Is it colic or hunger?

Question

I have a 5-week-old baby girl. I breastfed her since birth as well as supplement with formula about once a day with a 4-5 oz bottle. sometimes after breastfeeding for about 10-20 min about 10 min later she will cry suddenly a high-pitched shrill cry that sounds like shes being tortured and it breaks my heart. sometimes she cries immediately after. sometimes she wakes up in her sleep like this. so I burp her lay her on her stomach rub her back etc and rock her all the things to help with colic and then when I stop shell start crying again. so then I will go and get formula in case my breastmilk didnt fill her up (this is after a nursing session) and she will drink it so thirstily like shes starving! also sometimes when I am feeding her she backs away from my breast and arches her back and cries. I know this specific thing is probably colic but what about the rest? and how can I tell the difference between a colic cry and true hugner cry? I know colicky babies tend to mistake their gas pains for hunger, but also sometimes when I try pumping I cant seem to make that much, usually just 2 0z after 30 min or so.

Answer 1

My son was colicy when he was born up too 4 months. and also baby reflux.Ususally colicy babies, do certain things...

*Very very fussy. To the point where its tough too settle them down.

*The baby's face often gets flushed or red

* belly is sometimes distended or prominent

* the legs alternating between flexed ( pushed toward their tummy ) and extended straight out

And I was also told by my midwife, that over feeding can cause colic. It sounds like she has colic. When she arches her back. Thats what my son did. When they do that, it helps with the pain they are getting. My son still does it, when he has a tummy ache. I think you should jus take her in on your next check up, and ask her Dr if its colic. I hoped I helped.

Answer 2

sounds like colic to me. a colicy cry is usually high pitched like you said and the baby usually lifts legs up to their stomach and or archers their back like you described

A hunger cry is usually repetitive and loud and a very common sound a hungry baby makes when crying is ney ney ney.

Take your baby to the doctor for some advice on how to treat it. It could be reflux like someone above mentioned. I would ask the doctor.

My baby was like this for a while and now that she is 3 months she is an easy baby. Good luck it does get easier

Edit: http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/50... This has been true in my babies case. Read what the sounds of the cry mean.

Answer 3

It's silent reflux!  No doubt at all.  Ask your pediatrician, but they will likely have you give her 1ml of mylanta supreme 3 times a day.

Till them elevate her when she sleeps.  Either raise one end of her crib, or stuff something like a small pillow under the mattress.  Both my daughters had EXACTLY what you are describing.  My first was so bad she was on meds and had to be in a "Tucker Sling"  go Google that,  My second was ok with just the mylanta and the crib raised.

Everyone hears about reflux, but with silet reflux the babies don't spit up, it just erodes thier esophogas so act fast.  Good luck!!!

I should add that if you are producing more foremilk than hind milk she will hungry faster like you describe.  Both are important but hind milk is what comes out later and is fattier and more filling.  You could pump a little first and then breast feed her.  I had to pump with both, and my favorite was the medela hand pump...even over the hospital rented high powered one.

Oh and she's drinking that way because her throat burns and she's trying to sooth it.  But getting more full only makes it worse...it's a vicious cycle!

Answer 4

I remember trying to breastfeed my son when he was about 3mths and he'd fuss and cry and I'd wonder why he wasn't content feeding.  Later I'd give him a bottle and he'd drink that fine. It took me awhile but I finally realized I was actually pregnant again and wasn't producing enough milk to satisfy him.

Answer 5

I found that breast pumps didn't work so well for me, I do it by hand now, you just make a c sahpe with your hand and then put your thumb up on top of your breast and your fingers on the bottom, then you roll your fingers down and make sure you squish your areola, it doesn't hurt and I can get 5oz in about 15 min, it takes a couple tries though!  I don't know anything about colic though, so I hope that helps!

Answer 6

Hi,

I think the most important thing to start with is to get your baby into a good sleep routine.  I had massive problems with getting my 4 month old son to sleep.  He would just lie awake and cry for hours, then when he finally went to sleep he would wake every hour or two hours through the night and cry again!  Talk about pulling our hair out .... we were absolutely desperate for sleep!

It was a baby sleep audio program recommended by a friend that finally saved us. We followed the advice and began by creating a baby sleep routine which included bathtime, dimming of the lights, putting James into his crib, final nappy change and then lullabies. We also made recommended changes to his naps during the day and used some of the other recommended techniques. Within two weeks he was sleeping through the night most nights with just the odd night where he would just wake once!

Definitely start by creating a good baby sleep routine though and you could find that solves most of your baby sleep problems.

Good luck!

If you want to take a look, the audio program is at http://www.babysleepsolution.com

Answer 7

My daughter was exactly the same way from around about the same age as your little one. She was diagnosed with colic and just like yours she would scream and scream. It's very distressing. At 12 weeks old i took her yet again to the doctors and she was diagnosed with reflux. We now have medication and she is a lot better. It would be worth asking about it because once you get the medication, its like flicking off a light switch.

As for knowing if they are hunger pains or gas pains, they could be both and honestly, theres no way to tell except for trying her with breast / bottle and seeing if she will take it. As for you not pumping much, not all women suit the pump and may not express as much as they are feeding their baby when on the boob.

I hope this helps.