Colic???

[baysmum]

Hi

My bub is 5 weeks old and every feed she is screaming, red faced, legs going crazy. She takes anywere between half an hr to two hrs to get to sleep. I'm trying Infacol, but to me it doesn't seem to be working.

Anyone have any suggestions, cause i'm running out of ideas!!!

Thanks

[mylittletwins]

It more than likely is. One of my twins suffered it i started off using Brauers Colic relief which worked for a while, then i went to the doctors and they prescribed him Zantac which did work, i ended up taking him off it as he was fine, then a few weeks ago it came back i gave him Zantac again then went to the doctors, who then prescribed Losec which i give 1/2 tab once a day. So far so good. But what i gave him is a last resort. If i were you i would take her to the doctors to get her checked out.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask me

Good luck

["whatmorewashing?"]

Hi

Those symptoms could be reflux related and not colic as such. Your baby may have reflux without necessarily vomitting - its called "silent reflux". You should mention it to your GP or at the babies 6 week check as there are medications available that may assist.

In the interim I found that the only thing that would help my reflux babies to go to sleep was being wrapped up tight and given a dummy to suck on. You could also try some mylanta to see if that settles the baby, if it does the symptoms are indicative of reflux. You use the adult strength mylanta and give a tiny dose (ie 0.5ml for a baby that young). You should not give the mylanta continually (no more than say 3 times a day) without your drs advice but it can give initial relief and it does indicate that the symptoms are related to refluxing the acid in the tummy ie. heartburn.

If the baby is bottle fed to could also be a dietary thing but I would discuss that with your gp/paed

Good luck

[baysmum]

Thanks mylittletwins.

I think i'm going to have to go to the doctor. Nothing you can do works to stop her from crying. Eventually she settles in her cot and goes to sleeps!!

How do you give bub the Zantac?? And will the doctor give it to me even though she is only 5 weeks old. I'm expecting the dr to say keep trying this and this and this, which I've already tried. How old were your twins when you gave it to them??

Sorry twenty questions???!!

[mylittletwins]

Matthew started getting reflux from 6 weeks, we used to give him weak Camomile tea and that used to work but it took ages to settle him, thats why i went to the Brauers colic relief which was great but as he got older he got worse.

With the Zantac i gave it to him orally through a droppler which is included with the bottle. He really loved the taste. I used to give him 1.5 mls three times a day. Zantac works by coating the stomach whereas Losec works by pushing the acid down to his bowels. The doctor will be able to decide which one is best for her.

[Caitlin's Mum]

Hi, my DS got reflux about 3 or 4 weeks old. He was eventually put on Zantac after they worked out what it was. He used to scream all the time :eek: but as soon as he started medication and we also worked out he was lactose intolerant so changed his formula, he was a new baby. Good luck. The doctor shouldn't have any problems prescribing Zantac for a 5 week old baby if they have reflux.

[Mrs Little]

Hiya Guys...

Did you all know that Reflux can be a symptom of an intolerance? I never knew this. I found out by doing research on the web about reflux.

The reason i researched was because my DS used to scream and arch his back at feeds only after being on the bottle for a few weeks....at first he didn't have a problem, the intolerance built up over time. It would also explain why breastfeeding was a problem too....i ate a lot of dairy.

After giving my son zantac for 2 months there was no more screaming at feeds....however he was still finding it difficult to feed because of cramping and wind pains. After seeing MANY paeds...i finally found one that listened to me and said to try the lactose free formula even though my DS had been tested for lactose intolerance and it came back saying neg. Those poo tests are NOT conclusive!

I haven't looked back....the change in formula took 4 days before we saw a difference:smiliedance: . He still has some bad days....but nowhere near like he was before. We also tried a prescription formula called NEOCATE...but it tastes metallic and he refused to drink it. NEOCATE would have been the best thing for him but if he wasn't going to drink it then i wasn't going to hang around trying.

Apparently the intolerance can aggreviate reflux, even if it is only small to start with, or can cause reflux. This isn't the case with everyone's bubs...but keep it in mind...as zantac or losec should pretty much eliminate the screaming and fussying at feeds ( pain)...and if your bubs is still fussy then there is something else wrong- as i discovered.

I hope i've helped.

For Bay's mum...i suggest the same thing the others have...go the dr.s and ask them....the successful use of mylanta will be the sure sign that it's reflux.

GOODLUCK.

Mrs Little & Son.

