Share Your Experience with Colic Here

[SgtMom]

I'll start...

Our dd developed colic around 3weeks. Before that she had been the most even tempered baby, even traveling 2200 miles home with us by road and just waking up every 4 hours for a change and bottle and back to sleep. But shortly after we got home the crying jags started. They would start at 11pm and last until 4am. We didnt know it was colic at first. It was not happening every night of the week but rather 3-4 nights and we had not heard the Rule of 3s yet, so we were just mystified. We tried formula changes, meds for reflux, rocking and comforting her, putting her in the swing - you name it we tried it! But still she cried and cried and Mama here about lost her mind. Then one day she stopped crying late at night but within a couple of days we realized that she had switched (just like that) to late afternoon. While this was better for our sleep schedule, it was no less damaging emotionally. When she wasn't in the midst of an episode she was very calm and even-tempered as she is now. During this time we were referred to a homeopathist who assesed Kiona and recommended a remedy. We learned from our primary ped that the remedies, given in the proper dosages, could not harm her; the worst that could happen is they would not work. And the first one did not work so we went onto a second and then a third. Within a week of her starting the third remedy the episodes stopped. In fact I remember precisely that her last one was three days before she turned 12w old. The ped and the homeopathist credited the remedy. Or it could have been she would have stopped anyway since colic typically ends around the 3rd or 4th month. We will never know!

[Zoey]

My pediatrician does NOT believe in Colic. He firmly (and I do too) beleive that there is something wrong with a baby that cries that much. We dx my son with Silent Reflux and MSPI (milk soy protein intollerance). He was put on Prilosec and Similac Alimentum Advanced (could have breastfed but gave up too soon due to ds's crying before we knew the root of the cause). My only advice to others here is to check out these possibilities before dx it as colic. Please please please..it could save you so much heartache. You deserve to enjoy your baby.

[SgtMom]

In this article, some real life mom share their experience with colic:

http://wondertime.go.com/learning/ar...oms-colic.html

Take care,
Kate

[Monchhichi]

My dd was diagnosed as having "colic" at a couple of weeks old. She cried nightly from 6pm until midnight. The rest of the day, she didn't cry, but she was MISERABLE. I kept telling my dr that something was WRONG, but he just kept dismissing it as "colic". Jordan puked constantly. He admitted she had reflux, but refused to treat it because she was gaining weight (though slowly). She had chronic constipation, which he eventually said I could try sugar water (which she wouldn't drink) or prune juice for. He refused to look any further. He just told me that it would get better at around 3 mos. Well, at 3 mos, it didn't get better. At 4 1/2 mos, he finally suggested a hypoallergenic formula. Within 24 hours, I had a new baby. While she still puked (reflux lasted until about 9 mos), she didn't scream, cry, turn red, and wasn't completely miserable.

To this day, I am SO angry that my concerns were dismissed and the doctor refused to look beyond "colic". Had he looked into the other possibilities in the beginning, my dd and I wouldn't have had a MISERABLE 4 1/2 mos!!! Honestly, her entire infancy is a total blur for me and that is totally unfair! Had he made ANY effort to diagnose and treat her MANY issues, all of that could have been avoided.

Like Zoey, I urge women who are going through a crying baby to push, push, push to get their dr's to check for all of the possible underlying causes. While you may not end up with answer, you just might... I wish I had known then what I know now. My baby could have avoided 4 1/2 mos of MISERY if someone had cared enough to look further than the colic label.

[Ferret Mommy]

We changed formula and DS would calm down but not be totally calm. Alot of screaming and heartache. We went from Similac to soy then to Nestle soy then to Gentlese and it has been a life saver. DS still gets some issues with crying and maybe a tummy ache, but gripe water works for us.

Our ped told us at his 4 mo that he may have alittle reflux, but nothingbad enough to treat with meds. He has stopped spitting up really bad and he doesnt usually cry anymore after he eats. So, for us the issue may more have been lactose and the gentlese has 1/4 less I believe in it.

[SC-Sherb]

I just thought that I'd share my story. My DS is 14 yrs old now, so, it has been awhile. He was colic right from the hospital. He was 8lbs 1 oz, never lost any weight before leaving the hospital and was a good eater. He ate every 2 to 3 hours but would spit up at least an ounce or 2 of formula. He was always in constant pain - pulling up his little legs and crying. We burped him constantly. The spit up turned to curdled formula and after about 2 weeks our family Dr. changed him over to Isomil Soy Formula as he felt that he had some allergy or couldn't digest the regular formula. I don't know what we would have done without it.

