How do you cope with colicky baby?

[Samsean]

Hi

My baby had been colicky since birth and now at almost 4 months I'm just so so knackered! I thought things would settle by 3 months and they haven't. She's had tongue for removed and is on reflux medication too, but still is miserable. Please tell me it's just a phase and soon she will settle, because my tears have really started pouring now, it's just so so exhausting!

I couldn't read and run, you poor thing!

I only had a few weeks of colic with my DC1 but was on my knees, it is exhausting and emotionally draining.

Do you have support from a partner? Can you get out of the house just for half an hour to sleep in the car or go and get a coffee in peace? Can you work in shifts?

Do you have a sympathetic mum or friend who might be willing to give you an hour off until it passes?

It will pass. I promise.

Hi ds3 had colic. I tried the infacol but didnt seem to help him much. Then my health visitor suggested baby massage. Apparently it can help with wind and their digestive system aswell as loads of other benefits.

It really seemed to work for my DS and he settled easier at night. I give him a bath, massage then he'd fall asleep with a bottle and I wouldn't hear from him again untill about 6am.

P.S. if you suspect you might have PND then PLEASE get some help.

I tried everything for weeks & weeks.

The only thing that worked for my DD was Colief £11 a bottle for 7mls (lasts about 8 days)

You add 3 drops on a spoon with breast or formula.

Also, gripe water was good for us. My ds had colic until about this when it started to improve so there is hope

*About this age

I pretty much wrote your post just over 2 years ago. I was at the end of my tether and nothing seemed to work. Now pregnant with DS2 and very scared about maybe having to do it again!

I think colief helped a bit even though we tried just about everything. We also had 2 sessions of cranial osteopathy around the time it got better - I'll never know if it was that or simply time that fixed it but I'd try it sooner if I was in the same position again.

I wish I could share a magic cure with you but it really did just get better in the end. I think it was 4.5 months when I noticed an improvement. DS is now a delightful little boy, very chilled and pleasant. The colic is just like a bad dream looking back at it.

I know this is 100% of your experience so far but in the future it will only be a small part of the story. I don't know if that helps - I kept telling myself the same thing but it still felt like it would never end.

Thanks everyone. I have tried cranial osteopathy but that didn't help. I've tried gripe water too. Currently trying BioGaia drops and need to start coliccalm too. I think I might try colief too based on your suggestions.

PND is a tricky one - I love my baby so much but I'm just so so so exhausted to fully enjoy her like I would hope, but we do have a few lovely moments in the day too. I don't have any family or friends around (new town) so it's all a bit tricky.

Hmm. I don't have great suggestions as I realise every baby is different. My baby has reflux. I also don't want to say that everything is going well for us in case this is a temporary nice blip......but......a paediatrician quietly told me on the sly to try cutting out wheat and dairy from my diet. It took about a week and then there was a miracle! She does still throw up loads, but at the moment (please, fingers crossed!) it seems to be only throwing up. There is no more of the pain and crying. We have a happy baby.

It is also having this amazing weight-loss effect on me, as an interesting by-product. There is no greater threat to make you stick to a diet than the thought of having your baby screaming in pain for hours if your binge on cake and chocolate.

Otherwise, my only other suggestion is to remind you about the sub-titles button. We watch most of our tv that way.

Glup, thanks. I tried dairy free for two weeks but didn't work at all, I'm currently on a citrus free diet.

I've tried the sling and taking her on car rides, but both don't work now either. Massage doesn't work either. The reflux medication doesn't seem to be making much difference either.

My mother in law kept harking on about gripe water which I thought was utter nonsense but I gave in and it worked a dream. I gave it with an oral syringe and my DD would produce a loud burp which relieved her discomfort immediately. Steering clear of dairy and orange juice worked though I see that's been less successful for you. With my second I tried cranial osteopathy and he is a very easy baby, but no idea what part the treatment played in that. Perhaps he was born that way.

I feel your pain as DD (now 21 weeks) was colicky from weeks 5-14 weeks. I have no magic bullet, but we found that the Tiger in the tree hold helped relax her and bring up some wind and gave us a shrt respite from the crying.

Get as much help as you can on the evening and nap when your baby naps in the day. Does your DP help on the eve/night? Make sure he's doing a shift too, to help preserve your sanity and sleep. You must look after yourself too.

You could try a stretchy sling like a moby wrap or close carrier and wear her during the day and for naps - this helped our LO and fave me quiet time with her to appreciate baby snuggles.

It sounds like you're a wonderful mummy who just ants the vest got her babe. Talk to your go or HV as they may have other suggestions. And could you get along to a mums group - it can help to have other mums to have a moan with as lots will for going through it too.

R
And remember the motto 'this too shall pass'.

