Colicky babies support

Laur51615

This is a thread for anyone that has a colicky baby or even just for the ladies that are having a rough day/patch with their LO's to come and vent or look for support to get through it.  

My son is 5 almost 6 weeks old and I've been going on two weeks now of him crying all day.  I know he is going through a "wonder week" this week and we're hoping now that we switched his formula that it will be better but honestly at this point I'm not very hopeful.  I think it's just something he is going to have to outgrow.  On Saturday he cried from 8 a.m to about 3 p.m with only two short 30 min naps in between no matter what we did we couldn't calm him.  I just walked with him trying to comfort him crying along with him.  It's probably the worst feeling in the world not being able to sooth your baby.  Makes me feel like I'm a crappy mother and should be better at this.  We are going to the doctor today to make sure he doesn't have silent reflux on top of his lactose sensitivity but I don't think he does.  He's not showing any signs or symptoms  (besides the crying).  I think I'm just grasping at straws to point a finger at why he is crying even though I think it's just going to be something he will have to outgrow.

adiaz132003

I hate the feeling of not being able to calm my baby.  He went through a few days of non stop crying and the only thing that helped was the "tiger in the tree" hold and letting him nap in the carrier or his belly.  I remember thinking "why the hell did I agree to this?". Made me feel so terrible.

vintagevix2016

My aunt said to me, "Welcome to the elite club," when I told her that my son was colicky. My cousin had it for 6 months. My son started up in the middle of his 3rd week and he will be 6wks on Friday. It's a daily thing for him and I, with very few "good" days mixed in. It's been extremely rough mentally, emotionally, and physically. I took him to the dr. to see if he had underlying issues that we could resolve since I had suspicions and would hopefully subdue the colic. He does have reflux and a potential issue with dairy, plus he has trouble relieveing gas. We have now addressed all of the above but he still is colicky. I will say that he doesn't seem to be in pain/discomfort anymore, which is a big plus. I say that's a win.

Everyone tells me, "It's just temporary, it will all be over by time he is 3 or 4 months," as if that is suppose to make me feel better. Sure, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but when you are still potentially facing weeks of colic, it can feel pretty bleak.

I know the feeling of desperation very well too, you cling to hope that some remedy or soothing technique will be the miracle cure. It's enough to make you feel defeated at times, especially when something that seems to work for everyone does absolutely nothing for your child. And lord knows I've cried more in the past few weeks than I have in years. I've spent countless hours researching, visiting forums, and talking with people about it. It was to the point that every waking moment I was thinking about it, literally. My world revolved around it, which isn't good. 

At this point I will say that my outlook is better and I've given myself enough pep talks (and have received them from loved ones) to know I shouldn't beat myself up. I'm doing the best that I can and, yes, this could go on a while but if we (my son, my husband, and me) take it day by day, we can get through it. I find I'm no longer anxious at night, dreading what tomorrow will bring too. I feel more prepared than I did initially and even if what worked to soothe him yesterday won't work today, the same could be true for the opposite. I do my best not to let the crying and screaming get to me and instead focus on just being close to my son, cuddling with him, playing with him, etc. He might be wailing but at least we're bonding!

I've found that if I do things that I know he and I both enjoy, on top of the million other soothing techniques, then I end up feeling a little better. If that means dancing around and singing like a fool to hits from the 80s and 90s with him in my arms, so be it. Today I took him onto our covered hole of a deck with his boppy lounger, armed with colorful textured balls, my music, and a lemonade and we actually had a good time. He went from an indoor screaming banshee to super chill outside. It was a nice little break. We still do at least one stroller outting if the weather permits, even if it no longer results in guaranteed naps when we get home. 

I'm basically in survival mode  I've given up on trying to get him to nap since he fights me every step of the way. He will if he wants to and right now, I know nothing I can do will get him to do so. If he doesn't nap, then I'm already mentally prepared for a potentially difficult evening/night. I am super lucky tho that his colic hasn't impacted our nighttimes that much (knock on wood). Monday night was the first time we had to go for a car ride to get him to sleep for the night. It was about midnight when we got back but he slept the rest of the night as he usually does (waking every 2-3hrs for feeding).

