Colic! How effective are the following, sugar water, cranial osteopath....

[moosh]

Have 2 week old formula fed ds. We think that he is beginning to develop colic. Showing all the same signs as ds1 who had it for about 2 months but not as bad as some babies. He would get it for about 1-2 hours 3or 4 times a week. Second time round and it is heartbreaking to watch even though at the moment it has only lasted an hour at the most. He is not overfed and is having boiled water at intervals throughout the day. I am begining to gently massage the colon area if discomfort arises, (am qualified in massage so know what I am doing), but how effective can sugar water? be and how much sugar to water? Also what happens if I visit a cranial osteopath? how effective are both methods any imput would be much appreciated thanks.

I used a cranial osteopath for my DD -was very impressed by how'gentle' it was and how seemingly effective - best £25 I ever spent!

ooh get an apppointment - if it works its great (ds2) if it doesnt it doenst matter (ds3)

FInbar a re you at your Mums?

I used cranial osteopathy with ds1 and I found it very effective. As Coddy says, the worst that can happen is that it doesn't work. Of course it's not a very cheap experiment. You could ask around other mums in your area for recommendations.

When I took my son the guy basically kind of massaged his head, he was incredibly gentle. He asked loads of questions to start with about the birth etc. I remember my thinking that there was no way my son would lie still without crying but he did. He slept really well afterwards too. I would try it sooner rather than later.

HTH

Does anyone know how much sugar to put in a bottle of 4oz boiled water? And when to give it, is it throughout the day or when the colic kicks in?
I think that I will definately try cranial osteopathy to see if it helps at all but in the mean time I will try sugar water once I know of the amounts. Thanks.

Have you tried any different types of formula maybe the one he has doesn't agree with him? I know my SILs ds cried for 5 months until she eventually changed her formula.

Try putting baby into a baby carrier and going for a walk - seems silly but it really worked with DD - seems to dislodge the air and makes them comfortable again!!

my DD had really bad colic, I tried a cranial osteopath for weeks, mine must be the only child to scream her way through the appts.!!!!

I'm very willing to believe in alternative therapies, but unfortunately it didn't work for us (I went for stuff too).

What did work was her wind up Graco swing, couldn't have lived without it.... A couple of desperate nights she even slept in it or her carseat!!!

My friend tried CO for her DD and she was cured very fast, she couldn't put her down for weeks until she had the appt. Her DD had reflux though, which does tend to start as early as 2 weeks. Actually thinking about it I thought colic started later than 2 weeks, more like 4 or 5 isn't it.
Maybe an idea to see GP to rule out reflux, just to bee sure.

Moosh - my friend tried cranial osteopathy when her ds was 7 weeks as he just didn't seem to settle. After a couple of sessions she said she saw a complete turnaround in her ds and swears by it. Her ds went from wanting to be constantly held and crying all the time, to happily lying under his gym for 1 hr ! She says when she has no2, she'll start treatment immediately after the birth. I believe that if you do go for CO - its best to go to one that is recommended.

My DS had colic and found the best thing was "Colief" (not sure the spelling is correct)Boots sell it, approc £10.00 per very small bottle) It breaks down the Lactose in the milk and makes it easier to digest. It's not very easy to use if you are B/feeding, but works well with bottles.

Makes me shudder at the memory of ds screaming for 2 hours EVERY night for 3 months

for us:
colief/infacol - didn't do anything
baby 'swing' - didn't work - in fact made it worse
car journey - at least got him to sleep
sugar water - didn't try but sounds a bit odd to me and not sure is good to give newborns sugar?(however would have tried anything it it'd work!)
cranial osteopath - went about 5 times from when he was 3 weeks - not a miracle cure by any means but definitely helped. have a look here for info
cranial society

Thanks guys. He got it last night, it lasted about an hour and at one point he cried in so much pain that I thought he was going to pass out. It really broke my heart and in the end I just rocked him to sleep. He was sick afterwards this time too, but it was really flemmy and I think it just got stuck on his chest from all the screaming and crying. I wanted to try a different formula at the moment he is on SMA Gold and am not sure whether I can just change it or do I have to go to my GP. He can be a little bit sicky, but I don't think it is as severe as reflux. I have also just gone out and bought Dr Browns anti colic bottles, they may or may not work but am willing to try anything.
Metrobaby, Lady P told me about your friend visiting a CO because my little one likes to be held alot which is quite difficult when you have another child to look after. He cries a fair bit and I think he is really unsettled with the outside world. Can you give Lady P the details of the CO for me to contact. Cheers.

