Sleep consultant - colicky baby

[notsleepingbeauty]

Hello, I'm considering a sleep consultant. Will they be able to help even if my baby has colic?

I don’t think they’d be able to help during the colic period but during the rest of the day they maybe able to, how old is your baby? My DD had colic from 4pm to 9pm until she was 13 weeks old.

How old is your baby? They have short sleep cycles initially and do not have the neurological development to sleep for loner spells. Waking frequently is a protective survival factor. Those early days are tough. Have a look at the fourth trimester info on line which explains things really well. This article is very helpful too. Save your money if your baby is very little!

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

Are you sure baby doesn’t have silent reflux? It can really affect sleep and their ability to settle as it’s uncomfortable to lie down.

Thank you everyone for responding!
Mine is actually 13 weeks so I am hoping this passes soon. It tends to be from 6ish to 11pm at its worst, but she does have her moments at other times during the day if not being carried everywhere.

We did think it could be silent reflux, but when she's in the most pain she does tend to be farting/burping a lot which is why we thought it was more wind than reflux... we used Gaviscon for a while and it didn't make much difference.

Even if they can't help during the colicky time, even being able to put her down for naps (as opposed to always needing to be on me or in the sling) would be massively helpful.

I read about the 4th trimester which is why I've been ok with her sleeping on me a lot, I just worry perhaps we've got into bad habits....

I would say ask GP to try ranitidine but it’s not had the best press lately!

Hope it passes soon and don’t stress about bad habits :)

Don't worry about bad habits, do whatever you need to survive! We used a consultant for DD as since birth she had awful issues with colic, allergies and reflux, and when she became a toddler it hit rock bottom with behaviour and sleep. But it was about £250 and wiped out my little savings pot, did really help however if it's colic no amount of money or consultants will be able to do much! My first had silent reflux and was awful, it was colic type symptoms, but we had to just wait for it to pass.

Mine also has reflux too, she had vomiting which was controlled by gaviscon but it wasn’t able to control it all so she was put on ranitidine but she has been move to lanzaprosol instead, what are her symptoms? As you are having to use a sling all day most babies with reflux need to be kept upright as it hurts too much for them when laid down.

I'd hold off until the colic has passed. She's still very little. My DS2 is a similar age and he only sleeps on me. You're not the only one! It'll pass

She is very rarely is sick and is so windy, we have put it down to wind/stomach ache... however... she was arching her back a lot last night and we gave her some Gaviscon.. she settled right down and fell asleep in the sitting position with my DH gently bouncing on the exercise ball, he then transferred her into the next to me crib and slept for 3 hours, which isn't bad for her. We've now decided to continue with the Gavisxon as she did seem much more relaxed (it was also 11pm so it may just have been exhaustion!)

It's so difficult isn't it! I really wish they could just tell us what's wrong! Would it be bad to give her Gaviscon if we don't 100% know it's reflux? I went to the docs with her about 6 weeks ago saying I thought she had silent reflux, but they said they just thought it was normal baby witching hour behavior..

Maybe go back to the Gp and see what they say?
Tbh it could just be normal baby stuff or it could be more. It's hard to say from what you've put.
Hope you can get some reassurance from the GP!
I'd defo hold off sleep training until you're clear on what is going on.

The colic should pass anytime now, I’d try her on gaviscon for 3 to 4 days as that’s how long it can take to fully work if there is now change I’d take her to the doctors incase it is reflux and she needs something else for it.

Thanks for the advice! Tbh I find it hard to know 100% what's wrong, there's a lot of painful sounding crying and arching of the back. She does seem to have painful wind (and lots of it) but I can't rule out reflux and someone even suggested a milk intolerance...
🤷🏼‍♀️ the GP seemed to think it was just her "being a baby". But surely she shouldn't seem to be in pain? This is my first baby and I worry I'm buggering it up a bit!

You are not buggering it up at all, it’s all guess work at this stage when they can’t talk and the questions you are asking are the right ones for the symptoms. Have you tried infacol for her wind? It can be taken with gaviscon as ours was on it.

I've been up since 3, I feel I'm going mad

Im almost certain it's trapped wind, but I just can't get it out. I've also given Gaviacon in case it's reflux.

She's 13 weeks. Everyone said it would all be better from 12, but it's worse. I'm used to my days and evenings being dominated by crying, but now nighttime's too. I don't know what to do.

Do you give gaviscon in her feeds? Also does she have infacol? To help with the wind? My daughter was really constipated and had terrible trapped wind, how’s her bowel movements?

@Babs5693 yes we use infacol before feeds, gripe water a couple of times a day and Gaviscon morning, eve and night (I don't think we can use it for every feed as there is a 6 in 24 hour dosage limit).

She used to not be regular at all and would have a dirty happy once a week on average, now she tends to go every 3 days. I did once go to the GP about her lack of bowel movements and she seemed uncomfortable, and they said it's normal for a predominantly BF baby to not go very often..

Our daughter was similar, she was on special care and they rolled us to use made up formula for a couple of feeds, which we did, we now give her 1 made up feed a day and she poo’s every day which has really helped, I’d give that a try but I would take her to your GP incase she is lactose intolerant as I think the signs can be similar to reflux. Also from what I’ve read on here reflux and lactose intolerance can go hand in hand.