Any colic survivors?

[Molly]

Hi Ladies,

I am a few weeks into our battle with colic with our 8 week old daughter. Some days and nights are better than others, but basically we do a lot of rocking, walking, bouncing, wearing, and just holding while she screams. She is being treated for reflux and we have seen some improvements during our feedings. Her weight gain is perfect, so medically speaking she is perfectly healthy. It has been so challenging to maintain a positive attitude when I am mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted.  To make matters worse, from every thing I have read, colic usually subsides 3-4 months after your expected due date and our daughter was born a month early. So by colic standards she is really only 4 weeks old and the crying will peak in a couple of weeks. It is hard to imagine that things will get worse before they get better.  In the past 72 hours she hasn't been out of mine or my husbands arms for more than 30 minutes at a time.  I find it hard to believe that we will wake up one day to a care free baby that sleeps well and is happy in a swing or bouncy seat. I think a more likely scenario is that we will see gradual improvements in the following weeks, but I think she will always be a very sensitive little girl who requires a lot of attention and holding. Has anyone else had to endure the test of colic and when did it end for your baby? Was the process gradual and what was your child's temperament post colic? 

[Jennifer Thomas]

Hi! We went through colic with our daughter. It sucks. Around 3 months I found out about gripe water and it helped tremendously, or she started getting over it at the same time. It lasted from when she was 3 weeks old until 4 months... and it didn't just miracously stop with the gripe water, but it did help! One time after giving it to her my mother in law exclaimed that I must have switched babies because she was smiling and laughing.

My daughter is now 9 1/2 months and doing MUCH MUCH better!!! I think she is a normal 9 1/2 month old girl... not a whole lot of words but lots of babbling and she is cruising around the room. She is fine now if leave her to play and clean or cook... I know its hard to picture now, but it will get better!! And this really has nothing to do with her future tempermant, her tummy hurts and she is telling you it hurts and other than giving her meds and loving her she just has to outgrow it. It really helped to get my mom or mother in law to come and let us get out of the house for a couple of hours once a week.

 

Another thing that really helped was my dad and the peditrician both telling me that it was ok to leave her in her crib to cry for 5 minutes while I went for a walk outside. I thought I was the most awful mom in the world doing that sometimes, but when you have a baby that screams no matter what it really does get to you and you need the 5 minutes of peace. If you ever want to meet for coffee or meet at a park for a stroll let me know.

[Molly]

Thank you Jennifer. I am so glad to hear your little girl is doing so well now. It really gives me hope for the future. I am sorry you had to go through that but it is nice to know we aren't the only ones. We had a pretty good day and I just fed her and she went right back to sleep. Sometimes it feels like I am waiting for the other shoe to drop when she finally is calm, but I just have to enjoy the good times because I never know what the next few hours will bring.

What I am about to say is way too much information so please be warned...but we are all moms here and everyone understands how important poopy diapers are especially in little babies. Anyway, she has been having really mucusy poops for over two weeks now. We sent a sample to the lab, and it tested negative for infection and blood so the dr's office said it was no big deal. I just don't think its normal, there has to be something going on there. She is already on Nutramigen, so the only other step formula wise is an elemental formula that you have to order online...really hope we don't have to go that route. I have an appointment on Monday so hopefully her doctor can give me some answers.

[Jennifer Thomas]

Have you tried Similac Alimentum? Our pedatrician had us try like 4 different formulas. None of them really seemed to make any difference.  

 

I don't know about mucusy poops, I never really noticed any difference between my daughter and my niece or nephews.

 

Just think one day you'll be looking back wondering how you made it through these days.  I try to look on the positive side of things so I think "hey I lost ALL my baby weight really quickly by walking around with a 12lbs of baby strapped to me for three months" and my carpets were super duper clean because I ran the vacuum a lot, the noise seemed to help some idk why it worked though lol.

 

Oh and she never would really use a bouncy seat or swing. She does like the exersaucer at my parents when we go visit for the weekend.

 

Let us know how the dr appt goes. Hopefully you can get some more answers.

