help with colic!?

Question

my son is 5 months old and still suffering from colic,i thought it'd only last 3 months,im praying it ends soon,im breastfeeding but give him 1 bottle of aptimal formula before bed,(i use the dr browns bottles for that feed)..im using infacol at the minute,i think it's helped a TINY bit but not much,......i keep blaming my diet,i even tried cutting out dairy,i eat healthy..nothing seems to work......its sooo much hard work

Answer 1

Oh lord, I have been there! You think you will have a sweet cooing baby and instead you are faced with a red-faced, constant screaming infant. I used to cry from helplessness and empathy for my baby. Of course that did not help things at all. I hated that darn comment from well-meaning friends and family, "It is only colic!" Grrrr.

Have you given up your caffeinated drinks for now? Other than a colicky child, is your life tense? These things can add to the situation. Of course the tireder and more depressed you become, the more the situation can accelerate. "Gosh, why did I have this baby in the first place?" was a thought I had more than once during a long sleepless night.

My Mom suggest I try swaddling my girl and taught me her technique. Quite a few times it worked like a charm. The swaddling stopped her from becoming active and upset as she flayed her arms and legs about getting worked up. It also makes her feel secure. The swaddling must be quite snug so your son cannot free his arms. Ask for a demo from someone, preferably a grandmother!, Make sure you get the technique down. This is also a proactive way to prevent colic, not just to deal with an outbreak. After all, the baby was used to much more confining quarters not so long ago.

Although resting on his side or tummy can also help, you must take care to never leave him to sleep on his tummy. That is the source of SIDS so you must be right there with him if you try that as part of the therapy. Never leave him alone. But something about breathing on side or tummy can help calm your baby. You could also try lying him on his side in his infant seat.

Oddly enough if the dishwasher was on, it seemed to help. Perhaps it reminded my baby of being inside me and hearing the constant swoosh swoosh of my body. She always hushed if I used a hair dryer. Try a tape of such white noise to see if it helps. The noise, I found, had to be at a reasonably high level which makes me think that I am right regarding my own body sounds in pregnancy.

Sometimes just swinging or rocking helped. See that lady in the lineup at the grocer's holding the bag of potatoes on her hip and gently swaying from side to side? Chances are she is a colicky baby survivor herself! The car ride was always successful but one could run out of gas with some babies I found!

Last but not least, give him the breast. I found it to be the ultimate pacifier for my second child who used it in that fashion until she was 4. However, she never had colic. The older did, who never nursed, was the culprit. Her colic went on until we realized, as a Eurasian child, she just could not handle dairy milk. Due to health reasons I could not nurse her and it was not until we found soy alternative that she stopped. Back in the day, 27 years ago, people did not know as much about such alternative foods. Certainly no one reasoned that a Eurasian child would have intolerance because Dairy is not part of their traditional food!

The single most important thing is that you take care of yourself. A colicky child can drive a parent to distraction and this can lead to problems. Fatigue and guilt can really get to you. Forgive yourself. This is not your fault. This is something within the child himself and you will find the solution, or he will just stop one night. In the meantime, take a break, have your mate, a friend, or babysitter care for your son so that you can get away for an hour or two. Tea with a friend? A walk in the wilds for spiritual refreshment? A massage? Anything to help you relax and refuel your spiritual resources.

Eventually the crying and screaming will stop as your son's system reaches full maturity but meanwhile this situation can have serious repercussions left untended. These repercussions can lead to clinical depression as well as to marital difficulties.

Sister in mothering, I pray your son responds to something I might have suggested and you find the peace in him that all mothers deserve with their precious children. You say he is 5 months old. The good news is, if it is colic, it should be over. What does your doctor or caregiver say? Five months is a bit long for such torture to both you and your son. Is there any chance that he is already starting to teethe?

Answer 2

Colic does end at three months, so it is something else. My first went straight from constant crying from colic to teething. Also, it could just be problems digesting, or pooping. Do you put him on his tummy, for learning to turn over? This could help things pass along in his digestive tract [put him on a blanket on a safe place on the floor].
He may not be getting enough food, his need for more increases, and some babies simply are always hungry. I know they say to wait 6 months to introduce solids, but as someon whose worked in a daycare with infants and as a mom of three, trying some cereal at this age isn't going to hurt, and if it doesn't help or makes him worse you can always stop. I was feeding vegetables, and sometimes fruit to mine by this age, and it didn't hurt them, it actually helped. Other babies at work had no problems either, most of them were getting solids by then too.

Answer 3

Ah you poor thing, my son suffered with this and like yourself nothing i did seemed to work, it lasted a good 6 or 7 months with him i found once i started him on solids it started to get that bit better, all you can do is keep doing what your doing i used the avent bottles for colic babies that helped and gave water with special drops for colic babies that i got from the health shops after and in between feeds i found this helped him bring up the wind better which is the main problem. good luck and i hope it doesnt go on to long.

Answer 4

Hi, I have an intolerance to milk and when I was a baby I suffered with colic - go and see your Dr and explain that your baby is suffering with colic he may have some suggestions/alternatives that you could use. I was eventually put on milk with a shot of brandy to get me to sleep it worked - but that was over 30yrs ago and intolerance's weren't really diagnosed back then.
best of luck with it.

Answer 5

Take some fresh herb called Dill (Anetham graveolens) and boil it for 5 mins in some water. Let it cool completley and then give it to baby to drink about 1 tbs should do.
It will calm the colic and will help the baby to burp.

Answer 6

i can imagine i never had a problem with my sons and im praying i dont have a colicy baby on my new baby. My friends son was a colicy baby he cried for a whole year and thats no lie he cried morning till night with colic they put my friend on anti depressants because the crying non stop was depressing her.it turned out something to do with the milk. Because as soon as she put him on cows milk he was fine. Hes 9 now but that experience put her off children for life. So it may well have something to do with the milk.

Answer 7

All three of my childern where very colic after 6months we had to put them on soy- formula, infimil AR. They seemed to get better, i used gas drops and a lot of walking, also if you put a towel down on the dryer and stay next to him lay him on his tummy while the dryer is going, the warmth and rocking motion helps to sooth the tummy!! Was a life savor for me, bouncy seats, and thing with motion helps to remove the gas.I could go on and on as to what we used and to what worked for us. You can email me if you want would be happy to help, good luck and my thoughts are with you i know how frustrating this can be.

Answer 8

If you put him on alimentum, he'd probably get over this! Usually by 4 months it goes (all 3 of mine had it and formula cured it), but I'd say your breastfeeding may be doing this! I'd buy the alimentum or nutramigen(enfamil) and it takes two weeks to get other milk out os system! Best wishes, I went through this times 3 and the formula cured it!

Answer 9

My mother told me that I was a clolicy baby. When she cut out dairy I got better. People of African and Mediterranean decent are most likely to have lactose intolerance. I have difficulty digesting most dairy products.

Answer 10

Have you tride gripe water?