How can we get our colicky 6 week old baby to sleep at night instead of crying. We have tried everything!?

Question

He will be awake for 6 hours at a time starting at about 7 pm but getting worse at 9 and unbearable at 11. At first he is just fussy and then it escalates. The Drs have said it's just colic and it will go away in time. We are now a very unhappy family. I can't find anything on-line about babies this young and crying and sleeping - or letting them cry to sleep. Or what to do if choices seem to be disappearing.
He is formula fed - we've tried the soy and the lactose free. He seems to do best on the soy. Over the last 2 weeks - we have tried rocking, the bouncy chair, a drive in the car, a pacifier, holding him while he sleeps sitting up or lying down or however he seems the most comfortable, the swing, the crib, the bed, etc... all have not worked for more that 15 to 20 minutes.
We know that our baby is sweet and wonderful and this is just a phase but we don't want to hurt him in any way developmentally and we are all getting worn out!
HELP!

Answer 1

ok so you did the formula changing and the rocking and the driving thing how about some non alcoholic meanin no alcohol based gripe water??? and the sound of mom's heart beat? when your stressed out baby can sense it are you burping after every feeding? and bundling the baby up like he was when you were carring him? when in doubt i would take em to the dr and see what the dr has to say i know we had to do this to my 11 month old grandson when he was 2 months old the gripe water helpped relieve the gas and believe me we were all able to rest a lot better at nite there is truth to the saying a happy family is a happy and contented baby

Answer 2

My son (now 2) had pretty bad colic for the first 4 months of his little life. I tried breastfeeding him lying down because my milk was coming out too fast and making him gulp air - perhaps try a slowflow teat on his bottle. Also, try to encourage a good burp before laying him down after a feed. I went to the pharmacy and bought a colic tonic made of natural ingredients which helped a little. Unfortunately, there isn't a great deal you can do. Just keep in mind that they are in pain and try not to let it anger you - I know how hard that is, believe me.
Also, try a strict feeding/sleeping routine. I cannot guarantee enough the wonderfullness of the book The New Contented LIttle Baby Book by Gina Ford. It was invaluable and definitely made a difference to my son's colic - when they are being fed in solid sections it helps their colic. Apparently if the first feed has not been completely digested before a second one is added on top this contributes to colic. Try the book - it's fantastic!!
It had my son sleeping through the night from 7:00pm until 7:00am from the age of 4 months.

Answer 3

My daughter was very colicky, and there really is not much you can do that you are not already doing. Using some gas drops would help, colic means that the child is producing large amounts of gas and the body just will not pass it. Help to pass the gas by moving his legs as if he were riding a bicycle. Having your peditrician switch you to Nutramigin, infants who are colicky often do not have strong enough acid in the tummies to break down complex protiens, Nutramigin has these proteins already broken down, so it is easily digested and would cause less gas to be created. I know this is NOT recommended by ANYONE, but my daughter just would not sleep on her back, so I laid her on her belly, on a co-sleeper, right beside me, and she slept better. I highly recommend that you and your partner take turns sleeping if at all possible, this way the child would always be watched and you both get the very much needed sleep. OH, when she was about 3 months old she calmed down TREMENDOUSLY. If for one day and night you have a couple willing and able to properly care for him, then I would ask them to do so, for you two to catch up on your sleep. Just let them know it will not be easy, and that he would need special attention because he is colicky.

NEVER let your child cry to sleep, this will only tell him he cannot count on you for comfort or anything else.

Answer 4

Try the 5 s's....
shushing or white noise
swaddling
swinging or rocking
sucking (pacifier)
side (laying them on their side)

I swear by this method. It works miracles, it's amazing, and it is the only thing that helped my son. Sometimes I would just put him in his carseat and drive around with white noise (from the AM stations) playing on the radio. Within 5 mintes, he was out. Also, vacuums and hair dryers work wonders, because the sound calms babies. Doctors say that the noise inside the womb was louder than a vacuum, so they want loud noise in the first few months of life.

Research the 5 s's (try babycenter.com), there may be a video, or a better description.... it really does work wonders though.

Good luck!!!

Answer 5

When my baby gets in that mood...which she does some days for the whole day I recently found that wrapping her up in a warm blanket and making her very ncie and warm and giving her a soother and covering the blanket over her face will put her to sleep for a while. The baby sounds overtired. Also when she gets fussy I will also put her in a swing but put the cover lightely over her face until she falls elseep. Of course with there being a sids danger never leave yoru baby unattended like that and make sure shes breathing while shes under there by watching or feeling but once she falls esleep you may be able to remove it. Also bicycle his legs and put a bit off pressure on her tummy by bending her knees that works for my baby too.

Answer 6

At Wal-Mart you can buy one of 2 types of bottles that are suppose to help with colic. They have a tube in the bottle to take the air away from the nipple. One brand is Dr Brown's and the other is Parents Choice Health Check Anti- Colic bottles. These are the ones I bought my grandson. He has done better on them, the Parents Choice are about $13.00 for 5 bottles.

Answer 7

so sorry for you I know exactly how you all feel. l also tried everything, and some things worked for a bit and then wore off, but I held my baby and vacuumed the floor and she stopped crying and when that didn't work anymore I got in the car and fed her while the motor was running and the ac on when it was hot out.and heater when it was cold of course, something about the vibration that helped I'm thinking.. oh lets see shes now ten so its hard to remember everything, but I will never ever forget the misery. oh we used a candy cane by stirring some luke warm water with the candy cane until the water turned pink then fed it to her in a bottle, has to be peppermint though because something about the peppermint soothes the stomach. that's all I can think of now.. hope it helps good luck and kiss that baby for me.

Answer 8

Hang in there I know that it seems rough right now. does he tense up and grunt before he starts his cry feast?baby's should poop almost every time that they eat the formula that you have him on might be making him constipated I had to put my girl on a milk based formula and something to help her poo a bottle of warn peppermint water (between 4 - 6 oz ) might help. I would take a piece if the round candy and let it melt put it in a bottle warn it up and let my girl drink it after she was done she would burp and fart a lot but didn't cry as much.I hope that it works for you it did for me :)

Answer 9

When my 31 year old daughter had co-lick for six months I nearly went mad. What worked for her was a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel and placed on her belly. If that does not work hold her with her stomach across your forearm. Both of these are great.

Answer 10

This sometimes works. Bundle infant warmly, put in secure crib, place crib on top of operating dryer, making sure crib will not move or fall from flat top surface. The constant vibration and white noise from the dryer will calm infant.

I have seen this work, but it does not always work.