18 wk old still colicky?

[ollyoctopus]

Hi

I have a 4 mth old DD who is ebf but has gaviscon with each feed for reflux. We vaguely follow gina ford for sleep & feed times as it worked like a dream with DD1 (now 28 mths).

DD2 has always undergone some horrible transformation at 6pm going from a lovely laid back baby to a screaming banshee you can't do a thing with. Obviously for the first 12-14 wks we put this down to colic but she is now 18 wks & no better.

Each evening I go through an endless cycle of thinking she is hungry - full - not tired - overtired - too hot - too cold - needs winding - just wants comfort - wants to be left alone etc. etc. And I feel like I never work out what the problem is and the next night we are back to square one .

DH tries CC but it is difficult as wakes up DD1.

I know I should just go with the flow but I feel like I really need some rest time in the evenings when I'm completely frazzled. It also means I am unable to do bed & bath time for both DDs on my own, which is causing problems as DH has to be out fairly often.

I thought maybe I didn't have enough milk for this feed so have been expressing and giving from a bottle. I have no real idea about ounces having bf DD1 for 12mths but am managing to express 9oz which she guzzles no problem. Is this too much? (I do have that particular variety of very fat breastfed babies!)

Anyone else had a colicky baby at this age? Or any other ideas?

DS is eight months and still colicky. Its a nightmare, I feel your pain! Though the good news is his (silent) reflux got better once he was on three meals a day. So there is hope in sight.

Am going to give you a because I know some nights I really bloody need one, and you sound like you do, too.

DS is 17 weeks, bf and colicky. Have had a bit of success with Colief (prescribed by GP), but still have a number of nightmare nights - it took nearly 4 hours to get him settled tonight, and I'm sure he'll start up again soon

My GP is bf-friendly, having had colicky bf kids of her own, and thinks it is related to an overactive letdown/lactase deficiency. The Colief may not be perfect, but it's the best we've had so far.

I know he's getting enough milk, as he's huge! It can be very disheartening though, as he is such a lovely happy (chubby) baby during the day, but is so unhappy at night.

So, huge hugs from me too - just because she is 4 months doesn't mean she won't still grow out of it (or at least that's what I'm hoping). Keep your pecker up

Thankyou both! Browneyesblue do you have to express and mix the Colief with the expressed breast milk?

I know I have an overactive letdown as DD chokes a lot at the beginning, gulps down loads of air, unlatches and then gets sprayed with milk! So this is another reason for expressing that bedtime feed, but it is very time consuming when you have a toddler to get to bed aswell!

Olly - yes. I used to hand express a tiny amount, mix the Colief in and syringe feed it.

Olly - I do have to express, yes. It is time consuming so I express a small pot full (enough for the day) and keep it in the fridge. I use warm water to heat a small amount of milk for the Colief drops.

I had a colicky one at this age so I have every sympathy with you. It could be a complete co-incidence but I cut out caffiene and the colick just stopped.

Massaging DS also seemed to help.

My Niece was also colicky and swaddling helped her.

Hang on in there it does get better.

Posted too soon - After I give him the milk and drops, I bf him as normal. If I start spraying, I let the milk spray onto a muslin. I only continue feeding once it has stopped - DS is usually a bit frantic by then!