Colic/refux: help, i'm going to crack up

[soontobeamum1982]

My DD is 5 weeks old. We've had a terrible start - two stints in hospital for her including a week on special care after birth, an infection in labour for me which has taken a while to get over and then mastitis and ductal thrush - agony! Since about 2.5 weeks shes had colic or reflux or something too. Seen the doctor and they say all but with 11 plus hours of screaming a day i'm becoming v depressed.
At first swaddling, infacol, white noise etc all helped. Now its ramped up a gear nothing works. its hell. im wishing away my mat leave and not enjoying spending time with her tbh.
My DP is as helpful as possible but i'm breastfeeding and he works full time so its me most of the time.
My mum came to stay for a week and kept going on about how hard it is to cope with her (my LO), which somehow made me feel even worse.
i dont want to quit BFing, but i feel like i cant cope with it right now

I hear you, colic/reflux is immensely stressful. We did the same as you, swaddle, infacol etc but it didn't really help. Eventually what helped I believe was letting DD sleep on her tummy instead of her back. I know it goes against current advice & I checked her all the time. Take one day at a time and remember the cliche - it will get better. And if you feel like you are going to crack, stick her in a pram and walk, my DD was a lot happier on the move or put her in a Moses basket, ensure she is safe and go into another room for 10 mins. You will be ok.

Oh you poor thing, I feel for you. What are poos like? Are they stringy, loose or greenish? Any blood specks? Can she lie flat without pain? Does she vomit? We had similar problems (though she could be settled mostly), it turned out she had reflux and cow's milk protein intolerance. Cutting dairy and soy from my diet helped but it took a few weeks. You might want to try this, but make sure you're taking calcium and Vit D supplements and ideally do its with your doctors knowledge. Look online for advice about this, it's very common. If it is that, normal formulas would make things worse, not better. If she does have reflux there are also ways to feed etc that help matters. Please bear in mind it may not be this condition- sometimes colic is from unknown causes which is very frustrating.

For now, try wearing her in a sling, it calms them. It was my lifesaver. Baby massage and skin to skin may help. In the evening, a deep bath with you in a darkened room. When she cries in the day, walk outdoors with her in the sling. If you can afford it, hire some help a few hours a week to either clean etc, or to look after bub in between feeds.

Don't accept being fobbed off by a GP. Find a sympathetic one or ask for a paed referral. If you can afford it, go private if necessary. This is such a hard time already without added difficulties like colic.

Ps - also get the doctor to rule out that she has oral thrush.

Oh and if you have a calm, sympathetic relative or friend, lean on them (if your mum is not helping matters. My MIL was like this. Made me more anxious, not less. Tuned out my aunty was great, even though she has no kids she was practical and calm)

You need to keep her proper up head above stomach to help with acid and wind

Some babies have under developed muscles which normally prevent acid burn and this develops later around 6 months

Use a cushion for nappy changes etc towel under mattress pram lifted

If it's colic colief drops are good! Although I'm not sure how you'd give baby it with breatfeeding x

Have a read of this

babyhintsandtips.com/doctor-tips-colic-bore-your-baby-to-sleep/

thanks everyone... eventually the paed prescribed ranitidine. It's not a magic cure all, but it's made a huge difference and things are much easier now. Only 2-3 hours of screaming heebejeebies each day. She's even started smiling :)

So glad things are improving. I hope she continues to be more settled and that you can enjoy her. You could try to feed her more frequently (slightly smaller feeds more often) and sit her up for half an hour after feeding (if not asleep). The sling definitely helps as it keeps them vertical after feeding and haps reflux symptoms. Also you can raise the cot head. There are lots of resources out there if she does turn out to be a more "intense" baby too. PM me if you're interested.