4 week old colic baby

[IC28]

My 4 week old baby boy has had colic the last 2 weeks. We have tried dentinox, various massage techniques, carrying him around in a sling and taking regular breaks to burp during bottle feeds. At least twice a day he has 2 bad waves of colic lasting up to 4 hours. My husband is great and we share the care equally when he is off. The issue is he works 5-6 days a week and so due to coronavirus and social distancing I am alone with our baby most days and finding this colic phase exhausting. I have been tearful, tired and feeling I am not doing a good job. It's so difficult seeing him crying and looking as though he is in a lot of pain. I feel helpless and the only thing that seems to help is time as eventually it passes and he falls asleep. Does anyone have any advice on anything that has helped their colicky baby?

What time does it happen? Evenings are a well known ‘witching hour’ (or in dd’s case 4-5 hours!!) where they fuss and cry and nothing seems to help.

Honestly when they’re this little everything changes so quickly, he’ll probably settle in a week or two.

How is he fed? Plenty of wet and dirty nappies?

Thanks for your reply! Glad I'm not the only one thats found almost nothing helps. Seems to happen around 10pm and then again around 7am. Throughout the day is generally okay at the moment touch wood! Yes plenty of wet and dirty nappies. Formula fed with aptamil sensavia. Hoping it settles soon

Yes it's very common and you have my total sympathy.

How much formula is he having? Is he draining his bottles? Are you using any-colic bottles too?

Have you tried a different brand from Aptamil? It doesn't seem to suit many babies since the recent change. Both of my DN seemed ok on Hipp Organic, might be with giving that one a try?

Oh brilliant thanks for the advice. As he is our first baby we are learning as we go along so will look into trying a different formula thank you! He tends to have around 90-120ml a feed around 6-7 times a day. Although last week he had more which we were told by health visitor was likely due to growth spurt. We do have anti colic bottles. He gets very enthusiastic and almost greedy when feeding so we have to consciously try and slow him down and take lots of breaks to burp him!

So how much formula do you think he's having in 24 hours and how much does he weigh?

Is he finishing his bottle?

No new advice that you haven't already been offered but just here to offer the reassurance that it does end, it will get better and you're doing a great job.

Please speak to your GP he may have bad reflux causing him pain, see if they will prescribe you something like baby Gaviscon which you can add to his bottle. Other than that try giving him a bath with warm water (maybe don’t use any products just yet as the skin will be too sensitive) and a really long baby massage to help relax him with coconut oil. Sorry you’re going through this and just know that it does get better eventually

We found that infacol made a huge difference with DD when she was tiny

I think he's having around 700ml in 24hours. He doesn't often finish his bottle - maybe leaves around 10-20ml. Occasionally he does demolish the whole lot though! Im not sure his exact weight this week as HV isnt doing house visits at the moment due to social distancing. At his 2 week weigh in he had gained weight. HV calling tomorrow so will ask about weighing.

Thank you to everyone who has replied. Some great advice and reassurance. I will speak to GP regarding possible reflux and thanks to 'someoneelseentirleynow' for the infacol suggestion!

If he's finishing his bottles some of the time, you need to up the amount in them. They should never be allowed to drain the bottle at this age

Great thanks will do!

Have you tried some infant probiotics? There is some evidence that they can be of help in easing the symptoms of colic in babies.

I also found those ‘bucket bath’ baby baths good for my babies when they were colicky

How much sleep does he get in 24 hours? I think a lot of the time colic is down to overtiredness/overstimulation.

Oh no haven't tried infant probiotics. Just ordering a bucket baby bath thanks -will try anything!

He tends to get around 15 hours sleep.

Oh my gosh I was so grateful to read through your post, I am a new mum with a 3 week old baby going through exactly the same thing! I wondered what the hell I was doing wrong but everyone tells me this is quite normal (baby crying uncontrollably, throwing his hands and feet around, arching back in pain). Last night was my worst with him he pretty much cried since 23:30 - 06:00 and has just worn himself out now! I have cried this morning as I've not slept all night and this has been going on for a few days now 😩! I rang our midwife at 04:00am who gave some advice but we had tried it all (massages, warm baths, etc). My baby burps well during feeds and has lots of wet nappies but not so many poos...
We are also on Aptamil milk which we did try the colic and constipation one for a day or two but was then advised to stick on the one we have and just ride the storm... which is easier said than done when your baby has been screaming for 4 hours 😢😞!!!

I hope you and I can get through this phase quickly (if it is just that) it's horrible and heartbreaking! X

@JemHumps10 & OP I've read colief is great. Good luck!

Aw you sound like you’ve had such a rough time of it. I had a day like that this week - 7 hours intermittent crying and would only sleep for 20 mins at a time. Was exhausting for both of us so I completely sympathise. We have since had more luck with infacol in the last few days and bicycle
leg movements. I hope things get better for you. It’s the worst when you’re right in the middle of it. I ended up in tears in the other day a few hours in too so you’re definitely not alone. Time will pass and the colic will stop. If it didn’t no one would have more children!

Has it stopped for you now? I've read on here that it can last months so that has freaked me right out 🤣! We were doing infacol but it wasn't helping so we've stopped but might give it another go... he's flat out now but think that's where he's worn himself out so much being up all night screaming! So sad I feel like someone's taken away our happy baby 😔 and he's only 3 weeks old! He's having 4 ounces every 3 hours, what does you baby have?

Colief is the work of the gods or so I believed with my first baby... Every night without fail from 7 till 11 we used to walk the house with him screaming. We literally tried everything and as a last resort the GP prescribed Colief to try and it was brilliant.

It's a tiny bottle and only lasts a few days but might be worth getting some (supermarkets etc sell it) to try..

Also changing milk worked with my second DS so could be worth a try.

I have changed to MAM bottles this time too which has helped and I find a bath or two a day soothes my DS.

I'm on MAM bottles but will try Colief, I'll try anything that will help it's so horrible to see! Does it have any side effects?

Definitely not stopped sadly but now doesn’t seem to be quite as often as it was. Although the last 4 days he has had it quite bad but the infacol has helped since we got it I think! I think his colic is easing slightly. Happens most days but not quite as long as it used to be. Although as I said the other day was a nightmare! Especially hard when can’t have any family over to help due to covid! I’ve been on the phone to my mum in tears multiple times asking for advice when husbands at work. On the plus side baby did smile for the first time this week which melted my heart and makes everything so worth it. Your happy baby is still
In there too!
Oh great thanks - he has his 6 week check with GP next week so will ask about colief too thanks.

I found that holding him face down ( nappy in crease of elbow, head in hand) helped other than that you literally have to wait for it to pass I tried everything going but nothing worked even took him to dr hoping for a secret cure but even he said his children had it and he just had to wait for it to pass, I'm sure you are doing a great job don't doubt yourself just stay positive and patient because it will pass trust me