Colic/Reflux - HELP!

[Charlieislovely]

So my baby is 4 weeks tomorrow. We have had an absolute nightmare with regards to his food/constipation/wind.

At first thought it was colic as he was crying so much and not bringing up any wind. Then after a few days he would vomit, fart a lot and bring his legs up to his chest 24/7, screaming in pain.

First of all we tried the aptamil anti colic milk with infacol before each feed. This didn't work. We then put him on the anti reflux milk, also with infacol which helped a little, but was then advised by GP to add gaviscon too.

He is now in more pain than before, crying as soon as he wakes and during/after every feed.

Can someone please tell me where we are going wrong? Or advise what has worked for you? Am so tired as I write this.

Oh dear, sorry to hear you're having such a bad time!

My DS1 had bad wind and constipation from the get go so I know how stressful and upsetting it can be to watch your little one clearly distressed!

We had to introduce formula after 3 weeks as my son had a bad time breastfeeding due to a tongue tie which caused him to get a lot of wind due to his latch - have doctors ruled this out checking his mouth? I got told afterwards it can effect bottle fed babies too!

It took my son about 2 weeks to get used to his formula - it was a bad time of crying/constipation but HV told me to carry on as changing his milk too quickly would likely do no good as he would have to get used to that one.

Our son would go two days with a dirty nappy at the beginning of the formula feeding so we got advised to give him cool boiled water in between feeds - only a few mouthfuls at that age though and about an hour before he was due a feed. We did this every couple of days to help and it worked with his constipation. Along side this we did baby massage exercise - cycle legs and pushing his legs (when he wasn't screaming or in pain) up to his tummy and back down again. Again worked wonders.

To help with wind during feeding I make sure to stop after 2oz and try for a burp, annoying but needs must to avoid horrid build up!

Hope some of this helps/works - we thought it would never get better but at 10 weeks I can say it is ALOT better.

Hang in there - it does get better! :) x

*go two days WITHOUT a dirty nappy!! Just read that back, I didn't leave him in one! Lol #babybrain x

That all sounds horribly tough for both of you. Does your GP know you are using anti reflux milk with the gaviscon, as I've never known of two thickeners like that being recommended. It might also be really hard for your baby to suck through the teat, even next size up, so taking in extra air.

Have you looked up the symptoms for CMPA? I assume due to your baby's age you are still seeing your midwife or HV, so please speak to them and ask for a referral if necessary.

Oh I'm sorry, I've been where you are and posted about it a while back. DS is now 16 weeks and we are over the worst of it so first of all hang in there!

If you're bottle feeding have you tried Colief? We used it for the first three months and it definitely helped. We tried infacol and it did nothing, gaviscon gave him terrible constipation so stopped that. We use Dr Brown bottles as well, as they were a godsend with my older son.

We also went to a cranial osteopath. It's not for everyone and I thought it was a bit woo, even after the first session I was a bit baffled by what had actually happened, but when we went back for our second session I had to concede that there had been an improvement. Might be worth a go?

The biggest bit of advice I got was gripe water, again I thought it was a lot of rubbish but it made a difference instantly. I would really recommend it, we used the calpol syringe to administer it though, it's a total mess with a spoon!

Finally, everyone told me it would get better by 12 weeks. It seemed like a lifetime away but it really went by in a flash and by then he was so so much better than he had been. We are now hitting the 4 month sleep regression so that's a bummer, but the colic seems to be in the past.

Good luck and hang in there, you have my utmost sympathy.

We use comfort milk with infacol
However I use normal formula with gaviscon otherwise it's like cement.... did make him sleep for 4 hours though 😂😂

Also get on a baby massage course. Knowing how to massage his tummy has made all the difference! Feed him upright, and hold him upright for at least 30 mins after (I know this is sucky half way through the night)

My boy is 4 months and it's just starting to get better. I know you probably don't want to hear that but it does get easier I promise.

An expensive but brilliant help in a babocush cushion. Helped us so much.

Also wedge in the crib/cot.

Also tummy time with a small cushion on their chest makes them fart and helps get all the wind out.

Hope it gets better for you soon xxx

Also we found the gaviscon made him more sick short term but really helped long term- it's worth sticking it out (3-4 days)

I only give 1 or 2 gaviscon bottles a day, but if he's being really sick I'll rest it for a day as it builds up in their system and it's too much if that makes sense?

My son was the same. I used gripe water, but nothing really made a difference until I put him on baby's magic tea. This is freaking awesome and the only thing that cured my son's colic.

Don't rule out a milk or lactose allergy. A friend's son had this and essentially he was (and still is!) in real pain when he was drinking milk.