Colic

Colic: any words of advice for a mum? Baby is unsettled and they haven’t had any sleep

The following is a list of support and feedback from mums on our Facebook page.   If you are reading this article searching for help with baby colic, then we which you Good Luck!

————————————————

Colic calm, homeopath at the local chemist, cranial osteopath – these can all be helpful. Good luck and hope this mummy gets some rest xx

Goats formula, Dr Brown bottles , tilt bed so baby not lying flat. Gripe water before feeds and burp lots . Carry baby around in wrap /front pack

We raised the end of whatever baby was sleeping in with books and I would rub babies tummy in a circular motion towards the right prior to burping bub. When that didn’t work bub went in a front pack and I lay on an elevated tri pillow so we could both rest.

I’m using Colic Calm it’s expensive but all natural and baby loves it and works for my wee man. He’s nearly 4 weeks old and hungry all the time and the downfall is he gets bad wind and tummy pains, he can only have 3 doses in a 24hr period so I always make sure I have at least 1 dose for during the night

We have been struggling with this also I got Rhuger mixture and also baby biotics both have worked wonders

Just get sleep any way that you can. Don’t be worried about creating ‘bad habits’. It gets better though! Colic babies like movement, and to be close – babywearing is perfect!

Infacol before bubs drinks then Weleda Colic Powder, this is what I did and seemed to work really well

Dip the dummy, if you have one, in some gripe water before giving to bubs

Colic calm. We tried rhuger, infacol, gripe water then colic calm and it has been by far the best one.

I tried colic calm, Dr browns bottles, osteo (def a huge help!!!!) I also tried goats formula with no change so actually went to lactose free and it made such a huge difference.

Gripe water, tilted bed for Bub, and if you can… ask someone to take Bub for a walk in their pram, just make sure it is tilted too. They’ll hopefully like the movement and sleep and because it is someone else taking them you can catch a nap as well. Good luck! x

Baby wearing and lots of time with a boob in their mouth! Also if it’s a night, safe bedsharing

Small frequent feedings in elevated position , lots of burping. Swaddling helps the baby sleep better.

Cut your diet down to bland foods and make sure you’re drinking lots of fluids and let baby sleep on you or wherever they want. Strap that baby to you in a carrier/sling/moby so you can at least have your hands free. You can do it Mumma. Its so hard being sleep deprived but its a short phase and it will get better.

Infacol in short term, probiotics helped us over time! And holding baby over arm on their tummy.

Oh I totally understand this!! We are going through the same at the moment with my 12wk old. We tried Rhuger and Colic Calm, neither worked for us. We have the end of bassinet raised, we are currently using Professor Westons Wind Mixture, baby Probiotics plus I am taking probiotics to pass through breastmilk, we use a dummy and get sleep however we can.. Often that means bubs sleeps up over my shoulder, in a front pack or lying on my chest while I lay on the couch. Have heard Infacol works wonders too 🙂

if breastfeeding you’ll need to eliminate a number of foods from your diet – namely soy, dairy, cabbage, onions, caffeine, spicy foods… very hard but when you see a happy baby totally worth it. I feed my girl who had both colic and silent reflux for 18m so pretty hard going though good for my figure

Holding bubs over your knee to bring wind up. I ended up putting little miss in the car most nights just to get her to stop screaming and go to sleep. It seemed that nothing would work. Good luck and remember it won’t last.

Lay them across your arms or knee and gently pat their back. A warm bath helps too. I had eight weeks of this for three hours a night with my little one. Cutting out dairy helped significantly too. Good luck!

Chiropractor was the only thing that worked for us and it worked quickly.

My lot (all 3) suffered badly from this. Carrying them over the arm on their tummy provided some quiet. I worked out by number 2 that if I was on antibiotics it was hell for colic for bubby. I also figured out that nothing actually helps but do everything you can to give yourself a feeling of being in control. by the time you figure it out or are so exhausted that you are on the verge of a breakdown in usually settles down. this happens when bub can squeeze their own wind out at about 3mths

Try ditching dairy products and see an osteo or chiro

Weleda colic powder, tummy sleeping, deep warm baths

Go to doctor colic is pain baby is in pain could be silent reflux both my boys had this and they screamed 24 seven before they were put on losec within a week they were different babes. You’re doing good mum hang in there

colic calm was great for my little girl, also gave bowen therapy a go and it also helped. I would listen to music at night and dance with baby just to keep myself awake ha. We also later found out just before 6 months when she still had colic that she had an allergy to cows milk products

Decrease external stimulation, turn down lights and noise, find a classical cd and put it on low on repeat.

