My Colicky Son Won't Sleep in His Crib

My son was the same. The Cradle swing saved me. We ended up getting 2 of them. You need to have it swinging on a higher speed at first. He slept in it for 6 months, naps and bedtime. I thought it was going to be hard to get him out of it but it wasn't. We swaddled him for a long time too. Milocon was great. Good luck. Remember this time will pass!

My son was very colicky. I tried everything. i finally took him to a chiropractor and with gentle adjustments he was better in less than two weeks! He aid that babies get compression in the top two cervical vertebrae from being head down in the womb. Also the top two vertebrae correspond to the eustasian tubes. anyway, big, big help. good luck

Hi A.,

Please look into chiropractic care to relieve colic........if you google it, you can find lots of info.

I have a chiropractor who treats colic in infants and makes a really big difference in their symptoms.

Best wishes,

N.

Dear A.,

If your son is like most colicky babies than you are in it for about 6 to 9 months. I had colicky twin boys, so count your blessings that you only have one that is crying :-)
We learned a couple of tricks that worked and I want to share them with you:
* The 4Ss Swaddle (wrapped up tightly including hands), Suck, Swing, Shhhh (white noise) together will calm the baby; the colicky episodes are usually peeking around 6pm. Your son might just prefer the swinging motion or the calming of your heart beet to fall asleep, since he got used to all this (being swaddled, swinging motion, and white noise all in your womb)
Try putting him to sleep in a swing or try to put the radio in his room between 2 stations to get the white noise, vacuum is too loud for the night, but you can use it for the day.
He is just looking for his comfort zone to fall asleep and you have to help him recreate what he was used to before he was born.
When he gets older, like a couple of months you HAVE TO GET HIM USED TO THE CRIB, otherwise you have problems later.
It worked for us, the twins would sleep either in a swing or with the white noise on tightly wrapped in their cribs, sometimes with pacifiers.
I got rid of the pacifier and the swing around 6 months or so as things got better.

Email me if you need more clarification.
Good luck!
____@____.com

We went through a similar circumstance with our DD. In our case, it ended up being reflux and she has been on prevacid daily for 3 months now and it has made a world of difference. My heart breaks knowing she suffered so long without us knowing what to do to help her. It could be a number of things causing his discomfort...gas, allergies, food intollerance, reflux or maybe he just needs motion to be comfortable. It took us almost 6 months to narrow it down. With babies it is just hard to know. I would first try letting him sleep in his swing. Maybe he just likes the rocking motion. I also noticed when my little one was that tiny, she felt "lost" in her crib. We used a sleep positioner that made her feel more secure. Are you swaddling? Maybe that will help his feel less exposed. If that doesn't help...try elevating his sleeping position with a reflux pillow for infants, car seat or swing. Also....try gas drops and massaging his tummy. I relate to the bouncing...we still sometimes have to bounce my baby girl on a bosu ball to get her to calm down. Good luck..it does get much easier when they get older and you can read their cues a little better.

Hi A.,
My friend just went through this with her little girl. After some research she found a product on-line called Colic Calm that is made from all natural ingredients. They gave it to their daughter and she showed massive improvement. Here is a link to a site I found on it: www.coliccalm.com/?gclid=CMazvZb1ppYCFQ8QagodLAcp6g
Sweet dreams. :)

Hi A.,
I have to girls and went through a lot to figure out that it wasn't colic. It was acid reflux. I was hoping that the 2nd one would have it but unfortunately, after changing my diet, etc....and nothing worked. The doctor finally said Baby Zantac which you have to get a prescription for and it tasks aweful. However, I learned to shoot it down the side of the babys check/mouth/throat and then nurse right away. After a week it began to work. Had to have the babies sleep in boucy seat or swing so that they were upright. Otherwise the acid would creap up their throats. Anyway, I took them off it at 3 months but ended up putting them back on because they were still having problems. At 6 months took them off it again and they were totally fine. Zantac was a miracle for my girls. My mom had said that I was colicy and would cry on the front porch because it was so ruff. I now think I had acid reflux since it seems to be a heredity thing. I kind of dismis the "colic" naming since this happened to my girls. I would talk to your doctor and see what he/she says. If your baby is happier upright, then I would bet acid is the cause. Good luck and I'm sorry you are going through this. Not fun for either you or the baby!