I read that it peaks at the 6-8wk point so at least I know it should start to somewhat get better sooner rather than later (hopefully).

purplefan1

Sounds like you are doing a great job, @vintagevix86!! Such a positive sounding post on an otherwise extremely stressful topic!

My heart goes out to all of you ladies with babies with colic. Ignore the people who tell you "this is just temporary". It doesn't feel temporary when you are the one in the trenches with an inconsolable baby! But do remember that the research says that colicky babies are not hurting or in pain nor do they feel neglected by their caregivers. You all are doing amazing jobs and your babies know how much they are loved. 

adiaz132003

Ugh nap time struggle is real.  DS doesn't like to be held unless he's already asleep or if he's awake and looking around while on our shoulders.  Seems to be a very non cuddley kid, which makes me so sad cause when he was smaller he didn't mind the cuddles.  He sleeps better on his own but to fall asleep can be a struggle.  He starts to scream because he's tired and doesn't want to be held but that means that rocking and hugging doesn't calm him but he's too riled up to fall asleep in the crib on his own.  The only way he will sleep is if he's swaddled and has a pacifier.  It doesn't make sense to me that he will scream in our arms but like the swaddle.  He recently discovered his hands so we've started leaving one arm out of the swaddle so he can suck of it if the pacifier falls out.  I get so upset about the fact he doesn't want to be close cause I just want to cuddle him to sooth the crying but that makes it worse.  It's also hard cause he's supposed to be upright after feedings for a while so unless he's super tired at night he will cry after feedings and push away from us.  Does anyone else have a baby that cries when cuddling?  How do you chill thethem  before nap time without rocking/nursing?

vintagevix2016

adiaz132003 said:

Ugh nap time struggle is real.  DS doesn't like to be held unless he's already asleep or if he's awake and looking around while on our shoulders.  Seems to be a very non cuddley kid, which makes me so sad cause when he was smaller he didn't mind the cuddles.  He sleeps better on his own but to fall asleep can be a struggle.  He starts to scream because he's tired and doesn't want to be held but that means that rocking and hugging doesn't calm him but he's too riled up to fall asleep in the crib on his own.  The only way he will sleep is if he's swaddled and has a pacifier.  It doesn't make sense to me that he will scream in our arms but like the swaddle.  He recently discovered his hands so we've started leaving one arm out of the swaddle so he can suck of it if the pacifier falls out.  I get so upset about the fact he doesn't want to be close cause I just want to cuddle him to sooth the crying but that makes it worse.  It's also hard cause he's supposed to be upright after feedings for a while so unless he's super tired at night he will cry after feedings and push away from us.  Does anyone else have a baby that cries when cuddling?  How do you chill thethem  before nap time without rocking/nursing?

The struggle is indeed very real! Naps are the bane of my existence. He's getting better at going down but it's still a bit of a fight. I look for the cues and then put him in a sleepsack, he's been arms-free for a good while, and lay him down. I can't get him to actually go to sleep unless he has his pacifier. He's still not great with it yet (practice makes perfect) so I have to kinda gently hold it in place or at least be near since he pops it out easily. He'll start dozing after 10mins or so. I slink away once his eyes have been closed for a minute. If he wakes not long after I've left, I wait a couple of minutes to see if he can go back to sleep. If not, I go in and either gently rub his tummy, give him the pacifier again, or hold him up by my shoulder for a minute or two and then put him back down with the pacifier. I'll slink away again once he seems to be dozing off again. I'll repeat the whole process until he's finally asleep (waiting a few minutes before going in to soothe him, soothe him, slink away, repeat), which can take 15 minutes or up to an hour! He's currently napping but it took me about an hour to get him down. Luckily this is turning out to be a long nap, so the effort was worth it. 

I wish he would cuddle though, I miss it a lot. I used to just lay him on me and we'd cuddle up for ages. It was great for post-feeds during the night. Not anymore! He doesn't full-blown cry but he definitely fusses, pushes, and kicks. LET ME LOVE YOU, TINY HUMAN! He might do it once in a bluemoon but usually it's with my husband and not me. When he's fussing, he prefers to be up by my shoulder, like your's does, so I try to make a cuddle out of that by wrapping one arm around him as much as possible and resting our heads together. His positioning doesn't always allow for that but I'll take what I can get. He did pass out in my arms the other day and napped for awhile, it was heavenly. 

