Do EBF babies get colic?

[FoodieMum3]

I'm expecting DC3 in about 10 weeks and planning to exclusively breastfeed for the first few months this time (fingers crossed).

I combined fed DC 1&2 from early on and both had horrendous colic; inconsolable pain and crying from 3-12+ weeks for several hours each evening.
I always blamed the formula, would you agree or disagree?

I'm planning to EBF anyway, not just because of the colic but for health and personal reasons but it would be such a bonus if it meant we would escape colic this time.
I can't bear the thought of it for this baby, or for the rest of us. It truly was one of the hardest points in our life.

BTW I tried everything there was to try; drops, doctors, exercises, different bottles & formulas etc but no luck.

Thanks I'm advance.

I would imagine that colic may be reduced in the bf baby as bm is easier to digest than formula. But sadly it's not a solution that's going to prevent it entirely. I know mums who have ebf but whose babies have suffered with colic.

Anecdotally I think it's less likely but certainly not ruled out (sorry!). There are various suggested causes for colic and we still don't fully understand the aetiology of it, having said that I think breastfed babies usually take in less air when feeding so are less likely to suffer from any colic causing effects that may have.

Thank you tonicandgin.

I'd prefer to know that and be somewhat prepared.

It seems they don't really have any idea what causes it. Nobody I know in real life has been through it, not even in either of our families.

Crossed posts ThePieSmuggler.

I know air is one possibility. I think it's so strange though, I could have set my watch by it. 7pm on the button the crying/pain would start. It really is horrendous.

Both my nieces had colic and they were EBF.

Lots of babies are fussy in the evenings, but with breastfed babies it is easier to just go with cluster feeding without worrying about over feeding. Between 3 and 12 weeks neither of mine really cried in the evenings, because I just sat on the sofa and breastfed them constantly, switching from side to side. I think if you can just mentally accept that that is what you need to do to get through it, and forget about bedtimes until after that cluster feeding period has passed, it is a lot easier.

Colic isn't a diagnosis or even a "thing" as such, it's just a description of behaviour - prolonged/excessive crying - so not necessarily something only formula fed babies get. Though with breastfed babies there may be fewer things that can cause crying - less digestive issues, can be comforted on the breast etc.

This link might be useful kellymom.com/parenting/parenting-faq/fussy-evening/

My daughter was ebf and had horrible colic I'm sorry to say.

Much like your experience, every evening she started crying and we couldn't put her down or lie her flat. So for three hours every night we'd be pacing up and down holding her, poor poppet.

Thanks for link fiedermaus, I'll read it now.

My DS is EBF and between weeks 3-6 he had horrendous colic. He would scream for 7-8 hours and it was heart breaking. nothing we did stopped the screaming and it was unbearable. We tried Infacol and Gripe Water but neither of them really made any difference. I remember when my HV came to see me and I just broke down due to the exhaustion - I couldn't stop crying. She advised that I give DS a dummy as soon as the screaming starts and although I was reluctant to at first it was an absolute life saver!!!

DD was DBF for the first month and had hideous colic from 10 days old.

Have a look at The Happiest Baby On The Block clip on YouTube - Harvey Karp shows how to settle a crying baby on Richard and Judy. Staggering! Wish I'd known about Karp's technique when my (EBF) baby had colic.

I bought the book but this clip pretty much tells you what you need to do.

Yes, DD was BF and had awful colic and reflux. DS is mostly formula fed and is perfectly fine - normal levels of crying (thank you thank you baby boy!)