Colicky newborn - any advice? Post Reply

[oab]

My almost 1 week old baby seems to suffer from really bad colic... After a feed he can cry for more than 2 hrs, brings his knees to his chest, his face looks in pain. Bizarrely, this doesn't happen after every feed, only or twice a day and mostly in the evenings.
He also does a poo shortly after feeding , his poo looks a bit loose but not diahreea per se (sorry tmi).
I'm feeding him expressed breast milk (he has problems latching on), I've tried adding infacol to it but it doesn't seem to make it better. We are also taking a long time winding him, don't thinking can be trapped wind.
I'll try a lactose free formula next.

Did any one experience something similar? Any advice? Can you recommend a good doctor to help with this?

Thank you!

[MGMidget]

I think you are supposed to give infacol from the dropper BEFORE feeding rather than mixed into the milk. try this and see if it helps. It should make it easier to bring up the wind.

[Rodent]

Dare I say it, but you say "nearly 1 week old" baby.....

Don't rush into using lactose free formula or anything yet - he has barely had time to get used to being outside the womb!!!!

If they are crying more in the evening, but not at every feed then it could just be the combo of being tired at the end of the day!!

[frustrated]

Hi oab, congratulations on the new baby!

I remember these periods of colic - I feel for you. Infacol did nothing for our son, if anything he was better without it. Like the other poster says, it's very early days yet so perhaps don't rush into anything. If it does persevere and you are worried it might be an intolerance, then you can try cutting dairy from your diet? Also, if it does persist, perhaps speak to your health visitor or GP before changing your diet / changing formula, as it might be something like reflux instead.

Another thing we tried was some osteopathy. It really helped us although I know it's not for everyone. I'd love to recommend the person we used but sadly he moved away. Might be worth a shot?

[sid_seal]

Hi,

I feel for you!
With us Infacol had worked, but the health visitor had warned me not to expect an overnight change, but more around a week-or-so timescale. Anyway, I would also wait another bit before thinking of treatment. Do you have a sensible health visitor to seek advice from? We used to go to the group which is now primarily based at the Mary Seacole Centre (Clapham Library), and they were brilliant.

[Bensmum]

Hi

Congratulations!

Given your little one is only a week I would try and not to stress to much at this stage as one of the other posters says it is early days try and relax and get used to things (both baby and you) before going down a different road.

That said we had similar issues and we did the below

1. used infracol - give before milk
2. osteopath (we used the guy in Balham) who was incredible.
3. contacted Hattie Weeks for help

the Osteopathy made a huge difference - i had quite a traumatic birth and as a result the poor thing was put through the mill.....the osteopathy just relaxed him entirely and made such a huge difference - I was incredibly cynical about it before going but the impact it had on my son was just amazing and really opened my eyes! That said he was still colicky post the osteo just nothing anywhere near as severe.

Also I used Hattie Weeks later on for sleep assistance when my baby was 4.5 months old, Hattie deals with the first 6 months and a consultation with her you may find helps get you on the right road....whatever that may be...I intend to go back to Hattie for up front help when/if we decide to go for a second!!! She was a miracle worker and quickly identified the key issues and resolved them!

If you want either the osteo or Hattie's details pm me and will pop them over to you.

Good luck

bensmum

[CBW7779]

Hi, you poor things, this sounds very stressful for you both. I have a newborn at the mo, not my first but I was taken aback by how difficult getting a good latch can be, I was in agony for a week but we have got it now and it's going to happen for you too, but do ask your HV about tongue tie maybe just to rule that out? For the crying I would thoroughly recommend a lovely lady called MaryAnne who is a Chiropractor specialising in little ones and has amazing healing hands and a lovely manner with tiny babies, just a few sessions could make a lot of difference so I'd say it is worth a try! PM me if you'd like her details?
I also think winding in the first few weeks is often a big job but it can settle down all of a sudden and every day at that stage can be better, esp as their digestive system matures. One word of caution on introducing formula, my experience was that it reduced my own milk supply so maybe keep expressing regularly and freeze your milk just in case? Good luck and hang in there!!! X

[honeygranola]

Hey there, I'll start with a disclaimer to say I have no personal experience of this but my best friend swears that the bottles she used made a huge difference. She switch to Dr Brown's and she said he was much better after that. She also gave the drops a few minutes before feeding.
Good luck!

