Windy, unsettled 2 week old BF baby -colic?

[fifitot]

He is fine during the day, a bit hiccupy someimtes but sleeps alot and seems happy after a feed.

However at night, after a feed he will fall asleep so I put him down but within minutes is fussing, then crying. I struggle to get a burp out of him but when is lying down is drawing up legs and trumping away. Then starts crying and won't settle.

Could it be colic? I have him on infacol but only done a week and only use at night. Not sure if getting anywhere. May try colief but it's a faff if you aren't using a bottle as far as I can see.

He will settle with a dummy eventually but was carrying him around for 2 hours before he went off last night and then a bit later woke for a feed again!

Help!

Mine was very wriggly and squeezy too for the first few weeks/couple of months. I used Infacol too, no idea if it helps, but I think the instructions say use it at every feed, which is of course loads!

We tried Gripe Water too, I can't remember what the mimimum age for that is though, I had to give it slowly with a syringe and it did get a few burps out.

I think he did seem to grow out of it though, he just stopped struggling so much over time. He was so grunty and noisy at first and looked really uncomfortable too.

He was also really hiccupy and still gets them a few times a day at 10mo!

Congratulations and all the best for you and your wee DS

Thanks - may try gripe water too.

Could be he doesn't like being alone at night...babies do draw up their legs when they cry, it's not a sign of colic/wind, despite the myths.

If he is contented when held and/or fed, then it's prob not colic...

Thanks Tiktok. Could be that I guess. If only we could read their minds! It's annoying as he sleeps alot during the day and then perks up at around 7pm! He needs to learn the difference between night and day so that's why I've been putting him in the moses basket after a feed at 7. Took me nearly 2 hours to get him off tonight. Exhausting stuff.

fifitot - one option is not to fight it. You are facing an exhausting struggle. He is only 2 weeks old. A fortnight ago he was inside you. He has time to learn about day and night, and you can encourage this, of course, but maybe you are going too fast for him, expecting him to be happy sleeping alone....going with the flow and being patient might be easier than what you;re doing at present

fifitot could you try keeping him upright a bit longer after a feed to give him a chance to digest the milk? My DS has silent reflux and was a bit like this in the early days - he would only settle if I kept him on my chest for 30 mins and gently winded him the whole time. Then it was easier to put him down once swaddled. He suffered with a lot of wind, used to strain a bit during feeds and did "wet burps".

Also as for the day and night thing - he's only 2 weeks old. I think it took about 8-10 weeks before DS started to reliably sleep (with wakes for feeds) at night. He also slept on or with me for the first 4 months, although that was because of his reflux! Sounds like a long time but looking back it seems like nothing (he's nearly 10 months).

Congrats on your baby, fifitot!

I'm not sure tiny babies know the difference between night and day in the early weeks - my health visitor's advice was 'go with the flow for at least the first six weeks'. So please don't put yourself under too much pressure at this stage - you'll be exhausted and unable to enjoy him.

For the first three months, DS cried every evening 6-9ish - despite being BF it seemed like colic, but could have just been wind as he also trumped a lot! What helped was holding him in different positions - the 'tiger in the tree' hold seemed to ease the painful pressure for him. Infacol at every feed seemed to help a bit too although I stopped this after a few weeks.

He did grow out of it. And while it was going on, it helped me to keep thinking it was just a couple of hours out of the day. It will get better for you!

Oh, and here's the 'tiger in the tree' hold:

Turn your baby onto his front, and place over your arm so that your hand can massage his tummy. Use your other hand to support him, and gently rock from side to side. He should look a bit like a tiger lying on a tree branch.

Thankyou all. I suppose I am a bit impatient. He is my second and though my first was a milk monster and seemed to feed all of the time, she reliably went straight to sleep after each time.

I just find the settling of the baby really knackering but you are right of course - 2 weeks old - I can't expect miracles!

Thanks for putting it into perspective.

BTW - any tips on not falling asleep during night feeds! I feed him in bed, no other option really and keep nodding off, which I know isn't great. I do tend to bang my head off the headboard though which works to wake me up!

I used to have a tv in the bedroom last time so used to watch that on really low and the light helped me see without really disturbing my daughter. Unfortunately we don't have that option this time. What do others do? I suppose I could get up and go downstairs but tbh really don't fancy that either.

Er.....whats wrong with falling asleep during night feeds in bed? As long as you obey the rules on safe sleeping, there's no concern about this.

Getting up and feeding in a chair and falling asleep that way is risky, though.

This sounds very like my DS - although for us there is a very clear relation between him pulling faces, going very red, screaming etc, and shortly afterwards doing some almighty farts and very squirty poos. After which he instantly falls asleep/carries on feeding happily.

The rest of the time, any squawks or fussiness are settled v quickly with a big cuddle and him falling asleep on me/DP.

We've found Colief a BIG help. I express a spoonful of milk after feeding and add drops to it. I'm not sure what I'll do about this when I'm out and about (BF-ing is a bit different to squirting milk into a spoon in public, esp with all the attendant spraying), but he's only 2 weeks, so I'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

I feel asleep during night feeds all the time..... I used to feed lying down which helped. Can you get a BF counsellor to show you how to do it?

Although I stopped feeding lying down once I realised I needed to have DS in a more upright position for his reflux - so I used to fall asleep with him on my chest. Probably not safe. He got faster at feeding though so didn't fall asleep whilst actually feeding him (I probably dozed though)

My ds is 3 weeks old and exactly the same, he gets very windy and I find it impossible to burp him, I also BF and despite having him upright against my chest for ages after a feed he very rarely burps.
When hes waking up from a sleep though is when he goes all grunty and squirmy. I find laying him on his back and drawing his legs up always helps him pass the wind.

I always fall asleep during the night feeds and wake up to find ds asleep too so its easy to put him back in his moses basket as hes out of it.

There's nothing wrong with co-sleeping but that's not what I'm doing. My bed just isn't set up for this - currently falling asleep sitting up. This can't be good. I can feed lying down but just isn't the room tbh. Dh is next to me for one thing.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Colief worked wonders for me, though having to express milk is a giant faff. If you go out take a few ounces and just give her it off a spoon with the drops in? Fortunately my baby takes bottles of EBM no trouble so I usually take an ounce or so with the Colief in it and just give her that before I feed her.

If you're worried about safety during night feeds I think you're just going to have to get up, it's not worth the risk otherwise. I have never fed in bed for this very reason.