Any advise on this subject. Little one keeps crying. Have tried new formula,
gas drops etc.
How old is the baby?
Our son was colicky for 14 weeks, and just like everyone said, the colic abruptly ended right around 3 months.
We tried everything (and not just once...we gave it a fair shot) from swaddling to shushing to swinging to side-laying to the drops to the car rides to eliminating everything 'bad' from my diet. Nothing mattered. Nothing really worked. He just liked to scream - from dawn til dusk. Lucky for us, he did sleep well at night.
The most annoying part was the people who would say "he has reflux, he's in pain, he's hurting, he's crying for a reason, you're an awful mother for not doing anything". Um, hi, don't you think I took my kid to the pediatrician and get everything thoroughly checked out? Of course I did - no one enjoys a baby that screams every waking minute. Some kids are just colicky.
On the bright side...the terrible 2s tantrums have been a cinch. At least I now know why my son is throwing a fit! Because I listened to nearly 3 months of constant screaming, the tantrums are a piece of cake to listen to.
I tried all the 'tricks and techniques' and unfortunately for us they didn't work. I started counting down the weeks and sure enough at 14 weeks, it stopped. He was a completely different baby. Hang in there; I know it is really tough but realize that colicky babies are not unhappy babies for life (I know this for a fact; my son is an absolute joy). Make sure to take some time for yourself and give yourself a break because the constant crying can really wreak havoc on your sanity.
Completely agree with MR. My daughter was the same way, we tried everything but unless she was sleeping or eating, she was fussy and crying. Best advise is to hang in there. I woke up one morning with my little princess, fed her, and then waited for the wailing to begin...and it just didn't. It was over like that and she is the BEST baby now at almost 7 months.
Go to the doc, make sure nothing serious is wrong, then just love your little one and try to enjoy him/her. It'll get better.
It took my son 6 mos. to get over it, but he's been a piece of cake since (he's almost 3). The only thing that worked for us was during the day I constantly had him swaddled with the velcro swaddler until he was 5 mos. And I held him in one arm while I used the other... He also slept in his swing for 5 mos. We had a 2 yr. old and I think the constant noise did bother him. Now that he can talk, he tells me sometimes his ears hurt when a dog barks, or something loud is happening. So maybe colic babys are more sensitive?!?!?!?!?! Best of luck, get some time for yourself so you can refresh yourself.
You have my deepest sympathy. Having a baby with colic was probably the hardest time of my life so far. Exhausting, and hard on my marriage, too.
It turns out that my son with colic has sensory integration issues and sensitivities to sound and overstimulation. So if I were doing it all over again, I would try harder to get him to go for swaddling (I gave up early on that; should have kept trying). I would try to put him to sleep in a sleep hammock (Amby) like the one I had with baby #2. And I'd try holding/rocking in a dark, quiet room instead of while watching TV. (maybe wear an iPod or something to distract from the crying.)
I also think his colic had to do with exhaustion. He slept well at night but had a really hard time napping more than 20 minutes from a pretty early age. So by 4:00 he was meltdown city and too tired to sleep. I don't know how to fix that, but if I was doing it again I'd see if I could come up with any more sleep tricks.
Good luck!
My third baby was colicky. Unfortunately there's nothing you can do. Gas drops are really not even effective for gas (they work in the digestive tract and take so long to work that it would be a couple hours before there was any relief- sorry one of my pet peeves). Formula is rarely the cause of fussiness unless it is an allergy issue. Colic is just colic- the name given to a baby that cries a lot for no apparent reason. The best advice I have is to accept it.
The things that would sometimes calm my baby were carrying her in a Moby Wrap sling and taking a bath with her. The good news is at about 4 months old her screaming just turned off like a switch and she was a new baby- all smiles.
I am a grad student in nursing and actually took part in a study on crying babies when my little one was at her worst. They found that many people consider babies colicky who are not, and that for true colic there is no help other than waiting it out.
I do think my little one's issues were compounded by tiredness. I started being very consistent about putting her down to bed at 7 pm every night and consistent naps and she showed much improvement.
Sorry you (they? are you the aunt?) are going through this. It is tough but it gets better. If you have to put the baby down for a bit and let him/her cry and walk away a bit to maintain your sanity that is okay too. Babies like to be held but they also need healthy, happy caregivers. There's a great book by Dr Sears called something like Parenting the Fussy Baby that I highly recommend. Best of luck.
My daughter had colic for 5 months. What worked for her was swaddling (and this was something I had to force upon her because she really didn't like it but it was the only thing that would make her sleep), the pacifier in her mouth, put her on a boppy, and have the back massager right next to the boppy so she would feel the vibration. I actually have pictures of this and though I can look back upon it now and laugh...it wasn't a lot of fun at the time. The swing would sometimes help her, and holding her while swaddled and patting her bottom would help as well.
This will pass, it's tough to go through. I saw someone mentioned bathing, and that can also be very soothing. I also found my daughter enjoyed music...still does. Keep trying things and you'll find what works best. As someone else said, there's only so much you can do for colic. Switch off with someone if you can so you can get some rest.
Take care and I hope things get better soon!
Kirsten
you might want to try to take the baby to a chiropractor that also specializes in cranial sacral therapy.
also there was some research in probiotic's being helpful in babies with colic
Abigail Lynn LMT
Birth and Post Partum Doula
Certified Pre and Peri-natal Massage therapist
my sister in law gave me this website to check out when thought my last son had it. All three of her kids had colic and reflux, and she said this website was helpful to her.