I don't have a solution for nighttime since I have to keep my son upright for awhile too. Since he's milk-drunk/sleepy, I rock him while holding him up at my shoulder for about 15-20mins. I can't figure out another way to do it other than maybe putting him in his boppy lounger or rnp for a bit, which I do during the day, but I'd rather not do that during the night.

adiaz132003

vintagevix2016 said:

adiaz132003 said:

Ugh nap time struggle is real.  DS doesn't like to be held unless he's already asleep or if he's awake and looking around while on our shoulders.  Seems to be a very non cuddley kid, which makes me so sad cause when he was smaller he didn't mind the cuddles.  He sleeps better on his own but to fall asleep can be a struggle.  He starts to scream because he's tired and doesn't want to be held but that means that rocking and hugging doesn't calm him but he's too riled up to fall asleep in the crib on his own.  The only way he will sleep is if he's swaddled and has a pacifier.  It doesn't make sense to me that he will scream in our arms but like the swaddle.  He recently discovered his hands so we've started leaving one arm out of the swaddle so he can suck of it if the pacifier falls out.  I get so upset about the fact he doesn't want to be close cause I just want to cuddle him to sooth the crying but that makes it worse.  It's also hard cause he's supposed to be upright after feedings for a while so unless he's super tired at night he will cry after feedings and push away from us.  Does anyone else have a baby that cries when cuddling?  How do you chill thethem  before nap time without rocking/nursing?

The struggle is indeed very real! Naps are the bane of my existence. He's getting better at going down but it's still a bit of a fight. I look for the cues and then put him in a sleepsack, he's been arms-free for a good while, and lay him down. I can't get him to actually go to sleep unless he has his pacifier. He's still not great with it yet (practice makes perfect) so I have to kinda gently hold it in place or at least be near since he pops it out easily. He'll start dozing after 10mins or so. I slink away once his eyes have been closed for a minute. If he wakes not long after I've left, I wait a couple of minutes to see if he can go back to sleep. If not, I go in and either gently rub his tummy, give him the pacifier again, or hold him up by my shoulder for a minute or two and then put him back down with the pacifier. I'll slink away again once he seems to be dozing off again. I'll repeat the whole process until he's finally asleep (waiting a few minutes before going in to soothe him, soothe him, slink away, repeat), which can take 15 minutes or up to an hour! He's currently napping but it took me about an hour to get him down. Luckily this is turning out to be a long nap, so the effort was worth it. 

I wish he would cuddle though, I miss it a lot. I used to just lay him on me and we'd cuddle up for ages. It was great for post-feeds during the night. Not anymore! He doesn't full-blown cry but he definitely fusses, pushes, and kicks. LET ME LOVE YOU, TINY HUMAN! He might do it once in a bluemoon but usually it's with my husband and not me. When he's fussing, he prefers to be up by my shoulder, like your's does, so I try to make a cuddle out of that by wrapping one arm around him as much as possible and resting our heads together. His positioning doesn't always allow for that but I'll take what I can get. He did pass out in my arms the other day and napped for awhile, it was heavenly. 

I don't have a solution for nighttime since I have to keep my son upright for awhile too. Since he's milk-drunk/sleepy, I rock him while holding him up at my shoulder for about 15-20mins. I can't figure out another way to do it other than maybe putting him in his boppy lounger or rnp for a bit, which I do during the day, but I'd rather not do that during the night.

 And of course because I said something, I saw he was fussy in his swing, he had his pacifier and I picked him up.  I look down a minute later and he's passed out.  He's been out for almost 2 hours.... He confuses me.

vintagevix2016

adiaz132003 said:

vintagevix2016 said:

adiaz132003 said:

Ugh nap time struggle is real.  DS doesn't like to be held unless he's already asleep or if he's awake and looking around while on our shoulders.  Seems to be a very non cuddley kid, which makes me so sad cause when he was smaller he didn't mind the cuddles.  He sleeps better on his own but to fall asleep can be a struggle.  He starts to scream because he's tired and doesn't want to be held but that means that rocking and hugging doesn't calm him but he's too riled up to fall asleep in the crib on his own.  The only way he will sleep is if he's swaddled and has a pacifier.  It doesn't make sense to me that he will scream in our arms but like the swaddle.  He recently discovered his hands so we've started leaving one arm out of the swaddle so he can suck of it if the pacifier falls out.  I get so upset about the fact he doesn't want to be close cause I just want to cuddle him to sooth the crying but that makes it worse.  It's also hard cause he's supposed to be upright after feedings for a while so unless he's super tired at night he will cry after feedings and push away from us.  Does anyone else have a baby that cries when cuddling?  How do you chill thethem  before nap time without rocking/nursing?

