Seeking Advice/support for Possible Colic, or Just a Cranky Baby, Or. . . ?

Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child is an excellent book. My son was colicky and it was not fun but the book helped me a lot. After another couple of weeks things should look up. Good luck!

If you are breastfeeding and drinking caffeine this could be the problem. I had this problem with my 1st daughter - so much so that I haven't even tried caffeine with this one now.

i had to wear my son when he was that young in the Bjorn..he would mainly nap in that..and the naps were about the same length..i would breast feed him on the mattress of the bassinet and then carefully place him in it with the mattress sometimes..now there are rocking bassinets u may want to try that..and also colic tablets by Hylands..if your baby is formula fed then i would think it is the formula..u may want to try Good Start Supreme Comfort Proteins..i supplemented with that one and it was the only one that didn't upset him.
also try rubbing her lower back..i used to rub coconut oil on his lower back and massage him gently.
good luck..hope you find a solution

D.

If you are giving her formula at all, I would give her Nutramigen since it is very low allergen wise. I am guessing her crankiness cooresponds to a recent vaccine round. If you have any asthma, allergies, autoimmune in your family, I would completely hold off on vaccinating her. If you are determined to vaccinate, I would wait until she is MUCH older and you see that she is on track developmentally. I am sure you know what you are doing already being a mom of three before this little one. Swaddle her, do the Gripe water and Mylicon if need be. Breastfeed, watch what you eat, hold off on dairy for yourself, etc. You know this stuff. Hang in there, it does get easier, as you know.

When my DD was a newborn she was extremely cranky. It was similar to colic, but it wasn't colic. I discovered she was allergic to the proteins in cows milk. Once I eliminated cows milk from my diet (milk, yogurt, cheese, etc.), my breastfed daughter was a completely different baby. I'm not saying this is what you're DD is experiencing, but evidently this is quite common. They eventually grow out of it as my DD did.

My DS was cranky also, but not as bad as my DD. My DS, who is older, was diagnosed with reflux and put on several meds. It helped, but not 100%. I now think he might have had the same allergy as my daughter, but I didn't know any better.

If it started around 3 weeks and seems to happen at certain times of day or when doing certain things, then it could be acid reflux. My daughter had it until she was about 2 and from the time she was 3 weeks until 8 weeks I had no idea what was wrong. Then, after doing a little research on colic "cures" (which don't exist...) I realized she might have acid reflux and took her to the pediatrician. After she started the medication, which was Axid twice a day and was very mild and tolerable, she was a totally different baby. Not sure if this is what your little one may have, but do a little research and see if her symptoms compare with what you're reading, then check with your ped. No worries, it's treatable and the meds don't usually have any side effects. Good luck! Colic is the worst but it's usually a symptom of something else.

you can also get homeopathic remedy - best is to have it selected individually for YOUR child, but over-the-counter combo may work too.
Good Luck
V.

5 words: Happiest Baby on the Block!

My son had colic starting at two weeks and the worst of it lasted until about six weeks. It's awful when you're going through it. We tried everything has been suggested to you: read "Happiest Baby on the Block," cut out dairy for me (he was breastfed), I gave him mylicon drops for gas before every feeding, burped him constantly, I kept a food journal to see if there was a correlation between what I ate and how much he slept. We noticed that he tended to sleep better if I ate lots of protein. But otherwise, we just had a lot of long nights of walking him up and down the hall.

Good luck. Colic is the worst, but it really will get better in a few weeks.

That is how my son was at 4 weeks. He basically lived in the front carrier and he slept swaddled. I am not sure if you are swaddling but I highly recommend it. He would take 45 minute naps every two hours(except at night when he slept for longer periods of time). I recommend reading Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Weissbluth.
Also, this is a stage and she will come out of it. Most babies switch up their routine around 4 months so If a bouncy seat works then use it...a lot. For my daughter, she loved her swing so if that is where she felt most comfortable(and would sleep) then that is where she spent the majority of her time.
Personally I would not use the gripe water, because what you describe is newborn issues which will be taken care of with the book I recommended.
GL!

