Parents of babies with colic....?

Question

I have several questions for you.

1) Did the bulk of your baby's crying happen at a specific time of day?

2)Did/does your baby "skip" a day now and then?

3)How do you personally deal with the stress of a screaming baby for hours a day?

Please if you don't have PERSONAL EXPERIENCE with a child with colic please don't bother answering.

Answer 1

1) Yes, 5:30pm-10pm

2) Yes, a few times he would skip a day and we would think we had made it through the colic but the next day...well, you know.

3) My husband and I continually think up new ways to quiet him, running the vacuum, car rides, walks outside in his stroller, rocking, singing, breastfeeding...the list goes on and on. We had barely kept our sanity until I did some research...

I read about a study done in Italy that discussed the use of a probiotic supplement containing live bacteria - like what is found in yogurt (specifically L.Reuteri) on colicky infants. We discussed it with our pediatrician and have been giving him a probiotic supplement for the last two weeks, since starting him on the supplement we have had exactly 2 nights (one this evening) where there has been some inconsolable crying. Anyway, talk to your pediatrician, maybe you could try the probiotic supplement as well. Good Luck!

Answer 2

ohhh this sounds all too farmiliar.  my baby was worse when she was 1-5 months.  shes finally settling down now.  my crying happened allllll day long and night, with some relief  if she was horribly worn out.  shed be up for 8 hours straight and nod off for 20 min sometimes.  and no, my baby didnt skip days.  but.. im sure they can.  dealing with the stress...i diddnt want to go on perscription crazy pills bc i was breastfeeding, or that would have been my answer, but personally, i had to just get out of the house.  i left the baby with my husband.  to top my situation off, my baby refused a bottle, so i could only leave for so long.  i think you have to just get away.  i used to soak in the tub on the other side of the house and just close the doors, and let her cry in her crib.  you reach a point of exausition to where ..theres just nothing more you can do ya know?  i guess you do know.  im not much help, but i even used to just go out on the porch and stay there.  nothing really can get your sanity back.. i just prayed a lot....and waited.  good luck

Answer 3

The crying is usually a specific time. Like late evening. Yes, they can skip nights and become perfect angels. How you handle the stress is to have someone on relief that you know you can call and hand over the baby to. This is an extremely tough situation for a mom to have to go through day after day. I really feel your frustration about the crying, because I had a crying baby too. I was amazed that I could handle the boardroom but this little baby was getting the best of me. I used this program with my daughter and found great changes in a very short time. Some of these babies are just highly sensitive to their surroundings. This program helps to recreate the womb environment and helps them to calm on their own after a while.  

Help for Crying Babies

The world is a noisy, bright, busy place for your newborn. If your baby cries excessively within the first 48 hours of life, bring your baby to your physician to make sure everything is ok. Then feed your baby, change your baby, make sure your baby is nice and warm. Now you can:

1. Turn down the lights, turn down the sound, slow down movement and activity.

2. Hold your baby in their favorite position to help them look out and focus on a bright light or blank wall.

3. Roll up your baby's sleeves and bring the hands close to the mouth so that your baby can look at or suck on their hands, fingers or thumbs.

These steps will help your baby to use their instinctual skills to calm down and stop crying. Practice these self-calming skills daily with your baby and within a short time your baby will automatically use these natural skills to calm and relax. More information on this self-calming program for babies in my book, this will help you to get started on the program. Good for you for reaching out for help. Make sure you are continuing to take your prenatal vitamins as this will help to reduce your stress levels.  Best wishes, G

Answer 4

1. Yes, most of her crying was after 7pm.

2. Yes, she cried usually five days a week but not on any particular schedule.

3. This is a tough one. I had a lot of support. My husband was amazing and did whatever I told/asked him to do. Sometimes I just needed his company and assurance that I was doing everything I could. Other times he'd take over and do what he could. We did a lot of rocking, swaying, and walking around the house holding her belly down with her head in the crook of our arm.

I also rocked with her belly down on my lap.

Her colic lasted from birth to about three months old. She was always fussy but the real crying was about five hours a night and five days a week. The one thing I did that saved my sanity was listen to music. When she started revving up in the evening I'd get my MP3 player out, put my earbuds in and listen to relaxing music. I liked Andre Bocelli the best. I cranked the music up as loud as I could so I couldn't hear the crying. I never left my baby alone to cry it out in her crib, but you can only hear the crying for so many hours before you start to lose your mind. So, I played the music, took deep breaths and cared for my baby girl. I fed her, rocked her, sshhhh'd her, and just hung in there.

I'm breastfeeding so the other thing I did was stick to one side on the colic nights. When she fussed she wanted to nurse but if I kept switching sides she'd get to much milk, get a tummy ache and spit up. Which of course made her more upset making her want to nurse again. So i just picked a side and stuck with it so the breast emptied but she still was able to comfort suck. If you're bottle feeding I'd suggest trying a pacifier if you haven't already.

It's a rough road but the good news is that it will end. My daughter is five months old now and is such a happy baby. I paid my dues up front and now have the sweetest, most smiley, giggly baby girl. She's hardly ever fussy and is so much fun to be around. Get help from friends and family because this is not something you should do alone. Having support was the most important factor at getting me through it personally.

EDIT: My daugher also liked white noise. The hum from the exhaust fan above the kitchen stove worked the best.

Answer 5

Both my kids has/had colic. My sons was way worse than my 3 month old. It usually does happen around the same time of the day.

For me, I would expect it between 6-7 in the evening and it would last for up to 2-3 hours sometimes.

Occasionally, my kids would skip a day, and boy were those days awesome! Sometimes it was every other day, other times it was maybe 2 nights a week I would get a break from it.

Luckily, for me, my husband was home during the hours my kids were colic. We would take turns with the baby. About 15-20 minutes each with him or her. Taking them outside really helped out alot. Both my kids love the outdoors and it really seemed to calm them down.

Its really hard when your kid goes through this. You feel like you cant soothe them no  matter how hard you try and you also feel helpless. Just keep knowing that it does get better! Those endless hours of crying will soon be gone and you will almost forget about them. Good luck to you, I feel your pain!