Honestly, none of that stuff works (drops, gripe water, etc...) "Colic" is just a term used by docs and others who want to describe a group of symptoms, but if you google it you'll see lots of confusion on the subject because no one really knows what it is. It could be gas, nerves (a brand new nervous system going haywire), growing pains, hunger, etc... But it IS just a stage that will go away over time, I have 5 kids, two of which had colic and, magically, it disapeared for them around 3-4 months of age. It's hard to cope with but there is really nothing you can do for it except just your best to comfort and console and be there for your baby. I nursed my baby in bed with me for months because it made him less miserable, but now I'm having trouble getting him to sleep through the night in his own crib (he still wakes up at 4 am to be brought to bed with me again, I've "spoiled" him I fear). Also, keep in mind that babies go through growth spurts and your baby just might need extra nursing (it sometimes feels like that's all you do, or that you're just one big boob, right?) Sometimes when my baby went through phases of non-stop crying all I had to do was constantly nurse and that would do the trick - I highly recommend nursing on demand, in my opinion you should never put a baby on a feeding schedule. Walking, rocking, singing, talking quietly to, and praying! Those are the things to do for a "colicky" baby.

your lucky to be able to soothe your colicky baby. I tried everything but it didn't soothe my baby. I ended up having to let her cry for three hours. It happened three to four times a week for a month. I was nursing hed soley so I stop drinking milk( heard it contribute gas in my milk) and gave her gas drops. I don!t think it made a difference though. I did the swaddling, vacumm etc. Etc. Etc. Like I mentioned early, I was left with waiting it out with my baby. I had to remind myself it is temporarily. As for sleeping, I ended up cosleeping because I had the same challenge as yours. (i was all against cosleeping and worried about sid, but it turned out to be the best thing ever) My husband was not happy about it because he was sent to the guest room so that baby and i had all the space we needed in our ca king bed(even though I am a petite women) Around seven months(after hearing my husband on going compliants about wanting to be back in OUR bed)I tried the crib. She was ready! She now sleeps in the crib. Cosleeping was not easy but later I got the hang of it. My baby slept very well with cosleeping,9 to 11 hours! Then she became to active in bed, (also because of my husband) so when I tried the crib, she took it well. Then I had to shed tears for a while but i accepted that she wants the crib. She is nine months. I guess every baby has their own timing with needs. I'd say go with the flow.

Check out the www.guardiansleeper.com. Something like this may help him feel like he is being held even though you are getting some sleep. All the best with your quest fo sleep!
C. :-)

A.,

Cut all dairy out of your diet including dairy hidden in other foods. My now 2 year old was very colicy and never slept. Once I did an elimination diet (I started out eliminating dairy, soy, eggs, chocolate, caffeine, nuts, peanuts, tomatoes and citrus) and eliminated what was bothering him, he was much, much better. He also had pretty bad reflux that improved dramatically once I eliminated dairy and soy. At 2 years old he's still allergic to both. You can find info on food allergies in breastfed babies at www.kellymom.com and www.askdrsears.com.

T.

Hi A.,
I'm sorry your baby is hurting. Try reading The Happiest Baby on the Block by Dr. Harvey Karp. It's an easy read and he's very encouraging. Swaddling is a big part of helping colicky babies. Good luck to you and your little boy:)

A., my son wasn't colicky, but he had really bad gas (doubling over in pain etc.). I did a number of different things: I put warmth on his tummy (I have a grain-filled microwavable hot/cold pack), I gave him colic calm (mentioned by some other moms), and I let him sleep on his tummy. I KNOW you're not supposed to, but he sleeps SO MUCH BETTER this way! When I started, he was already able to turn his head from one side to the other. I also make sure he only sleeps on firm surfaces with snug sheets and without burp cloths or blankets in reach.
Colick usually stops right around 12 weeks, so hang in there!

A. you are awesome!!! I really know how hard this is, my daughter was extremely colicky. Screaming 6 hours a day and I had to hold her always and she still cried. Only way she would sleep was with me holding her on my chest or attached to the breast, just like your little guy.

You've had many great replies and I just wanted to add my little bit. I tried the elimination diet, cutting out everything, but rice, turkey, pears, and water. It didn't work for my daughter, neither did the swing, acid reflux medicine, swaddling, or any of The Happiest Baby On The Block solutions. At four months I finally took her to the chiropractor and had her adjusted (very gentle manipulations) and that is what finally worked for her. After that when she would start to get really fussy I knew she was out and would take her to the chiro. I wish I had done it sooner!

