Strategies for coping with colic

[2labs]

Not sure if 'sleep' is the right topic for this, but it'll do...
ds (4 weeks old on Sunday) is so colicky since last week. He seems to be really suffering. Had advice from doc over the phone who says doesn't sound as if it's anything more serious than severe wind/colic, but it is so hellish. . Whenever he tries to sleep the pain wakes him up again and he now seems exhausted and miserable not just in the evenings when everyone says colic is supposed to be worst, but most of the day and night. I can't remember what he looks like when he's awake and not crying. Have been giving Infacol the last couple of days and hv says give it a bit longer. Been to cranial osteo this morning but can't see any difference (yet).
Dh is being brilliant and doing his share of the winding/rocking/holding, but we are both soooo tired. ds is finally sleeping at the moment upright in a sling but that means I can't nap at the same time. I've started to hear his cries in my head even when he's not actually crying!
I know there's not a lot else we can do (have searched all the colic links on the net!) but wondered if anyone has any tips on coping psychologically/emotionally. Have been out with the pram for walks etc but he tends to scream all the way. Am slightly falling to bits.

Prop up his cot or Moses Basket w/phone books or catalogues - to keep him a bit more upright.

Have you tried swaddling him? That helped DD2.

Have you tried baby massage, too?

My DD was colicky - but luckily it only lasted for an hour or so, round about 6pm in the evening and we laid her across my knees, so her tummy was being a little bit squashed by one thigh and her head was supported by the other thigh - after 30 mins or so of this, I could sneak her into moses basket. Poor you and baby

Hi both my DD & DS had colic. Your DS will grow out of it it is different for each babe DD was about 12 wks and DS about 18wks. DS cried most of 12 hrs while awake -- DD only from about 5 - 9pm. Here are some things that worked:

• carrying them around in a sling
• vaccum cleaner / extracter fan (the white noise helped calm them)
• massaging the tummy ( if you can get into a baby massage class I highly recommend, or get a book) there are some classic moves for colic which work well.
• Going outside in the garden.
• rocking -- DD liked going for walks (DS hated it)
• I would removed them from breast after about 45 min -- feeding from both sides. Or when you hear that they aren't swallowing.
• Infacol works but needs to build up, or other such.
• make sure you wind them, as it can build up and make the crying worse. we found putting some pressure on the tummy helped this.

There is a thread on this going currently Breast/bottle feeding
topic : spacing out feeds
this should be it

Have tried massage once on the basis of a description on a website, but wasn't very successful - he hated it . Will try it again though as maybe I just picked a bad time or was doing it wrong.

Sometimes he'll sleep for a short while on his front on my legs or chest.

He used to like being swaddled when he was ready to sleep, but now just fights it. Will try propping his cot up.

Thanks for all the tips

Hi my baby was exactly like you describe and i slowly fell to bits, remember bursting into tears when i couldn't even cope with making cheese on toast! The people who need more help is you and your dh. Try and get away even for an hour at least once a day. It is the hardest thing in the world to cope with and you have total sympathy from me! I tried cranial osteopathy for dd but didn't make much difference, and tried all the infacol/colief drop things etc. I took dd to an alternative therapist who practises kinesiology and she changed dramatically after two sessions. But I know many are sceptical about that type of thing.
Does your dh cook? If not is there any way you could ask friends/family if they could possibly cook something nice that you could freeze and just stick in oven,? Its incredibly hard to eat well in your situation but ironically you need building up more than ever while recovering from the birth! Take a good multivitamin supplement for stressed/busy people too! If you want to talk more/support you can CAT me too.

poor you, I really sympathise, my son had severe colic and it was such a shock to teh system. I know it doesn't seem like it now but it WILL end. This is a great thread with loads of useful info support for colicky babies

I completely sympathise - my ds2 was very colicky as a baby. Fortunately, I had a lot of support on here (as I'm sure you will too!) and lots of great advice. In the end, I compiled a list of all the things that helped and all the other things that people suggested but we didn't get around to trying, in one large Colic Resources post on my blog which you might find useful.

Hang on in there, it does get easier, I promise.

those look like fantastic links katierocket and georginaA - will have a more thorough read later.

dh will be home soon so he can take over the comforting for a bit. has been a long day but so helpful to know others have the same problems.

We took DS to an osteopath as a last resort, he was 6 weeks old and I didn't know what else to do. DH is a GP and was so sceptical, he still doesn't understand how she cured but I brought home a differnet baby - amazing!