The struggle is indeed very real! Naps are the bane of my existence. He's getting better at going down but it's still a bit of a fight. I look for the cues and then put him in a sleepsack, he's been arms-free for a good while, and lay him down. I can't get him to actually go to sleep unless he has his pacifier. He's still not great with it yet (practice makes perfect) so I have to kinda gently hold it in place or at least be near since he pops it out easily. He'll start dozing after 10mins or so. I slink away once his eyes have been closed for a minute. If he wakes not long after I've left, I wait a couple of minutes to see if he can go back to sleep. If not, I go in and either gently rub his tummy, give him the pacifier again, or hold him up by my shoulder for a minute or two and then put him back down with the pacifier. I'll slink away again once he seems to be dozing off again. I'll repeat the whole process until he's finally asleep (waiting a few minutes before going in to soothe him, soothe him, slink away, repeat), which can take 15 minutes or up to an hour! He's currently napping but it took me about an hour to get him down. Luckily this is turning out to be a long nap, so the effort was worth it. 

I wish he would cuddle though, I miss it a lot. I used to just lay him on me and we'd cuddle up for ages. It was great for post-feeds during the night. Not anymore! He doesn't full-blown cry but he definitely fusses, pushes, and kicks. LET ME LOVE YOU, TINY HUMAN! He might do it once in a bluemoon but usually it's with my husband and not me. When he's fussing, he prefers to be up by my shoulder, like your's does, so I try to make a cuddle out of that by wrapping one arm around him as much as possible and resting our heads together. His positioning doesn't always allow for that but I'll take what I can get. He did pass out in my arms the other day and napped for awhile, it was heavenly. 

I don't have a solution for nighttime since I have to keep my son upright for awhile too. Since he's milk-drunk/sleepy, I rock him while holding him up at my shoulder for about 15-20mins. I can't figure out another way to do it other than maybe putting him in his boppy lounger or rnp for a bit, which I do during the day, but I'd rather not do that during the night.

 And of course because I said something, I saw he was fussy in his swing, he had his pacifier and I picked him up.  I look down a minute later and he's passed out.  He's been out for almost 2 hours.... He confuses me.

That's always the way! They're hardly 2 months and already being contrary! 

Laur51615

vintagevix2016 said:

adiaz132003 said:

vintagevix2016 said:

adiaz132003 said:

Ugh nap time struggle is real.  DS doesn't like to be held unless he's already asleep or if he's awake and looking around while on our shoulders.  Seems to be a very non cuddley kid, which makes me so sad cause when he was smaller he didn't mind the cuddles.  He sleeps better on his own but to fall asleep can be a struggle.  He starts to scream because he's tired and doesn't want to be held but that means that rocking and hugging doesn't calm him but he's too riled up to fall asleep in the crib on his own.  The only way he will sleep is if he's swaddled and has a pacifier.  It doesn't make sense to me that he will scream in our arms but like the swaddle.  He recently discovered his hands so we've started leaving one arm out of the swaddle so he can suck of it if the pacifier falls out.  I get so upset about the fact he doesn't want to be close cause I just want to cuddle him to sooth the crying but that makes it worse.  It's also hard cause he's supposed to be upright after feedings for a while so unless he's super tired at night he will cry after feedings and push away from us.  Does anyone else have a baby that cries when cuddling?  How do you chill thethem  before nap time without rocking/nursing?

