Colic???

Shelli

hear people tell of colic anc colicy babies all the time, but I dont know what it is. People ask me am I using infacol and say its brilliant, but again i dont know what its for or if I need it. Has it something to do with wind?

dame

Don't worry about it, you'd know if your baby had colic! Relax and enjoy life!

Ayla

I agree with Dame - you would know if your babe has colic. There are a lot of theories about what causes colic, but all you can do is what you're doing and hope for the best.

IMO, if your baby's not colicky or irritated, don't even think about giving him medicine. It's good to know what's out there in case you do need it, but don't give it to him unless you need to.

Good luck - my babe got through the "colic danger zone" w/o getting it, and I consider myself very lucky. From what I hear it's not fun.

Shelli

but what are the signs of colic?

di11on

I was going to provide a completely uneducated reponse but chose to read this instead:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_colic

Very interesting read. The most interesting part of it for me was this:
...
Because of the links between prenatal stress, birth trauma, maternal stress etc, and colic, it has also been suggested that some 'colic', or excessive crying may actually be a healthy stress release requiring support and facilitation rather than suppression or 'cure'.[13]

...

There is general agreement that soothing measures, such as pacifiers, listening to white noise and rocking, are often effective in calming the baby during crying periods. Also known as the "cuddle cure",[17] the five S's are known as Swaddling, placing the baby on their Side or Stomach, Swinging the baby, making a Shhh sound in the baby's ear, and giving the baby something to Suck on...

eimearnll

i have to say the shhh sound made mine cry more but its one of those things ya just do isnt it,it just happens when your kid cries the shhh just comes out

Carrigart Exile

eimearnll wrote:

i have to say the shhh sound made mine cry more but its one of those things ya just do isnt it,it just happens when your kid cries the shhh just comes out

I remember trying to pacify my 3 month old daughter (she's now 6 years old) with the shhhhh sound and I had the idea of making it sound like what I imagine the heartbeat in the womb would sound. So i am giving it shhh .....sshhhh......shhhh; and that was the first time my daughter gave me that 'Dad don't be an idiot' look - it was a very emotional moment:D

littlebug

Shelli wrote:

but what are the signs of colic?

Screaming for hours! My little lad would start sometime between 5 and 6pm and finish between 8 and 9 and was inconsolable in those few hours Then as quick as it started he'd go right back to normal. You'd know it was about to start when he would start wriggling uncomfortably and pull his knees up to his tummy. He did seem extra windy while this was going on but that may have just been because he was drawing in more air with all the screaming. Interestingly, my little's one's colic only lasted from when he was 3 weeks to when he was 6 weeks when I started a dairy free and very very bland diet. There was only one recurrance when my diet lapsed over Christmas.

I didn't find infacol any good for the actual colic but was good for getting wind up quickly after a feed in general.

Lucky you shelli.... colic is no fun!

Shelli

littlebug wrote:

Screaming for hours! My little lad would start sometime between 5 and 6pm and finish between 8 and 9 and was inconsolable in those few hours Then as quick as it started he'd go right back to normal. You'd know it was about to start when he would start wriggling uncomfortably and pull his knees up to his tummy. He did seem extra windy while this was going on but that may have just been because he was drawing in more air with all the screaming. Interestingly, my little's one's colic only lasted from when he was 3 weeks to when he was 6 weeks when I started a dairy free and very very bland diet. There was only one recurrance when my diet lapsed over Christmas.

I didn't find infacol any good for the actual colic but was good for getting wind up quickly after a feed in general.

Lucky you shelli.... colic is no fun!

Thats actually what my little guy does, but I though that if it was colic it would be 24/7 and not just evenings. It looks like he constipated but I know he's not.

littlebug

Shelli wrote:

Thats actually what my little guy does, but I though that if it was colic it would be 24/7 and not just evenings. It looks like he constipated but I know he's not.

If it's just in the evenings that's classic colic!
My daughter cried 24/7 and that was reflux which was worse again.

I think most babies do have a fussy phase and for a lot of them it is in the evenings but I think if he's turning red and drawing his little leggies up and screaming incolsolably then I would call it colic. Are you still breastfeeding? If so cutting down on dairy might help.
I remember having to alternate between pacing up and down the hallway at great speed and standing beside the kitchen sink with the tap on at full blast as the sound of the running water seemed to soothe him.

