Is It COLIC? Or not? Please,please,advice required.

[Sherbit]

My ds is 6 weeks old and he has appeared to be colicy since 2/3 weeks old. I have tried Infacol, changed his bottle type and now using Gripe Water but he just seems to be getting worse. When I did think he was better! He screams,as if in agony, is now only taking half his feed but seems to be wanting more. When I offer more he cries and shoves the teat out. Today he has been sick and it is like a waterfall,coming out of nostrils and mouth. He has also never liked lying on his back and again cries as if in agony. Most of the time we have to hold him until he sleeps, before putting him down, which is obviously not the best thing to do. I am so upset about this and do not know what to do next. The Health Visitor says it is just colic (no big deal, should pass soon enough!) but is it? My first ds had Reflux and he was not as problamatic as this.

Please help, as I really do not know what else to do. Advice from you all, is far better that from any Health Visitor!

Sherbit x

It's hard to say without actually seeing DS but he sounds to be poorly of he's being sick so violently. Go yo GP in morning to reassure yourself and get him checked out.

Definitely one for the GP. I found Infacol useless, largely due to the fact that I was so tired I could never remember to give it before each feed. Things improved though with the gripe water, which you say hasn't happened for you. I also went through a number of different type bottles until I found one that suited dd. Hope the GP is able to help

It may be a worse case of reflux - because it sounds a lot like my ds2 when he was little, and he was on anti-reflux meds until he was 2. Your HV sounds rather unhelpful, because 'colic' is just an umbrella term to describe babies that cry a lot, not an explanation of why they are crying. I imagine if you have had a first baby with reflux you are already trying things like feeding little and often, feeding in upright positions, holding him upright for quite a while after a feed... I also found that ds2 hated the car seat or the buggy but was much better in a (well designed) sling.

For other ideas I have always found the La Leche League helpline very useful:
0845 120 2918
The call goes through to people's homes so you may have to call a few times to get a number that doesn't just go through to an answerphone, but it's worth sticking with it.

The www.pollywogbaby.com site is great for things you can do for babies with reflux, particularly breastfed babies. And i found the BreastfeedingReflux Yahoo!Group very useful when I was going through it all with ds2.

I also found Infacol and Gripe Water totally useless. Ds had colic until he was around 12 weeks old and it was hell. He used to scream from 4pm til 10pm and then would settle. I remember crying my eyes out and dreading having to go through all this again with another child.

When I had dd, I used the Dr Brown's bottles and whether it was that or not but dd was much more settled.

I would take your ds to your gp just to get checked for your peace of mind.

My HV were useless at the time and reassured me that most children grow out of colic by three months but at the time, that felt like forever.

Hope things improve soon

p.s. also what is his poo like? because if it is quite green that might point to a food intolerance.

and massage can help to a certain extent

Ok well I might be no use whatsoever, but this is what I did.

Ds1 was like this. Cried a lot, etc etc and seemed in pain. Tried everything and he grew out of it in the end but it was no fun.

Ds2, I took no prisoners. Every time I fed him, if he stalled at all or seemed to lose grip, I'd sit him up on my shoulder and pat him firmly on the back till he burped - you have to be quite forceful, not violent of course but a good hard regular pat.

He has hardly ever been sick and cried hardly at all in those first 6 months.

It was a huge difference and I believe much to do with winding very conscientiously - even if he fell asleep feeding i would always rest him upright after till a burp happened. That way he could be laid down without trapped air in his tum.

HTH xx

'Most of the time we have to hold him until he sleeps, before putting him down, which is obviously not the best thing to do'

IMO If it works, it IS the best thing to do!

I found dentinox worked on my DS's colic when both infacol and gripe water seemed to do nothing at all. It could be put straight into his milk (FF) too.

I hope things improve soon for you - the colic weeks seemed like an eternity at the time, but they did pass eventually.

I would take yours to the GP though for a bit of reassurance (is there a GP at your practice that has a background in paed medicine? Ours does, so I always try and get her for DS).

Oh, we did baby massage too and there were some 'anti-colic' moves which seemed to help.

