My 3-mo. old stuggles with colic, constipation, and frequent spit-up. PLEASE HELP!?

Question

My 12-week old has been stuggling for 6 weeks with VERY frequent spit-up and constipation. At about 8 weeks old he started screaming/crying more frequently (colic???). My husband and I are pulling our hair out trying to soothe him, but NOTHING works! For the constipation we have him on a prescription stool softener every day (1/2 tsp. in one bottle/day)and have still had to give suppositories! For the spit-up we've tried everything: different formulas, different positions, different bottles. We have not yet tried Enfamil's Nutrimigen, but we think that will be our only option. And for the colic, we hold him...CONSTANTLY! We do feel that if the constipation and spit-up were gone, he wouldn't be so fussy...but we're running out of ideas! Our doctor basically told us to try everything we could to help soothe him and if nothing works, then she'll refer us to a specialist...we just want to make sure we've explored ALL of our options before resorting to surgeries,etc...HELP US!!!

Answer 1

This sounds alot like a dairy allergy,my son is allergic to dairy as well as soy.Most babys with a dairy allergy are allergic to soy as well.I would try him on a dairy free formula,Similac also makes one called Alimentum,my son much prefers this to Nutramigen,also,just to be sure if you do try him on a dairy free it is casein protein that they are allergic to.Nutramigen has 17% hydrolyzed (broken down&pre digested) casein,Alimentum has 17% in the powdered form and only 2% to 3% in the ready to use,if you are in Canada as I am they only sell the ready to use here.I would highly suggest trying the ready to use,it is also thicker and taste way better then Nutramigen and the powdered Alimentum.My doctors nor my sons dietitian told me about the difference in proteins between the 2 formulas,I figured it out on my own when he was still fussy on Nutramigen,he is very allergic!Good luck to you!!Maybe have your doctor try him on Zantac as well for acid reflux,this is also very common in babys.

Answer 2

Here are some things that helped my baby...she was very "colicky" for the first month and a half, now she is a happy 7 month old and we are MUCH happier parents LOL. A lot of times colic is caused by an underlying problem that isn't obvious unless you really look into it. That's how we discovered my little girl's allergy to milk and soy. Once we changed her over to the hypoallergenic formula, changed her bottle and started swaddling her CORRECTLY with the miracle blanket, she become a completely different baby within days. We still have to monitor her diet closely, now that she eats table food more often people try to slip her things and don't realize that she can't have things like yogurt or cheese or she'll be up ALL night with painful gas. Good luck to you and I hope this helps :)

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OH and about the Nutrimigen...it's the same thing as Alimentum...so whichever you choose it's just as well, but we found that the Nutrimigen was harder to mix up and left a weird film on the bottles even after running them through the dishwasher they still felt greasy. Just our preference though :)

Answer 3

Colic, honestly is just a doctors way of saying that they don't know. If your doctor sent you home with just 'try everything you can think of' then you either need to get a different doctor, or go int o the office, tell them that you want every possible test done, or to reffer you to someone that knows what they are doing. And don't leave until they've done one of the 2 things. Colic is never just colic. There is always an underlying problem. Especially if you're having other problems as well. You, and your baby will be so much happier if you know that every possibility has been explored.

Answer 4

the solution for colic is starch water. it works so well. start like you are going to make a pot of rice. put enough water in the pan for a bottle. add a good hanful of rice to the water. heat the water just until the water turns white with the starch from the rice. strain the water into a bottle, make sure its not too hot and feed it to the baby. it works like a charm. discard the rice. i have tried this on several babies and it works every time.

to sooth a baby without taking the child for a car ride and wasting gas, put the child in the car seat, strap the child in securely, put a wet towel in the dryer, and a towel or rubber mat on top of the dryer, that is so the carseat wont slide around on top of the dryer. turn the dryer on. they will drift right off to sleep shortly. (never leave your child unattended (of course))
a warm bath with lavender soap and a foot massage right before they go to sleep every night will help them to sleep more hours at a time.

i hope something here helps you. good luck

Answer 5

A lot of times when babies are like that, they are allergic to the type of formula that they are given. In some instances babies are lactose intolerant. That could be what's wrong with your son, he is constipated, crying, and spitting up because his stomach can't handle it. I would try soy milk. I had a friend whose son was the same way and after switching to different types of formulas and having him constantly spitting up and cryinig, her doctor told her to switch to soy milk and he turned into such a different baby. He wasn't crying almost at all and he stopped spitting up. This is really worth a try with your baby. I don't know why you doctor didn't suggest that could be a possibility. Good Luck.

Answer 6

Best Constipation Cures

Answer 7

we had the same problem with our son, who is now 5 months old. In our case it was actually a dairy intolerance which caused all the trouble. The things it can cause are colic, throat infections, ear infections, gas, a rash (kind of pimply), but not always, and dry coughs. Among other things. we switched him to a soy based formula, and now i can truly say i am enjoying being a mother.

Answer 8

My son who is now 15 months old had that problem when he was 1 month. They said he wasnt getting enough food. so they told me to add a little rice cereal to his milk about a tablespoon full to each bottle and he kept everything down to where he wasnt spiting up every bottle.You should try this if it doesnt work then you can at least say you tried.

Answer 9

my youngest did this, come to find out she wasn't agreeing with the formula, try Enfamil Gentlease. It worked wonders for our little girl. Also, have you tried gas drops, and are you certain her ears are ok, that was also a problem with ours

Answer 10

I have read..I don't remember where exactly...that some colicky baby's do better if they sleep upright, like in a swing or something, I also read that that its sometimes caused by acid reflux, but being to young it can't tell you, but that it is OK to mash up part of a Rolaid and give it to the baby. I hope that might help.