How to Fight the Colic Baby Blues

Both of my daughters, now in their 30's, had colic. I breastfed them both for 6 - 9 months.

My first baby's pediatrician (from Europe) told me colic was always caused by immature intestines, which made them unable to digest milk (breast, cow, no matter). This caused gas. If you've ever had gas pains, you know they are sharp and piercing. No wonder the babies cry and pull up their little legs.

So he gave me what they give babies in Europe (or did back then) -- phenobarbitol drops. They worked like a charm. Every time my baby cried that pain cry, with legs pumping, a couple drops of that would calm the intestinal cramping, and she'd sleep. If you'd had a colicky baby, you know that was like creating a miracle every time the pain would go away.

The only drawback we had to deal with was that at the end of 3 months, as the crying from intestinal pain went away, there was a bit of constipation to deal with. No big deal.

By the time my second baby was born, the medical establishment had somehow decided, in their infinite wisdom, that phenobarbitol drops were not good for babies. (I bet no one on that committee had ever been the parent of a colicky baby -- and they were probably all men.)

This was a tragedy. Having a remedy for the long hours of pain for these young babies would have saved the lives of many of them, born to parents too young and too ill-equipped to deal with the crying. Where do you think shaken baby syndrome comes from?

But back to my 2nd baby. The same pediatrician who had given me phenobarbitol for my 1st child was unable to give it to me again because of the new "rules".

One time when I was in for a "well baby" check (as well as a baby can be who's experiencing daily, stabbing intestinal pain), the doctor was out of the room, and I was sighing to the nurse about the long hours of crying that couldn't be comforted.

The nurse (from England) said, "Well, in England, we give the bah-bies mint water." I was rather dumbfounded, never having heard of mint water. I'm thinking, "Do you buy it at the store? And why hasn't the doctor told me about this?"

She said to buy the small bottle of mint extract, sold in the baking aisle at the grocery store. After each feeding and burping, pour an inch or so of warm (not hot) tap water into a cup and add a half of a 1/4 teaspoon of the mint extract. Spoon one baby spoon of the liquid into the baby's mouth and then burp them.

I got so I'd place my baby on my lap, holding her sitting up with my left hand, spoon the liquid in with my right hand, and then lean her back and sit her up, lean her back and sit her up -- like bleeding air out of tire. I was amazed that she'd burp and burp and burp. And I thought I had gotten all the air out when I fed her.

Amazingly, it worked. She'd sleep "like a baby". Such relief. If she woke up crying with her legs pulling up, I'd just give her more mint water and help her burp up the air that was trapped in her intestines, causing the cramping.

I had an older woman babysitter at the time (I wouldn't trust a younger one, as I was afraid they'd hurt my colicky baby). She was a large, ample woman. I'd love to see her give my baby the mint water, as she'd then put her on her ample bosom and just push from my baby's bottom to the top of her shoulders. My baby would just give out a long, continuous burp, like pushing the air out of a balloon. It would have been funny, if I weren't feeling so much relief that my little girl wouldn't be hurting once more.

Hope this helps.

Lynn

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The ONLY thing that worked for my child was holding him belly to belly holding his head snug and bouncing on a exersize ball. ONLY thing that ever worked and I tried everything, read book, watched a dvd on how to sooth a baby but nothing worked except for the ball, but it tired me out! lol

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Colic isn't sensitive stomach, or gas, or food allergies, or anything else mentioned. Those problems are exactly those problems. Colic is when there is no reason for the crying. Colic isn't relieved by gas drops or switching formulas or those things. If your baby is relieved by a change in formula, it wasn't colic! Colic is when a baby cries for no reason whatsoever, and needs to be soothed and comforted with closeness, sounds, massages, motion, etc.

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Gripe water is the only thing for colic. It gives instataneous relief. Hard to find because some years ago some brands contained alcohol and most drug stores stopped carrying it. If you google gripe water you'll find many sources for alcohol-free gripe water.

Even up to 2 years my DD occasionally had stomach cramps- screaming crying, arched back, etc. A teaspoon of gripe water and she would fall fast asleep.

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PLEASE PLEASE READ!!

My son became colicky when he was 3 weeks old. But I did some research, and when I took him to the doctor he was diagnosed with GERD (gastroesosphagel reflux disease). Essentially, it's acid reflux for babies -- it's common for the valve between the esophagus and the stomach to not be properly formed or functioning (think about it -- this is the first it's HAD to work!). Some of the articles I read on it said that it's becoming diagnosed more often -- not because it's becoming more common, but because it was often misdiagnosed as COLIC. What a realization -- that colic, for hundreds of years, was due to a new digestive system that was still working out the kinks. My son was diagnosed, given a prescription, and was IMMEDIATELY better -- and he outgrew it by 6 months.

