Advice Needed for Colicky 4 Month Old

Hi K.,
My son did not have colick, but when he was uncomfortable (maybe with gas, etc.) my mom used to warm a small hand towel in the microwave and hold him with the warm towel on his tummy. He found it very comforting. Hang in there. Have you tried the white noise of a vacuum, ocean waves machine, etc? Good luck to you

My daughter had colic until she was 5-6 months. This was a nightmare. I know how you feel. I used the following methods....I used white noise (I still use it to this day and she is 4 years). I would also use a vaccum. In fact, I burned up two vaccums and a Dirt Devil. I would hold her with her, face down, with her head and body on my arm (holding like a football) and swung her back and forth. When It was unbearable I would take her for rides in the car. This one was hard, but I would just walk the floors with her (for hours). I would also rock her in a rocking chair and get close to her ear and say, "shhhhh". I know that sounds funny, but it worked. I would also sit in a warm bath tub and put her on my chest. The closness and the warm water seemed to help her.

I don't know if this would work for your son or if your son takes a binkie, but sucking helps calm and sooth a colicky baby. My daughter would not take a binkie, so I never got to try this one.

Colic babies miss the noise and comfort of the womb. So, anything that reminds them of their days in the womb will help.

It's almost over. Hang in there.

K.,
I feel your pain! Our son had colic as well. This is what we did (it lasted maybe 4-5 months): we switched to Nestle Good Start (from Nutramigen), used VentAire bottles by playtex (after trying every one out there), burped him very well, had him on Zantac (acid reflux can cause colic which he had an upper GI done at 6 weeks), started him on Oatmeal (breakfast and evening)-not rice as it is binding, had him on a strict routine as far as bath every night at 7pm (or 6:30), read a book to him, prayers and then lights out with his final bottle. The routine realy helped as well as having friends to come over and give me a break during the day so I could prepare for the 3 hours of crying at night. Oh and we used Little Tummies gas drops or Mylicon, gripe water did absolutely nothing for him. Now that it is warmer, get him out as much as you can! The fresh air will do you both good (and a glass of wine for you or a beer...lol just kidding).
Hey, good luck and feel free to email if you want. I cried through his colic so I know how hard it is.
Chris

my doctor explained colic as coming in "3's" begins at 3 months, crying for 3 hours without stopping for any reason and lasts for 3 months.

My daughter who is now 8 months old had horrible colic. She cried all day and evening. We seemed to try everything. Finally we got on Similac Isomil Soy formula and changed to Dr Browns bottles and everything stopped. I'm not sure which it was that helped or both we didn't try to find out because we had the happiest baby around. At 8 months old we are still on both and doing great. Good luck!

K.- I had the same problem with my little guy. We tried everything...and I mean everything but nothing seemed to help. Then one day someone suggested taking him to a chiropractor. After extensive research on the practice I decided to take him. He will be 3 yrs old in Aug and has not had one bit of trouble since we took him at 3 months. His sypmtoms stopped immediately. He has several disks out of place and his hip was slightly dislocated, all due to his birth. (he was stuck) Its worth a shot. Im all for the least envasive way of doing things. I now take him every 6 months just for check ups and to keep everything in place.
HOpe this helps. -C.

I definitely feel for you. My son was and still is a "High Needs Baby". A term created by Dr. Sears. He has a book on it. My son was fussy since the day he was born. I believe colic takes some time to kick in. Anyway my son would only stop crying if I held him and was in motion. If I simply held him, it wasn't good enough. I wore him in a mae tai just about anytime he wasn't sleeping. It was extremely difficult emotionally. I bought the "soothing motions glider" from Walmart and was given 5-10 minute reprieves when he was in it. I then purchased a side-to-side swing, we had a front-to-back swing but he didn't care for it, the new swing pacified him a little longer. Colic tablets may of helped a little too (Hylands). Switching formulas didn't help us. Anyway when he was able to sit on his own things improved a little. When he started crawling he got even more manageable. It was probably around 8 months that things got vastly better. He's still alot of work and still wants me to hold him but for brief periods at 18 months. Good luck to you and here's a hug. I probably gave you more info then you were looking for but I know how difficult it is. If you have any other questions just let me know. - S.