[GardenRosie]

My daughter was like that and we found tilting her moses basket to 45degrees (on midwife's advice) sorted it

Needed a rolled up blanket under her bottom/knees to stop her slipping down and another tight blanket over her to stop her tipping out but it meant she slept - even if I was watching her the whole time to make sure she didn't slide out!

[LP73]

Sorry that you're having issues, it can be very tough.
We had the same issues with our baby who is now three months old.

Tilting the Moses basket really helps, we didn't use infacol until much later.
I would definitely see a cranial expert - if your baby was delivered by c section this would really help.

I had amazing assistance from a lactose expert Annabel Blanchard 07860188940 who helped with shields as bottle do not help with the issues that you are having. Annabel really is amazing.

Also do you have other mums around you to support you? I am in a group of mums with babies aged 6 weeks to four months if you would like to join us for a coffee one day. We all share problems and ideas which really helps.

Your baby is still very young but it can be so difficult - your midwife and health visitor will help you if you ask them.

[pie81]

Poo shortly after feeding is normal for this age

Loose poo is normal for this age especially if having breast milk

Bringing knees up to chest when crying is normal, it doesn't indicate tummy pain necessarily

I would suggest:

1) is he sleeping enough? Crying mostly in the evenings suggests overtiredness to me, rather than a physical issue. As petal says, at this age his day should literally be feed, wind, nappy, back to sleep. He should be awake for max 1 hr at a time (or about 6-8 hrs out of 24 hours in total) and sleep the rest of the time. If he's sleeping a lot less than this he is probably overtired.

2) Latching problems you say ... I would suggest a) seeing a good lactation consultant (Geraldine Miskin is excellent) and b) seeing a cranial osteopath especially if the birth was difficult or very fast (try Adam Beaumont at Neals Yard). of course this depends on whether funds allow. If funds are short then try some of the local drop in breastfeeding clinics (Stormont Road clinic has one on Mondays I think) and there is a not for profit osteopathy centre in Battersea.

Infacol helps if he struggles to bring wind up (before the feed as others say) but does take a few days of constant use to kick in. If you are finding he burps well already then this may not be the issue as you say.

I certainly would not switch to a special formula at this stage and without trying other options first.

Best of luck, and hang in there - it may all be very different in another week.

[curly]

My son has a torrid time from 8 days and although all the docs suggested going lactose free etc, I found that the best help was a cranial osteopath. I saw him 4 times and he made such a difference to my son and his crying. Some babies are out of sorts after going through birth and an osteopath will help the baby enormously.

I saw Naval Mair who is in SW18.

Good luck, it does get easier I promise. Try to get as much sleeo as possible. It's much easier to cope when you have had some sleep.

[Mum2two2012]

Hello,

Congrats on your new arrival

Colic can be horrific. We experienced it with our second child.

We found holding baby forward facing with your arms under their body and rocking then gently worked a treat.

http://www.parentresourcenetwork.org/co ... w-parents/

If you scroll down you will see the colic hold.

Also I drank fennel tea. Not nice but did help. Also avoiding spicy foods can help.

Infalcol and gripe water were good as well.

Good luck!!!!

[Hattie]

Hi New Mum

Firstly, I really recommend that you contact Geraldine Miskin who will help resolve any latch issues you are having before you move onto the bottle full time. Latching problems are becoming more common now, often as a result of the reduced amount of help and conflicting advice they get in the hospitals.

Once you have had a visit from Geraldine, you fill find things will improve vastly. Then, once you have the feeding going better, focus on feeding your little one well, aiming for roughly 20 mins suckling time each side at each feed, and try to get baby settled down to sleep again about 60-80 mins after waking.

At this age, only days old, they need a little encouragement to feed well and they do need huge amounts of sleep and very little stimulation.

Best of luck

[oab]

Thank you very much for the support and incredibly useful suggestions!
Tried colief and infacol - cannot say if they really help...i also do the winding/sitting him up for a long time...and also tried tilting the cot, it seems to help but not all the time..
Also booked with Geraldine as suggested, i'm really hopeful she can help with breastfeeding!