The struggle is indeed very real! Naps are the bane of my existence. He's getting better at going down but it's still a bit of a fight. I look for the cues and then put him in a sleepsack, he's been arms-free for a good while, and lay him down. I can't get him to actually go to sleep unless he has his pacifier. He's still not great with it yet (practice makes perfect) so I have to kinda gently hold it in place or at least be near since he pops it out easily. He'll start dozing after 10mins or so. I slink away once his eyes have been closed for a minute. If he wakes not long after I've left, I wait a couple of minutes to see if he can go back to sleep. If not, I go in and either gently rub his tummy, give him the pacifier again, or hold him up by my shoulder for a minute or two and then put him back down with the pacifier. I'll slink away again once he seems to be dozing off again. I'll repeat the whole process until he's finally asleep (waiting a few minutes before going in to soothe him, soothe him, slink away, repeat), which can take 15 minutes or up to an hour! He's currently napping but it took me about an hour to get him down. Luckily this is turning out to be a long nap, so the effort was worth it. 

I wish he would cuddle though, I miss it a lot. I used to just lay him on me and we'd cuddle up for ages. It was great for post-feeds during the night. Not anymore! He doesn't full-blown cry but he definitely fusses, pushes, and kicks. LET ME LOVE YOU, TINY HUMAN! He might do it once in a bluemoon but usually it's with my husband and not me. When he's fussing, he prefers to be up by my shoulder, like your's does, so I try to make a cuddle out of that by wrapping one arm around him as much as possible and resting our heads together. His positioning doesn't always allow for that but I'll take what I can get. He did pass out in my arms the other day and napped for awhile, it was heavenly. 

I don't have a solution for nighttime since I have to keep my son upright for awhile too. Since he's milk-drunk/sleepy, I rock him while holding him up at my shoulder for about 15-20mins. I can't figure out another way to do it other than maybe putting him in his boppy lounger or rnp for a bit, which I do during the day, but I'd rather not do that during the night.

 And of course because I said something, I saw he was fussy in his swing, he had his pacifier and I picked him up.  I look down a minute later and he's passed out.  He's been out for almost 2 hours.... He confuses me.

That's always the way! They're hardly 2 months and already being contrary! 

My LO has started doing this also! He fights nap time sooooo bad now he is exhausted yet he won't sleep.  I have resorted to standing in my bathroom with the lights off (no windows in there) with the facet running to settle him down enough to go to sleep.  I'm pretty sure my DH is going to have a heart attack when he sees our water bill lol but it's the only thing that works.  Also I finally heard back from my doctor and turns out my LOL does have silent reflux and he has been on medicine now for just over 4 days and he seems to be much calmer.  Still has his meltdowns but it's not all day every day anymore thankfully! 

purplefan1

@Laur51615 we got free apps for our phones and iPads that mimic noises. The one for my android is baby sleep sounds. I play her either the vacuum one or the shower one and she almost always falls asleep to it. Also, if you have a radio and can turn it to the static between stations, that works well too. The only time my girl WONT fall asleep is if she is hungry or needs to be changed. Then she fusses or cries and we know it is something else. Last night I swaddled her and put her on my chest and played the shower sound and she was asleep in under 3 minutes. Most the time if she is fussing or just can't settle down I play it and she is out. My husband calls it her kryptonite.

adiaz132003

June2016BabyW said:

@Laur51615 we got free apps for our phones and iPads that mimic noises. The one for my android is baby sleep sounds. I play her either the vacuum one or the shower one and she almost always falls asleep to it. Also, if you have a radio and can turn it to the static between stations, that works well too. The only time my girl WONT fall asleep is if she is hungry or needs to be changed. Then she fusses or cries and we know it is something else. Last night I swaddled her and put her on my chest and played the shower sound and she was asleep in under 3 minutes. Most the time if she is fussing or just can't settle down I play it and she is out. My husband calls it her kryptonite.

I'm gonna look and see if they have that for iPhone.  I currently keep my old iPhone in his crib for music because my white noise thing only plays for 45 min.

purplefan1

My husband has an iPhone and uses relax melodies

vintagevix2016

We have two white noise machine that have a variety of sounds but none of them seem to pique his interest. We just stick with the white noise as a result. I may look into the baby sleep sounds though, sounds interesting.

laurendiaz02

**I posted this in the bump in the night/random thread but figured this might be a good place even though I'm not sure if he has colic or if he's just fussy**