He was still gassy and spit up all the time but the formula was not curdling anymore and he was at least able to get some sleep. Fortunately, I was not working at the time and my DH was able to take some parental time off of work to help out. We had to take turns - one night he would stay up with him and the next night I would stay up with him. He would only go to sleep in the mornings for a couple of hours and everything else was just cat naps. I thought that it would never ever end.

By about 6 months, it had finally calmed down to a reasonable level. He still didn't sleep through the night fully but it was much better than before. We tried to change him at 11 months to regular milk and he had a very very nasty allergic reaction. So, he never ever went from formula to regular milk, he just gave up formular at a little over a year old. To this day, he still has an intolerance to dairy products. He's not really lactose but he can only handle eating dairy products on a very once in awhile basis and only a little bit, which is hard because he absolutely loves ice cream.

Anyways, I just wanted to say that it does end. It was hard because I felt that I didn't get to enjoy him as much when he was a baby because he was always screaming and crying but he's a handsome big stapping boy at 14 and one of the joys of my life.

I know that you hear people say it all the time. Trust me, my mother was and is one of them but it will stop and it does get better.

[SgtMom]

Sherb,

Thank you for posting your story - it is so nice to have some seasoned vets around to tell new parents that it will get better!

Take care,
Kate

[Cat Mom]

My DD was a fussy/colicky baby from the start. The 2nd night in the hospital I could tell she was going to be completely different from my DS, who rarely cried and never spit up. Once we arrived home, I noticed she would spit up a lot, vomit and arch her back during and after feedings. I assumed her unhappiness was due to having reflux and we had her placed on Zantac. That helped with her spitting up, she still did, just not as bad. At this point she was 10 days old.

At the 2wk mark we noticed a regular pattern of crying every single night. It would normally begin at 7-8pm and go until 11 or 11:30pm. She would scream and flail, just completely inconsoluable no matter what DH or I did. I BF'd her so I knew it wasn't because she was on the wrong formula. I even questioned whether or not it was my breastmilk making her so unhappy. I remember oh so well the night the crying started at 6:30pm and didn't end until DH, myself and Alexandra were completely exhausted at 11:30 at night. I think I cried a good 3 of those hours wondering why my beautiful baby girl was so unhappy. I tried all the gas drops on the market along with purchasing Colic Calm, nothing helped. She did like the bathroom fan and being bounced while having her butt patted. This would calm her down for a short while.

Then I read a post on this forum about chiropractic care for infants when Alexandra was 4wks old. I figured I didn't have anything to lose so I made an appointment with a Chiropractor in our area that works on infants and kids as well as adults. I got her in that next day and even after the first adjustment, we noticed a difference. She went back for a 2nd adjustment 2 days later and that helped even more. Alexandra had another appointment the following week and again, her crying started to become less and less. She still cried in the evenings, but it was only for maybe an hour a night as compared to the 3-4 hours we had been dealing with. She had another appointment at her 8wk mark and then another just last Thursday after she turned 12wks old. I would highly recommend chiropractic care for colicky infants.

Now Alexandra is 12wks old and a different baby. I had been told that at the 12wk mark it is like someone flips a switch and the colic goes away. Over the weekend, we definately noticed that. Our unhappy baby is now smiley and happy. I've even had people comment on what a sweet baby she is, something I had never considered when describing her.

There is a light at the end of the colic tunnel. My advice is to make sure you have someone there to help you. Without my DH, I would have gone crazy dealing with a colicky baby and a toddler at the same time.

[SgtMom]

Tif - thanks for sharing your story. I'm glad that chiro helped your dd and that the switch flipped at 12w. Same here, BTW - 3 days before dd turned 12w she had her last episode. And she is the sweetest most easy going kid ever so I am not surprised that someone said that about your dd. In fact I have even heard they are mellower than most and the colicky period does tend to fade from your memory thank goodness! Thanks for giving others hope

[judyanne]

Our son didn't have colic, he just had the usual evening restlessness where he would cry for an hour or 2 which was horrid enough...
I think too many people are very quick to self-diagnose colic when their baby is unsettled, but your story proves that is a serious condition that takes a long time to sort out and isn't easy to deal with.

I'm glad your little girl got through it. And well done to you and your OH for finding a way to cope and bond with your child.



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