Get The Happiest Baby on the Block dvd from the library!
Just like another poster, it turned out our colicy baby actually had sensory integration disorder - but we didn't find out until he was nearly 5. We changed formula and tried gas drops, too. Does little one also startle SUPER easily over sudden noises; does he/she hate toenail clippings; is he easily hot (what you think are the right amount of layers are actually about 2 too many)? SID presents itself in a number of ways; these were some of my son's symptoms - when baby #2 came along, we realized these things aren't typical behaviors.
Just check it out and see if integrating some sensory modification techniques help soothe baby. They DEFINITELY will not harm him and might work even if he doesn't have SID. Good luck!
Burp Frequently! Don't let them finish a bottle or without burping at least 2-3 times before they get to the end. My first Child was the Colic Devil! LOL I nursed him also. We found out he was lactose. I had to stop drinking milk and eating dairy. The soy forumlas was just as bad,since it stopped up his digestion so much. His stomach would gripe. Had to use Lactose free formulas. Glucose (sugar) water helped, but not recommended to much do to the Electolites. Apple juice also. However, no dairy and burping between sips seemed to work well.
My first daughter had colic and so does my current 5 month old daughter. It is so exhausting! Try everything in the Happiest baby on the block book. And then also make sure he/she does not have acid reflux. Both my daughters had it (and currently they both still have it). Medication doesn't work too well before 8 weeks of age, but after that it helps tremendously, assuming that is what the baby has. Make sure you check it out at least. My first daughter screamed all day and night for 5 months before an ER doc figured it out. The peds just said it was colic and she woudl outgrow it. Ugh. Good luck and hang in there.......
I feel your pain! My now 12 month old daughter was very colicky the first few months of life (crying non-stop unless nursing for up to 10 hours straight a night!). One thing that I found did work was to put her in her swing and turn up a CD we had of a vacuum cleaner. It was a very grating sound to our adult ears, but it lulled her to sleep for at least a half hour. It reminds them of sounds they heard in the womb. When it was really bad, I'd run the actual vacuum cleaner in the room where her swing was (needless to say, I had very clean carpets in that room!)Keep in mind, they WILL outgrow it. As soon as my little girl outgrew it (by around 2.5 months), she was sleeping 8 hours straight a night. Now, at a year, she sleeps 12 hours straight. Hang in there... it will get better!!
nothing will help but time. our little one gave up the crying at about 4 months - and is now the happiest baby in the word. it sucks - but you just have to hang in there - and it is okay to put the baby down in the crib - and let them cry - it breaks your heart to do so - but once you realize nothing you do will help - it is liberating. good luck.
I thought my daughter had colic until I found small amounts of blood in stool. Turned out she had GERD and had to be on special formula. I also put a couple of packs of diapers or a couple of pillows under the the top portion of her mattress to give it a little elevation. At 10, she still has GERD, but we stay away from milk and it seems to help.
Interestingly, some doctors believe colic is an indication of food allergies.
Wouldn't hurt to check out, if you haven't already.
Time is the only sure cure, but here are a few things that have helped a little.
1.) With my son he had gas soooo bad by the end of each day. My MIL discovered that if she held his had tight to her chest so it didn't jostle around...then she hopped up and down from foot to foot (like an Indian Rain Dance) then he would burp and fart until he stopped crying. I got lots of exercise doing this at night.
2.) Gripe water helps a little too. You can get it at Walgreens.
3.) Talk to your doctor about acid reflux and make sure it isn't that.
peppermint water dissolve 4 red and white "star" peppermint candies in 8 oz boiling water. Put a little bit in a bottle and add cold water (about 1/4 peppermint to 3/4 water) have the baby drink it, peppermint is a natural tummy soother and it really does work. My oldest had colic for almost 6 mo and this is the only thing that helped (advice from my dad who is the oldest of 17 kids) hope this helps.
Elise (my now 6 1/2 yr old) had colic REALLY BAD from 3 wks till 8 mos old. What made it liveable was my baby sleep plan below, what made it go away was a visit to the chiropractor.
SLEEP METHOD
try using the Baby Whisperer's EASY method for a schedule, and the Happiest Baby on the Block 5 s's method. Those two combined will make cio not be a needed thing (at that age)
EASY - when the baby wakes up it Eats. After you feed it, then it has Activity - bouncy seat, tummy time, sitting up and playing with toys, swing, exersaucer, etc. When the baby gets fussy check the B's - boredom, butt or burp. If it's none of those then off to Sleep. Don't wait for the baby to do more than get the tiniest bit fussy, then see what is causing the fusses - if it's just that they needed their diaper change do that, but if it's not the activity is boring, the butt is dirty or they have to burp, then put them down. This may happen after as short as 45 minutes, don't freak, it really means they are tired.
Now, to get them to sleep use the 5 s's. Swaddle the baby, hold the baby on their side and sway as they suck on something (paci, your knuckle or their finger/thumb) and make a shush noise. This will calm your baby. When the baby is calm, but not asleep yet, keeping them swaddled lay them in the bed. I like to pat them instead of sway after a minute or two cause you can still pat after they are put down but you can't sway, so pat the baby and continue patting gradually decreasing it as you put them in the bed. Also continue the shushing as you put them down, again gradually getting quieter.
If you do these two you will find a well rested, easily managed baby in no time.
There's not alot you can do, both my children had colic. Take the child to the docter there's prescription drops they sometimes give. Make sure that it's colic and not a milk allergy - maybe try soy milk!
Good luck!