My daughter still isn't a good sleeper at 10 1/2 months. I also had to start letting her cry at 6 months to go to bed for the night. At nine months I had to do it with naps. I don't recommend waiting as long as I did. I feel it gets harder the older they get. I'm certainly not suggesting you do this with your 6 week old. I would get his colic under control first.

Best wishes and hang in there! I hope you reach out for people to help!
S. G.

Hi A.,

My currently one-year-old son was the same way when he was an infant. I kept telling my pedi that there was something wrong and he kept dismissing it and telling me he was just colicky. Finally, at ten months and still not sleeping through the night, someone recommended the book Colic Solved to me. I found out that my baby had silent reflux--he had almost all the symptoms when he was only weeks old. He outgrew many of the symptoms over time (months and months), but still has it. Since then I've found out from lots of other moms of babies with reflux that most pediatricians do not know about reflux and so don't diagnose or treat it. You can have a totally healthy baby who has reflux. My GI specialist said one out of two babies has reflux, so it is very common.

If your baby is clearly in pain, it sounds like he has reflux. Check out the book from the library and have a read. If your doctor won't listen, insist that he give you a referral to a specialist, then find a new pedi. They are great at CHOC and realize lots of doctors dismiss reflux when there's a problem. Help save your baby some pain and yourself lots of lost sleep and headaches. I need to find a new pedi because my baby now has problems self-soothing to sleep. He has been on meds for about a month and a half and they seem to be helping...but it's a long road to train him out of his sleep problems at this point! I'm very upset that my doctor has caused us almost a year of lost sleep and my poor baby lots of unnecessary pain. Plus, we still have to work on his sleep habits. Lots of luck.

Hugs,
Y.

My youngest daughter had reflux, which is like really bad heartburn and vomiting. Doctors believe this is a hidden cause of colic - heartburn without the vomiting. For my daughter, she slept sitting up in a car seat for the first 5 months of her life, that or in the swing or Bjorn. Your son may need to be in sitting or upright position, or have the pressure of your chest on his tummy. Having my daughter sleep in a car seat was heartbreaking to me because we had a family bed, but it was best for her. Rest assured, they do outgrow colic. Mine outgrew hers by 5 months. Good luck!

Dear A.,

I distinctly remember while I was taking pre-natal yoga at The Golden Bridge in Hollywood, they recommended and many mothers swore by this magic remedy for colic; give the baby the liquid that gathers on top from the best natural organic plain yogurt you can find. I'm not sure about the quantity. Please call The Golden Bridge and they can probably answer your question or put you in touch with someone who will have the holistic remedy.

You might also want to consider their mommy and me yoga program which is so beautiful and bonding and moms are able to share questions and answers to just about everything under the sun about babies! I highly recommend it. I believe it is free for a first time visitor. Worth a try.

GOLDEN BRIDGE
The Heart of Yoga
6322 De Longpre Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90028
Phone: ###-###-####
Fax: ###-###-####

One block south of Sunset & 1/2 a block west of Vine, just behind the Arclight Cinema

Good luck,
C.

My daughter was the same... turns out she had a severe dairy allergy. I cut all milk and dairy out of MY diet, she was a new baby. We didn't diagnose the allergy until she had bloody stools, a sign that we had let it go way too long without dealing with it. If your baby is in that much pain, save a dirty diaper and have the doctor look at it with a fluoroscope which can detect even small amounts of blood not visible to the naked eye. If it tests positive they'll probably have you start eliminating all the usual suspects... milk, eggs, nuts etc. Then again... it just may be plain old colic!
Best of luck to you.
s

hi A.. my boy is 3 months now and he is finally getting past the colic. nothing seemed to work for him, and he rarely sleeps in his own crib. he does not like to be flat on his back, i think it hurts more that way. he sleeps in his swing during the day. we purchased a wedge pillow for under the mattress and that way he is a bit elevated, and it seems to help. also, when the tummy cramps are bad, i hold him with my arms firmly around his tummy, and bounce on the exercise ball or go up and down the stairs. its the only thing that has worked for me..

