any help with colic/ being a mummy please!?

[grumpymoo]

we seem to be becoming more unsettled and all over the place as Rose gets older, not less! i thought i would have things sorted as a mummy now but some days i dont know my own name

she spends ages straining and in pain bless her, we feel so bad that she is in pain (sometimes it makes me want to cry), its so hard to see and also its such hard work for me and my dh saying that when she is not in pain she is such a sweety, very content and easy going bless her.

i was thinking of trying a dummy but am worried this may cause more probs. rose is bf and never had a bottle or a dummy.

any ideas on things that help please?
and did anyone else out there feel like they could never get on top of things???

 

[Bec L]

Aww hun,

I think every mum feels like they can't get on top of things sometimes whether it's at 2 weeks, 2 months or 2 years!! You have the added stresses of a prem baby and also one with colic and I know (fortunately not from personal exerience) how totally draining it can be to have a baby who is in pain with colic, and all you want to do it help.

Hopefully you'll get some answers but I hope you & Rose feel better soon

 

[grumpymoo]

thanks bec

Rose was much better last night. i wonder if its something i am eating or drinking affecting her so will have to see.

still if anyone has any tips that would be great. thanks x

 

[scsweetness86]

i highly recommend talking to her pediatrician actually. i didn't bf but for the first month ( until she came home ) and then switched to formula as she was a colic baby too and the doctor recommended a formula meant for babies with colic and it worked WONDERS for her. she also put her on medication and now, at four months, we are finally almost rid of it i think! she has days where she is extremely fussy and doesn't want to be put down and nothing will soothe her, but they are few and far between now. but the doctor can also help figure out if something you are eating is affecting her or maybe you aren't eating something that she needs. good luck with this and keep up the amazing job!

 

[scsweetness86]

also if you dont mind spending the money for it, we bought a sweetpeace newborn soothing center and it swings in what they call the 'colic rock' motion and my Little one LOVES it. We got it from Babies R Us. i can't post a link to it as i don't have enough posts yet, but if you look up swings, its on the first page. good luck once again!

 

[avabear73]

Hi Moo

A friend of mine had a baby with colic and reflux and they felt that the bath shaped a bit like a bin helped, the warm water was soothing I think. Here's a link because my description was rubbish LOL:

Tub Bath

 

[DonnaBallona]

I can so remember being where you are now, phoning my mum up in tears every night at 5pm because she was screaming in pain and I didnt know WHAT to do to help her. Its a terrible feeling.

If its possible, I found a warm bath helped. I used to lay her flat on her back in the water, swish it around her tummy, and gently rub her tummy with my fist. I dont know if it was the distraction of being in the water or the warmth, but it definatly helped us.

Have you tried Infacol? I vaguely remember B having that but unfortunatly it was a bit hit-and-miss whether it worked or not.

Oh, and try laying her on her back on your knees, and sort of bicycle her knees up around her tummy. That worked fabulously for wind too, actually!

I hope you find some peace soon-Brooke grew out of it at around 3.5 months if that makes you feel any better.

xx

 

[Foogirl]

This is just the worst thing I have had to deal with so far. If she hurts I want to make her better but I just can't. I sat with her many a night crying as hard as she did as it broke my heart to hear her hurt.

Thankfully she is over the worst of it now but we did find a few things helped.

The doctor prescribed Colief, and that definitely made the biggest difference but still didn't kick it completely. It did make the pain better though, which meant she cried less.

The advice given here about lying them on their back, knees up to the chest, and rocking side by side worked for us too. You can also massage along the path of the intestine to help the wind get out. I think it is anti clockwise, but if you look online, or go to your local infant massage class they should be able to help.

We also found that heat helped. A warm hot water bottle on her tummy (in a cover or wrapped in a towel so you don't burn her) was soothing for her, and having it in her basket / pram before we put her down to sleep made bedtimes much easier. Keeping her warmly dressed so she didn't get cold was beneficial too as she was definitely worse when she was cold.

Food wise we had a look online to see what kinds of foods aggravated it and we discovered by a process of elimination it was dairy products that hit her worst. She isn't lactose intolerant or anything and lactose in my food doesn't bother her so we think it might be dairy fat that is the problem. I haven't had cheese, milk or cream for a couple of months, except the odd bit of cheese to see if it was definitely dairy and there is no doubt about it. My dad put milk in the mash the other night quite without thinking and even that small amount had her screaming the next day. The list of things which can affect it is quite large, but in all of it, only dairy and tomatoes were things I ate really on a regular basis.

Finally, we took her to a chiropractor who has not only helped the colic by ensuring her skeleton around that area was free from kinks, but has loosened her neck which I have found means she feeds more easily and relaxed. It only took three appointments. It might not work for everybody but it definitely worked for her.

Good luck and I hope it passes soon. Remember it is ok to walk away for 5 minutes to calm yourself down.....I definitely felt helpless, hopeless and useless, but found so many others were in the same situation.

 

[grumpymoo]

Thanks everyone for your lovely replies. i will be trying all of your ideas!!!

 

[DonnaBallona]

^^ hope you both get some relief soon

 

[grumpymoo]

Rose is having some better days now, thank you. i am drinking peppermint tea on the advice of the health visitor. it was either that or chamomile!

we are giving her nice warm baths, have tried gripe water (she choked,very scary) i have bought a sling and some emergency dummys and i am trying to watch what i eat. i will not give up chocolate however!!! god what i wouldn't give for an enormous glass of wine though, sigh.... (although not at this time in the morning! )

 

[Foogirl]

i am trying to watch what i eat. i will not give up chocolate however!!! god what i wouldn't give for an enormous glass of wine though, sigh.... (although not at this time in the morning! )

I was fortunate. Dairy bothers her, but chocolate doesn't!

Glad you are having good days now. We found that once she had had that two weeks of hell and the good days started happening, it wasn't long before we had more good than bad days.