most effictive treatments for colic??

[Tangas]

My DD 4wks, and old has colic. what are the most effictive treatments. and the best positions for feeding and burping? any advice would be great as i'm soo tired of pacing back and forth heplessly

I wouldnt recommend using any products - i tried infacol with DS1 but made him worse over time! You have to give it before every feed as it has an accumalitve effect and I think they become dependent on it.

DS2 (5wks) is fully BF and is a really colicky baby - dont know when colic becomes reflux but i dont think he is as bad as that.

you have probably tried many of the same thigs as i have so dont mean to be patronising, but these are some of the things that i do.

when winding him, sitting him up on my knee to pat him seems to work best and laying him on his back and gently pushing his legs up helps get out trapped wind.

He likes being on his tummy, so during the day I tend to put him on his tummy to sleep when unsettled and when the night times have been really bad, i have also put him on his tummy until settled & then turned him back over.

I also carry him on his tummy, across my arm, head by my elbow if that makes sense, hand under his tummy/crutch

Straight after a feed I keep him upriht for atleast 15 mins either on my shoulder/chest or sit him in his chair/prop up with pillows

he also gets quite violent hiccups and a dummy seems to help (if you are bf make sure ybf is well established as it may cause problems with latching on)

on the positive side, they do eventually grow of it.

Tangas - Is it definitely colic? Does it follow the rule of three (which is a rough way of checking) - crying lasting about three hours a day at least three times a week for three weeks (although your daughter is obviously not old enough to really check that last one). The only reason that I ask is that I thought my DD had colic, but it turned out she was just a screamy tiny baby with a lot of wind. By 6 weeks or so things were a lot better - rather than having to wait until the three months which is likely with true colic. Just thought I'd add that in case it helped your mental state!

We found Infacol really good, so everyone's experience is different there. I also drank fennel tea, which also seemed to help. We stopped both around 7-8 weeks (I think).

In terms of burping, we found that DD needed quite a firm, fast pat to bring wind up. Very, very gentle or slow pats did nothing. She also liked being sat on my lap rather than over my shoulder. You hold them under the chin with one hand and pat with the other.

Are you breast or bottle feeding? If you are breast feeding, a slightly more upright feeding position can help. I also had issues with oversupply at the start, and it was suggested by a breast feeding counsellor to express a tiny amount before the start of the first feeds of the day (when your breast are most engorged) so that the milk didn't come quite so fast - limiting gulping and therefore air intake. This only applies if you have oversupply/fast let down though.

Both my ds's had it bad. Both were formula fed. I used infacol with ds1 and found it didn't make much of a difference. I tried dentinox colic drops with ds2 and seemed to help with bringing wind up Was easier too because you can add it to the milk so less fussing.
I agree with feeding in an upright position if possible, keep baby upright for a while after each feed. At tough times, try laying her on her front across your lap so there is a gentle pressure on her tummy from your thighs (works being held against chest too), lay her on her back and move her legs in a cycling motion to relieve stomach aches, hold baby down your arm, with each of her legs on either side of your elbow and her chin supported by your hand and gently sway her from side to side. She is facing the floor and this apparently reminds them of being in the womb it seemed to help ds2. Rubbing the lower back in circular motions is more effective at bringing up wind than patting the upper back.
There isn't a cure, it's just one of those awful things that will pass on it's own. It will pass.

I have such sympathy for you. DD was a very sad colicky baby, until she finally grew out of it at around 4 months

I would echo what TamTam said about winding positions, the tiger in a tree worked wonders for us. Although we did use infacol as well. You have to remember that infacol has a cumulative effect so you won't see if it is working until after a few days. It's expensive so get it on prescription from your doctor. Not all GPs know they can prescribe it, but they can - I went in and asked for it specifically.

Just remember that it will pass. In the deep dark nights while you are pacing and rocking, and sharing a few tears with your DD and probably your DP as well, it can seem like it will never end, but it will and you will have a happy baby one day. I can say this, from experience, while my LO is snoring away upstairs... that day will come when you suddenly realise you didn't have to spend all evening on your feet, and somehow she has dropped off to sleep.

Good luck and lots of hugs to you.

And congratulations on your lovely baby!

both my DDs were windy/colicky - spent so much time pacing around. like pookamoo, mine were suddenly much better at 4 months.

I know they're contentious, but I really found an electric swing chair a lifesaver with DD1 (DD2 hated it).

i bf with some formula top ups and found me drinking fennel tea and camomile tea helped. no tea, coffee or alcohol at all for me helped, limit dairy for you or cut out if you can.

colief didn't help
infacol helped a bit. gripe water was better for bringing up wind but bit difficult to get into them.

using a sling helped me get on with my day!

try putting them down to sleep earlier in the evening than you think, looking back i wonder if mine were overtired in the evening and then couldn't settle at all.

remember, it will pass. take care, it's hard.

have you tried gripe water or dentinox drops?

are you breast of formula feeding?

I would second a sling to - great for getting things done indoors.

And definately think letting LO get too tired can make things worse - or any situation where they "work themselves up" before a feed. If I am busy with DS1 (doing dinner or what-have-ya and have to leave DS2 for a bit when he is wanting feeding he is generally a lot worse.

Also i had completly forgotten that when DS1 was realy bad in the day, my neighbour would pop round & take him out for a walk for me so i could have a break - do you have anyone that could do that for you???

Our second son suffered colic terribly from about a week old, screaming every evening from around 6/7pm until midnight. He would act hungry but as soon as the milk hit his tummy he would arch his back and scream, pushing the bottle out of his mouth. He would also wake every 2-3 hours at night and be quite difficult to feed.
We tried all the brands of milk (Aptamil, SMA, cow and gate, HIPP) various types of teat and bottle (including NUK and Tommee tippee) and infacol, gripe water, boots gripe mixture, dentinox colic drops and colief. All with no real effect.
Finally, after about 14 weeks, I tried SMA lactose free milk and to our immense relief, the colic stopped almost was immediately! Hardly any screaming and in the space of 4 days he went from waking every 2 hours at night to sleeping 10 hours solid (although the 10 hours of sleep was something of a one off, but 6 to 8 hours a time at night became the norm). I am so grateful we tried it and wish we had tried it sooner, I may now have a few less grey hairs and wrinkles! It is available straight off the shelf in boots and most Asda stores. Aptamil also do a lactose free version.
Boots gripe mixture, which is an antacid, also helps after a bottle, better than the other colic remedies. Colief helped too, but was expensive and basically reduces the lactose content in milk before the baby drinks it, so is the same principal as lactose free milk.
We weaned him back onto regular SMA at 6 months with no problems.
By the way, they recommend you consult your health visitor before making any changes to your baby’s feeding schedule.