Colic Baby

It could be but there would be other symptoms. For the colic (whether the baby has GERD or not) you can use hyland's colic pills. I used them with my 5th child who had GERD. Within a few weeks, the colic was gone. For more info on GERD visite www.askdrsears.com

I went through this same thing..and it was gas.. painfull gas.. Mylicon drops work wonders and are sold every where.. and they dont hurt them.. i suggest trying them.

Being that he is only four DAYS old, I would wait it out and see if he adjusts within the next week. All of this is very new to him, and somtimes it just takes a little time. It is really hard to tell if a baby is truly colicy before two weeks of age, because thay all need time to get used to life outside the womb. Sounds like with the two other kids, you may be a little tense, or un a hurry to feed him, and he may be picking up on that. Cuddle him, love hime and RELAX.

I have a 18 month old and a 1 month old. Both of them were/are breastfed and would cry occasionally at the breast. You may already have tried, but I found that when they would cry it was because they needed to burp. After burping, then they were able to latch on. My little girl (the 18 month old)used to cry for hours at night. My 1 month old boy cries sometimes from reflux and gas, but I just have to find the right position for him, then after a little while he calms down. Maybe you can try drinking some chamomile tea. I have heard that putting a warm towel on their tummy or giving them a little chamomile helps calm colic. Maybe you can try pumping and giving it to your baby in a bottle. I've noticed with my little one that if his tummy is not right, he has a difficult time when he is on his side. He's usually better on his left side for eating, but better on his right side for getting gas out.

This is probably all more than you wanted, but maybe something will help. I remember the feeling of being helpless and just not knowing what was wrong with my first one. Good luck.

Hi B.,

I feel your pain. My son screamed non-stop for his first 8 weeks. I highly recommend both chiropractic adjustments and craniosacral massage. The massage is what ultimately turned my screamer into a normal baby. It took only two to make a complete turnaround. In the meantime, there is a yahoo group called HolisticPediatrics. The members are definitely pro-breastfeeding and can likely give you some great suggestions for your colicky baby and nursing. I hope you and your family find some peace soon.

Be well,

M.

I remember those days! It is overwhelming because you want so much to help, but don't know how. We came across a wonderful treatment that is now used by everyone in our family. Dill water is all natural so it is very safe to give to babies and we found it immediately relieves colic. Just like the name suggests, it is made from dill, but does have other names in other countries. We purchased ours at an Indian grocery store. I hope this helps.

I know this may sound foreign to you, but the birthing process is very traumatic for you and your baby. My husband is a Chiropractor and my son was adjusted right in the delivery room. I would highly recommend taking your baby to the Chiropractor for a check up. Chiropractors are more nervous system doctors than "Back" doctors. Babies can't tell us when they have a problem, so it is a guessing game, but I've seen some amazing changes with infants and children as well as adults. We have a friend in your area, so if you'd like more information regarding chiropractic or if you would like his name please feel free to email me. I'm sure you are willing to give just about anything a try, but please don't put your new baby on any type of acid reflux meds before trying something non invasive. Congratulations and good luck!

Has you milk come in? He may be a little hungry so I would try some formula in a syringe or bottle if you are comfortable with that. Once your milk is in he should have plenty to eat. He could be getting frustrated nursing if there is nothing there. Acid reflux is painful for infants so i would try Mylicon drops at first than if that does not work get something from the doctor.

B.,

I went through almost the same thing 18 years ago with my youngest. Sitting up helped him a little. Laying him across my lap and lightly bouncing seemed to help. 4 days really isn't enough time to figure a new one out. He may be reacting to something you're eating. For us, it was a difficult case of GERD which included weight loss, but the colic meds we got from the Pharmacist helped, too. Keep good tabs on his weight. Acid reflux can be nasty.
Ask for help with your home and family so you can get some rest. Kids are resilliant - Adults don't bounce back as easily.

