is this colic?

[baby D]

Hello all x

Am wondering whether my baby girl may have a touch of colic/wind?

She is always uncomfortable after a feed for a good hour - sometimes more, sometimes a little less. She will scream out and her little body goes rigid - also she will wave her arms around and stretch out/pull up her legs whilst yelling out.

I was told it is only colic if she cries for hours continuously without stopping - she doesn't do that, but will cry out in short bursts on and off. It is alot worse during the evenings - typically 6 onwards and can last well into the early hours, which is affecting how well she sleeps - very restless and fidgety. Even when it begins to ware off, she will experience discomfort straight after next feed for a while.

Problem is it often puts her off of her milk - she will start squirming halfway through and won't take anymore - i can actually here her little tummy churning/bubbling when this happens. She can be very difficult to wind and strangely this gets worse as the day goes on....? even when she does bring some wind up, she still seems to suffer.

Have tried infacol but it didn't really help too much.

Any suggestions? She is 3 weeks old. Do you think it could be a touch of colic even though she isn't screaming continuously for hours - just short bursts over a period of a few hours?

 

[Chel]

Colic I think colic is said to be a bit of a myth, or a theory, and theres not proven cause or cure for it... I think its a matter of little babies cry a lot! I think the definition of colic is a baby for cries for more than 3 hours a day more than 3 days a week, and I dont think it needs to be continually.

Jasper had a really restleless period of tummy pains between 2 and 5 weeks old. It was hard work, but we got through it. I did use infacol and I found it gave a little relief, but only with burping and only occasionally. I found 'infants friend' worked well too.

I think the main cause of Jasper's upset was that he was being fed too often - as in aroundevery 2 hours. And what was happening I think was he feed too close together and his tummy wasn't 'ready' so an hour or so later the food would hit his gut and thats when he'd stiffen up and start shouting... then after a while of off and on shouts and crying he'd start looking for comfort, and start demanding the boob... and... so... me... exhausted and overwhelmed would give him the boob, and immediately after feeding he'd be screaming in even more pain than before! He'd settle, but then an hour later he'd start stiffenng and shouting and so the cycle continued!!!!

Two things that 'fixed' the problem was making sure I didn't let him get over tired, I started putting him to bed MUCH sooner than I had before and that really helped the restlessness that lead to him wanting comfort feeds and I also started giving him the dummy (or the dummy dipped in infacol ) or taking him for a walk, when he demanded a feed under 3 hours since.

During those three week it was hit and miss and some days I could get him on a good sleep/feed cycle and some days I'd lose him and just start looking forward to tomorrow!!!

I dont know if this helps, this is just my experience.

 

[Shri]

Hi Hun. It sounds like it could be reflux possibly. It might be a good idea to take her to the doc and describe what is happening. They grow out of it but it is basically heartburn caused by the esophagal sphincter being immature. It helps to keep them upright as much as possible espcially after a feed. Then again it might just be gas. Are you bfing?

 

[baby D]

Hi Hun. It sounds like it could be reflux possibly. It might be a good idea to take her to the doc and describe what is happening. They grow out of it but it is basically heartburn caused by the esophagal sphincter being immature. It helps to keep them upright as much as possible espcially after a feed. Then again it might just be gas. Are you bfing?

Hi thanks - no am not breastfeeding - she is on Aptimal. Hadn't heard of Reflux, so that will be worth mentioning to GP/healthvisitor - thanks - oh, how can we tell the dif between reflux and trapped wind? Are the symptoms the same?

 

[jax]

If you are breast feeding it might have something to do with your diet. I know there are long long lists of foods to avoid (and it would leave me starving!) but there are the main culprits of wind - caffeine, onions, brocolli etc. When we switched Max to formula he had terrible wind and would wake during his sleeps screaming to fart! We swapped his milk to one for sensitive stomachs (Cow and Gate Comfort) and it has agreed with him so much more. We are still using infacol but we are currently reducing it...

 

[jax]

P.S. we used Aptimil when we switched, it agrees with some but not windy Max!

 

[Shri]

The symptoms are similar but with reflux they are more likely to be gassy anyway. Ask the hv or doc as there are things you can do to help and medicine if she is really in need of some too. If you are not bfing that rules out foremilk imbalance which can cause the same symptoms. You could see if a different formula suits her better. Some babies don't do too well with dairy based formula. Ask the doc though Hun especially if she is uncomfortable feeding as they get easily dehydrated at this age. Hope she feels better very soon. Hugs.