It is probably your body warmth that eases a lot of his discomfort. Try putting a heating pad or hot water bottle in the crib to warm it first. Also, some people make little heating pads by filling a sock with rice and then heating it in the microwave. That may help. But my first choice - hold him. Let him sleep on you the majority of the time - he is only six weeks old . . . Do you have a baby sling? Another thing that worked for our son was having him sleep in his car seat, but any thing that keeps his head above his stomach should do. Also a book that saved us was THE HAPPIEST BABY ON THE BLOCK by Dr. Harvey Karp.
Good Luck!

Try the Little Remedies brand Gripe Water. My 7 wk old daughter has kind of bad reflux and while she doesn't usually cry from it, it disturbs her sleep and she doesn't like to lay flat at all (esp in her crib). A few days ago I decided to try some of that gripe water at the advice of another mama, b/c she is constantly awoken by hiccups, gagging and spitting up, even if she is upright. It worked so well that during her 6 hour sleep span she didn't wake up one time from spitting up, gagging or hiccups. She even slept in her crib last night for 4 hours (the longest she has ever been in there). I have now been giving it to her every night. It is basically just ginger and fennel, so it is homeopathic and you can give it several times a day if needed. I'd say its worth a shot! :)

Hi, A....I don't know much about colicy babies but I remember reading somewhere that if a baby suffers from colic then try running your vacuum. Something about the noise and motion helps. Just try it, it won't hurt. Good luck!

This is one of the toughest up to three months you will ever have, they have a gas over the counter meds that work some, I also would put one of my sons baby blanket in the dryer to warm it up and wrap him sng in it, the warmth and the tightness of the blanket helped alot, rocking seemed to help, then again some nights holding him is all he wanted. Soothing sound, plus mom he reacts to you if your all upset try to stay calm it is what it is, and you just have to ride it out, when its over its only a faint memory.. this to shall pass.. hang in there.. I feel for ya xo

A.,

My daughter had the same problem starting around 6 weeks. It took us pretty much 3.5 months to find out what was bothering her was acid reflux and once she was properly treated for that, she was a whole new baby. The reason she couldn't sleep in her crib was that everytime we layed her down flat, the acid reflux would come up and she would wake up and cry. I would not attribute your son's unhappiness to old fashion colic. See if there is anything else going on with him. Your sanity and your son will appreciate it. The best book I read was called Colic Solved. You can find it on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Colic-Solved-Essential-Infant-Diffi...

This book has a lot of tips of what you can do at home and medically.

I hope this helps.

My son did not have colic, but would always wake up as soon as we put him in the crib. He was in the hospital for 5 weeks so I think he needed to be around people and noise to sleep. Two things that really helped 1)swaddling 2)buying a cosleeper to put right up next to our bed. I would avoid sleeping with him until he is old enough to sit up and push pillows/blankets away incase they get near his face.

My son had colic and I stopped drinking milk, which made a world of difference for him. Try that. I wouldn't worry too much about getting him into his crib for right now--count your blessings that he can be comforted at all. Some babies do well with their seat on top of the dryer or one of those seats that has a vibrating motion. There's also the magic car ride---some babies go right to sleep in the car. Also, sometimes a swing helps. If he needs to be on you or with you---get a baby bjorn or one of those slings and just go about your business with baby on your chest! Good luck.

Hi A.,

While it is often just a matter of time and waiting it out, I know how horrible it is to live through a colicky baby. Not only are you miserable for your child, but you are so sleep deprived that you can barely remember your own name.

I can tell you everything that my husband and I did and while it seemed to help a bit, time and patience was probably the biggest key.

So, we did the Happiest Baby on the block and made sure to always have him swaddled and did the shushing technique. We also bought mylicon and gripe water and probiotics powder for babies (which our Doctor thought was a fantastic idea). We also bought the Dr. Brown bottles that are made for collicky babies. Let's see, what else did we do...yes, lots of sleeping on us to help him get his sleep patterns down, but we always put him in his crib at night. Our son had really good neck control and only wanted to sleep on his belly which as we all know is a huge NO NO. However, our doctor said it was okay for him because he had great neck control and we completely emptied out his crib. While struggling with the panic of putting him on his belly, we found some websites that sell these wedge thingies for babies with colic who like to sleep on their stomach and while they're expensive I believe they are approved for most babies by some authority, but we didn't buy it, so I really can't remember.

I wish you all the luck, and while I know you've heard this from 50 million people, and it's hard to imagine, but it really will get better and soon you'll be able to really enjoy his great little personality and being a parent.

