Colic??

tbone_bride · December 2012

Xp babies 0 to 3

How do you know your baby isn't in pain? I am having the hardest time distinguishing between fussiness and pain. DS has reflux, and is on meds for less than 2 weeks so far. He cries a lot. I am thinking of cutting out dairy since I can't tell if its his tummy.

Just looking for some advice. Thx

JulyMomma2U2 · December 2012

DS had colic for 4 months.. First 3 months it was constant crying.. From the time he woke until he went to bed.. And not just fussing, he would scream.. Non stop. It was awful. Around 3 months it started to taper off and was just at night.. From 4p-8p. By 4ish months it started to completely taper off. He also is a reflux baby and has lots of other tummy issues (on predigested hypoallergenic formula and such)...

I remember thinking just what you posted.. How do I know there isn't something really wrong.. DS was my first, so we didn't have anything to compare his behavior to.. It was so difficult. I was so scared there was something really wrong with his tummy because his screams were so terrible....

Hang in there.. I hope the fussing wears down.. Some things that really helped DS were taking baths.. He always seemed calmer in the tubby.. And holding him in the football hold (or colic carry) all the time.. The pressure on his tummy seemed to help some...

Stay strong, Momma!!

D&D4Ever7 · December 2012

My DS cried a lot for first 3 months. All day long. I think he had gas issues because gas drops helped him. He also didn't want to sit in one place, so I carried him around a lot. He was just very active and much more happier baby now that he is mobile. He was definetly not happy laying around in one place. He would stay in his swing for 10mins or so and than cry until someone got him. He would stop crying when someone held him. It was exhausting. Hang in there. I promise it will get better.

Karen1998 · December 2012

He was supremely fussy all day long. He had to be held constantly, even for sleep. Evenings were the worst and mornings were better (as they are for any baby). For us, he pulled a complete 180 around 2w old. He went from being happy and sleeping easily to a complete hot mess. It makes sense as most babies tend to start showing colic symptoms around 2w.

He also had horrible gas issues. Gas drops helped, but far from eliminated the issue. Reflux meds helped with the pain, but also didn't eliminate the issue. We would basically rotate in three day spans. Day 1 he'd be the best he'd be for three days. He'd burp easily and fart a lot. Day 2 he'd stop burping and farting and be crankier. Day 3 he'd be in terrible pain from all of the gas he couldn't get out. I'd rock and bounce him all day long desperately trying to get the gas out. Wash, rinse, repeat.

He also started to refuse the breast or would pull off and scream after eating for only a minute or two. This happened regardless of time of day or whether I'd expressed first or not. Since that started early (2w old), and I was in a hell of a lot of pain, I pulled him off for a day and pumped. That, and his refusal to go back on (and my exhaustion and unwillingness to fight it) led to me EPing for a year. I did eliminate all milk (even hidden milk) and that helped his stomach issues a lot. I was surprised at how much worse that made his colic. I also eliminated all foods in the broccoli family and romaine lettuce as those also heightened his colic. I was able to successfully add those back in after he was 4m old.

GL. It does get better. There's no cure for colic (or really, any meds), but it does finally go away. Your doctor may also have suggestions for things that help. Ours gave us 8 different suggestions. I tried all but one. One or two of them did help. Things that work for one kid may not work for another. Gripe water works for many, but it made it worse for us. However, peppermint water (a peppermint candy dissolved in about 1/4 c of warm water, then give a small amount via syringe) was a savior for us. That was one of our doctor's suggestions.