[Haley]

Our little boy had colic really bad. I always thought colic was just a crying thing, but since we went through it I learned it was a stomach thing. My little boy would stay scrunched up all the time because his tummy hurt him so bad. We did the mylecon drops and also the gripe water. We also tried a probiotic called bio gaia. It helped some. We went through the whole changing formula thing. We ended up on the similac sensitive. Our pediatrician just told us there was nothing we can do for him, he will just have to out grow it. That is not the answer I wanted to hear because I could look at him and tell he was hurting. My husband and I had many sleepless nights. I don't believe we slept in our bed for the first 2 months. We would take turns on the couch holding him. That was the only way he would sleep. If we did lay him down he would start screaming. It was really tough.

When he turned 3 months, it litereally was like a light switch, he was not as bad with the colic. By the middle of 3 months you didn't even know he had it.  I kept warning his babysitter that he was really bad. If she didn't want to keep him or could not tolerate all of the crying I would understand. He went to daycare and when I would pick him up she would ask me if he even had colic. So it will pass.

 

We found some different ways to hold our little boy that seemed to calm him down.  One is, instead of holding a baby like you would normally flip them over so their tummy is on your arm. (their head would be at your elbow) I hope that makes sense.  Also, if you hold them sitting up and away from your body that would help some too. (that would get him to stop crying for a minute.)

 

I hope things get better for you. I totally understand what you are going through.

[Molly]

Haley, I laughed so hard when I read your post. Not because it was funny, but because I have had a crick in my neck for a week from letting her sleep on my chest while laying propped up on the couch. She will sleep like that for hours until you lay her in bed. I didn't get any answers at her appointment today. Her doctor said he has no idea why she fusses after feedings or why she has mucus in her stool. He told me her growth is wonderful and to just keep doing what we have been. I tried asking him some more questions but Ava was screaming her head off and he told me it was too difficult to talk to me with her doing that and to call back when she is napping (yeah right! she could be 15 at that point) or to come back with someone who can take her into another room. Not exactly the response I was looking for to say the least. So, we are taking her to a pediatric GI in Birmingham in two weeks. It is most likely something she will have to outgrow, but I just want to make sure we have covered all our bases.

[Jennifer Thomas]

Oh Molly that must have been really frustrating for you that you didn't get any anwsers and he wouldn't even really talk to you! You are being a good mommy taking her to all these dr's to try and get some answers. I hope the specialist can offer some better solutions for you and her.

[Haley]

I'm sorry you didn't get any answers. I know how you feel. I wanted answers too. I always said to myself I am going to come up with some kind of colic relief/cure so it will help us and others. It is hard to see your child in pain or just miserable.

 

I have heard that a "nap nanny" can be helpful. I don't know if you have one, I never had one, but some people have said that they are the best things ever.  

We are kind of in the same boat. When my little boy was born he was 3 weeks early. I had an emergency c-section. He weighed 4lbs 15oz. We have had struggles with weight the whole time. We are in the 2 percentile.  Between his 6 month check up and 9 month check up he didn't even gain a pound! We have literally been stuck in the 15 pound range for the last 4 months.  We have had every test run on him. They have all come back normal. We went to a GI droctor a couple of weeks ago because he has been throwing up a lot. Could not pin point a cause. We are seeing Dr. Mestre. He is going to run a couple of tests on him and see if something internally is wrong. My child is VERY ACTIVE!! If these tests come back ok then I am not going to worry about it. He will just be a small kid.  We did the same thing, we just wanted to have all of our bases covered too.

 

I hope the GI doctor can help you or give you some good advice.

 

I honestly thought my child would never get over colic. I just didn't see how he would stop. It happened for us, so there is hope for you.
Molly said:

Haley, I laughed so hard when I read your post. Not because it was funny, but because I have had a crick in my neck for a week from letting her sleep on my chest while laying propped up on the couch. She will sleep like that for hours until you lay her in bed. I didn't get any answers at her appointment today. Her doctor said he has no idea why she fusses after feedings or why she has mucus in her stool. He told me her growth is wonderful and to just keep doing what we have been. I tried asking him some more questions but Ava was screaming her head off and he told me it was too difficult to talk to me with her doing that and to call back when she is napping (yeah right! she could be 15 at that point) or to come back with someone who can take her into another room. Not exactly the response I was looking for to say the least. So, we are taking her to a pediatric GI in Birmingham in two weeks. It is most likely something she will have to outgrow, but I just want to make sure we have covered all our bases.

