This may sound stupid but do breast fed babies suffer from colic?

[broodymom]

I'm pregnant with my third and will breastfeed (first time) as my last dd was dairy intolerant and i dont want to put another baby through what she went through ( i did not discover she was intolerant for a long time and she suffered lots of complications down to me feeding her formula ! ) I was just wondering do breastfed babies suffer colic?

I do have to say that i did try to BF dd1 for the first 2 days and could not latch her on at all and spent the second day crying about it all day until the mw suggested formula. But i am determined to do it this time.

Yes they can, although colic is another word for miserable baby!! But yes they do need winding and can be unsettled, although the added advantage of breatsfeeding is that you can always offer it, unlike formula which has a recommended pattern and dosage.

Make sure you have a look at a few latching on videos (youtube or one from the midwife) and perhaps even phne Laleche or someone before birth. I always thought my dcs first words would be 'open wide' as that was my mantra for their first few weeks. Take your time and ask for lots of help.

BF babies can suffer from colic, but think I read somewhere that it is less likely than if bottle fed. My friend has just had her second baby and he currently has colic and is fully bf. Her DD was also bf and didn't have colic, so think luck of the draw a bit.

Also, I don't usually go along with excluding coffee, onions, strawberries whatever from diet, but have heard that some women have noticed the difference when they cut out dairy when bf. I'm not an expert tho...

Unfortunately, they can do, yes. Probably not the answer you wanted to hear though.
My LO had colic until he was 12 weeks old and cried every evening between 6pm and midnight. BFing was the only thing that stopped him crying (screaming!).
Mind you, he also had reflux for a lot longer and sometimes I wonder if it was that? The cranial osteopath said the two are so closely related, so it may have just been reflux.
However, breastfed babies are supposed to be less windy, because they swallow less air?

yes - bf and had a very colicky baby

Oh yes, DS was breast fed for the first 6 months and he suffered terribly with colic!

yes

or rather, they can suffer from bouts of inexplicable screaming, who knows what they are trying to say? I remember vividly sitting on the stairs sobbing down the telephone to one bf counsellor after another. We tried everything we could think of , Colief, Infacol, Gripe mixture, homeopathic grains. It got better. eventually!

Yes they can and do.

Mine have both had a bit of colic, but thankfully only lasting for a few weeks early on.

as twlevelegs said though, you can always coimfort them by offering them the breast again, which you can't do with formula.

Well done for giving it a go third time around. I did this with my second after giving up at five weeks with my first and thanks to the information and support on here it was a rip roaring success...eventually ; MN is great for support.

A couple of very useful websites are www.howbreastfeedingworks.com andwww.kellymom.com

Have a look here for some useful info:
www.kellymom.com

also see if you have a breastfeeding cafe near you where you can drop in for advice, or if there are local bf counsellors who can help. I don;t know about dairy intolerance, but do you have to restrict your diet if bfing? Prob worth reading up about.

DS was colicky and was breastfed, but as TL says you can at least feed for comfort if they;re unsettled and grumpy.

yes they can and do suffer from colic. Ds1 reacted badly to amost everything I ate - eg onions, garlic, spices, fizzy drinks, peas, green veg.
For 3 months I lived on cheesey pasta and carrots
But it settled down and I continued to feed him for over a year.
(he has no food intolerances now)

Yes I'm afraid they can... Well mine screamed like a dervish from 6pm til 2am for about 6 weeks which I think is what you call colic!

my bf farts and burps like you wouldnt believe! He is a boy though!

iT's much less likely, but as others have said, they do. I seem to remember it's quoted as 1% of bf babies, and 60% of ff babies.
Can't say that tallies with my experience, though. I've known quite a few bf babies with colic (including mine )

Thanks i will look into some videos, i never thought about what you eat could mabe cause colic i will def do some more homework! I dont know why i never thought bf babies could suffer from colic i guess i just thought it was caused by bottles xx thanks all xx

opps, ment bf baby!

Oh yes they do!! DC1 had awful colic (whatever the hell it is?!!) DC2 had none. Both bf. DC2 had a much better birth than her sister who was yanked out by ventouse. I tend to think she had a bad headache for about 3 months after birth. We tried cranial osteopathy which I think helped her but it cost a lot of money. Slings, warm baths and timeout were good too (time out for you but hard to arrange with newborn to feed). Infacol was useless but seems to be the blanket recommendation from the NHS round here - gets you off the phone to them and makes you feel like you are doing something.

A student midwife told me bf babies don't get colic............. nice to know that the newbies to the profession are better informed

I'm sorry you had a hard time with BF. Try and speak to a breastfeeding counsellor (La Leche, NCT, ABM, Breastfeeding Network) before the baby comes along, maybe go to a group (eg NCT Bumps and Babes is open to non NCT members or La Leche meetings) and definitely keep asking for help after the birth. They don't mind. I spent hours on the phone to various helplines with both kids

Have a look into it but chances are baby won't even have it!

Good luck with the BF. Just remember that it works out so much easier and less effort once the initial feeding frenzy has settled down!

I agree about finding support before you have the baby, otherwise you might be tempted to give up before finding support. Breastfeeding cafes are good, as someone can watch you and help.