HELP! COLIC!?!?!

[downwarddog]

I'm seriously in need of help, guys. DD was colicky for 3 mos, which was REALLY HARD. But now DS, at 4.5 weeks, is showing signs too! I spend hours trying to get him to nap, and hours getting him down at night. He nurses like a dream, but is so jumpy he startles himself awake ALL THE TIME. He HATES to be swaddled, though I've had success a couple times with just swaddling his lower half. DH doesn't sleep in our bed anymore because he works in the a.m. & needs the sleep, so me & DS are left to ourselves at night. I'm hoping to change this within the week so DS is in his crib downstairs, next door to DD, but I'm afraid that will bring a whole other host of problems...

ANY SUGGESTIONS? I feel like I'm not dealing well at all, esp. with having DD (2.75 yrs old) around now, too. I don't have friends/family close by & can't afford a babysitter more than 1x/week. What has worked for you? I'm so frustrated I could scream (though I cry daily) -- nothing seems to work 2x/ in a row...

Other than that, he's a sweet boy;-)

Please help me to DEAL!

~Lenore

[egoldber]

Could it be reflux?

Here are some signs:

http://new.infantrefluxdisease.com/infant-reflux-symptoms.php

Have you tried eliminating dairy from your diet?

[SnuggleBuggles]

Probiotics as a treatment for colic looks really promising. And probiotics are good for a healthy digestive system anyway. Check it out.

Jan. 2007:
"How about a fresh approach? What if simply giving probiotics to babies would dramatically reduce the vexing symptoms of colic? What if the crying and distress of colic were related to the mix of bacteria in babies' guts? Researchers at Regina Margherita Children Hospital in Turin, Italy decided to find out. They recruited 90 healthy, breastfed babies who had been crying for more than 3 hours a day for more than 3 days a week. Half of the babies were given 5 drops a day of beneficial gut bacteria (the probiotic L. reuteri) for 28 days; the other half got 15 drops twice a day of simethicone, one of the most commonly used colic treatments. All of the moms were asked to follow a cow's milk free diet. The dramatic results appear in the January 2007 Pediatrics. An impressive 95 percent of the probiotic babies responded, compared to only 7 percent of the simethicone babies. By the end of the first week of the study, average daily crying time had decreased 38 minutes for the probiotic group and 20 minutes for the simethicone group. By 28 days, the average daily crying had decreased by 2 hours and 26 minutes in the probiotic group and by only 52 minutes in the simethicone group. Clearly, more research is needed into this approach to colic treatment, but the preliminary research is already very exciting. It seems wise to me to nurture healthy bacteria in babies. Simple steps include, where possible, probiotics for Mom, vaginal birth, immediate close contact with the mother, exclusive breastfeeding, and avoiding things that can kill the beneficial bacteria (such as unnecessary antibiotics or chlorine)."
http://www.drgreene.org/body.cfm?id=21&action=detail&ref=2141

Beth

[Piglet]

Maybe it isn't colic... DS1 was colicky (or so I thought) and I panicked about DS2 being colicky right about the same time you are at right now. Lo and behold, he was fine, but my own fears of colic made me super scared it would happen again. I have since read that colic is less prevalent in subsequent kids and I think a great deal of that comes from moms being more experienced. With DS1, in retrospect, I think he was a refluxer. He spat up ALL the time, ate every hour, screamed all evening long and would only sleep on his tummy. I bet that if I were more informed and more experienced, I would have gotten him on medicine.

What I am trying to say is try not to worry about colic, since 1) either he has it or he doesn't, but worrying won't change it; 2) colic doesn't seem to be as common in subsequent kids; and 3) you are an experienced mom and you know some of the coping mechanisms you didn't know right off the bat. In the meantime, maybe see if he has reflux - we are currently trying to figure this out with DD and the more I am learning about reflux the more I am convinced we could have had a happier DS1!

Hugs,

[nov04]

We had amazing luck with a sling w/ dd2 (wish I had known about it for dd1).

She was in the sling almost all the time for the first 3 months. I couldn't have cared for her and dd1 as well if I didn't have it. She now sleeps in a crib most of the time, rarely cries and is very social. I can't guarentee it was the sling, but I think it was.

pp's have great advice about bf and reflux, just wanted to throw out what worked for us.

[JdrKuhnert]

My son had terrible colic starting at about three weeks. He wouldn't sleep in his bed - only on my chest. I wasn't getting much sleep and was desperate. My midwife gave me a lot of helpful tips. I bought him a Snugglenest to place inside of his crib so that he felt more secure and had closer boundaries in the bed. We also lined it with my husband's-shirt so that he had a familiar smell around him. I stopped giving him the VitaminD and fluoride tabs because fluoride can make a baby gassy. When he was really bad, I massaged his belly with caraway oil to relieve the gas and pressure in his abdomen. Finally, we used 2 homeopathic remedies. I gave him 1 before feeding and 1 after feeding. We have a local pharmacy with a wide selection of homeopathic remedies and they were extremely helpful. I don't remember what we gave him but there is a lot of information on the web. The symptoms didn't entirely go away, but they were much more manageable and we were both able to get some sleep. I hope this helps.

[hellbennt]

www.infantreflux.org/forum

www.thebabywearer.com/forum


~laura in miami~
ds1 7/03
ds2 7/06

[Nooknookmom]

sounds just like DD. she has reflux & life is he** after feeding times. I too am a wreck. I'd ck into reflux w/ your ped treatment & other PP's rec's may help!

I'm told reflux begins to slow by 4 months=I'm counting down the days!

I'm alone too DH couldn't sleep w/ us she startles aweake all nite in the bed w/ me alone.

GL!!