Colic

[girlygirl]

My Sisters baby is 7 weeks old. He suffers from colic awful and from 5 - 9pm screams non stop. She has tried Infacol, Codene (I think) and water. It doesn't matter if you hold him or put him down he still cries. Please if you have any suggestions let me know! x

[Jules001]

is he being bottle fed, if so the size of the teat might be too big and he is taking in too much air with his feed which could then in turn cause the colic. Also make sure that he is winded properly after feeding as that too can be a problem - hope this helps.

[kick3m0n]

Hi Kate. My son suffered badly too. He would often not get to sleep till after midnight and it was absolutely exhausting. When feeding, your sister could try different positions. I know a couple of babies who had less colicky symptoms if they were fed in a less horiziontal, more upright position. If breastfedding, there are lots and lots of foods that may be contributing to excess wind. Cutting out dairy or spicy foods for eg can often help, but your sis may need to do a bti of trial and error on this, but it's what eventually really helped us...oh and cutting out red meat might help too. Get her to speak to her health visitor, who can usually provide lots of good hints and tips for colic. Baby massage can be very effective...we got taught it in a new baby class, and the massage technique for wind/colic and constipation are very similar, but both worked quite well for our wee guy. Good luck to your sis, I know how very distressing this problem can be. xx

[xanderma]

My eldest suffered really badly from colic too, so I can sympathise.

She seemed better when I held her sort of draped across my forearm on her front and gently swayed her from side to side, or across my knees on her front - but that was 10 years ago, and I'm not up-to-date on the current advice re babies on their tummies, so best to check with a health visitor.

As a plus point, my daughter's stopped almost overnight - and we didn't even notice until a few nights later when we suddenly realised that there'd been no crying for a while! Shows what lack of sleep does to new parents!

[xanderma]

...I forgot to say, Gripe water worked where Infacol failed as well. Seems different things work for different babies.

[kick3m0n]

xanderma...no, that technique on their tummies is still recommended I think...our HV suggested it, but it didn't work for us. As you say, different solutions for different babies. x

[girlygirl]

Thank you so much guys! I am phoning her now! She is exhausted - bless her (she also has a 6yr old and a 1 year old) Keep em' coming!

[hol5]

if bootle fed as JULES001 states, the bottle is important, i changed to Dr Bowns bottles from Boots, they are expensive about � 12 for 2 but they worked almost instatntly for us....

[hol5]

sorry...that should have been Dr Browns.....

[hol5]

only me again, i had another tip, it was my third child that suffered and i coddled him ( where you wrap them up really tight in a blanket so they can't move their arms ......)

[redcrx]

Dr browns bottles are great (sometimes called b-free bottles).

I used them when my son suffered from colic and they worked instantly. I had also used infacol but, after speaking to other mums, found that some babies find it hard to handle and it can make them worse. Just stopping the use of this made a difference to my son

[noxlumos]

One of my sons suffered from it mercifully briefly (stopped as quickly as it came thank God) and the position we found helped him most was if I sat forward on the sofa and held him on his tummy facing away from me ( in mid air in effect) and gently rocked him to and fro. He found that very soothing. His colic only lasted about 3 weeks but was a terrible ordeal. Hope you sister's little one feels happier soon.

[girlygirl]

I just want to thank you all for such fantastic advice again. She is going to buy some of the Dr Brown bottles this evening/tomorrow and try all the various movements that you have said and keeping him more up right when feeding.

Your all fantastic and I'm so glad that I found AB.

Kisses to all. xxxxxx

[Pippa68]

I used the same technique noxlumos suggests ~ it worked a treat (even for the babes that didn't have colic, just tetchy!)

Not only did it work for the babies, it worked for me too as a non-stop crying baby can try your patience somewhat..the motion really calmed me :o)

[OBonio]

We used gripe water too.

http://www.auravita.com/products/aura/SSLI1046 0.asp?RefId=800&adid=SSLI10460

Worked very well (though I suspect the old one's with alcohol worked even better!!).

[mimififi]

Hi, i'm in a terrible hurry so apologies if I'm repeating, but if he is breast fed, tell mum to drink lots of fennel tea. This was a miracle cure for my preemie who had awful colic. If he is bottle fed, he can have it directly as it is made with boiled water. He only needs an ounce or so before/after a feed. Before is better.

Also, try to feed him before he is really h ugnry as if he is starving, he will take in alot more air aswel.

hope this helps. Sorry again if i have repeated.

[randomsasha]

I agree with hol5, Dr Brown bottles are well worth the money, from the first feed we tried with them, the colic stopped.

[tradey]

hi there well my girl was the same i tried everything out there,then one day i went into boots found a bottle which is for colic cost �10 for two,well was the best thing i ever bought,they have special teats which dont let in any air tell her to try this good look