Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Sleep

Join our Sleep forum for tips on creating a sleep routine for your baby or toddler. Need more advice on your childs development? Sign up to our Ages and Stages newsletter here.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

Colicky baby - advice please!

35 replies

bexster5 · 03/01/2015 12:51

Now I cannot believe there isn't already a thread about colicky babies but the fact I couldn't find one is, no doubt, testament to how sleep deprived I am feeling! I have a colicky 2 1/2 month old and and 1 1/2 year old toddler who is teething. I am really struggling! So tired! And, as selfish as this is, really struggling with having zero time for me as I'm having no evening.

Any advice welcome!!

In particular, just wondering about getting one of those vibrating bouncy chairs for the baby. Any experience of them working for colicky babies? We have a normal basic bouncy chair which she will be happy in for a bit. But only if she is happy to start with.

Many thanks in advance!

OP posts:

Newfamily2014 · 03/01/2015 13:23

Not sure if this is helpful, but my LO was quite a windy baby and it was actually a touch of silent reflux.
Is you lo formula or breat fed. Mine was breast and then I added in one or two bottles as she got older. One thing that improves her windy tummy was changing her formula to Hipp.
Hope you get some rest. Nothing worse than being sleep deprived. Remember, it will pass :-)

AuditAngel · 03/01/2015 13:51

DS had silent reflux (although we thought it was folic) our life saver was a Fisher Price take along swing. DS found a bouncy chair too flat to help hi,m, but the swing seat was a little more upright which gave DS more relief.

Queazy · 03/01/2015 16:07

My dd had bad silent reflux and she loved her vibrating bouncer. Not sure if it helped her reflux and colic, as she was diagnosed with cows milk protein allergy and think the dietary changes are prob what made her improve. The colic is supposed to improve by 12-14 weeks so sounds like you're nearly there too. I'd definitely recommend the vibrating chair as a brilliant distraction technique - I used to use it in the evenings particularly. It must be really hard with a toddler too, and I don't think you sound selfish at all to be missing your evenings. I found the colic/reflux/generally unwell baby a really tough time. Really hope it improves very soon xx

Original poster

bexster5 · 03/01/2015 21:05

Thanks everyone!

Newfamily2014 - she's breastfed. How did you find out your lo had silent reflux?

I wanted to get something to try this afternoon so I found a vibrating chair that has both a recline position and a sitting position so hopefully that might help for what AuditAngel found.

I tried the chair this evening and things did seem a bit better. Less of the mega screaming! She's now onto the lonnnnnng feed that she usually goes for but we got there a lot more easily and as Queazy said the chair did seem to help distract.

Queazy - I hope you're right about improvement around 12-14 weeks. She'll be 12 weeks on Tuesday so hopefully things will improve soon!

OP posts:

LindsayS79 · 04/01/2015 07:39

Do you have her in a bedtime routine?
I remember those days well.. I just held my dd and paced about, distracting her etc. I got her in an established bedtime routine at about 9 weeks and that helped. Every night was consistent.
I think she was about 13 weeks when it was like an overnight improvement! I also brought bedtime forward to 7pm and that helped

Purplerunner · 04/01/2015 07:44

Yes, we did a lot of pacing about too! Improved virtually overnight at 13 weeks and DS went on to be a brilliant sleeper. Unlike his sister who didn't have colic!

Original poster

bexster5 · 04/01/2015 08:01

Mmmmm no. We don't have a proper routine. At all. We did with the first one. But he wasn't colicky. So I can't imagine how to get this one into a routine until that settles. Maybe I'm being naive or lazy?

At the minute we try anything we can to calm her down. For most of this time it feels as if nothing is working. When she is finally calm enough to feed I feed her in my bed. Usually for up to two hours! Then she falls asleep. And I transfer her to her moses basket. Not ideal.

Last night was better in that she was generally a bit calmer - maybe the vibrating bouncy chair helped? But I had to do lots of bouncy - walking whilst feeding to get her calm enough to feed properly and go to sleep.

I've been trying to get her to feed and put her to bed earlier but without success so far.

I really hope what lots of you have experienced re improvements around 3 months happen for us and happen soon. I read somewhere about colic going on until 6 months! No!!!!!

OP posts:

nottheOP · 04/01/2015 08:09

If you can settle before the grumpiness kicks in you might avoid the colicky evenings.