My son is 7 weeks old and his "witching hour" seems to turn into several hours. He isn't screaming at the top of his lungs but he's definitely fussy and crying despite food, diaper change and holding him. The last couple of days we have noticed that he sounds hoarse when he cries softly. According to dr. Google babies can sound hoarse from crying too much. Anyone else experience this before?

amangels2

For those of you looking for a white noise app for iPhones, I use "sleepy sounds" I like it because it's free and it runs in the background. I'll put the Bose in the baby's room and have the sleepy sounds play. But I can still use my phone for everything...except talking. But who talks in their phone? Lol. Anyway, I like it and Sam likes the dryer noise the best. 

vintagevix2016

laurendiaz02 said:

**I posted this in the bump in the night/random thread but figured this might be a good place even though I'm not sure if he has colic or if he's just fussy**

My son is 7 weeks old and his "witching hour" seems to turn into several hours. He isn't screaming at the top of his lungs but he's definitely fussy and crying despite food, diaper change and holding him. The last couple of days we have noticed that he sounds hoarse when he cries softly. According to dr. Google babies can sound hoarse from crying too much. Anyone else experience this before?

Stuck in the box:
My son, who will be 7wks tomorrow, has those kind of evenings if he didn't get his naps in that day (or didn't get enough). He definitely has a set of pipes on him but I can't say I've noticed any hoarseness, which is really surprising. I was actually expecting it back when he was wailing all day long. Does he seem to be in pain when you've noticed the hoarseness? If not then I wouldn't be worried, that's just me though. You can always call your dr. to be sure.

adiaz132003

Well we just finished with an hour long meltdown.  At first I thought he had a tummy ache cause he hasn't pooped yet today so I did everything to try and soothe him.  He calmed down a bit in a bath but that was short lived and I noticed he started yawning in the tub so after getting him out I swaddled and tried rocking him to sleep, all while screaming and he wouldn't stop so I tried to feed him and that did the trick.  He ate and passed out.  He must have just been hungry? Idk I feed bad I waited so long to try a feeding.  Granted he's not fully down cause he has to adjust to sleeping without his pacifier but he's much easier to clam.  But once he falls asleep I expect him to be out for a while since not only was he screaming for an hour but he was awake for 2 hours before that.  I knew that this getting rid of the pacifier thing was gonna be hard but i really hope it's short lived.

egirl1025

adiaz132003 said:

Well we just finished with an hour long meltdown.  At first I thought he had a tummy ache cause he hasn't pooped yet today so I did everything to try and soothe him.  He calmed down a bit in a bath but that was short lived and I noticed he started yawning in the tub so after getting him out I swaddled and tried rocking him to sleep, all while screaming and he wouldn't stop so I tried to feed him and that did the trick.  He ate and passed out.  He must have just been hungry? Idk I feed bad I waited so long to try a feeding.  Granted he's not fully down cause he has to adjust to sleeping without his pacifier but he's much easier to clam.  But once he falls asleep I expect him to be out for a while since not only was he screaming for an hour but he was awake for 2 hours before that.  I knew that this getting rid of the pacifier thing was gonna be hard but i really hope it's short lived.

What made you decide to stop with the pacifier?  I wonder because we use a pacifier on occasion with my LO.

adiaz132003

egirl1025 said:

adiaz132003 said:

Well we just finished with an hour long meltdown.  At first I thought he had a tummy ache cause he hasn't pooped yet today so I did everything to try and soothe him.  He calmed down a bit in a bath but that was short lived and I noticed he started yawning in the tub so after getting him out I swaddled and tried rocking him to sleep, all while screaming and he wouldn't stop so I tried to feed him and that did the trick.  He ate and passed out.  He must have just been hungry? Idk I feed bad I waited so long to try a feeding.  Granted he's not fully down cause he has to adjust to sleeping without his pacifier but he's much easier to clam.  But once he falls asleep I expect him to be out for a while since not only was he screaming for an hour but he was awake for 2 hours before that.  I knew that this getting rid of the pacifier thing was gonna be hard but i really hope it's short lived.

What made you decide to stop with the pacifier?  I wonder because we use a pacifier on occasion with my LO.