[Caitlin's Mum]

:smiliedance: Glad to hear the lactose free formula worked Mrs Little. I swear by it:yelclap:

[reAllytee]

There are a few other ideas you could try im not sure if you have so bear with me here.
We had a colicky baby who also had a mild silent reflux he pretty much cried all day & nite but of course the nites were the worst. There is really no sure fire "cure" for colic as they arent even sure what really causes it.
So we changed teats on his bottles this took a few tries but found the cross cut teats the best they are meant for older babies but they also help with colic as the baby needs to suck to actually get any milk unlike the others that just run out which was what was causing our bubs to have terrible wind pains etc ( he was a big hungry boy who guzzled ). We also swore by gripe water which i used in every bottle & also remember that if your bubs is bigger than average in size as mine was then you have to adjust dosage on any medication accordingly even panadol ( i was advised this by chemists ). We also found the Brauers a great help ( keep them in mind for their teething potion when the time comes its wonderful !!! ). You may find bubs needs a different formula if ff but check with your doctor about changing before doing so as it could cause more harm than good. A lot of mums found switching bottles also helps so im not sure if you are ff or bf but these are some options if ff.
Make sure bubs if well burped & kept in a semi upright position afterwards as this will help the reflux & try to also change nappies before a feed as this will upset her tummy being jostled around after & also when you lift her legs above her head. Even try placing bubs over your legs on your lap after a feed as the pressure helps soothe their tummies. Raise the end of her cot a little to help in case it is reflux.
Of a nite we made a ritual as this is when colic gets worse that bubs would have a feed then have some tummy time then into a nice warm bath to help kick those legs & calm him down. We then gave him a massage especially on his tummy to help relieve pressure & also doing bicycle legs to help stimulate his bowels to release the wind then it was off to bed. We found this helped alot but wasnt always a sure thing.
We also found a dummy helped soothe him when restless due to the reflux.
Sorry if this has been long i just know how lost i was through all of this so i try & help those who are going through it all as much as i can. If you need any more advice help or just want to talk just PM :)
I hope things settle down for you soon & good luck just remember that if your not happy & cant get answers from your doctor to keep pushing even if it means a second opinion after all it may be something else rather than colic or reflux.

[lozzasmum]

Hi there,

Both of my DD's have had silent reflux and this sounds like exactly the syptoms they encountered. I would talk to your paed or doctor about possibly getting Losec or something similar which will block the production of acid in their stomach and therefore stop the burning of their oesophagus. It can take a couple of weeks to start working our paed told us (I think it takes that long sometimes for the damage to heal) - but it has been a godsend for us.

It was interesting to read about the Lactose intolerance from Mrs Little - as my second daughter is not screaming at each feed now she's on Losec, but sometimes twists and contorts herself and gets very uncomfortable - maybe that's worth a try for us!!

Anyway - best of luck.

[CJJHRA]

My DD was a colicy baby, a friend of mine suggested I put 1-2 teaspoons of rice cereal in her bottle (she was bottle fed) and it would help to line their tummy and stop wind, it worked great for DD! (did this from about 4 weeks old)

[doin'mybest]

My DS had colic and i tried a variety of medications including Infacol and Brauers colic relief. In the end i found that infant panadol was the only thing that offered a little comfort for him.

Although after reading some of these posts maybe he had silent reflux.....

[elissas]

Are you breastfeeding or bottlefeeding?

To help relax her before a feed, I recommend spending some time trying to release any wind that she might have. The screaming and body tension during a feed is possibly because she associates feeding with pain, and is now resistant to it, which is traumatic because at the same time she is hungry and wants it.

I had the same problem with DS between weeks 4 and 6, or thereabouts. It turned out that I had a little too much milk (he was overstimulating my milk on hot days), and as a result was getting too much foremilk, which is the sugary (ie. lactose) part of the milk, when compared with hindmilk. It's called "foremilk-hindmilk" imbalance. What happens is that there wasn't enough fatty milk to help his digestive system process everything smoothly, and the extra lactose got dumped in the bowels and created horrible wind.

If this is a similar problem there are a few things you need to do. I started by expressing 20ml before each feed. I'd anticipate when he would want his next feed and expressed 15mins or so before. I didn't so much worry at night, but did it during the day.

The next thing is to help change the association of feeding being painful. So between feeds I'd exercise his legs, lifting them up and helping him release gas. I also gave him Infant's Friend, which helped. And a couple of times a day I'd give him a quick warm bath and then a massage (you can do these as often as you like). You might even just prefer to do a quick massage for a few minutes on her back.