We used to do a bath at 6 pm every evening from 9/10 weeks or so, just to establish the routine. Then pjs, Gro bag, milk, book and then bed settling with shush pat.

Infacol helped too.

Original poster

bexster5 · 04/01/2015 08:25

Thank you all for this advice! We are going to try with setting up a routine tonight. Fingers crossed!!!!!

OP posts:

LindsayS79 · 04/01/2015 10:56

I've seen colic granules in Boots, have you tried them? They weren't available when DD was that young so I'm not sure if they work. If I remember rightly we used to also use colysynth (not sure if I've spelled that right). It didn't do much for us but I've heard mums swear by it!
Those first 12 weeks were a nightmare so I feel your pain!

20onto50 · 04/01/2015 10:59

look up COLIC CALM!! its amazing! my baby had severe reflux and colic. within a week of using colic calm it went!! its all natural will not cause any harm, baby will love the taste, alittle pricey but worth it!! rather that than horid medication that doesnt work!

Newfamily2014 · 04/01/2015 15:43

Hello, I was told that my dd had colic but I always doubted that (mums intuition). She had a windy tummy for a long time, waking up in the night because of it. She would also cough about 5mins or so after feeling and this was the reflux. People often say that it can't be reflux if the baby doesn't posset but with silent reflux thy don't have to posset and my lo never did. She had a tiny dose of gaviscon which helped her but to be honest I think what really changed things was her gut maturing.. Feels like waiting forever though! And prob not what you want to hear.
Is your lo happy laying flat?

Original poster

bexster5 · 04/01/2015 16:52

She does sick up quite often but I suppose that's normal. In her moses basket we do actually have her at an angle with a pillow making a wedge from head to toe. But she can be very happy flat, for instance when she falls asleep in my bed. She often chokes a bit, just out of the blue which is quite scary and I think she's trying to deal with sick up when that happens. Does that sound like reflux?

I suppose the answer to all of this is going to be time... but hopefully some of the ideas from everyone will help. Thank you to everyone for your advice.

OP posts:

Newfamily2014 · 04/01/2015 21:10

Have you spoken with your GP?

Original poster

bexster5 · 05/01/2015 08:25

They just said oh it's colic. It'll get better in time...

OP posts:

dollydaydream27 · 05/01/2015 08:32

Have you tried a sling ? I spend a lot of time still carrying 5 1/2 month old and find my sling invaluable . I started off with a moby wrap it's good once you get the hang of it but there are other carriers out there . It just means that baby is in an upright position close to you and can help to get wind up ,and also for the comfort plus you can carry on with other things too! I bought my moby second hand on eBay . Hope this helps x

Newfamily2014 · 05/01/2015 11:16

Definitely agree with dolly baby carrying is great. I got into a bit later down the line so my little one was too big for a close carrier (think that's the same as a moby) and I now use a connecta which my lo loves. There are sling libraries you can get info from and try out different slings/carriers before u think of buying one. The carrier advisor told me that it's great for colic as like dolly says the baby is upright and all snuggled next to you (and/or daddy).
Can you list te symptoms you lo has? X

Original poster

bexster5 · 05/01/2015 12:21

I got hold of a manduca so that I can carry the littlest one around whilst running after the toddler. (We also have a baby bjorn that kills my back). Once I have walked around a bit and she has settled down then she usually falls asleep in the carrier. I do worry that I use it too much in the day though!

As for symptoms, the first thing I thought with her was that she was an extremely windy baby. She seemed to cry almost every feed, really arch her whole body and sick up quite a bit. She would often throw up mid feed. We'd spend ages trying to wind her. With varying success. The gp said to wind her mid feed but this just seemed to upset her.

The extreme windiness has improved. Definitely. Now I stop and think about it! But she does still suffer from wind a bit and I do still struggle to get any wind up. What seems to have taken its place, from the age of about 2 or 3 weeks is the evening screaming. From about 5pm onwards she becomes very difficult to feed or settle. And so the screaming starts. We would walk around trying all sorts of things to attempt to calm her down. Nothing really seemed to work. She would just eventually get to the point where she would accept a feed from me, whilst laid down, and then drop off to sleep. This feed usually ends up taking a couple of hours which is a bit of a killer!