J.,

Cut dairy out of your diet. We went through that same thing with my son. I cut dairy and eventually soy out of my diet and he was a happy, sleeping baby after that. He's 3 now and just starting to be able to tolerate both dairy and soy. What did I eat and what does he eat? Meat, rice, potatoes, veggies, fruit. I also lost a ton of weight and my cholestrol was really good. LOL Most colic is really food allergies or intolerances and it is usually dairy. The proteins are really hard on babies and they pass right through your breastmilk. We tried gripe water, chamomile tea, gas drops, homeopathic colic tablets (which have a milk sugar base and REALLY hurt him), zantac and finally prevacid. Nothing helped until I cleaned up my diet.

:-)T.

You are describing both of my babies. I have never been lucky to have a baby that is "easy". My DS1 needed constant attention. He had colic and acid reflux. We had to use a lot of techniques from the Happiest baby on the block (swaddle, white noise, bouncing). Although, he would often be swaddled, with the water running, in my arms being bounced and he would still be screaming. He screamed at EVERY feeding. I remember one day he cried for 5 hours straight. He would have meltdowns if we brought him places and we would have to leave. He was a tough baby!

My second son is 11weeks now and has also been a grumpy baby, however not as bad as DS1. He wants to be held all the time. I put in him the moby wrap or the bjorn a lot. He also likes to be swaddled. Sometimes I just wrap a blanket around his arms to settle him down. He seems to be starting to grow out of the fussy stage.

I don't know what it is like to have a low maint baby. When I went home to WI to visit my parents I also stopped by 2 different friends homes that had babies born within 10 days of my second son. They were both much more content than my son. One baby just lay in his boppy for the 3 hours that I was there and put himself to sleep 2 times and just entertained himself by moving his arms and legs the rest of the time. In the 3 hours I was there I feed my son, stood and bounced him, put him in/out of the swing, swaddled him. He just needed a lot more outside stimulation.

I would recommend reading the Happiest baby on the Block. It realy helped us to deal with both our babies that need a lot of attention. He does say the fussy stage can start at about 3-4 weeks and usually is gone by 3-4 months. My first son started to get a little better at 3-4 months, however he was not a toally happy baby until he was 5 1/2 months and able to really start moving himself. He also got a little better when he was put on acid reflux meds. And like I said before my 2nd son is starting to get a little better and he is almost 3 months. I would also look into if she has acid reflux. This can make them very cranky. Or since you are BF'ing maybe something you are eating (dairy protein) may bother her. With both my sons I went on an elimination diet to see if something I was eating was causing their issues.

I hope this helps. As you know with having 3 other kids this time will pass quickly even if it is a blur of crying/screaming and lack of sleep. Good Luck

we had a similar problem and found out our daughter had severe acid reflux! try napping them a little upright and see if that helps. I know my daughter now sleeps better with a fan or music going. good luck...I know how hard it can be...just got mine sleeping about a month ago!

Hi J.,

By all means try the Gripe Water. It won't hurt a bit and in our case help soooooo much. It was like having a new baby. Another thing we did a lot with our two little ones that were fussy was using one of those big exercise balls. I would sit and bounce on them for hours. It helped the babies and soothed them a lot and also I got to sit instead of walking around for hours. And it helped the stomach muscles too. Good luck. Make sure to talk to your doctor too. It could be the formula if your are using formula too.

Take care of yourself and try to get some extra rest.

L.

she might be sensitive to something in your diet. My first daughter had problems when I had milk products. A friend could not eat eggs, soy or tomatoes. We figured it out through trial and error and keeping a food diary, then documenting the baby's symptoms. Good luck in figuring it out.

I experienced it and did exactly what you are doing. The colic didn't go away. When my son was a year old we discovered that his problem was a combination of reflux and ear issues. He had fluid in his ear all the time. It would turn into an infection and we'd take the antibiotics. There was always a little fluid there but the doc said it was nothing to be worried about...he was wrong! My son was exclusively breast fed which everyone told me would keep him from having ear infections....wrong! At 18 months we got him into the Early Intervention program thru the state of NV because he wasn't talking. One of the first things his case worker asked me was does he cry when you change his diaper. He ALWAYS cried when I changed him. Apparently this is a perfect give away that there are problems in the middle ear. My son went to every appointment on time and had a really good pediatrician. I went to 2 different ENT's and 2 other pediatricians and they ALL missed it. If the crying doesn't go away after trying the gripe water consider something you may be eating. If that doesn't clear it up keep investigating.