 A couple things. He's starting to want to suck on his hands and wants to break free of the swaddle and if he sleeps with the pacifier he knocks it out and wakes himself up.  Also his latch is improving and the more he uses the pacifier, the worse his suction is.  Finally, I noticed that if he sucks on it alot to sooth gas pain he swallow more air, which leads to more gas pain sooooo yeah. I decided that it'd be easier to get rid of it now vs at 3-4 monthes when it can become more of a habit/crutch for sleep.  I'll still take it with me if I go out to avoid a meltdown but at home I'm cutting it out.  It's only day one so I know it's gonna be hard but every one I asked said it's. Couple days of hell but then baby learns to live without it. Although those were 3-4 month olds who are better at self soothing anyway so it may take longer for us.

vintagevix2016

adiaz132003 said:

egirl1025 said:

adiaz132003 said:

Well we just finished with an hour long meltdown.  At first I thought he had a tummy ache cause he hasn't pooped yet today so I did everything to try and soothe him.  He calmed down a bit in a bath but that was short lived and I noticed he started yawning in the tub so after getting him out I swaddled and tried rocking him to sleep, all while screaming and he wouldn't stop so I tried to feed him and that did the trick.  He ate and passed out.  He must have just been hungry? Idk I feed bad I waited so long to try a feeding.  Granted he's not fully down cause he has to adjust to sleeping without his pacifier but he's much easier to clam.  But once he falls asleep I expect him to be out for a while since not only was he screaming for an hour but he was awake for 2 hours before that.  I knew that this getting rid of the pacifier thing was gonna be hard but i really hope it's short lived.

What made you decide to stop with the pacifier?  I wonder because we use a pacifier on occasion with my LO.

 A couple things. He's starting to want to suck on his hands and wants to break free of the swaddle and if he sleeps with the pacifier he knocks it out and wakes himself up.  Also his latch is improving and the more he uses the pacifier, the worse his suction is.  Finally, I noticed that if he sucks on it alot to sooth gas pain he swallow more air, which leads to more gas pain sooooo yeah. I decided that it'd be easier to get rid of it now vs at 3-4 monthes when it can become more of a habit/crutch for sleep.  I'll still take it with me if I go out to avoid a meltdown but at home I'm cutting it out.  It's only day one so I know it's gonna be hard but every one I asked said it's. Couple days of hell but then baby learns to live without it. Although those were 3-4 month olds who are better at self soothing anyway so it may take longer for us.

Since we just started using a pacifier, I'm really pauing attention to his nusring sessions to see if I notice a change. It's good that you are taking such a proactive approach and nipping the problem in the bud. 

egirl1025

adiaz132003 said:

egirl1025 said:

adiaz132003 said:

Well we just finished with an hour long meltdown.  At first I thought he had a tummy ache cause he hasn't pooped yet today so I did everything to try and soothe him.  He calmed down a bit in a bath but that was short lived and I noticed he started yawning in the tub so after getting him out I swaddled and tried rocking him to sleep, all while screaming and he wouldn't stop so I tried to feed him and that did the trick.  He ate and passed out.  He must have just been hungry? Idk I feed bad I waited so long to try a feeding.  Granted he's not fully down cause he has to adjust to sleeping without his pacifier but he's much easier to clam.  But once he falls asleep I expect him to be out for a while since not only was he screaming for an hour but he was awake for 2 hours before that.  I knew that this getting rid of the pacifier thing was gonna be hard but i really hope it's short lived.

What made you decide to stop with the pacifier?  I wonder because we use a pacifier on occasion with my LO.

 A couple things. He's starting to want to suck on his hands and wants to break free of the swaddle and if he sleeps with the pacifier he knocks it out and wakes himself up.  Also his latch is improving and the more he uses the pacifier, the worse his suction is.  Finally, I noticed that if he sucks on it alot to sooth gas pain he swallow more air, which leads to more gas pain sooooo yeah. I decided that it'd be easier to get rid of it now vs at 3-4 monthes when it can become more of a habit/crutch for sleep.  I'll still take it with me if I go out to avoid a meltdown but at home I'm cutting it out.  It's only day one so I know it's gonna be hard but every one I asked said it's. Couple days of hell but then baby learns to live without it. Although those were 3-4 month olds who are better at self soothing anyway so it may take longer for us.