Drop dairy & any other ‘gas’ forming foods. Interrupt feeds to burp as maybe bubs is getting too much milk at once. I made a tea of fennel seeds & chamomile which I then cooled. Using a dropper I gave my son 1/2 ml before feeds & 1/2 ml after feeds. After 2 days he happily drank the tea as it brought him relief.

My advise is YOU need sleep!!!! Your ability to cope with anything is better after sleep so call in all those favours!!!! People who offered to visit or “is there anything we can do?” ASK THEM!!! Watch the baby or take him/her for a walk in a stroller.

Babywearing. Being upright will help. If bottle feeding, feeding in a more upright position means less air going in baby’s tummy if breastfed try laid back feeding. Google it. Its amazing. Warm baths and colic hold over the arm. Osteo or chiro. Try the little things before going into other options. Otherwise weleda colic powder is a great go to.

Chiropractic. Probiotics. Other things to consider.. Do you have fast let down or a large milk supply? Fast let down can cause bubs to gulp too much air. Oversupply can cause too much foremilk intake and leading to a gassy baby.

Family/friends support. Baby wear! Be kind to yourself. Feed on demand. Co-sleep if it helps. Have someone clean your house. Take the pressure off yourself to do anything/get out of the house much. It gets better, but that means so little when you’re in the thick of it. The memories are still raw for me but 12 months later and we have such a happy baby. It gets better. I think really nothing truly helped us but time. Though treating for reflux from about 3 months did improve things. We did lots of the above prior to that to feel as though we were doing all we could to make a difference. Trust yourself. You know your baby better than any one else ever can.

I have found the following helps: Infacol for wind, Weleda baby colic powder before each feed, white noise, dark room and stroking her head over her eyes to encourage them to close and go to sleep, rocking her to sleep in pram, a change of scenery if she is really going to town to distract her – take her outside or hand her to someone else. If all else fails going for a drive has worked for me – have clocked up some kms! I just keep reminding myself that things will get better and other people are in similar situations – good luck

Change in diet is critical, along with all the other great advice mentioned. Removing dairy & gluten were critical for us. Soy is another highly inflammatory food. Onions, garlic, spicy food, citrus & tomatoes can also trigger upset tummies.

 Colic powder  (colic powder with gripe water if bad)… Feed baby sitting up as much as possible…a ride in the car or pushchair (movement is good)…put in a swing or a vibrating rocker

Shower with baby rather than bath. We found this more calming and relaxing for him.

Lay the baby over your forearm head in your palm and swing gently from side to side. A dummy might help at the same time as the swinging.

Colic calm from chemist I found best. Also I’ve had 2 tricky babies and I’d say it won’t just be colic, there’ll be silent reflux there too and maybe an allergy (my babies had allergies to dairy, and soy and reacted to citrus as well) to go that long with no sleep. All the best to the mum and dad boy I feel for you!

Babywearing, walking in pram, if bottle feeding get the special colic bottles and don’t shake the formula it puts air in it just swirl it around. If breastfeeding try having a laying down on the side feed at least you can relax

I had a hair test done on my baby and I removed the main items that showed up on her list and we went from an unsettled baby all through the day who then screamed for 6+ hours each night to a completely different baby it was amazing! We spent weeks/months just carrying around a screaming baby and once we realized it was corn causing it it was a game changer for us.

Bare in mind colic isn’t always a sore tummy or trapped wind. My daughters GP explained that its a diagnoses given when there’s no reason for crying – baby is healthy, gaining weight and growing well, has had all needs met, not in pain, not tired/overtired etc and still they cry/scream and seem inconsolable, and yes it can sound like they are in pain. My 3 month old daughter has it. Baths and car rides help. No real advice here except hang in there mum, it passes usually by 5 – 6 months. Make sure you have lots of support and people to talk to. Look up purple crying to.

Take Bub to specific baby child chiro or osteopath helped us hugely with our Bub. They can even be constipated as they get a sore tummy the hold everything tense which means wind and bowel etc is all wound up in there!

Check for lip and tongue ties. My daughter’s ‘colic’ was a server lip tie and tongue tie. Missed by 3 professionals but picked up and corrected by the 4th when she was 6 weeks old in clinic.