That's where I was too Calinfornifrau - anything

Yep, cranial osteopathy was the turning point for us too. Wasn't a miracle cure, but it meant that the other soothing methods (white noise, rocking, patting etc) actually started to make an impact, whereas before they did sod all...

We have had one session of cranial osteopathy this morning, but no change so far. Have the second one next Friday, so keeping everything crossed.

2labs - don't worry if tomorrow seems worse than previously. In my experience with cranial osteopathy, symptoms were worse for 24hrs after treatment and then got dramatically better (the osteopath fortunately warned me!!). Ds2 had 4 sessions in total. I think 3-4 sessions is fairly normal.

Is it really colic or is dc over tired? Sorry to sound so dismissive, but symptoms can be similar. Do make sure that at the first sign (ie yawn) of tiredness dc is put down and left alone to sleep. Is it pain waking him or is he just unsettled in sleep?? Try colief, but best thing is to give them time and space to sleep alone without being mauled/rocked or fiddled with. Sounds harsh, but overtiredness/over stimulation is so easily done especially at so young an age. Rocking even can overstimulate such a young baby. Also, how/how often are you feeding? I know the fad is for on demand, but do make sure your ds has a chance to digest feeds so as not to make things worse. (2.5 hrs if bf, 3 if bottle fed) Hth

My second (now 5 mths) had what I thought was colic but i now realise it was reflux...she had similiar symptoms to your baby and was in pain most of the day (particularly after feeds). Colic is often associated with evening troubles but reflux can happen any time of day. It is the pits when your baby is in pain and you have my FULL sympathy. I'm not sure if it is reflux but it might be worth considering. A baby can suffer from 'silent' relux which means there isn't the usual amount of 'spit up' after a feed as is often associated with refux. I found holding her upright after feeds for at least 1/2 hr helped a bit (tiring on your arms Of course). Are you bf? I tried cranial too but helped a small amount (if at all). Homeopathy was brilliant though. She still suffers occassionally now but only for about 1 hour a day.
It was a big shock for me too and I'd like to ditto what Cali's just said. My 1st didn't have any probs - until you've had a colicy/refluxy baby I just don't think you can appreciate how difficult it all is. I know those hours seem endless but IT WILL GET BETTER. Get as much help as you can.

Just to echo some of the other posts really. My ds had hideous colic which we suffered for weeks until a friend recommended the local osteopath. Ds had four sessions and it worked wonders for him so do give it a try. Thinking of you, remember only too well the utter exhaustion of walking the floor well into the night.

Are you breastfeeding? My 7 week old gets awful colic if I eat anything with onions in it, or spicy food. Garlic is another common offender, and sometimes its a problem with cows milk, so its all things to try avoiding.
Infacol works for him but did take 5 days or so at the higher dose to work. You can also get something called Colleze or something similar from the chemist which is meant to be great but quite expensive.
Good Luck. I do sympathise as I know how horrible it is to listen to them screaming and not be able to help.

Hello
logged onto this thread out of sympathy for you - since it takes one to know one. DS2 had terrible colic - for months, started first week or so. In the end diagnosed with dairy and soy intolerances - I waas breast feeding and had to cut out milk and soy and he was much better - but v hard to do this when you are feeding and starving all the time. Tried cranial osteopathy which worked for a couple of days at a time - soa bti of relief, but nothign long lasting. In the end dietary advice was best.
I saw an excellent gastric paediatric specialist in the Chichester area - NHS, and a leading light in the field, so I really suggest you look into the dairy thing. CAT me if you want further details. I am aware though it is awful having loads of differnt advice from everyone so also feel free to ignore if you find something else works for you. Huge sympathies - the tiredness is utterly debilitating and really threatens sanity all round. I still haven't really recovered and DS is three and a half!

Thanks everyone - beegee yes I'm bf...

Last night was a lot better - he was v upset earlier in the evening but then just grumpy (not screaming) till about 1am in between feeds. Woke up at 3 and 4.30am for a feed but did go back to sleep again quickly which was brilliant. We had the cot propped up and I think that really helped (thanks expat!). I must admit he usually feeds almost nonstop between about 10pm-1am, always has, then before last week he'd sleep for up to 6 hours. I was wondering about spacing out feeds more as it did occur to me it might make it harder for him to digest, but when it comes to it just I can't do it as it calms him for a bit and he does seem to be actually feeding not just suckling.

rainbowbear - that's interesting... do you or your dh/dp have dairy intolerances? My dh and I don't so I had thought it unlikely ds would have but maybe I should investigate that.