DS screaming in pain after and during feeds - colic? what do I do?

[Stefka]

He does it mainly at night and usually after a feed but tonight he came of my breast screaming in pain half way through a feed. He's 11 weeks old. He draws his knees up and farts a lot which made me think it could be colic but I am not sure. Could it be something else?

We try to put him to bed at seven after a feed and then he starts with the screaming, by the time he seems better he needs to eat again and the whole things starts again. It can take 5/6 hours to get him to go to sleep and he gets exhausted as do I.

Any suggestions as to what this is or what I can do to help him?

Sounds very familiar! My daughter suffered like that too. Was prescribed Colief drops and they really helped. A bit of a chore as you have to express some milk, add the drops and give to baby on a spoon before every feed, but well worth the effort if it buys you some precious sleep!

Did you go to the Dr about it? Or just talk to the health visitor? I am not sure what I am meant to do.

stefka i think it might be growth spurt. it is just the right time and being unsatisfied is absolutely classic behaviour. try feeding more often for a few days (nights).

Health visitor recommended it so I bought some but it's £10 so asked the doctor and got a repeat prescription. Used it for about 3 months. Well worth a try. Hope it helps. Infacol drops quite good too and much cheaper but Colief is much more effective.

It's not that he seems unsatisfied - he seems like he is in pain. Like he has tummy cramps.

yes, sounds very familiar, i was absolutely convinced ds had reflux (it is in family) but it was just needing more milk. i had supply problems which i believe you don't? not saying that you shouldn't consider another cause, but do try more feeds as well.

oh i am such a broken record here, but have you rung a bfc?

Try infacol before a feed (as a preventative), and gripe water afterwards if he cries (as a treatment)

Have you tried various ways of winding him? Like laying him across your knee and rubbing his back, having him over your shoulder, or sitting him on your lap holding his jaw and patting/rubbing his back or (really gently) his stomach. A tip I read recently on MN was to sit him on your knee and rotate him round like a weeble. Also try bicycling his legs, or walking up and down the stairs with him on your shoulder.

If it is colic, white noise can help. Try putting him in his pushchair in front of the washer/tumbledrier, or tune out the radio so it's staticy. I've even heard of a woman who used to wrap a vibrator in a clean pillowcase and put it against baby's back as the vibrations seemed to soothe them and make them cry less. A little odd, but hey, if it helps...

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stefka i have reread yoru op and think it would be good if you just settle down on sofa with ds feeding for the evening, put him to bed when he drops off, don't worry about 7pm bedtime for a while.

Maybe I am not winding him for long enough. We only just started with the seven bed time thing because he was up with me on the sofa all evening and he didn't really sleep much and I think he was getting very overtired so we have been trying to put him down earlier. It worked the first two nights but not now. So maybe it is a growth spurt. God it's so hard - I wish they came up with error messages like photocopiers do to tell you exactly what is wrong with them.

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How can you tell if all the wind is out? Sometimes I think it is only for a really big burp to arrive half an hour later. Sometimes he feeds and passes out and I put him down and he is fine. Other time he feeds and passes out then wakes an hour later crying. So when he sleeps at the breast I am never sure what to do for the best. Once he fell asleep feeding and slept for 8 hours!

Stefka,

have you tried different winding positions? For my farty first baby I needed to lie her over my knee with my knee pressing on her tummy and rub her back really hard.

Falling asleep on the breast - I would wait til he is sound asleep and then break his latch if he hasn't dropped off, lower him very slowly into a crib, warmed by a hot water bottle and pray!. My friend had to lean over with her nipple still attached and then release afer a few minutes!!! Oh the things we do for some sleep.

DD2 would just fall asleep and be put into her cot quite roughly without waking - I remember my friend being amazed by this and telling me about her slow nipple withdrawal technique which was still in operation at 12 months.

Last night was much better. I made a real effort to ensure he was winded properly and he was much happier

That's good to hear Stefka. Hope you enjoyed some sleep.

I can identify with the thorough night winding. My DS, 6 wks old, is a v windy baby. Had a terrible night a couple of nights ago with him waking every half an hour and I think it was down to wind as he'd fall asleep whilst winding on my shoulder and so I just put him down eager to get back to bed. Last night, I spent much longer winding him which means less time for sleep before next feed but it did mean an unbroken couple of hours sleep.

Also second the comments about Infacol - we use it every feed. We tried the Colief drops but not so effective so I think you just have to experiment a bit.

The last two nights he went down no bother at all. Tonight it's back to the screaming. He gets a sore tummy every time he feeds

It's awful isn't it but you know it won't last forever. Sometimes people report that cutting down dairy in their diet helps.

I am not saying he is dairy intolerant BTW, it's just another thing to try for a few days and see if it helps eh?

Have you found a good winding position then, apart from last night?

He cried for 4 hours after which he did a massive poo so I guess that was the problem!