"Gripe Water" for Colic

I used Gripe Water with my son, and didn't really notice any difference. What worked for us was the dvd "Happiest Baby on the Block" It was awesome. My son would cry every night from 7-11. The night we tried the methods used on this dvd, he was asleep by 7:30.
H.

J.-
I tried Gripe Water on my twins, one had colic forever, and I didn't notice any difference. However, I worked at Pickles and Ice Cream (we sold Gripe Water), and a lot of people SWORE by it. I think it's probably a pretty individual kind of thing. I say anything that might work is worth a try if it can make life easier for all of you!
Good luck - I know how hard it can be to get through this phase. Hang in there!

J.,

I am from India. It's very common to give 'gripe water' to infants for gas, upset tummy etc. Well, I did not know anything about "colic" while in India. So do not know if it helps colic or not but in general it's very good.

I used it for my children till they were 2 years old. If the child has constipation, mix the gripe water with luke warm water (same qty as the gripe water) and if the child has diarohea, mix gripe water with cold water.

Hope it helps.
-A.

Oh, I feel for you - I went through colic with my son. I tried gripe water - it didn't do much of anything and my doctor wouldn't recommend it - you might check with yours. Seriously - I recommend earplugs while you are comforting - they help keep your nerves from being frayed by the intensity of the noise and you're better able to stay calm -which I found was a huge factor and lots of help if you have it. I also used an excercise ball - the bouncing/swaying is easier than being on your feet all of the time. Other than that - try every kind of motion until you find one that soothes - I did some pretty odd stuff! There are tons of websites with suggestions. Good luck - I'll pray for you both.

My sister swore by this stuff. She tried everything and found this to do the trick. I never had a baby with colic so I am going on her advice. Hope this helps.

Hi J.,
I have a friend who has triplets (now 4 mths old) and she uses gripe water for their colic. She said it is life saver.
She got her's at Herb Mart in Plano, at Coit and 15th (faces west - on the back side of the southwest corner). It's a herbal formula; try to get one without sugar (fructose). Google 'gripe water' it to see different ingredients in the different brands. Probably sold at Central Market and Whole Foods too.
Good luck.

That worked for my twin gals.

I highly recommend taking your child to a chiropractor! Adjustments get rid of colic very quickly.

I never tried gripe water but both m kids had it bad until I brought them to my chiropractor. I know it sounds crazy but he uses the "BEST" technique. Both kids slept thru the night after 1 treatment. My daughter had bad reflux and he fixed that also. His name is Dr. Kent Harrington he is in Richardson at campbell & nantucket. His number is ###-###-####.

Yes! My sister uses it and feels that it has made the biggest difference in her 8 week old!

It worked wonders for my son. Plus I felt better about giving him something that was all natural vs. a medication. He actually loves the taste of it too! We would tell him it was his "dessert"! Good Luck!

J.,

It definitley worked for my baby girl, she is now 4 months and she actually took it and liked it. Just slowly ease it in toward the back of the cheek...even when she was screaming, it stopped her momentarily in order to swallow...and she was definitely fussy up to almost 3 months. I highly recommend it. If that doesn't work, try the mylicon...it works to, I just prefer the natural methods.

I am using it with my second son. It does work. He had the hiccups this morning around 4 am, they were gone in 2 minutes.

Yes, it absolutely worked for us! Mylecon did not help at all. Just be sure not to use any generic form, there is an ingredient in that and in those teething tablets that apparently can lead to cardiac issues. Good luck!

It's so funny to hear this email because I was just at the park the other day and one of the moms was talking about gripe water. She said that it works like magic!! She said that it works wonders for her son who has a lot of gas problems and for colic. She said that several of the mothers from her son's doctors office use it and say that they could not imagine life without it. I am going to get some myself now. I'm sure that you have nothing to loose and probaly will be very happy!

R.

We heard wonderful things about it, and decided to try it. You have to give like two droppers full of the stuff and it smells really bad, I can't imagine how it tastes. Anyway, we couldn't get our daughter to swallow it. We ended up using Mylicon after every feeding, which we felt worked most of the time.

I perswonally never used it but I wished i did when my baby had colic for over a month straight.
A friend of mine that is a mother of triplets used it when they all had colic and it worked wonders.

Good luck to you.

I dont know what you are referring to, but I used Mylicon before it was called Mylicon, and it worked great. The directions have a dosage but I had to use double with my son, and the pediatrician said it was ok. I have used it for myself. It is like water downed pepto bismol

Hi J. I have used the gripe water and it seemed to work for my son - he was real bad for about 6-8 weeks I used that along with the milicon drops and when he reached about 5 months it all seemed to get much better and we dont use anything now. Hope this helps!