There are lots of different theories about what colic is.... from plain old wind to baby picking up on mummy getting more stressed and tired in the evenings. Whatever it is it will pass... you sound like you're coping with it all anyway!

Jaden

Shelli wrote:

hear people tell of colic anc colicy babies all the time, but I dont know what it is. People ask me am I using infacol and say its brilliant, but again i dont know what its for or if I need it. Has it something to do with wind?

If your newborn has colic, trust me, you'll know. Often, the only treatment is Infacol (which helps to bring up wind by ensuring trapped air bubbles "join up" and get released as burps/farts, thereby providing relief) combined with alot of physical contact.

embee

Hi Shelli,

There is a "rule of three" when it comes to colic :

Three hours a day
At least three times a week
Starts at three weeks old

(these numbers are not an absolute, but give you an idea of what the pattern is like)

If your baby is crying inconsolably (the cry will usually escalate to a scream), drawing his legs up to his chest, balling his fists particularly tight, holds his breath for short periods of time and farts a lot, the chances are he has colic. Some doctors believe that colic is a phyisological reaction to sensory overload, and that one of the easiest ways to soothe a colicky baby is to sit with them in a dark, quiet and cool (but not cold) room. My own daughter was colicky from three weeks old until about eight weeks old, so it wasn't very long, but it felt like an eternity. Every afternoon at 4 pm she would start screeching and was inconsolable... Nothing I tried worked... Infacol worked for a while, as did Colief drops, but really, colic is a phase that some babies go through. Infacol and Colief generally work by easing the stomach and flatulence a baby might have, but these are not the causes of colic - no one can actually say why babies get colic, and indeed why only some babies get it. Its like a storm you just have to ride it out, and it does get better. The only thing that worked for me was pacing up and down with my daughter in my arms for two hours every night in the scullery (coolest, darkest quietest room in the house) but it was torture and my ears would be ringing by the end of it.

Once my daughters colic passed, it was like it never happened though.

HTH

Hody

Our little baby girl is suffering from this too, is there anything you can get in a pharmacy against it or something you con do to sooth her down and ease her pain?!

delly

My DD had a bit of colic at the 8 week mark and lasted for about 3 or 4 weeks. As said above it usually kicked off around four in the evening and lasted 2 to 3 hours. Funnily enough I found Infacol not much use, but used Dentinox colic drops which worked well. The best all round remedy however was the swaddle, whereby my DD would turn from a screaming mess to a relaxed baby in a matter of minutes.

Hody

Will go to the pharmacist and try to get my little princess something, just hurts me to see her suffer...

Hody

Got "Colief" from the pharmacy, but we would have to put this enzym inside the babies bottle half an hour before feed, which is difficult as we usually wait for her to wake up before preparing a bottle.

Did anybody here try those dropts that you can drip directly into baby´s mouth or has anybody experience with lactose free milk http://www.smahcp.co.uk/Home/productinformation/productrange/lf.aspx ?!

dame

I wouldn't go switching to a formula like that without being told to by a child health professional. SMA Gold is supposed to be the most like breast milk so probably better for baby unless the child is definitely allergic to something in it.

Hody

dame wrote: »

I wouldn't go switching to a formula like that without being told to by a child health professional. SMA Gold is supposed to be the most like breast milk so probably better for baby unless the child is definitely allergic to something in it.

Well, there is not such a variety of formula sold here in Ireland than it would be in mainland Europe - SMA would be the biggest name on the market. Also there is not much advise by public health nurses or midwives here on alternative treatments like fennel tea, caraway seed tea or oil and things like that. Did somebody try infacol for example?!

dame

Yes we used Infacol and found it fantastic.

When my daughter was coming up to the age to switch from the SMA Gold to the next one, follow-up milk SMA Progress, I mentioned it to the doctor and he said to keep her on the SMA Gold for as long as possible because it was the closest to breast-milk and was richer and better for babies than follow-up milks. She was breast-fed too before that.

EcologiKids

Hi - your poor little one!
You might also try baby massage as this is very relaxing for babies and is great for bonding as well. It can help relieve the tension and stress that builds up in their body from crying but also some of the torso massages can help with wind and pain experienced in colic.

I have also heard moms say that holding their baby stomach down along the length of their arm with their head cradled in the parent's hand can help to reduce the pressure and pain on their stomach caused by wind.

It doesn't last forever thank goodness, you seem to be coping great. There is also Colief available in pharmacies that can be used for colic.

Hope this helps!