My Baby Has Colic

Hi L.:

I know this was a long time ago so I hope that you get this. My children had colic and I used chiropractic care and it works wonders. It took it away compeletely in only 2-3 days. The practic is the Lomonaco family practice. Their number is ###-###-####. They are in Highland Village Texas. There is another one in Dallas at a yoga studio called Ohm Life. They are on Thomas Avenue off of Pearl in Downtown Dallas. Please give it a try (if he/she still has colic). I know you have spent money on other things but this really works! Good luck

L.

I have an 8 week baby boy who has the same thing including meds for reflux. Baths have helped and so has rubing my baby stomach, start at the ribs and press down towards his feet slowly and also in circle!!!

If you find any other way please e-mail me at
____@____.com
Thanks
A.

Get the book "Happiest Baby on the Block" by Harvey Karp. There is also a DVD that is helpful. It tells how to calm any fussy baby but is especially for parents of colicky babies. I can testify to its effectiveness - works like a charm!

Hi, All 3 of my boys have had colic and I got a swaddle blanket from target i think called swaddle me and wrapped them real tight and they slept in a table top swing (placed on the floor in front of the couch with my husband sleeping on the couch to make sure he was ok in the swing)
My 3rd son did this for 9 months then was fine in his crib...

We also used a HOT SOCK, you take a tube sock of your husbands and fill it with dry rice and tie the end off. then heat the rice filled sock in the micro wave for about 30 seconds and place on baby's tummy (on top of clothing or blanket NOT on the skin) or place on your chest and place baby on tummy over the sock in the burping position with the sock under the baby's tummy. this really helped us.
Walking the baby helps also hold him like a foot ball with his tummy on your for arm. his head next to your elbo and his feet dangeling past/off your hand that is under his body... if that makes sense. hold your arm close to your body and walk, while rocking and swaying... the trick is to keep him asleep when you put him down :0)

You have received a ton of good advice. I add only this - I have two sets of twins, ages 1 and 4. They all had bouts of colic, some worse than others. My best friend in the whole world (aside from swaddling blankets) was the OceanWonders Aquarium Bouncer from Fisher Price. The vibration helps to calm. I left them in the bouncer for at least 20 minutes after feeding to help the food move downward - much like when you were pregnant with reflux you likely slept in a semi-sitting position. If the baby just cannot get past the gas problem, consider talking to the pediatrician about trying Nutramigen, a "pre-digested" formula. I had to use it for one of my twin girls and it worked within a few days - it was magic. For my twin boys, I took them off the formula that had extra extra iron, as the iron upsets their tummies too. Some colic is a normal part of a baby's life, and providing comfort is all a mommy can do. Tummy time helps a lot. Try putting the baby on your legs with tummy on bottom, and lower one leg so that rear end is elevated. Massage and/or pat the back and see if that helps to release the gas. Mylicon drops every hour helped my baby; you can mix it in formula if you feed formula. Good luck; this too shall pass and one day you will sleep again - just not very much. Be sure to take advantage and nap when your baby naps - mommy can't help baby if mommy is tired and stressed.

Hi L.,
I understand your pain. My 2nd child sounds similar to your little Angel. It's so hard to be patient when you're running on no sleep. I was also nursing and tried what you tried and it didn't matter. All I can do is tell you what worked for us--Dr. Harvey Karp (bought the video, no time to read a book) the 5 S's are great, but didn't do all the tricks for us. She really liked the swaddling and sushing. At Babies R Us, I found a nifty crib 3-in-1 attachment (around $35). It has a vibrator piece that goes unded the mattress and it has several settings, plus the crib attachment plays the heart beat sound and others. That saved me some sleep for a few weeks. And Gripe Water was a lifesaver. We went through 3 bottles! You can find the Baby's Bliss brand at health food stores for around $12 a bottle. I liked that brand since it didn't require refrigeration. The Little Tummy's brand at Babies R Us is around $9 and has to be kept cold. it worked miracles--10x better than Mylicon ever thought about being. there was just something about it and the way it would suddenly calm her down! My white noise was the hair dryer. The vacuum scared her, but i rigged up a way to put the dryer on low and on a cool setting and i'd let it go! We stayed overnight once away from home and I did the hair dryer trick to get her to sleep and it worked great. Lastly my Baby Bjorn was a God send. it was the only way I could do any housework or grocery shop or any shopping for that matter. she wanted to constantly be close to me and it always worked like a charm.
And just so you know, I weaned her at 4 months and found that she couldn't tolerate regular formula. We are using Member's Mark Gentle Formula (Sam's). Love it!