Hi B.,
My 1st and 4th baby had really bad problems with colic and it always started at about 8 or 9 o'clock and last for several hours. With my first, I had no idea what to do, and We tried everything to running the vacuum cleaner, (that sometimes worked), to Mylicon, and my husband found a trick that he would gently bounce her almost that she was being vibrated, (I don't know how he could move his arms that fast, but it worked a lot of the times). We found out that a lot of times, with newborns that their intestines are immature and cramp up, causing the pain, which is why I think the vibrating worked on her. On my 4th child, we had a little more experience and went through the same thing on him. For him, we made a tea out of Star Anise, some people call it a licorice tea. You can find it at drug stores and health food stores. I would make a cup of it and fill a syringe for him and I would drink the rest, so that if it was something that I was eating it would take care of it. (I would sweeten mine and leave his unsweetened) He liked it and I eventually got used to it so that I like it now too. The star anise is a natural remedy that aids in digestion and calms the stomach and intestines. It worked! He usually calmed down enough to nurse and fell asleep with no problem. I hope this helps! Good luck and congratulations!
God Bless!
V.

Dear B., I hope you will be persistent with your doctor. Do you know that he has colic at this point? They should have asked you to come in and weigh the baby to see if he is eating enough, first. Then, they should be evaluating further to see if allergy testing might be needed, like starting by eliminating the usual suspects from your diet. If you have not consulted a lactation specialist at the hospital that would be my first step to make sure he is latching properly. Perhaps he is impatient with the let-down process but it sounds like there is more to it than that. Infants will sleep more if they are not getting enough to eat too. My daughter did not nurse well and I had to go to the hospital when she was around the same age as your son and meet with the lactation consultant. I did that several times. I even took her to the ER when she was lathargic from not eating enough. I was very worried about her. I had to use a nipple shield for 4 months with her in order to continue nursing. DO NOT GIVE UP BEING PERSISTENT! I regret that while at times I was sure she wasn't getting beyond the fore-milk to the more nutrient rich milk, I didn't continue to seek help. Please let us know what the doctor and lactation consultant advise. Persist for your baby. His cries are trying to tell you something. Oh - one more thing. I just read the other advice (I'm still trying to figure this format out!) I agree with the mom that said try to be calm and relaxed during feeding time - no distractions, and the mom that says it could be gas and the baby might be more comfortable in a different position. Good luck!

Maybe you could try pumping and use a bottle (like Playtex Nurser, they have a latex nipple that is so close to the way a mommy's skin feels, or Avent is supposed to be good too) That way you can see if he is actually getting milk and how much. Have you looked in his mouth to see if there is anything red or irritated that could be bothering him?
I feel for you. I have a 4.5 year old, 23 month old, and a 4 month old :) Ask for help from anyone. Accept help from anyone who offers!!
Best of luck,
Jen

That is what I thought about as soon as I started reading your post. Both of my sons had it when they were little. Both grew out of it around age one. You need to do some research on the issue. My two sons ended up having to have a PPI med. instead of a H2 blocker. Your doctor will start him out on probably Zantac. This will help a little, but it is very weight sensitive and we needed to up our dose constantly then finally went to Prilosec with one son and my youngest was on Prevacid. Anyway, there is a website called www.infantreflux.org. It is a message board for this and they helped me out alot. It is great. You will also need to incline his bed a little and do not put him down to sleep right after you feed him. Let him sit up for about 5 to 10 minutes so that you can make sure the milk stays in his stomach and not come directly back up to burn. Hope this helps

It sounds to me like acid reflux. Have you tried Gripe Water? It worked wonders with my daughter. Just add it to a pumped bottle or directly from a med. dispencer before nursing. It is made of herbs and is perfectly safe. Best wishes.

Hi B.,

I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that it is acid reflux. Try pumping your breasts and see how much milk you actually have and if it is rich. You may need a good multivitamin that will absorb better than the one you are on. Just because your doctor prescribes one, doesn't mean it is right for you. (Most OBs prescribe one vitamin all the time and only deviate when someone asks or there is a problem.)

Acid reflux is usually more about what is going on with mom that something that is wrong with baby. If you find your milk is okay, look at your diet and adjust it so it is balanced. A stomach is supposed to be acidic to digest food. Having too much acid is never the case. The problem is that there is nothing for the acid to digest. If you would like to talk, feel free to let me know. I wish I had had someone that gave me other options when my girls were little.

Regards,

M.

How is his urine and BM output compared to his BFing? That is the best way to find out if he is getting enough to eat.
As far as acid reflux, I've known a couple of moms that had babies with this and from what I understand there are two kinds--one is obvious because the baby actually spits up--a lot, but there is silent one that they can only be tested for. If your ped thinks it may be this--than I would definitely try his/her recommendations, because the sooner you find this out and start treatment, the sooner you will have a happier baby that sleeps and eats better!