Colic/Hysterical crying at 3 weeks- what to do?

[shellbear]

My newborn is almost 3 weeks and sleeps and feeds ok but spends most waking hours crying. Sometimes worse after a feed but can be anytime. I think some of it is wind etc but releasing this doesnt always stop the crying - reading about reflux I think he might have some heartburn but he isnt throwing up that much, just a little now and again. He is relieved by sitting up, bicycle legs, hanging over back of shoulder, sounds of hairdryer, running water, sometimes sucking on my little finger, but all this is only for a few minutes before he gets very upset again. or the hairdryer conks out etc etc.

It was a fairly difficult birth ending in an emergency c section and then he had jaundice and was poked and prodded lots of blood tests and antibiotics, and put in an incubator for first few days under light therapy which I know left him (and me) unsettled.

I know its early days and he might just be growing into his body but its so hard to not be able to help. I also have 2yr old who is being amazing but obviously it is making it a lot harder to manage both.

Thinking about cranial osteopathy has anyone got any personal recommendations? Any other thoughts? using infacol but dont think its touching it really. Just hanging in there by a thread at the moment...

[jennyh]

Hi

So sorry to hear that you are having such a dreadful time of it. I took my daughter for cranial osteopathy but only ended up going for one session as her digestive issues improved as her system matureed. I have heard such great things about the treatment though and would really recommend trying it...I went to see a lady at the Dulwich Therapy Rooms, can't recall her name. She was lovely and very good with my girl, had lots of interesting toys for her to stare at whilst she was doing the treatment. My daughter's head got stuck during labour so was quite badly forced forwards and then the cord got wrapped and it was all quite stressful, she also had her hands pressing against her temples during birth so the pressure of that gave her huge indents on her head and the plates took such a long time to settle - even at 16 weeks her head is still funny looking!

I tried lots of things for my daughters digestive problems, she didnt cry as much as strain and push and grunt etc despite not being constipated, lots of raising legs up etc. Gripe water was better than infacol in my opinion so perhaps try that. She also found warm water quite relaxing as I lay her in it, otherwise I raised the end of her moses mattress using a rolled up muslin - not sure if that helped.

Oh its so hard, thinking of you and hoping that it gets better soon. Are you getting much rest or support at home?

Jenny

[JessB]

Fabiano da Silva on Barry rd is amazing. Google his name and you should find his website. He is great with babies and really helped with my two.

[mima08]

Hiya, I cannot recommend it enough to go and see a cranial osteopath! I am so glad I went for a huge no. of reasons which I have no time to write about just now...I saw Lizzy Lomas at the Dulwich Therapy rooms, she was just fab.

I also tried colief, gripe water, and fennel tea, all helped for a little while... Hope matters improve real soon

[jollybaby]

it could be reflux even without much vomiting, so worth going to see your gp too.

[catjo13]

I feel for you. My second was like this and made the adjusting to 2 even harder. I don't think he had colic as such, there was no squirming, trouble feeding etc. but he was essentially a big grump most of the day and did posset a lot. I went to see Alison Owen at the Dulwich Therapy Rooms and she was wonderful. I had a really easy straightforward and quick labour, but even then my son had bits misaligned ! She was so patient, thorough and calming. He had a very tight diaphragm, which wasn't helping the digestion, but also responsible for lots of the shrieking. I think it really helped him - she also showed me some easy techniques to do at home, which amazingly got his wind up really quickly, which also relieved the discomfort.

I also did baby massage with him and there are a number of techniques for colicky babies that can help.

[bluesuperted]

I recommend the Happiest Baby on the Block technique - google Harvey Karp on YouTube - there is an old clip of him on Richard and Judy. The book is called Baby Bliss over here, has a lovely premise about the fourth trimester and is great for soothing tiny babies. It's all about swaddling, shushing, rocking and recreating the comforts of the womb. Our baby loved it and hardly cried after having 2/3 days of colic at 3 weeks old.

[buggie]

If you're not already, I'd suggest giving infracol a go - need to give it with every feed as the effect is accumulative (and missing a dose or two brings symptoms back) but with bugglet it was noticeable within 3 or 4 feeds and is something you can start trying ASAP while waiting for an osteopathy appt if you did want to go down that route.

[Fidgetsmum]

You poor thing. Having a new baby is tough enough without any extra challenges for you both. So, I would strongly recommend Cranial Osteopathy (Simon Turgoose at the Vale Practice is the best I've found - and I've seen a few over the years). Also, there is no harm in trying infacol - although I think there's a lower age limit? We used infacol with both our babies and after three days of administering it, they both got better - not perfect, but certainly less crying. I'm not an attachment parenting mum, but my sister, who's a Doula, swears by its abilities to help colicky babies. Obviously this is hard if you have a CS scar trying to heal, but have your baby close to you, skin to skin ideally (just whack the heating up if your house is cold - the world will survive) and I found that even if my son was screaming, if I held him on me, skin to skin and breathed slowly and deeply (and ignored the noise!), he would settle.

The last thing I would say is its easy to only see the crying and pain your baby is in - but I found early motherhood a lot easier when I made a big point about celebrating the good bits - that 10 minutes of peace, that good poo, that comfortable feed. Then you can remember them better when the tough bits arise again.

Good luck. It's hard but it does and will get better.

[ratty]

Infacol worked with my first, who pretty much screamed for 3 months. Baby massage helped too, to get that milk working through his little tummy.

I can only echo what others have said, that it does get better with time. They are born 3 months too early really so everything is not fully functional until 13 weeks or so.

Also, console yourself with the fact that Collicy babies are better looking and more intelligent ;)

Good luck! x

[Helen GV]

http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?29,555766,page=1

Had a problem with my daughter too and got lots of good advice here, might help!

Have you got family around who can help? Even just to hold the baby while you take a break? My step mother was over from NZ for part of the time and several times got up out of bed to help, while hubby and my dad snored through it...