Sorry to hear about this - poor little man. My daughter had colic really badly and unfortunately it didn't end at 4 months as I had expected but went on until well into 6 months.
Gripe water - did nothing
Infacol helped a bit, meaning it was better than nothing but she was still distressed just less so. In the end, I just bought a "Slingeasy" sling, and just carried her round the house in that continually, for hour after hour in the evening, until she fell asleep. She seemed to find it comfortable, both being in a slightly curled position and being warmed next to me all the time. I was worried she would end up with a curved spine, but she's as straight as an arrow now (proud mum).

Hope you find something that works for you.

No probs Moosh - will email LadyP now with my friends phone no (who LadyP also knows). I think the CO she used is based in Epsom

I used a combination of infacol to help bring up the wind, colief to help digest the milk and reduce the constipation, Dr Browns bottles to reduce the amount of air drunk and Cow and Gate Omneo Comfort milk to help reduce the air drunk and lactose in the milk i also had three sessions with an co as ventouse birth. dont know which one worked or if combination of all but he is now a very happy baby aged two months.

Moosh,

Mine suffered from colic (but not as badly as some poor souls I think) and we have him on Infacol. It starts to kick in after about 10 - 14 days of using one dropper full before every feed. As it works for us I daren't take him off it just yet.

Also, half a teaspoon of sugar (i.e. a flat one) to 4 oz of water. Sugar actually releases the body's natural pain killers....that's why it usually works. Feed in the night (probably less likely to fuss I guess). Good Luck

However, sounds like this cranial lark works a treat. Wish I'd known about that.

Huge sympathy moosh. DS had it so badly for 5/6hours every night for 16 weeks and I tried everything, cranial osteopath, aromatherapy, massage, sugar water and nothing worked. DD then had it but only for about 3 hours every night, which felt like a walk in the park by comparison. My top tip would be to get your partner to stick your dd in a baby carrier and take her for a walk for an hour. I found that by far the best (and cheapest solution).
IF you want to go for sugar water, I used to put a level teaspoon into 4 fl oz of previously boiled warm water.

Thanks everyone, he had it again last night and he has just flaked out after suffering an afternoon of trapped wind. Looking back on 4 yr old ds the colic didn't seem to go on for very long, but when you are going through it with your new baby it seems never ending. I could hear it in his stomach. Now I will definately try sugar water now i know how much sugar to water, he drinks water anyway so I am sure he will take to it if it is a little sweeter. Still thinking of changing his milk if anyone has any thoughts on that I am doing a thread on the "food" heading.

Sorry on the "breast and bottle feeding" topic.

I think Colief has been studied and found to be effective if the baby has problems digesting lactose. I didn't know about it with ds. Cranial osteopathy didn't do anything for him, but he liked the sessions (!). Sugar is a painkiller for babies. All that crying is horrible, isn't it? Not convinced that is agony though. I think my ds made himself over-tired as well.

I used cranial oseopathy for ds1, who suffered terribly with colic every evening - it definately seemed to work with him and I wouldn't hesitate in giving it a try.

Our osteopath gives the first session for free, where they look to see if there are any problems. I think this is a widespread practice, so give it a go!

ok i am totally sympathetic to you having a 13 month baby (my second) who has had terrible colic!
good for winding is chamomilla drops - worth a go.
I spoke to a specialist who said a lot of colic is an indication of dairy intolerance - so the first thing to do is give baby a bit of yakult (tiny bit - and run this past a doctor first just to be sure) as this can digest/ breakdown some of the difficult bits in the milk - sorry not very scientific language here. I was told to have yakult myself since I was breastfeeding - but he also said it was fine to give a little to my baby (who was six weeks by then) Next thing (if this doesn't work) is to try him on a dairy free formula - will need a prescription for this. Soy formulas often are fine - but a percentage of children who have problem with cows milk also are intolerant to the protein in soy.I think this is right - but as I say I am no medic myself.
I tried cranial osteopathy too - gave him two or three days or relief at a time - but no lasting improvement. It has only been finally sorting his diet out that has taken away the colic - and it took me about seven months - I never quite believed in the intolerance/ allergy thing and kept trying to think it was something else.
This is just my experience - but I did surf lots of websites and got completely desperate about it all and did tonnes of research. It is so heart wrenching to watch your babe scream in agony for hours - we took him to casualty a couple of times I was so worried about him.
good luck - i hope you have a good health visitor and doctors etc - i was very lucky to find my paediatrician (sp?) so sympathetic since he had had two children with colic too

Have a 6 week old baby with colic. Poor boy getting himself in a terrible state. Cries the whole time he is awake and is starting to lose his voice. Have bought colief today but would like to know if it is ok to use gripe water along side? Doctor wasnt sure when I asked.