Hope these are helpful to you. Please know that I didnt use all of these strategies at once. All of these are compiled after many sleepless nights and trying to find what would work so i could nod off for a while. I'm sure you've learned that what worked for a week or so suddenly doesn't work anymore...that's where this random list comes from. =)
Best of luck and sleep when you can.
J.

I absolutely second the chiropractor, Gripewater, and the Tucker sling. Also, if you are BFing cut out dairy etc from your diet. You can contact your local LLL for further assistance. If those don't work, you might have to pursue Prevacid/Zantac. My little one was on Prevacid for several months and it was a huge help.

It will get better, Mama:)))

We used Gripe Water with my daughter. I now give it to all of my friends when they are having a new baby. It seems to work about 75% of the time. You can find out more about it at
http://www.colichelp.com/

Good luck and hang in there...it will get easier.

Hi L.,
I have 4 children - age 6, 4, 2 and 4 1/2 months. Two were colicky and had reflux. The best thing for fussiness besides treating the reflux (do you have baby zantac from your dr for that?) is a homeopathic remedy called Hyland's Gas and Hylands upset stomach. These two have been life savers for my husband and I. THey are homeopathic, so thye are completely safe and you can give as needed, but they really work. You can get them at any health food store or online. Hylands is the brand. Their teething tablets work well too for later on, so if you buy online, grab those as well. The gas and upset stomach pills work in 5-10 seconds. I never had luck with gripe water b/c it was too hard to administer, but these are disolvable pills (instantly) and are amazing. Hope this helps.

I know that chiropractic helped our son when he was colicky. It helps his body funtion better, especially his digestive tract, which is the most frequent cause of colick.

Hope this helps.

L.,
I feel for you. I have twins that just turned 5 months old... and one of them had colic every night at 7:30 p.m. It was a nightmare! We went to a gastroenterologist in Ft. Worth (not because of the colic) and he put me on a diet that was EXTREMELY strict. No dairy products and no soy products which means you have to read labels very carefully. The doctor thought my daughter might have had a milk protein allergy. Although it turned out that she did not have a milk protein allergy, restricting my diet to no dairy/soy DID get rid of the colic within 1-2 weeks. It was the hardest thing I've ever done to live on such a restricted diet, but it was worth it to not have a colicky baby. If you want to try something different first... I recommend trying colic tablets. They're homeopathic and they just help settle baby's tummy. You can get them in the baby section at CVS or Walgreens.

Best of luck! God bless you and your new little one!
K.

Sometimes theres nothing to do ;) Breastfed babies are just more gassy, because they digest everything so quickly anyways. Try 'Gripe Water' from Wellements, you can buy it online, Kid to Kid or a healthfood store. Its all natural and has worked really well for my daughter. (other children and adults can also take it!)

After the hot bath, rub extra virgen olive oil on the tummy, lower back and feet. By rubbing the oil, it creates heat against the skin. Make sure to cover the baby and do not let the baby get cold because the oil opens up the pores and lets the gases release from the body. the baby may start to release gas. Good Luck.

the miracle blanket is good try on ebay they normally run around $30-40 if you by it in the store but i got mine on ebay for just $20 including shipping. you may also look into taking out dairy and soy products from your diet. i am currently on that diet due to my sons reflux problems but with the reading i've done colic can be associated with a dairy/soy alergy. check out GERD or GER online and it will list out symptoms and suggestions as far as eating goes. i'd encourage you to go with your "mommy feelings" and what you have a peace about b/c there is so much "out there" regarding colic. blessings to you new mom.

I loved the Miracle Blanket. Well worth the money for us - my daughter was swaddled until the age of 7 months!

I also highly recommend a white noise machine. I got one at Target for about $12. My daughter is 3 now, and she still likes to have it on when she sleeps.