My baby girl was colicky. The thing that helped the most was infant massage. There were free classes in our area. (We lived in AZ at the time.) I'll be there's an instructor in your area. This included bringing her knees to her stomach and back several times, as well as clockwise tummy strokes.

Hang in there! It ends eventually.

Not sure if anyone mentioned this yet, but the greatest baby book we read and lived by was "The Happiest Baby on the Block". It has great tips for babies with colic.

Hang in there and good luck!

Hello K.:
I used gripe water from my understanding you purchase this from the health food stores (someone had the same problem last month.) The only stores I know this can be purchase from are West Indians stores, Asian stores, Indian stores, etc...

Best Wishes

My daughter had colic because she was allergic to milk (I breastfed her, so I had to cut out all dairy) as soon as I did that she was fine. But, if it is regular colic I believe you just have to let it run it's course.

Hi K.,

My son was colicky until he was 6 mos. old.- If you are breast feeding- I had to lay off peanut butter and broccoli.. I was eating very well with lots of salads and very nutritious foods. This had caused alot of gas pain for him thru the breast milk. Good luck.

D.

My daughter had colic for about a couple months and we walked her constantly and to not help at all she had her days and nights mixed up. When my grandaughter came along 7 years ago she had colic bad, a little old neighbor lady told me to give her a tablespoon of cold water and let her drink it right off the spoon. This worked for my grandaughter because before that the only thing that worked for her was walking her and putting her up over our shoulder where she felt warm and comfy. She was five months old before she got over colic. God bless you, having a colicky baby is the aweful and it breaks your heart when they cry in pain. You do know it is basically a constant belly ache. Good luck.

My oldest child(now 13)was a colicky child from hell(God love him but how i made it through those months...thank god)But what i'd do was i'd use a heating pad and put it on warm,put a towel around it and lay in on my breast.Than i'd put DS on my chest(his tummy on my breast)and rock him...I think for 3-4months we lived/slept on a rocking chair.
Plus i started to feed him(and this helped alot)and with formula feeding i'd give him Gas drops before every bottle...this helped too.........

Good luck and i truely know the pain you are in.Good luck and things will get better

Colic is a term used for "you have a fussy baby and we don't know why"... IF you can figure out the why then you can get rid of the pain faster instead of "letting it run it's course" which may not work anyway. Research is showing that colic is most often due to dairy. If you're breastfeeding try cutting out ALL dairy (not just obvious milk and cheese, but read labels). If you're not, try switching to a formula that has the milk proteins broken down already (more expensive). My son had "colic" and NOTHING changed until I cut out offending foods from my diet (I was breastfeeding). We used every method mentioned here; white noise, rocking, heat, routine, bath, medications, gas drops, sleeping w/us, EVERYTHING. I've done a lot of reading on this from my desperation. Good luck.

My only advice is: hang in there, and make sure you're getting time away from him to breathe and not hear the screaming.

My daughter had colic that STARTED later than "they" say it starts, and didn't end till 4 or 5 months (believe it or not, I forget). There was nothing that improved things - my daughter had a predictable time period of colic but that's about it. So we took turns wearing her around in the Bjorn, handing her off to friends who didn't mind the screaming, etc. This too shall pass. I wish I could give you a magic trick, but I can't.

Hi, K.!
That must be VERY frustrating!
First of all, are you breastfeeding or formula feeding? If it's formula, it could be due to an allergy. If you're breastfeeding, the only thing that's really been proven to POSSIBLY show up in breastmilk that is commonly consumed & can irritate babies in dairy. If you consume a lot of it, cut back or take it out all together for a week or so & see if it makes a difference.

Other than that, I suggest Hyland's tablets for colic, trying Gripe Water (can get it at Wegmans or a health food store) and reading Dr. Sears Fussy Baby Book for some more insights & suggestions. Also, you can try carrying him in a sling. Many babies find it very soothing.

Good luck!
A.

(www.ThingaMaSling.com)