It's true that sometimes the digestive problems associated with colic may be due to what will be a lifelong problem (say milk intolerance), but you should definitely ask your doctor about GERD if your baby is colicky! It made life so much more pleasant for both my son and me!

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When my son had colic, I ran the vacuum and he'd quite right down. I had the cleanest floors for a couple months!

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My daughter had what we thought was colic for nine months. During the day it was manageable with use of a swing, car rides, vacuuming etc...but every evening at 4 PM the crying screaming would start and would usually continue all night long and NOTHING would quiet her down. It seemed to just magically stop at nine months, not sure if it was because she was eating, able to crawl around, or what...but it stopped (Thank God) She's 14 now, not lactose intolerant, not gluten intolerant or anything similar. I don't know what causes the condition but my sympathies go out to any parents going through the ordeal!
It was a hellish nightmare!

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several years ago my sister- in -law had a new born with the colic and she cried every evening about the same time and would cry for hours, her next door neighbor was an elderly lady that told her when her children were little and had colic that her grandmother would bake a onion until it was black then while it was still warm she would squeeze the juice through a white cheese cloth leaving just the juice, it seemed a little off the wall but it was only a onion so we gave it a shot and baked the onion..... it is miracle for sure.... after that evening we would have her onion baked by 4 in the after noon and when the colic started she got her teaspoon of onion juice and she was asleep in a matter of just a little while.. but bake the onion black and cut off one end before baking it, will make squeezing the onion a lot easier

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I think that article is practically useless. It didn't give any info on how to stop colic only how to recognize it. I'm sorry but I think as a mother you don't need any help realizing that your child might have colic because they have been crying for 3-4 hrs and nothing that you do is helping! I have two kids and neither one of them had colic. I am an avid believer of milicon gas relief. I gave it to both of my children in the morning and about 1-2 hrs before bed. My 2 month old daughter has been sleeping through the night since she was 3wks old (she wakes up to eat and then right back to sleep) and the same for my son. Let the gas reliever kick in, then let them get the gas out and hopefully that will work. Sleep tight.

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My daughter, nearly 19 now, had severe colic. I tried everything that every mother and doctor told me to try. Finally as a last resort, I took her to my chiropractor. 3 visits in 1 week - no more colic. And yes, she was breastfed and I was not a nervous mom.

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Danielle is absolutely correct. Colic is when a baby cries for no reason. If they have symptoms of pain or distress then it is NOT colic. I had a very sympathetic doctor & helpful parents. Each of us had our special way of holding/walking/rocking my baby to help soothe her. Fortunately for us it only lasted about 4 weeks.

My second baby did have issues with reflux & gas & used the mylacon drops with huge success but he did not cry endlessly like the colicy baby.

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When I was an infant my parents gave me goat's milk.. in the fifties. Worked like a charm. I am now a neonatal nurse and tell parents who do not wish to breastfeed to ask their MD about goat's milk. Feedback from new mothers was all positive.

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Has anyone ever done a study comparing colicky babies who are born vaginally and those who are born by Cesarean section? Passing through that narrow opening, to me, just seems to squeeze out all those impurities like gas and pressure. Most colicky babies that I know were born Cesarean.

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Someone mentioned that orange juice has more protein than milk. Absolutely incorrect. I am an RN who has worked for many years in the Neonatal ICU. A newborn should not be given orange juice...it is fair too acidic and their bowel cannot handle this. It will cause high blood sugar, diarrhea and many other possible complications. Breastmilk is the best thing for baby. I breastfed my babies but still had one with colic. Be especially careful giving your baby herbs and things. Try to comfort your baby, putting them in different positions, a warm (not hot) water bottle and the dryer helped my baby. Remember to never leave a baby unattended. And mommy's try to get a break from it....your health is important too.

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Breastfed babies also get colic. I really dislike the smug attitude some people have on this board, that if only the hapless mother knew enough to breastfeed, all would be right with the world. Not true.

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*Battery operated swing
*slept propped up at night--safely in bouncy seat on the floor
*Alimentum predigested formula
*wonderful husband
*put the bay down safely in the crib and walk around the outside of the house twice when I couldn't take the crying.
*This too shall pass...hang in there!

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Patti: I did the same thing. I went to the chiropractor with my baby. It worked like a charm. Contrary to some of the smug, judgemental comments I've read on this board, I was breastfeeding and eating non-gassy foods too. Some of the breastfeeding fanatics are so ignorant. Colic happens and it happened even before the invention of the baby bottle, formula, etc.

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