1 month old- awful colic.... at wits end HELP

[Towanmummies]

DS has horrible colic. breastfeeding fine and doesn't seem to be taking in any air.... but screams and pulls his knees up for ages sometimes. random times day/night but sometimes we can't lie him down at all between feeds so it means one of us is constantly upright. we tried sleeping upright with him in baby carrier but he doesn't always sleep- just wakes up screaming. we are doing "shifts" between feeds at night but it means that we barely see each other. DP has to have more sleep as she is working full time, sometimes i can nap during the day if he decides to sleep but other times not. he's on infacol.... any other suggestions?

Sounds silly but are you burping him fully after feeds?

Have you come across Harvey Karp? He has several techniques for calming babies - I think there are videos on youtube.

A friend of mine went down the cranial osteopathy route and never looked back.

Both my boys had their own peculiar ways of being burped. One of them like to be placed on his tummy on my lap while I patted his back while the other liked his legs moved in a cycling motion . Both liked having their legs brought slowly up to their tummies and back again.

Though, I must admit, until around 13 weeks or so, both my babies just liked to be fed, cuddled and burped. It gets better after that.

think so coca, altho am still a bit cack-handed at holding him upright.
Thanks MUA will look.

people keep asking if he's in a good routine yet- with such variable sleep patterns etc i haven't really attempted it. eg if he feeds at 7am then screams til 10, am i seriously going to wake him at 11 for another feed? i think not- i'll sleep too then feed him when he wakes up!!

Don't worry about a routine, just feed on demand, cuddle him lots and sleep when he sleeps.

I second not bothering with a routine. Routines made me a bit bonkers so I didn't bother with DS2 and it made life so much easier. It DOES get better.

1 month too soon to be stressing about routines imo. Babies cry to communicate so what you might interpret as pain may be just mild discomfort iyswim. Make sure there is nothing in your diet that could be giving him "jip" through your breastmilk.

You mentioned you had a baby carrier, is it a sling? I had a stretchy wrap which worked wonders, seemed to get the baby into a really good position for snoozing and always got wind up.

Have you tried a lovely warm bath for him when he's really upset? Some babies love it, some hate it. Might be worth a try.

I did baby massage and they taught us some great tummy rubs and gently bicycling their legs seems to work too. It might be worth seeing if there is a class near you.

The tiger in a tree hold was invaluable. It got us through the first 12 weeks of DD's life. Tried to do a link but it wasn't working, if you search on YouTube there are demonstrations.

Good luck, it is knackering at this stage but very soon this stage will pass. Enjoy your beautiful boy and remember everything is a phase and this too will pass! :)

glad to hear that about routines... all that gina ford stuff does my head in! have just looked at some massage things on you tube, will try. pharmacist suggested woodwards gripe water as well as infacol, stupid tho as it comes in a glass bottle with no measuring spoon or anything. luckily i accidentally put some small syringes in my pocket before i stopped work. honestly-glass bottle? twats!

I think a lot of colic symptoms is more about the baby being over-stimulated and struggling to adapt to the outside world than digestive issues. Harvey Karp suggests viewing the baby's first 3 months as a fourth trimester of pregnancy, and helping them chill out by replicating the feeling of being in the womb.

So you can try:

1. Swaddling: Tight swaddling recreates the confinement of the womb.
2. Side/Stomach position: Holding the baby on the right side slightly face down.
3. Shushing: Karp uses a loud "ssh" sound similar to the loud white noise that is present in the womb.
4. Swinging (and jiggling): Gentle but constant jiggling (especially of the head) is intended to remind babies of the constant motion they experienced in the womb.
5. Sucking: Karp also recommends the use of pacifiers.

have just got some fab burps out of him tho... so it might work, despite the stupid packaging.

haven't bathed him yet, planning to try tomorrow (esp as today's snow will be ice, so staying in)then maybe he'll be calm enough to watch "strictly" with us?

thanks for all the advice, will go and wake DP and tell her that her shift is starting with a nappy change!

We used to bathe together in those early days.

Stupid packaging and the burps can come up quite violently.

We used Colief as well as Infacol. Seemed to make a difference. Colief is quite different to anything else - it has an enzyme in it which breaks down lactose. The theory behind it is that 'colic' may actually be the result of a baby being temporarily lactose intolerant (because young babies may not produce enough of the enzyme to break down lactose, so they get uncomfortable tummies). Can affect breast and bottle fed babies alike. Google it.

DS1 was the same and it is exhausting.

The Tiger in the Tree hold was our saviour, using a sling helped too.
We hadn't heard of Dr Karp technique then but having now (sorry for the Richard and Judy link!), I think it would have really helped.

I agree with not bothering with routine for such tiny ones, they are so small for such a short time, just go with whatever works that hour / day.

Although it does feel like forever, it will get better very soon.

Good luck

I second colief. only just started using it tonight on my ebf baby and its amazing. she has been farting away all night but no signs of discomfort.

My DS started getting really upset and stiff and curling his legs up at about 5 weeks, we knew he had wind and thought it may be colic but burping in any positions just wouldnt get it up, an old friend of my mums told me a hot water bottle on the tummy might help as it expands the wind and forces it out.

My DH made a heat pack by filling a sock with uncooked rice and microwaving for about 45seconds. We put this under his tummy and after a few minutues he started moaning as if he was uncomfortable and then started burping and farting which went on for about 20minutues! We dont do it often as i dont want him to get lazy when trying to wind him but if he gets realy bad, usually about once a week we get the heat pack out again :) We have used infacol but i would rather not give my DS medication if there is any alternatives

Second the Harvey Karp recommendation, and the baby massage.

We recorded our tumble drier and played it all night for a while when DS was little.

We also had a night nanny for a few nights in desperation. Was expensive, but worth it if you are getting very desperate. When they are so very little they are happy enough to take cuddles from any gentle person. Changes, ime, when they are about 5 or 6 mo.

colief, infacol, gripe water, peppermint tea, dentinox, Aptamil comfort milk, cranio sacral therapy, baby massage, NUK teats/dummies.

I tried absolutly all of it. I found that Aptamil comfort with colief drunk through a NUK teat, followed by lots of burping worked best. massaged his tummy after a bath. rub round the tummy straight down the front right side, up and round the top from the left, then all the way round (I L U: I Love You motion)

Lots of lower back rubbing with comfort blanket and NUK dummy.

Nothing cured it completely, and still happens sometimes (DS is now 7 months)

Sorry :)