The Happiest Baby on the Block by Dr. Harvey Karp is great - I recommend the DVD.

All I can say is hang in there...I know it's really tough. I don't know if my daughter had colic, but she was almost always cranky and didn't sleep well for the first few months.

Good luck!

C.

Give him baby magic tea and also drink it by yourself to pass its effects through your supply milk. it will soothe him within minutes.

The miracle blanket has worked wonders for my twins, they have acid reflux, too. I would definitely suggest investing in one, well worth the $30! Or if it's a little out of your price range, I'd suggest what the other lady said, just wrap his arms in a thin recieving blanket and a nice thick cotton-y blanket. That's what I did until I could afford the actual blanket...and come to think of it, I don't know why I wasted the almost $60, lol. But it stops them from waking themselves up and is just great.

Also, what you could try is giving your baby a little more tummy time, and that'll help relieve some of that fussiness. And if it doesn't get better within a day or two I'd definitely take him into the doctor to discuss possible treatment. They may test your breast milk?

my son was like that too... eventually we had to put him on GoodStart formula b/c it wasn't getting any better. and that helped ALOT... i would see if your doctor can prescribe another sort of med... quite possibly its not the proper one for him... we had Zantac... i dont know what you are on. but there are many others out there.. also, maybe having him sleep on you in the begining and then laying him down wrapped tightly up helped ours out. keep with it though... you'll make it! :) i used to dance with our son too... he liked that... seemed to calm him down.

We have the Miracle Blanket and we love it!!! Our little one month old girl sleeps very well during the night for the most part and we truly believe it is because of the Miracle Blanket! We also bought the DVD "The Happiest Baby On The Block" or you can by the book version. It has great techniques to help your little one calm down and the dr. on there makes a lot of sense. Both I think are definitely worth their price and I think will hopefully help your little one. Take care and I hope things get better for you. Oh...we bought the blanket and dvd at a store in Grapevine called The Nesting Place. The owner of that store is also very educated and I believe is a nurse. She is really informative and helpful.

Oh L., I'm sorry. I'm sure you are so tired. OK, here are a few things that I used and still use with my 4 month old.
1. Miracle Blanket...WORTH EVERY PENNY!!! NO JOKE, IT IS A GREAT THING!!

2. Try to cut dairy out. My son doesn't have any issues with caffene or anything else, but if I have some milk it upsets him...not cheese or antything, just glasses of milk...of course, I normally drink lots of milk, but not anymore.

3. Gripe Water...get the Little Tummies one. I tried others and it doesn't taste very good. The only one that my son likes is the Little Tummies...it relieves those nasty hiccups immediately. Make sure and keep it in thre refrigerator

4. White Noise Machine...and have it LOUD

5. Bed time routine. I know they say you don't have to bathe your baby every day, but he likes baths and then we put him in clean PJ's, feed him a bottle/or breastfeed, swaddle him and put him to bed in. The nighttime routine works really well. We would sometimes rock him a bit if he was irritable...rock the baby while it is swaddled.

6. Pacifier...now, I thought I would never use one, but I am a fan. Now, at some point I will try to just have him have it at night, but he is still little and if he needs it then that is fine. He seemed to lose the big green one from the hospital, so we bought some newborn Nuk's from Target and those stayed in longer.

It is starting to get a bit cooler and I can not wait until it cools off a bit more. When it does, try to go for a late afternoon walk around the block in the stroller with a mosquito net over it. My son LOVES being outside and looking at the trees...plus it wastes some time instead of being cooped up in the house with a crying baby!

Good luck...hang in there...this crazy time will pass!

Hope this helps,
C.

Hi L., I understand I went throught the same thing about 6 months ago. There is a great class, The Happiest Baby on the Block that Kay teaches @ The Nesting Place in Grapevine. You Bring your baby to the class and she teaches you how to do calm you baby. She also sells the miracle blanket you can come by and try one if you would like. The phone # is ###-###-####

You are doing the right things. Every baby is different so it is hard to give specific advice but this is what has worked for me--swadling has been a life saver and I love those blankets with the velcro which is harder for the baby to escape from, read or take a class for the Happiest BAby on the Block series--there is really good information in there (I remember reading it while holding a screaming baby), and with my third I ended up having to give up breast feeding and switch to a soy formula because he just tolerated it SO MUCH better which I figured out at 5-6 weeks. So keep up the exploration and know that some day you will sleep again!