Honestly, hV's advice, a really strong, firm patting on the back will usually sort them out before it gets as far as the intestines.

None of your 'tap, tap', the baby will not break - this is what I was told!

Obviously use your common sense!!!

My DD2 wa always very unsettled after a feed although not screaming.

I watched a programme with the Baby Whisperer,and she put the baby in the cot with like a wedge pillow behind him with a velcro nappy bit to keep him there.

Anyway it made me realise that having a couple of books under the legs of the Moses Basket wasn't enough,so I put a cushion under her mattress so she was almost sitting up.Seemed to help alot,as did the massage on her tummy in a clockwise rotation.

Might seem ages away,but by 12 weeks most babies are more settled IME.

Thanks everyone! Dh just changing ds as he has just had projectile vomit! He was fed 2oz, winded, then had another 1 oz, roughly(he is only 6lb 13oz).Mummypig, we are doing everything we did before. Gaviscon worked wonders before, maybe that is the answer but will have to go to doc. What is the La Leche League?

sherbit, sorry about the breastfed baby advice, was confusing you with another message recently . But the pollywogbaby link is still very very useful, not just for breastfed babes. Wedges recommended for feeding and sleeping there, just as Sawyer64 mentions. And I agree with StarlightMcEggsie (). If holding him until he goes to sleep is what works, it is a good thing. I had to change many of my strongly-held beliefs about parenting after ds2 came along.

You could also think about seeing a medical herbalist. Ds3 was windy rather than really refluxy (he didn't behave in the same way as ds2) but still had some problems. Infacol and gripe water didn't help but 'colic drops' from the herbalist really did. They contained dill, spearmint and other stuff which I can't remember but they really seemed to relax his digestive system.

I have seen Detinox also,and worth a try. As is every other bit of advice. We already have the cotbed raised and do try massage. Thanks for advice. We really are at end of our tether. I have been crying for days!

Cross posts. La leche league is a breastfeeding support group so might not be much help if you're exclusively bottlefeeding. Pollywogbaby still very useful.

Gaviscon helps some refluxing babies, but if it's severe then they have to go on stronger medication. Ds2 was on ranitidine (to reduce the acid in the stomach) and domperidone (to help the milk pass through the system faster). The ranitidine stopped working when his body got used to it, so he then went on to omeprazole (a different way of reducing acid in the stomach).

When we first suspected it was reflux our HV was rather unhelpful, just told me to start giving ds2 solids. It took lots of visits to the GP to persuade them that it really was serious - I had to go about five times before they referred us to a dietitian and paediatrician. One time ds2 had even thrown up loads in the waiting room and the GP still told me he seemed to be doing fine . But the medications really worked. So if the other measures don't help, then I would definitely advise being a pushy mum. Also they pay attention to things like how much the baby will take each feed and how fast they are growing so if you have evidence like that it helps your case.

Will shut up and hang out my laundry now but thinking of you, as I know what it's like to have to fight to feed your baby.

i think you need to see gp tomorrow and mention projectile vomit have him weighed etc.

could well be bad reflux from what you describe but they need to see him if it really is projectile vomit (ie hitting wall opposite etc)

need to see him anyway - and trial reflux meds probably but bit more urgent if projectile vomit

good luck!

Mummypig,you have been very helpful. I am not breastfeedig,could still go on other website.

Sounds like it was very serious for you and it is always useful to be armed with more information when dealing with HV's and Doc's, as we always do know best! Some people in the medical profession really makes me mad, but thats another story! Good for you for persevering. So thanks for that advice. I hate to be a paranoid mum but you have just made up my mind that I need to speak to more than HV and not settle for any of their 'just colic crap!'

DS was preterm as was first and reflux is more common in preterm babes so maybe it is not 'just colic'. Symptoms slightly different this time though.

Go hang out your laundry and be happy to know you have helped one sad soul tonight! haha. x

Glad our story could be of some help. Hope things were better today.

Hello.If any of you are still watching this thread, then please help with this ongoing problem, which I have started on a new thread, as the plot thickens!
Your advice is very much appreciated.

Sorry,meant to say I have posted new thread under Childrens Health.