Good luck to you!  I'm sure on a couple days he won't even notice fx. Those are all super great reasons that I did not even think of.  I will have to pay attention to my LOs nursing sessions as well for this because I have been having issues lately.  Thank you!

adiaz132003

Well, I failed already.  I didn't take into account the the pacifier is currently helping us get through a leap in his wonder weeks and hes been going nonstop.  What we are gonna do rather than go cold turkey is once he's calm and dozing off we will gently take the pacifier out so that he doesn't fall asleep with it.  With all the gas and fussing he really does need it I guess.  He's also only 8 weeks old and normally they start to soothe themselves around 3 months as well as the fact that a lot of the gas and fussing issues go away around that time so I guess he's still too young for me to just take it away 

jmohio

We recently found out our LO comfort eats because of reflux which causes her to throw up. We are waiting for an appointment with the GI doctor but she screams until you feed her so it has been a long few weeks. We learned a few nights ago to take the nipple off the bottle and give it to her. She settles after just a few minutes now. She uses a paci but when she wants to comfort eat the paci does nothing. Not sure if it will help anyone else but it is worth trying. Just make sure to take the nipple off the bottle or they will get excess air.  

vintagevix2016

adiaz132003 said:

Well, I failed already.  I didn't take into account the the pacifier is currently helping us get through a leap in his wonder weeks and hes been going nonstop.  What we are gonna do rather than go cold turkey is once he's calm and dozing off we will gently take the pacifier out so that he doesn't fall asleep with it.  With all the gas and fussing he really does need it I guess.  He's also only 8 weeks old and normally they start to soothe themselves around 3 months as well as the fact that a lot of the gas and fussing issues go away around that time so I guess he's still too young for me to just take it away 

We're going to take his pacifier away around that time as well for the same reasons. I'm hoping the trick my husband's friend told us works. I'm vague on the details but will get those eventually, she said it worked like a charm and it was her son's decision to drop the pacifier, which made it easier too. Something to do with cutting it in some way to ruin the suction. I dunno.

adiaz132003

vintagevix2016 said:

adiaz132003 said:

Well, I failed already.  I didn't take into account the the pacifier is currently helping us get through a leap in his wonder weeks and hes been going nonstop.  What we are gonna do rather than go cold turkey is once he's calm and dozing off we will gently take the pacifier out so that he doesn't fall asleep with it.  With all the gas and fussing he really does need it I guess.  He's also only 8 weeks old and normally they start to soothe themselves around 3 months as well as the fact that a lot of the gas and fussing issues go away around that time so I guess he's still too young for me to just take it away 

We're going to take his pacifier away around that time as well for the same reasons. I'm hoping the trick my husband's friend told us works. I'm vague on the details but will get those eventually, she said it worked like a charm and it was her son's decision to drop the pacifier, which made it easier too. Something to do with cutting it in some way to ruin the suction. I dunno.

Yeah you cut the tip off and keep cutting it a little shorter each day till they don't like it anymore.  Only thing is that I feel like that would make them swallow air.

vintagevix2016

Just got back from yet another appt with the pediatrician. This was a follow-up to see how he was doing with the cocktail of stuff we've been giving him for his gas, dairy, and reflux issues. She was glad to hear that he's doing better but not completely satisfied with the reflux issue. He still has trouble with it and some days it's pretty bad, plus he's vomiting more these days too. She gave us a prescription for Zantac. 

Laur51615

@jmohio my LO does the same exact thing I will have to try this! 

vintagevix2016

I feel like we have crossed over to the other side of the colicky phase. He has way more good days than bad. On the bad days the meltdown is manageable and doesn't last long. I finally feel like we are in a good place and my own mental/emotional/physical health has improved because of it. It's so nice to see him smile his big, toothless grin all the time now. He's such a happy baby!

adiaz132003

Anyone still having issues.  I just spoke with our ped and she thinks this crazy crying at bedtime is colic in the sense that it's on like a switch, nothing we do helps, then it suddenly stops and he's happy.  

vintagevix2016

Damien had a random scream bloody murder/cry session about two hours after going to bed. I thought he was hungry so I prepped a bottle. Once I was cradling him in my arms though, he immediately stopped and slept peacefully. His eyes were always shut though so I actually think he may have been experiencing a night terror or something. Nothing near to the extent that you are going through though.