My daughter got very fussy at night as well. I'm not sure if she truly had colic, or if it was just acid reflux (she was on Prevacid). Sadly, it depended on the night whether something worked or not. Taking her outside did the trick often, although I couldn't tell you why. Sometimes turning on some music would help. She didn't even mind me singing along (she still doesn't know I can't sing). :)

I took milk and gassy foods out of my diet, but that didn't help.

One night none of this seemed to work. I was told to sit with her on the washer during a spin cycle and see if the vibration helped. I tried it. It didn't work.

Then my friend told me something so strange, I thought she was crazy. But I was desperate enough to try it. She told me to turn the dishwasher on and sit on the floor with my back against it and hold my daughter. Believe it or not, it seemed to help. Put a pillow down first if you have a tile floor. I didn't at first..ouch. :)

Good luck. It does go away in time.

Our world got a ton better when I eliminated tomatos (in any form)from my diet. We also had good luck with a white noise machine and gripe water as well as holding him on our his stomach on our arm so he is on his stomach adn walking around. Oh and mine liked being in the tub with me so he could "float" but that takes dad being around to help you when it's time to get out. Never used the miracle blanket but swaddled as tightly as possible and let him sleep in the swing or carseat.
Good luck-it gets so much more fun around 8 weeks-you'll make it!

I am so glad you asked. I don't know if you have heard about The Happiest Baby on the Block or not, but he discusses this very issue. The good news is there is something you can do about colic. Dr Karp says always begin with a swaddle. I teach the DUDU wrap but really prefer the Miracle Blanket for several reasons. It is cooler, puts the gentle pressure where you want it, on the tummy, and one size fits all from a premie to 1 year old. Dr Karp says some babies need it up to 8 months of age. I carry both the dvd from Dr Karp and the Miracle blanket here in my grapevine store. Please feel free to call for a class or drop by for the blanket.
K. @ The Nestingplace
###-###-####

There are some brand new studies that are really making some head way. So new that a lot of doctors are still unaware. Here are some links:

http://www.nutraingredients.com/news/ng.asp?id=73215-biog...

http://www.webmd.com/parenting/news/20070103/gut-bacteria...

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/550420

http://parentingsolved.typepad.com/parenting_solved/2007/...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactobacillus_reuteri

Hope that helps you in your search.

I second taking the baby outside in the early evening when they are fussy and the vacuum cleaner noise. A friend told us about the vacuum cleaner trick and at first I thought he was crazy, but it worked with mine. If you're concerned about the motor on your vacuum record a CD of it and just play that each night. My husband and I just used the vacuum, we figured that replacing a $100.00 vacuum was well worth the peace and quiet and an end to the endless pacing we had to do when our 1st daughter had colic.

I had a very good friend with a colicky baby and I would walk her outside and she would almost immediately calm down. I am not sure what it is about the fresh air, but it really seemed to help. I would however also make sure that it is colic and not reflux. I know several people who thought their baby had colic and it turned out to be reflux which can be treated. Keep your chin up - I know it can be exhausting! Remember to ask for help from everyone - I used to go over to my friends house 3 nights a week to relieve her for at least an hour. It can be nerve-racking.

Does he seem to be better when he is upright than when he is lying down? If he seems more comfortable upright then it could be really bad reflux and hurt when lying flat. I see that you are already giving meds but maybe it's not enough. I used a Tucker sling on the crib to help keep him upright while sleeping and it helped ALOT! I know that you not suppose to keep them on their tummy but I did to get him to sleep. He was adopted and that is the way they positioned him before I got him.
If that's not the case then I would suggest a good swaddle before putting him down. I used a large receiving blanket before making my own "miracle blanket" using a small thin receiving blanket to wrap the arms on the side then another large one to swaddle. A large blanket should be good for now if he's not wiggling out of it. I even made one out of a twin flat sheet with the weather started to get warmer.
Nothing like loss of sleep to get one motivated! Anyway the real trick to swaddling is to do it really tight. You could bounce a quarter on mine! It worked like a charm. Most of the ones that you can buy are too stretchy and don't work well. Remember practice makes perfect. Another suggestion is a product called "gripe water". It's for colic and works great. You can call some health/vitamin stores in your area to see if they carry it.
Hope you find some help on here. I went through about 4 months of no sleep before figuring out that my 2nd baby had infant reflux and it's miserable to not sleep and care for a little one!
C.

