started drinking yakult when DS was about 5 weeks, and (and this is a little controversial and not recommended by everyone, but a paed at my local hospital suggested trying it) giving him 5mls of it in a syringe once a day. Definitely helped improve things.

If you can get probiotic formula that's got to be worth a shot, especially if you had antibiotics at birth and breastfed, or if he had antibiotics.

Thanks all -- will give the probiotics a go and also, may revert to infacol (think we stopped it before 10 days) if colief gives no relief

yakult is really bad for you actually, and as soon as you stop taking it symptoms get worse for many people. it must be bifida bacterium infantis from the health food shop