Gripe water for distracting

[WeShouldOpenABar]

Ds is 6 weeks ebf and cluster feeding a lot at the moment. I feel like I'm constantly attached to him or trying desperately to stop him crying.

One guaranteed way to calm him down is some gripe water in his dummy but its starting to worry me that its doing him no good.

The bit he gets on the dummy is way below the dose allowed on the bottle but I'm worried I'm giving him a sweet tooth or encouraging a reliance I'll regret later. Am I being silly, he is my pfb and a part of me thinks just do whatever it takes to get us through.

DD was EXACTLY the same at 6 weeks. Either feeding or crying. The only time she calmed down a bit was to give her some gripe water. I remember the 4 weeks until she was old enough for it feeling like 4 months.

Honestly don't worry it's just a phase, and even if they do grow up with a taste for gripe water (they won't) does it really matter?

It calms him down because it's something different and interesting. Perhaps he is also a bit colicky? Have you tried infacol before feeds and really really good burping afterwards?

He is a bit colicky and liked the infacol, again I think because it was sweet.
But the dentanox which works way better for his wind causes a huge tantrum and affects his latch as he refuses to swallow and it stays in his mouth.

I think I'll switch back to the infacol just to avoid the fight.

It's not really the taste for gripe water specifically that worries me more the dependence on something sweet to make him feel better, feel like I'm already falling and will be bribing him with sweets as soon as he's weaned

DD had loads of infacol and gripe water and doesn't have a particularly sweet tooth now she is weaning.

Don't forget breast milk is also ultra sweet so he will be getting a taste for 'sweetness' any way.

Hopefully the fact that he is used to having something other than milk in his mouth will also help when he has his 8 weeks jabs and the rotavirus vaccine (it's an oral one) and needs calpol afterwards.

If the gripe water is giving him (and you) some relief then I would continue with it. He will get out of this crying/feeding phase very soon, even though it feels like forever at the moment and you will forget it was ever an issue.

Thanks pastabest, really appreciate the advice, it might help me hang on to my sanity