I used Dr. Karp's book & the miracle blanket with my daughter from about 3 weeks until she was almost 9mos old. It really was a 'miracle'. I give the book & blanket to all my friends that are expecting.

My suggestion is to take him back to the doctor. It could be something completely different. Also, try a test...does he only cry when you lay him down? How does he do when you keep him sitting up? This might be good information for the doctor. Not that this might be the cause, but I have a friend and an aunt who both have had issues with their stomach where the stomach has either twisted or reverted up into the esophagus. This can cause extreme discomfort when trying to lay down and sleep. Just another angle... Good luck.

My daughter had colic really bad all day long. I took her to the chiropractor 3 days a week for 2 weeks, (that is how long the therapy is) and it helped out tremendously. I used Dr. Monte Horne in Sulphur Springs, he is great with kids. I also put her on Enfamil Nutramigen formula with gas drops in every bottle.

L.,
We have been going through the SAME thing with ours.... and we tried everything... gripewater, mylicon, dr. karp, babywearing, literally everything! We had our little girl on a hypoallergenic formula, and at six weeks she started passing blood, so the GI specialist determined she has Milk Protein Allergy... now she is on prescription formula. We would have NEVER known! Sometimes cutting out dairy is not enough,is that is what she has. The GI told me had I been breastfeeding I would have to cut out other proteins as well. I urge you to seek a specialist, to make sure it isn't an allergy, because they can really wreck a babies insides. They can test the stool for microscopic blood. Or she could be struggling with reflux and need an acid reducer. An allergy can also worsen reflux.

Great Book! -"Colic Solved" by Bryan Vartabedian. “I suggest in Colic Solved that there isn’t such a thing as colic. Colic is instead a well orchestrated five letter-defense mechanism for doctors who are either outdated, outwitted, or just plain out of ideas.”

Feel free to message me for my phone number if you have any questions, or just need moral support! I am also a new sleepy SAHM with a little girl who will be 9 weeks tommorrow, and getting better day by day!

Hi L., I feel your pain. I had a baby with colic and reflux and it was bad for the first 4 months. We put him on reflux meds too which helped some, but not with him being able to calm down in the evening. We tried everything, the washing machine spin cycle, the dishwasher thing, walking outside, car rides, and music. I know it sounds crazy, but a combinaton of 2 things worked for us for the most part. A Rascall Flats CD (it was something about the tone of their voices), and running a vacuum cleaner. We actually would sit in the recliner and rock him with the vacuum cleaner running nearby. Like I said, it's crazy, but the white noise of the vacuum cleaner did the trick until he was able to start calming himself down better. Good luck!

I had the same problem with my baby from the day after his birth and it lasted 3 months solid. I was told that it would be miraculous that, at 3 months, it would just stop. And, it did. I know that's hard to hear, but my best advice to you is take breaks. Get someone to help you with the baby from time to time so you can get away from the crying! It's is VITAL in order to handle it when you are there caring for him. I tried gas drops, soy formula, bundling him, baths - nothing helped for me - just time. You'll get through it!

You don't say if your BF or bottlefeeding. If you're Breastfeeding, then you should try removing dairy from your diet. My first child was very, very colicy and we later learned he had a dairy allergy - you don't have to suffer, nor does he. If he's on formula, you might want to talk to your pediatrician about a change to one that's more digestable.

My now two year old had colic and I feel your pain. It was such a rough time. I breastfeed as well and did not get to eat what felt like anything. The doctor gave her Zantac for reflus which helped a little with the spitting up. The best advice I can give you is take him to a Chiropractor. I cannot even explain how much this helped her. My doctor said it would not help, but after just a few times she was a different baby. I know it sounds crazy and it did to us as well, but I was ready to try anything. I would try taking him to one it couldn't hurt.

chiropractor, baby massage