6 weeks is stil VERY young. Do wherever it takes to soothe him now. Dony worry about the crib thing until around 3 months. During the first three months you cannot spoil them enough. Enjoy this time.

hi. i am 35 and have a 7 yr old son. i remember thr colicky days. First start with hylands colic tablets. all natural and they work great. checked with his pediatrician and he said nothing in them to hurt him. i used to have a bassinet by my bed and never failed every morn aroun 3 a.m. he would start screaming. so my husband would lay him on his chest. belly to belly and off to sleep he would go. i think it had to do with the pressure of his belly and of course the heartbeat and heatof his dad. it will take some time, but it will pass. and those tablets do work wonders. getting them at any drug store. sometimes behind the counter. good luck!

I know exactly what you are talking about! My son was just like that. I waited on the crib. You are right a baby with colic is miserable and needs comfort. My son started sleeping in his own bed at about 3 months. Good luck and I feel for you! I always told myself if he was a tough baby he would be an easy teenager. I'm sure that isn't true but I'm sticking to it!

A few things.
a) Dr. Harvey Karp's boook: THE HAPPIEST BABY ON THE BLOCK (also DVD) was a life saver for us.
b) If he has bad gas, take a look at what he is eating. If he is on formula, try switching up the brands to see what works better. If you are breastfeeding, look at your own diet. With my little guy I had to cut out all the gassy foods, like broccoli, cauliflower, beans, etc. You will have to play with this a bit.
c) For the long term, you need to think about where you want him to sleep. In the next month or so make that transition, before he gets strong ideas about where he wants to sleep. (Speaking as the poster child for what not to do with sleep in children with my daughter :) )

My 2 month old daughter had colic and it is very hard on both baby and parents. The very first thing you should do is call your pediatrician and inform him/her of the issue. In my case, it was solved and a change in my diet while breastfeeding (many many foods can cause gas and discomfort for your baby while breastfeeding). If you use formula, a change in formula may do the trick. Mylicon drops works as a temporary solution and helped my daughter. I was told by some of my friends who are also mom's who had dealt with the colic issue that there is prescription medicine available via your pediatrician to help babies with colic (when diet and formula changes do not work).

S.

Mom of 4/Grammie to 9. My 2nd girl had colic & was fussy about 4 different formulas. After a while we had to think of other ways versus allowing her to sleep with us, as you're doing, which became a habit we found hard to break with our 1st child. Anyway, we landed up filling a hot water bottle with warm water, placed into a reusable diaper sewn like a pillow case with snaps on the last side & allowed her to sleep on it after being given her the last bottle for the night. With the 4 different formula changes & the hot water bottle method we finally got her to sleep as the warmth from the hot water bottle allowed her to release gas &/or burp as she slept. This method also substituted the warmth from mom or dad and that helped us comfort her in her own crib. ( The warm water in the hot water bottle should be just warm to the inside of of your wrist or upper arm )

I can't help you with the sleeping in the crib part, but if you are interested in helping him with his health with something alternative, please let me know.

God Bless!

J.
____@____.com

oh A. how I feel your pain!!! My little 13 week old started doing the same thing at 6 weeks- she had to not only be held constantly, but she wanted to be rocked/bounced or nursed as well. Every time I laid her down, she would wake up screaming. Finally after a couple of frustrating, sleepless nights I started to just sleep on the couch with her on my chest- that was the ONLY WAY SHE WOULD SLEEP. My pediatrician assured me that it was normal for colicky babies to want to be held while they sleeped and that I was not spoiling her- no matter what others would say. Also colic peaks at 6 weeks- it's absolutely awful watching your baby scream in pain, but it will get better, I promise!!! Don't listen to any one that advises you to let them just "cry it out"- I heard that a lot and my little girl was never cried out. The poor little things are in pain and just want their moms. Also, my little girl was recently diagnosed with severe acid reflux (thru an upper g i). My doctor said that was probably another reason why she hated the crib. I am happy to report that at 11 weeks my baby finally was able to sleep a few hours at a time in her crib, and now that she is on medicine for her reflux, she is a lot better. Some other things that helped us get thru that awful time were MYLICON! a vibrating bouncy seat and the swing. Good luck with your little one- there is light at the end of the tunnel- I promise.

I was in the same boat but since I put my colicky baby on Babies magic tea he's now sleeping through the night without fussing anymore..