[Molly]

Thanks for the moral support everyone. I was really fuming when I left her doctor. But I know we will have better luck with the next doctor. I have started being very careful with how I position and handle her during and after her feeds and that does seem to help. I once put her in her car seat right after eating and she screamed for 45 minutes. I just found out that a bucket seat like that puts too much pressure on a full tummy and aggravates reflux. Live and learn!

Haley, Dr. Mestre is who we are going to go see as well. He was recommended to us by my husband's aunt who is an anesthesiologist. Her daughter, who is now 15, had a really difficult time as a baby. Every doctor brushed off her symptoms as something to outgrow and a bad case of colic. Within 5 minutes of seeing Dr.Mestre he diagnosed her with severe reflux and gave her meds that really helped her. Her case was so severe she ended up having surgery when she turned two. So I feel very confident that if there is a solution to our little ones' problems he will find it. If nothing else, he will be very thorough and not take their symptoms lightly. I hope everything goes well for you, and I wouldn't worry too much about his percentile as long as the doctor says he is healthy.

[rolltidemommy]

First, it WILL get better, mama.   (((hugs)))

 

Second, keep considering other options.  Follow your instincts and make sure you feel like your doctors are listening to you.   When I had my second child, I was expecting the same scenario I had just went through with my two year old.   Yes... there's sleepless nights, fussiness, etc... but we made it through what I consider a "normal" infancy.  Then came my second.  It started out relatively the same, but the fussiness got worse, and worse.  I carried him to my trusted pediatrician, who reassured me and told me all the same things I hear upthread.   We were treated for reflux and colic.  I changed my diet because I was breastfeeding, and eventually stopped and gave him formula because I thought that was the problem.  Went through SEVERAL formulas until we were on Nutramigen.  He took Zantac for reflux, Levsin for colic, gas drops for my benefit.  lol  He cried, I cried.  My two year old cried because I cried.  My husband and I took turns staying up with him, because he never slept.  We would get temporary moments of peace if he was placed in his car seat, on top of the stove (off of course) with the hood vent on.  Sometimes, I had to rock the car seat at the same time.  Sometimes I slept minutes at a time on the kitchen floor.  We slept with the vacuum cleaner running.  These are DANGEROUS and are not intended suggestions.   They are used to explain just.how.bad.it.gets and how you'll do ANYTHING for a few minutes of sleep.  We were so tired we could no longer think straight. 

 

I won't lie when I say things got dark around that time.  I would get mad at the baby, and then so completely upset that I was mad at the baby!!   My husband had to step in a lot.  I would lock myself in the bathroom.  Had I not been educated enough to know not to shake a baby, I probably would have.  Babies, like my first son, are supposed to be comforted by their mothers arms.... but my arms were useless.   It hurt.  It was one of the hardest times I have ever been through.

 

This went on 8 months.  Finally, it did start to get a tiny bit better.  Then, in the midst of all the turmoil, I noticed that my son didn't make sounds like my first son did.  We were looking for that first word any time now, but he really didn't do that.   He would babble oooooh's and aaaaahhh's, but no consonant sounds at all.  At his ped appt, I told them this, and they did the little "pressure test" on his ears.   Yep... he couldn't hear.  We went to a local ENT, who said at our first visit, "I can't believe this baby is sitting on your lap with ears as pressure filled as his are."  We had tubes placed within two weeks, and he was a completely different baby.  Happy, sleeping (better, anyway,) talking, etc.  His ears had always been the problem.  Laying flat increases the pressure, which is why he only wanted to be held upright or sitting in car seat, chair.  The noises, such as the vacuum, vents, etc... vibrate the eardrum, actually relieving the pain temporarily, or at least disguising it from the baby for a bit.  My first son had never (and actually to this day has never, and he's 11!) had an ear infection, so I didn't know what I was dealing with.  There was never fever.  Why didn't the pediatrician catch it?   First, newborns almost always have some fluid behind their eardrums, of which absorbs the first few weeks of life.  This finding on exam is not that unusual.  Second, infants who are crying will present with red ears... from the crying.  My son's were not infected, but fluid filled and the pressure was very painful.  Oh... and gastric reflux can definitely be related.  If the child has severe reflux, it can make it's way into the Eustachian tubes and cause problems there.  It never hurts to see an ENT, so I would check it out!

