Any parents with a colicky baby?

[Jensen]

Its a nightmare! I haven't slept for 3 days and its really awful. Have tried some meds and I just picked a new one today that I'm hoping could help.

Have anyone tried the The SleepTight? (sort of vibrator that you fit under the bed) .. supposed to be heavily recommended in the US but its $400 up here so kinda wanna check with people before I order...

[docholly]

hmm after wondering how this is "general business" i can tell you that running a vacuum cleaner has a very positive effect on colicky babies. much cheaper

[Jensen]

Originally Posted by docholly

i can tell you that running a vacuum cleaner has a very positive effect on colicky babies. much cheaper

I've gotta sleep aswell in the same room...

[dareutwo]

Learn!!
doc's right (as usual)
5 minutes after the kids down, turn it off.

[docholly]

Originally Posted by Jensen

I've gotta sleep aswell in the same room...

trust me with colic .. Hoover is your best friend and better than any $400.00USD gimick..

[SirMoby]

My little one was colicky for 3 months. Nothing solved the issue because she was just producing huge amounts of gas in her stomach. We tried pretty much everything that we could find. When your baby's crying you're happy to spend all your savings to make the baby happy and gadget places know that.

Try a little baby bouncer (we had one from Fisher Price) combined with the vacuum should do the same things and cost a lot less.

Gripe Water helped a little but you can use chamomile and ginger tea. Of course finding the right swaddling technique helped some. We tried a number of different blankets and this one was OK but not great http://www.colicshop.com/miracle-blanket.shtml.

The best thing for Tatiana was the football carry. I would put her chin in my hand and lay her on my arm. Then I'd gently hold her cheeks so she wouldn't flop around and pat her back while rocking. I'd carry her on my arm for hours while Nataliya slept and then when it was my time to sleep I stayed on the couch alone

The good news is that Tatiana stopped crying one day and she's been healthier then other kids ever since.

[ladydesigner]

I have 4 kids with the youngest being 15 months and he's never slept through the night so I totally feel your pain. The good news is while the colic sucks, it will stop eventually. Try some gas drops for infants (this is a good one I used Mylicon Drops.) Rest assured, you will get some sleep....eventually.

[Mr Spock]

You poor bastard

[Jensen]

we'll the night passed again.. we tried something simular to mylicon and it worked great during the night..

however, as soon as we got him cleaned etc he started screaming again and nothing helps.. I've been carrying him around for hours after hours like sirmoby and it helps a bit, but as soon as he falls asleep, the pain starts and soon after he is awake screaming :/

I'm off to vacuum!

[WebcamCashAnita]

My mother in law told me that when her kids were colicky, they'd take them for a little car ride around the block or something

[ladydesigner]

Jensen, have you asked your pediatrician if he's maybe suffering from acid reflux? One of my little ones had that really bad. It wasn't diagnosed until she was about 4 months old. The symptoms where colic like with a LOT of spitting up and when she was laid down, the acid would apparently rise into her throat and cause more crying. For the longest time I just let her sleep upright in her swing until I told the doctor and she suggested acid reflux. Once she got on medicine for that, she was much better. Just a thought.

[Jensen]

Originally Posted by ladydesigner

Jensen, have you asked your pediatrician if he's maybe suffering from acid reflux? One of my little ones had that really bad. It wasn't diagnosed until she was about 4 months old. The symptoms where colic like with a LOT of spitting up and when she was laid down, the acid would apparently rise into her throat and cause more crying. For the longest time I just let her sleep upright in her swing until I told the doctor and she suggested acid reflux. Once she got on medicine for that, she was much better. Just a thought.

could be, but I'm not seeing any difference when I hold him up versus straight and he doesn't really spit up much :/ I'll ask when he visits the doc (called to get an appointment today... he was supposed to have seen a doc at 2-4 weeks but as always there is christmas breaks etc etc.. %/"#)%/)

[spacemanspiff]

Mylicon was my best friend at that time. Worked great.

I've heard you can strap the little one in their car seat and put them on top of the dryer on air dry. Of course then you get to hang out in the laundry room for a while. DO NOT leave junior unattended.

[docholly]

Gripe water was good if it was a mild case and only give like 1/4 of a teaspoon.. just enough to get out the gas.. but when my grandson had it the only thing that really worked.. was the hoover.. ok.. we used a dust buster too.. who knows why it works..