A., one of my girls was super collicky and we had a very rough first three months. She is, currently, the happiest baby alive, seriously. I say that to encourage you because when she was 6 weeks old I thought that was forever. I was so worried about her because I thought she was miserable, and I thought she'd never sleep in her crib. She slept with her dad forever.

My advice? Do whatever you can to make him as comfortable as possible right now and, eventually, he will work it out. Poor little guy... Mylicon was an absolute life saver. I even bought the store brand because the pharmacist told me it was the same (and 1/2 the price). After giving my daughter a little of that, she would typically burp and calm down, pretty quickly.

Hang in there!!!

Hi A.,
My son wasn't diagnosed as "colicky" but our pediatrician did suspect a bit of reflux and suggested letting him sleep in his bouncer to help keep his head above his stomach. We lowered the crib all the way down and put the bouncer on vibrate in there. We bought two sets of rechargable batteries for it and would swap out a newly charged set every night. We'd swaddle him for comfort, strap him in for safety and it worked like a charm. Don't get me wrong, he still woke up to nurse every couple of hours, but otherwise he was sleeping in his crib. Best of luck.

I feel your pain. My son was also colicky and it lasted for just over 3 months. He was miserable and wouldn't sleep anywhere except at my side and I was sleep deprived! It was a horrible 3 months for my husband and I. I know how frustated you must feel. Some of the things that I tried and that (sometimes) worked were giving him a baby hot water bottle for his tummy, laying him on my stomach to sleep ALL NIGHT LONG, taking him outside during the early evening hours to calm him, laying him down with his head slightly elevated (there are tons of sleep aids for this), and swaddling him (although after about 2 months he hated this!).

Good luck and know that it doesn't last forever and you'll be enjoying sleep very soon :)

B. D.

A. i can relate to your problem my daughter was colic also. it just about drove me crazy all the crying not being able to comfort her or ease her pain. i am Native American Indian and i was a real young mother i was 17 when my daughter was born and she is now 21yrs old. colic it will last for about 3 months so it will end. back then i was told to put a teaspoon of Karo Syrup in her milk bottle to help soften her stools, rub your babies belly dont pust on it, i gave my daughter juice i know she was too young to have juice but it did help her and she didn't have as much pain. but today there are medication you can buy and give babies i wish i had that back then. My daughter also slept on mine or my husbands chest this was the only way we would be able to get a good night sleep it seemed like she was more fussy at night. i hope this helps you out and your able to help your son find some peace and be able to enjoy him during this hard time but it will end. Good Luck

Sorry for yet another piece of advice, but my son seemed very colicky too. Come to find out I had an overactive letdown, which means when my milk let down he would literally choke on the milk. After a few minutes he would just give up. The only way to fix this was to nurse him lying down. I noticed that is what you do with your child, so you might just want to google the term 'overactive letdown' to see if this is what is going on with you. If it is, you will notice a difference with your child within a day. Good luck!

Maybe try a combination of the suggestions - my little one liked the heating pad (on low!), I elevated one side of her crib (might help if he has mild reflux), and tummy sleeping. Try the last one for naps during the day to make sure he can turn his head - I let her sleep like this once I was certain she could move if needed. She also spent a fair amount of time napping in her papasan swing. She was not colicky, but had some trouble sleeping in general, and these things helped. Good luck!

Hi A.,

My daughter had a similiar problem but with acid reflux. She was miserable if you laid her down and the only way she could sleep was curled up on my chest or while being rocked (which unfortunately you can't do 24/7). I ended up using a bouncy chair as my solution to getting her to sleep. I found a rocker bouncy chair at Babies R Us that kept her at an angle and had a mild vibrating setting. She totally loved it and would sleep for hours in the chair. Once she got used to the chair we put it in her crib so that she was used to it. She slept in the chair for 3 months before we moved her to a new set-up. And the nice thing about the chair was I could put it on the floor andlay down beside her to nap too. Hope this helps.

I used the baby gas drops-don't remember what they are called. A swing was our life saver for colic. He took most of his naps in it and would get him asleep enough to move into his crib without waking. I've also heard that some people fold up a towel(or something), put it under the crib mattress to put the baby on an angle so they are not flat on their back.
I know colic suck but you'll get through it. My son was better by three months old. It seemed like 3 years. hang in there.