I did use gripe water with both my kids. It helped a little. It also stops hiccups in a heartbeat!!

My mom works at a pharmacy and she swears by it!

I have been using it for about a month and it works great. My grandmother used it with her children, so it has been around for quite a while. My son is not normally a colic baby, but there have been a few occasions when he had terrible colic and the "Gripe Water" worked in just a few minutes.

I used it for my 2nd son- worked about 50% of the time. If it is true colic I am almost convinced nothing will work- My 1st son cried for his first year of life and I will tell you I tried everything. My best advice is have a family member or friend you can call on to give you a break. Good news-babies with colic tend to turn out to be wonderful children. So, hang in there this will soon pass.

J.,
It worked for my little boy! Honestly, it saved me hours of awake time (I'm a single mom and always have been). I recommend it!
J.

Hi J.,
Gripe Water did not work for us. You also had to use a lot of it for every dose and it was getting quite expensive. I do have a friend who swears by it. I think it just depends on the child and the severity of colic.
S.

Oh yes! I helped with my baby's digestion immensely. I recommend it.
I got them in Indian stores where it is cheaper than other places or the web.

Good Luck!

My best friend, also J., used Gripe Water ALL THE TIME for her daughter. Mainly for hiccups but she thinks it would work really well for colic also.

Have you tried a Chiropractor? It was the only thing I found to help with colic for my son. Dr. H. is a female Pediatric Chiropractor. I have to say I was uneasy about it, but she explained things in a way that I understood and she empowered me. She uses very gentle, safe and natural techniques. I love the fact that my baby is happy and that I get sleep, it is wonderful. Dr. H.'s number is ###-###-####. Good luck with finding the right solution, this is a great one.

Hi J.,

It is funny because 9 months ago, I put out the same inquiry! Since then we have used Gripe Water for everything from colicy little one, to upset/gassy tummy, to teething...and we LOVE IT!! We use Baby Bliss Gripe Water! It is hard to find in stores, we only found it at Whole Foods in Dallas. But if you order it from Amazon.com, it is cheaper ($7-8) and it is easier to get (they bring it too your door).

A warning about it (not bad) is that it smells and tastes like black licquorice. It is made from Fennel and Ginger, all natural and you just put it in a suringe and shoot it into the side of their cheek. We swear by it. It is very commonly used in Britain (where it originates from), Canada, and India (from the British colonizations of India). I hope it works for you!

If I can be of any other assistance, please let me know!
~A. E.

J.,
I have used it for my son and it worked wonders!! I only used it though for a couple weeks (every now and then if nothing else worked) and he calmed right down and never had a problem again. I only used about half of the bottle, and still have it sitting around just in case. (He is now 6 mths old) Also the smell of it is very soothing to everyone around. There is a limited list of stores that carry it, but I got a sample bottle (very small) from my pediatrician.
A.

Yes! I used it for my baby & it totally worked!

GO OUT AN BUY 100s of BOTTLES!!!

That little magic bottle worked miracles for my colicy baby. I thought I was going to jump off a bridge. My daughter screamed every night for a month from 12 am to 5 am non-stop until my mother-in-law (the genius) recommend gripe water. The doctor also recommended to change her formula to Infamil Neutromigen and the combination of the 2 really works. I don't wish colic on any parent!

I am from Canada and Gripe water has been used there for as long as I remember. Actually I think since the early 1900's. It has always been safe as far as I know. I use it on my kiddos. It works on one better than the other two.

Tried it (got it at Whole Foods - hard to find locally) for bad gas/crying/colic and had no luck. Also tried Colic Calm from the web and it seems to help some, but it contains charcoal and is black and stains.

As a parenting coach and newborn specialist, I work with parents and babies on a 24/7 basis, teaching parents new baby care and soothing techniques and managing the care of the baby at night while the parents sleep. Colic, by definition, is a term used to describe a baby who cries more than 3 hours a day more than 3 days a week. It is actually a 'catch-all' term used by many (including medical professionals) to describe a baby who cries a lot. The reasons for the crying can vary. Many babies have excess gas, as you well know. If your baby has gas, the Gripe Water does seem to work. I have used it and it seems to make things better. I have also used Mylicon (generic name, Simethicone), which works great, too. If your baby cries a lot, he may have reflux or a milk protein sensitivity. This is very common in newborns, and while it tends to disappear within the first 6 months, many doctors will prescribe a medication to alleviate the discomfort of the acid coming back up the esophogus.

I did use gripe water to soothe my colicky baby other than many remedies but nothing worked until I started him with babies magic tea.