[swedguy]

My chiropractor (he's not just a chiropractor, he's a frickin genius when it comes to how the body works) has treated a couple of his patients kids for colic. A few sessions and the colic was gone for good.

http://www.colichelp.com/colicandchiropractic.html

[Carrie]

My first one did nothing but scream the entire time he was awake for the first month or so.
Mylicon was a life-saver.
There was also an "organic" version of it that came in little squeeze-tubes that worked even better, I can't remember the name but maybe someone will know what I'm talking about.

The only real thing I can tell you is that you WILL get through this. It seems like utter hell, and you don't know if you will be able to survive it, and you swear you'll never have another child... but it will end one day. Promise.
(We ended up having 2 more kids and neither of them had colic, thank goodness!)

[SirMoby]

The big problem with colic is that it's one word for a dozens of different ailments. It's just that they all have the same symptom and that's excessive crying. That's why what works for one baby can do nothing to help another.

You just have to keep trying

[Lisa]

SirMoby, exactly. The word colic has become a catch-all word meaning 'my baby screams a lot'. Actual colic can usually be distinguished by signs and symptoms which indicate pain, including a drawing up of the legs, and a painful sounding cry. True colic is best treated by actually taking steps to avoid it, if possible. Colic is caused by gas moving thru the twists and turns of the colon, so trying to eliminate the gas at feed time, before it gets that far, can help. So good burping techniques, gripe water, and infant wind drops containing simethicone can help. Don't under estimate the burping part...most babies will swallow air as they feed, so try different positions to help bring up the gas without bringing up the feed. I used to find putting my babies up high on my shoulder so their belly rested on the top of my shoulders and the baby looked down to the floor sometimes worked. Also sitting the baby on my lap, facing me, and bending them forward as if they were doing their stretches (without the reach out and touch the toes bit, obviously!). Patting and rubbing their backs will help also.

If you've gotten to the point where the gas is too far down to bring it back up, then your best bet is to try and get it out the other end as quickly as possible. To that end, you can try holding your baby's feet and gently bringing their knees up towards their chest, repeating the movement slowly and gently. Some babies find the position soothing when their tummies are hurting and sometimes it will actually help them pass gas. Also, gently tummy massage might help. You want to aim for a 'double left rotation' massage...which sounds silly and is going to sound sillier as I describe it, but here goes. Basically you're trying to make small circles to the left (that's your left, not the baby'), and then move your hand to the left and make more small circles to the left, repeating and repeating so that you are making small left circles in a larger left circle pattern that will run from the umbilicus to the edge of the abdomen, down to the top of the diaper, to the other edge of the abdomen and back up to the umbilicus again, etc (Man I think I described that badly...hope it makes sense.)

If it's not colic, then it may be something else, and I'm going to assume that you've fed, changed etc, and tried all those things that parents try when their babies are unsettled.

So if it's not colic, and we've eliminated the obvious physical causes, we're left with either the baby is just unsettled, or it's over-tired.

If the baby is just generally unsettled, the good news is it will most likely resolve itself by about 5 months old, but you can try swaddling, rocking, different positions, music, vacuums, etc.

If the baby is overtired, then rhythmic movement and/or noise is your best bet to help them block out the over-sensations that are keeping them awake. I used to find patting my babies quite firmly on their diapered butts as they lay face down the best method, but as sleeping babies on their tummies is not recommended at all anymore, it's not so easy. You can still try it with baby lying on their side, but it's not quite as effective.

The best ever advice I ever got regarding babies came from a book which said in essence, that there is no absolute right way to raise your baby, only the way that feels right for you, and for your baby. It recommended when faced with a persistently crying baby that you try every method you can find, try them in combination (rocking + music, swaddling+vacuum etc etc) until you find what works...for your baby.

If for some reason you find yourself at the end of your tether, take a shower. Make sure your baby is somewhere safe (ie crib), and then put yourself under the shower for 5 minutes of breathing time. Baby will be fine, and you won't be able to hear the crying over the running water (plastic shower caps will create such a din in your own head you won't be able to hear anything!) My middle child was a screamer, and 4 times in the first 4 months of his life I had to put myeslf in the shower...two of those four times, he was asleep when I got out 5 mins later...I think it must have been ME keeping him awake...lol.

And as has been said before, this too will pass. And one day that child will be a teenager...who you will wish had something easy to deal with, like colic!

[N J]

Originally Posted by swedguy

My chiropractor (he's not just a chiropractor, he's a frickin genius when it comes to how the body works) has treated a couple of his patients kids for colic. A few sessions and the colic was gone for good.

http://www.colichelp.com/colicandchiropractic.html

Same thing I heard - definately worth a try.

[sweetpurple04]

i haven't heard of the product... have you trie milk and bananas before going to bed?