JulyMomma2U2 · December 2012

Karen1998:
He was supremely fussy all day long. He had to be held constantly, even for sleep. Evenings were the worst and mornings were better (as they are for any baby). For us, he pulled a complete 180 around 2w old. He went from being happy and sleeping easily to a complete hot mess. It makes sense as most babies tend to start showing colic symptoms around 2w.
He also had horrible gas issues. Gas drops helped, but far from eliminated the issue. Reflux meds helped with the pain, but also didn't eliminate the issue. We would basically rotate in three day spans. Day 1 he'd be the best he'd be for three days. He'd burp easily and fart a lot. Day 2 he'd stop burping and farting and be crankier. Day 3 he'd be in terrible pain from all of the gas he couldn't get out. I'd rock and bounce him all day long desperately trying to get the gas out. Wash, rinse, repeat.
He also started to refuse the breast or would pull off and scream after eating for only a minute or two. This happened regardless of time of day or whether I'd expressed first or not. Since that started early (2w old), and I was in a hell of a lot of pain, I pulled him off for a day and pumped. That, and his refusal to go back on (and my exhaustion and unwillingness to fight it) led to me EPing for a year. I did eliminate all milk (even hidden milk) and that helped his stomach issues a lot. I was surprised at how much worse that made his colic. I also eliminated all foods in the broccoli family and romaine lettuce as those also heightened his colic. I was able to successfully add those back in after he was 4m old.
GL. It does get better. There's no cure for colic (or really, any meds), but it does finally go away. Your doctor may also have suggestions for things that help. Ours gave us 8 different suggestions. I tried all but one. One or two of them did help. Things that work for one kid may not work for another. Gripe water works for many, but it made it worse for us. However, peppermint water (a peppermint candy dissolved in about 1/4 c of warm water, then give a small amount via syringe) was a savior for us. That was one of our doctor's suggestions.

Your DS sounds SO much like mine was.. especially with the gas and such.. and how it seemed to progressively get worse over a span of a few days.. (DS also didn't poop every day.. he was once every 2 or 3 days.. when he did poop, that's when we'd have the happier baby -- when there was no poop, it just got worse and worse!!).. The peppermint water is so interesting that you said that!! My Mom kept telling me to try that, and I refused.. I had asked the ped and she side-eyed me like I was going whacky lol.. so, I never gave it to him.. but, my Mom KEPT saying I should try it!! We had no luck with gas drops, gripe water, tummy calm, colic calm, etc.. nothing helped for DS..

Although, I do find, even now at almost 5 months.. I spend a good 10-15 minutes at some point every day playing with his legs.. pumping them, bending them, pushing them back towards him, etc to get gas out.. it's easier now because he thinks it's funny when I make his toes touch his nose and such and so he's giggling, but it REALLY helps get all the gas out.. and, when he's not gassy, he's SUCH a happy baby!!

rills0406 · December 2012

Colic is a weak valve between the large and small intestine. Since this valve is weak it allows gas to travel backwards through the digestive system. With that said colic is not an overly fussy baby. Colic is a word to describe a terrible stomach ache.
I had a daughter with colic, when she was 2.5 weeks old we found out about Doc Scharenberg he is a local chiropractor who amazingly turns out to live in Wichita, KS (so do we) and has been treating colicky babies for over 30 years.
When our daughter was about 5 weeks old she was completely colic free. I know Wichita is a little far to travel, but he is working on creating educational information for people out of the area so he can train mom's to do the treatment he created. Give him a call and see if he can help you 316-945-0075.
Until you can get in contact with him here is some helpful advice he game my husband and I.
1. NO gas drops. All gas drops do is act as a muscle relaxer and since colic is a weak valve (muscle) you are prolonging the problem when using them.
2. Use body language to determine if your baby is hungry or in pain. Kicking legs, pulling legs up to chest, pulling hair scratching face are all signs of pain. Flailing arms are hunger. If your baby is throwing up chances are it is over fed.
3. Diet. If you are breastfeeding Doc has a diet that needs to be followed, if contains only non gassy foods. This will help prevent your baby from being in more pain. You can find the diet at docscharenberg.com/coliccure.html
4. No swaddling. I know it is against everything you read, but if you do choose to swaddle do it loose. Imagine if you were in pain, would you want someone to wrap you up and prevent you from moving? Chances are no.
5. Use a bouncy seat in place of a bed. Babies with colic will not sleep laying flat on their backs. Make sure you strap them in. If you have enough money there is a Nap Nanny that would work as well.
6. Bounce. Bouncing your baby will help relieve some of the gas pain in their belly.
7. CALL DOC save your baby from the pain.
If you are hesitant at all about the truth behind this Doc has a colic support group on facebook and all the moms can testify to his treatment. www.facebook.com/ColicSupport.

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