 

My third child was born with the exact same problems, except now I knew better.  I took him to the ENT at 3 weeks old and treatment was started.   His infancy was 10 times better than his brother.  My baby had been in such pain all that time and I just didn't know!!

 

He's now 9 years old, and this is all such a distant memory.  He is the most caring, loving, sensitive child with the best disposition and charming wit.  His blue eyes and dimples make it terribly hard to ever be mad at him!  lol  I joke that he better have gotten all his "trouble making" days over that first year.  It will get better.   Hang in there!!!

[Molly]

Wow, that is an amazing story, and good detective work on your part! Problems with the ears never would have occurred to me. Thanks for the kind words.

[Ally]

My daughter, who is now almost 5, had colic soooo bad!  She would scream unless bounced, rocked, in our arms, etc.  The doc suggested either running the water in the bathroom, sitting her in a bouncer near the loud dryer, a staticky radio station, or the vaccume cleaner...basically LOUD white noise.  We did all of those, the last one being the vaccume cleaner and she IMEDIATEDLY stopped crying and went to sleep!  It was amazing!!  We slept 3 nights with our vaccume cleaner running nonstop right next to her crib.  We all slept, all night!  After 3 nights I found a cd online of a vaccume cleaner and we bought it, cranked it up and she slept with it on until she was 12 months old and then we started to wean her off of it.  I'm sure the neighbors thought we vaccumed all night and that our house must have been spotless...boy were they wrong! lol anyway, they have cd's of all the white noise sounds and it had to be really loud, but it gave us peace.  We were like you soooo worn out and I would just cry while bouncing her around the room all night. 

 

just a suggestion! Hope it helps!

[Kristin Shelton]

Here's some old-fashioned tips that worked sometimes (from of my mother in law)

  

Warmth is good.  Part of the reason that being against mom and dad helps.

a.  Lay them on top of the dyer on a blanket or towel and turn it on.  The vibration and warmth helps work up airbubbles and helps their tummy.

b.  lay them on a heating pad on low.  (note: try the heating pad on yourself first to make sure how hot it gets after laying on it for 30 min to an hour to determine how many blankets you need between the pad and the baby.)  This one actually helped my husband greatly when he had colic

c.  Get a babybath that they can lay in a propped up position and use really warm water.  lay a towel across the baby to keep warm and keep pouring the warm water across the towel on the baby's belly.  Baths usually relax babies and at least they aren't crying for maybe 30 minutes. lol.  This one also worked great for my husband.  they gave him two baths a day sometimes and just kept the water really warm.

 

Don't lay them flat down.  Be sure the baby is propped up.  Just like us, when we have heartburn, laying down flat makes it completely worse.  (They folded a large blanket and put it under one end of the mattress so the mattress was actually at an angle)  Also, it actually won't hurt for the baby to sleep in the carseat for a while each day if that is the only rest anyone is getting.  If riding in the car helps, go for a ride and just take the entire seat into the house. 

 

I assume that Mylacon is being used.

 

Also, get out the stoller and walk.  Even if they are crying it isn't so bad if you are out of the house.

 

Yes, it does get better and it is gradual.  At about 4 mths things were better and by the time my husband was 6 mths he was a completely different child.  Played in the floor by himself with his toys.  Only woke about one time per night, took 2 to 3 naps per day.  Was super easy kid till he turned 14 and I don't think colic caused that.  lol

I am going out of town until the middle of oct but if you ever just need a break let me know, I am a stay at home mom who has been super blessed with a kid who has slept through the night since he was 6weeks (9 months now) I would gladly come watch your little one even for an hour so you can get a nap or just get out of the house. Us moms need to stick together to keep our sanity