Colic coping strategies

[SalBySea]

is the already a colic thread? if so please link!

anyway, so far we're trying chiropractic, infacol (he did not tolerate dentinox) a dummy, white noise (but that's tricky at night when you live in a flat!!), and expressing to make sure supply isnt low in the evening. Any other tricks?

I am not yet giving in and trying food elimination. Was very anemic after the birth so reluctant to cut out broccoli etc, and am not a fan of soya so dont wanna cut out dairy as no dairy PLUS no soya is not particularly practical, and I need chocolate and tea to get me through this , then theres spices and garlic and fruit and wheat, god what's left? a diet of nothing but meat?

plus how do you cope when you're on your own and you cant hand them over when you've had enough? My DH goes back to work next week and I am worried about coping alone if the baby has a bad colicey day

if it's colic, (at least 3 hours of crying at least 3 times a week, usually in the late afternoon or evening) it'll end by about 3 months. Just focus on the fact that there will be an end.

But you say you've had colicky days, so it makes me think it isn't colic, but something else?

I said bad colicey days

every day since he was 13 days old he's cried for at least 3 hours, but there has been a few days where it was a LOT more - thats what I mean by bad colicey days, he has it every day but some days are worse than others

how old is he?

and when does he sleep in the day/evening?

Much sympathy Sal, mine was like this and it is tough, tough going.

What about a wrap sling? Mine would resist for a while but eventually drifted off in it. Had to keep moving on bad nights but DP and I would take turns to walk the streets with him.

Have you read about the Tiger in the Tree hold - I don't know much about it but I read about it in a Baby Massage book as its meant to ease colic. Maybe someone else knows more. Hope it gets better soon!

he's nearly 3 weeks so a LONG way to go till it is supposed to stop

fairmaiden, what kinda sling do you have? we baby-bjorn him sometimes but that only chills him out if we do lots of noisey housework - not an option later in the evening!

white noise works a dream but again not an option as the evening goes on

He's usually settled by 3am and sleeps really well for the rest of the night and settles well in the morning (which is when I sleep too)

the colic can start as early as 4pm but is usually closer to 6

tiger in a tree is the one thing that doesnt seem to do anything for him

the dummy does seem to help a bit and since starting chiropractic and infacol its less constant, and white noise is amazing! like baby hypnosis!

thing is, newborns cry loads - is he your first?

does he pull up his legs etc?

can you just sit on the sofa and cluster feed all evening? or does he cry rather than feed?

yes dinny he has classic true-colic symptoms. My DH is a Chiropractor so he's used to distinguising true colic from other crying in his baby-patients as is our baby's chiropractor (as DH not supposed to treat family)

so we are pretty sure it is true colic, he's pretty text-book!

my sypmathies. My dc3 had colic - had she been my first she'd have been an only

I think the only way to deal with it is to have a lot of support and get out of the house as much as you can during the crying. Not because it helps the colic, but it'll help you, and the crying seems slightly less loud outside. Looking after yourself is the most important thing here.

I used a KariMe, but something like a Moby would be equally good. Baby Bjorn won't have the same effect - less comfy for baby and doesn't give them the nice snug hold that seems to provide the comfort. Also probably uncomfortable for you to wear for long periods whereas the wrap is incredibly comfy. When it was really bad we had to rock side-to-side in front of the cooker hood with the kitchen lights out, so still not exactly a cure but it made life more bearable and me a bit less resentful.

I can hand on heart say that the wrap was the best thing we had for him, it meant DP could take a turn and I could have a break and it meant I could move around and know he would settle. Save my sanity. And we still carry DS now, albeit on our backs!

Have you asked your HV about baby massage techniques? Some of these are great for shifting farts.

And do use Mumsnet - it got me through a long miserable haul with DS and I honestly think it probably stopped me losing it completely.