It does pass eventually. Ds had severe colic until around 20 weeks and was on colief drops on prescription from the gp. I also gave him gripe water, winded him regularly during a feed and kept him upright for at least 30 mins after a feed cuddled to me. Baby massage helped a bit too on his tummy. It was so exhausting though and he would start crying at 3pm until 11pm every day. Just rest when you can and be reassured that it doesn't last for ever.

Just had to reply as DD2 is going thro the same thing. She is nearly 4 months and I have tried everything but she just cried and cried most days. What I have noticed was that she cant get herself to sleep without me rocking her or having her in the buggy or car so I have boight a new swing that swings from side to side and back to front as I felt maybe she wasn't getting enought good quality sleep and was crying from exhaustion (bit like myself really). Day 3 of the new swing today and I think she is better. There have been times when she was crying same as usual and few minutes in the swing shes gone off to sleep. Still have to work out evening and night routine to get her to bed but least for now I can bask in the glory of a quiet house and DD1 can get some attention. They are all so different with different underlying reasons for crying - have you noticed any pattern to the crying (I tried the swing after noticing that she was settled in the morning and getting crabby as the day went on). Best of luck - least you are not alone.

Thank you so much everyone!

I'm off to the pharmacy to get colief, at this point I would pay anything to get her settled.

Furry, looks like I've bought the sand swing as you! She is also much more settled in the morning and gets worse as the evening comes. Her problem is sleep - she fights fights sleep and then gets overtired. As soon as 1.15 hours after awake time hits, I start settling her to sleep, but in the evening she fights that. The swing hasn't really worked for us, but having said, just now I put her in and eventually she fell asleep, but that's because it is the morning! In the evening she really fights it but I'm going to keep trying. Do you let your LO sleep in there or take her out?

DD2 is the same Samsean she has the most dysfunctional relationship with sleep ever, she needs bloody loads of it as she is growing so fast (currently in 6-9 month baby grows and not even 4 months, she takes after DH and is v long for her age). Up to now I had to get her to sleep and keep her there either by rocking or walking / driving, now the swing gets her off and keeps her there its such a relief (hence am on MN!). I let her sleep in it as I figure she needs her sleep. Still working it out though as I think I let her sleep too late in the evening last few days and then she was perky and awake at 9pm. I despaired of DD1 as she had silent reflux and cried for days on end until 3 months and then it lifted but in all that time we had some sort of routine as she used fall asleep on her bottle every night at 7pm and slept thro or had one waking - looking back now she was brilliant compared to DD2 who is never in bed before 9pm and rarely stays in her cot for the whole night. Am on mat leave and if this continues after I return to work it will be exhausting.

DD screamed every evening for about 10 months for hours and hours. I have no idea how I survived it. It took us that long to have her cow's milk allergy diagnosed, after that she was a different baby and must have been in agony all that time

furry, mentioning so you may feel a little better, my LO doesn't sleep until 11pm and is up at 7am!

I'm giving biogaia probiotic drops a try, to see if that helps and I suppose it can't do any harm. Hopefully it will help and colief too. Feel like I'm just placing loads of medicines in her, but I really want her to feel better and be happy!

Did anyone find that boots griping water helped? I'm giving it once a day but not sure if I should give it more often?

Jimjam, that's awful, poor you and your LO! How was it finally diagnosed?

Furry, as our babies seem to be the same age (my dd is 16 weeks), may I ask how long she naps for during the day?

I think we tend to get 30 min in the morning, 30 min early afternoon, and if I sleep with her then maybe 2 hours or so late afternoon, and then bed at 11pm! I know that's awfully late but she just keeps fighting sleep until then and I've given up on trying too early - as it just stresses us out.

almost by accident - when she eventually erupted into bleeding sores, terrible eczema. I have researched it since and a cow's milk intolerance or allergy is thought to be a common cause of true colic - it is the most common food allergy in humans and particularly common if you have any non white heritage at all (it's common in white people too though).

If you are EBF it is worth cutting any dairy out of your diet and seeing if it makes a difference - if bottle feeding the doctor can prescribe a non dairy formula

Jimjam, thanks, I did eliminate dairy for two weeks but didn't see a difference in her.

Samsean if you see your gp you should be able to get colief on prescription which will save you a fortune. We gave gripe water 3 or 4 times a day, in addition to the colief drops. Keeping them upright seemed to really help too. good luck!

Hi Sam, DD sleeps for hours, I've just woken her after nearly 3 hours of sleeping very soundly. With DD1 I found that sleep begets sleep so well rested during the day meant a good nights sleep. Babies like teenagers need loads of sleep to grow so I can see why DD2 was so bad tempered as she was getting what your DD is getting now. This may not work for us but will let you know, least I can feel all your pain cause ours sound like twins

Wow furry, how do you get your dd to sleep for 3 hours? Do you leave the swing on?