We tried gripe water on recommendation of hv but it seemed to make her worse! Cue the worst screaming ever!!

Interestingly and fortunately she has been better the last couple of nights! (Fingers crossed I don't now jinx it). When she has started to get really fractious I've popped her into her new chair with vibrate on and she has calmed down.

I also started a bedtime routine with her. She loves a bath anyway so this worked nicely and she fed happily afterwards. I couldn't get her to go to sleep though. After three attempts I brought her back downstairs and popped her in her chair whilst I cooked and ate dinner. She did then start to get really upset again and screaming as usual. But after a little spot of being walked about whilst I got ready for bed myself she did accept a feed and eventually go to sleep. Which is much better than usual!

Sorry I've slightly wittered on there. Symptom wise she is windy, sicky and screamy! But the suggestions on here do seem to be improving things a bit.

OP posts:

Newfamily2014 · 07/01/2015 12:58

Hello, the symptoms, to me actually sound like reflux. Did you tell the GP the symptoms as you have written here? Or did you focus on the wind? Wind can be a symptom of relux too. What is very suggestive of it, is the arching of her back during a feed and being sick. People hear windy baby and just think colic but I would go back and read the symptoms as ou have listed. But of course, this is only my opinion. If you do discuss with your GP, you could try and small dose of gaviscon. But this comes with side effects, notably constipation in some cases. We gave my dd a very small dose of gaviscon and that helped her and now her gut has had time to mature.
One thought, and I tentatively mention worried that I will be shot down (!!) what are your thoughts on a dummy? There is some evidence that the sucking action eases the discomfort of colic and reflux (your little one feeding for very long period of times might be them comfort feeding which is also associated with reflux. It can be a vicious cycle and they want to feed as the suck is comforting but then they are feeding and that triggers the symptoms). My lo now only has the dummy at nap times and bed times. She sucks to fall asleep, then the dummy falls out. We found it helped her when she had her silent reflux symptoms. Just a thought!

Pengyquin · 07/01/2015 13:00

Sorry, can't think of any suggestions. My baby had this, whilst I had a 18 month old to look after (who was also teething) so I went through exactly the same.

Hate to say the whole time was/is a blur and I have no idea how I've come through the other side - although, on the plus side, it will end

Awful awful awful, you have my sympathies.

Original poster

bexster5 · 07/01/2015 19:33

Thanks for sympathy Pengyquin!

Now that is interesting Newfamily2014... I thought I had mentioned all those symptoms to the gp but I can't honestly remember! I think I went saying she has trouble with wind, these are her symptoms and they said it's colic. From what you've said though it sounds like it would be worth going back to them. I will try to get an appointment. Haha / hollow laugh.

I have never wanted to use a dummy but maybe it's worth a try? Really I'm up for trying anything now! My worries with a dummy though are how do you stop them using a dummy in the future? and what if their dummy falls out in the night? They won't be able to find it like they would their thumb. Ah - you're saying your lo just sucks to fall asleep. And she doesn't wake up for it later?

OP posts:

Newfamily2014 · 07/01/2015 21:04

You're right, starting with a dummy could add in a new dimension of trouble...my lo does only use it to drop off to sleep and it will then fall out. Now she's 10 months old she can find it again herself and I know this because I have heard a little grumble from her and then heard her sucking so I know she's found it and gone back to sleep. Like I said, she only uses it to go to sleep so I don't mind her having it (plus according to the Lullaby Trust it reduces the risk of SIDS). Probably best to chat to the GP incase it is reflux then if treated you might avoid using it. You say that you prop her cot at the head end which is supposed to help.

nottheOP · 07/01/2015 21:22

When you want to ditch a dummy just throw them away. Much easier than battling thumb sucking!

TwigletFiend · 08/01/2015 04:56

Sorry to jack your thread, OP, but I am in the same boat as you. Can I ask at what age people's babies started to improve?! Hanging onto sanity by my fingernails currently!

icklekid · 08/01/2015 05:59

My ds colic stopped around 11-12 weeks. It was horrendous though and no chance of getting a routine until we were through the worst of it. A sling made a big difference as did gripe water. I remember dh and I taking turns to eat with kitchen door closed and radio on to drown out screaming! Having a friend to take ds round to when he would start before dh got home really helped. You will get through it, and really appreciate your evenings together afterwards! !!

Flip

1 2