I also changed the way I fed. I no longer offer the second side. DS only feeds from one breast per feed. He'll keep sucking till he's satisfied. Breasts don't actually run out of milk, although the supply will slow down at some point. I just let DS keep sucking, and although it meant more frequent feeding for a little bit, he now only needs one boob per feed. Not offering the second breast meant that he didn't get the second hit of foremilk, which increased the sugar and wind.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

[elissas]

Oh, and I forgot to mention...

By doing these things I had my happy baby boy back within 24hrs. Everyone, including DH, were astounded with how quickly the problem disappeared. :D

[Lana212]

My DD had colic, I took her to a naturopath to get acupuncture, within 4 days it was totally gone and the needles didn't bother when at all.

[Mum2AandJ]

My DS had colic. We tried everything we could find went to all different doctors because it all started the second day he was born. We even tried the Infacol and Brauers colic relief and many many other things... The Brauers worked for a while but wasnt very affective.

We had just about given up trying to use the medicines and felt like it was an downhill battle trying to get the right info. We just happened to watch A Current Affair and they had a special on colic. :smiliedance: They were talking about a product called marina infant fomula. you can get this from your local chemist. I ran to the shop the next day, my DS was miracly cured 48 hrs later. I swear by this product. So did many other parents on ACA. If that is what your little one has. Maybe this one might work.

[Babydada]

My son got colic at three weeks old and started to improve at about 6 weeks of age. He cried constantly, I didn't sleep the whole time bc these occur mainly in the evening , I usually rock him gently in a cradle or I lie on back and lay my baby on top of me with his tummy down. Massage or pat his back slowly and gently, taking deep breaths while he was laying on my chest . For some reasons ,he calm down hearing my heart beating, this seems to work real well.

[ADRIANSMUM]

Hi All,

My son had colic:barf: from about 2 weeks old and for a period of two weeks he refused to breastfeed because of it. I turned to botlle and it only made it worse. After speaking with a lactation consultant I was infomred that the bottle and teats were to main culprits. She advised that Wide neck Bottles (Avent Style) were to blame and I should try using a Standard (narrow neck) Bottle. She also said that a lot of the so called "slow teats" on the market were still too fast for newborns and reccommended that I try Prima Teats in a newborn flow (apparently they are a super slow flow) which is helps with colic and reflux. within a matter of days he was back on the breast.:smiliedance:

I was warned to give use Infacol or Brauer as they are short term solutions and don't help baby to learn how to deal with the wind. :no: Evening massage just after bath time was also calming and helped with sleep.

Hope this helps - I know it's tough, my boy kept me up for 14 hours straight once because of the pain!

Cheers
Diana

[Daffy21]

Hi,

My son had colic really bad for the first 4-5 weeks of his life. My Community Midwife Nurese just told me "He will grow out of it, don't worry!". I thought 'Yer, You aren't up to him in the middle of the night and have to listen to him screaming blue murder for up to 2 hours each time!'. I asked everyone I knew who had a baby what they done for colic with their babies. The best advice I got was to use Gripe Water. We just bought it from Woolies one night out of desperation. It worked a treat. It says to only use it up to 6 times a day. You just use it when needed. We tried to keep it only for use at night. Our son would go to sleep okay at say 7pm, then wake a few hours later screaming in pain and pulling his legs up. Soon as he was upset and crying we would give him the gripe water on a teaspoon and he would drink it. After only a few times he drank the gripe water off the spoon so quickly because he knew that it gave him relief. It is only about $6 a bottle for 200ml. I can honestly say it worked wonderfully!!! I hope it works for you too....You can also buy different brands at the chemist, but I think Woolies was the only thing open at the time and the brand they sold worked for us.:smiliedance:

Take Care

[bindiloo]

We tried the infacol but i dont really think it did a great deal,then we tried the gripe water which stunk and she absolutely hated it and infact we think it made her worse.
I was curious about the lactose free formula as i was alergic to normal cows milk when i was a bubs so wondered if perhaps my dd was experiencing the same thing anyways i spoke to a homeopath today and she asked what blood type i was and because im a type a+ she suggested i put her on the lactose free formula as type a's cant have much dairy in our diets and she thinks thats her problem cause she's also constipated.

I started her this arvo on it so we'll see how it pans out over the next few days:fingerscrossed: hopefully this is our little dd answer to better sleeps and more comfortable days.