colicky baby

The other day I brought my 7 week old daughter to a walk in clinic on a saturday after she had been crying for over 10 consecutive hours. The doctor that saw her tought she might have acid reflux and prescribed her zantac which did not work. Since then we have tried a new formula(nutrimagen) and another reflux medication to no avail. I'm starting to really question whether she even has acid reflux. She doesnt throw up, barely spits up and is gaining weight very well and takes the bottle with no problem. I think she might have colic. She usually cries right after I feed her and won't fall asleep. She cries/fusses about 18 hours every day. Her face also turns bright red, she clenches her fists and her stomach becomes hard. I've tried gas drops, tea, masssaging her, and burping her frequently. Nothing works. I don't know what to do anymore and I find myself crying almost everyday wondering if it might be something more serious except that she is in the 95th percentile in terms of weight gain and otherwise seems very healthy.I feel drained emotionally and physically. I love my daughter so much but at times I feel angry at her and then I feel terribly guilty for feeling that way.I used to think colic was only in the evening and I'm wondering if any of you had or know anyone who has had a colicky baby that cried and cried for so many hours during the day and just wouldnt sleep. I'm so worried about her. I mean won't the lack of sleep affect her health? She only sleeps like 6 -7 hours in a 24 hour period.

[AnnieBrooke]

Look up this subject on the MedHelp search box and you'll find a lot of posts, including a relatively recent one (in the last 2 weeks).  One lady there had been told of giving her little girl a tiny bit of olive oil on the tip of a spoon, and it helped, and I recommended infant probiotics (the kind i got for my son is called FloraBaby), which are derived from the cultures in yogurt, and tested quite well recently in double-bind studies against Mylicon.  Anything is worth a try as long as it doesn't hurt the baby.  Good luck!

[Crritter]

Yep, there's tons of stuff here.  I have had the honor of having both  with my youngest and my other son had colic too.  I would not go to the walk in clinic though, go to the pediatrican where they specialize in babies and see this stuff more often.  Acid reflux can have silent symptoms, my son cired and screamed till he was hoarse.  We switched to Nutramigen, helped a little after feeding, but we were still up all night with crying, we also use meds for acid reflux.  He will have projectile vomit when he does spit up, and he will wake from a deep sleep crying and sometimes he would make a sour face like he had a bad taste in his mouth.  We still get this as his acid reflux is so bad it's been hard to try to control.  It can take a little while for the formula and meds to work.  We switched formula for 2 weeks, and then they added the meds and told me it could take a good week to see results.  Even with all of that, we would still be up for hours at night.  My first baby cried all night and a lot during the day, the time was pretty predictable with both of them, they seemed to know the time almost to the minute and would cry, we got little sleep, but they both grew well.  Now my littlest one is 5 & 1/2 months old and he's a big boy, so the sleep deprivation must not have hurt him, he's a good sleeper now, still wakes up at night, but now it's only to eat.  Keep an eye out for a pattern, then it's a sign of colic.  I hope baby calms down and you get a break soon.  It's very hard to handle, take a little time to get away each day, even for a hot shower.  If it's colic, baby will grow out of it, it may be a few more months though.  Call your pediatrician right away and tell them what's going on.  You should have them check out your little one to rule out any serious problems and then see what you can do.  I did find holding mine on their sides and close to my chest helped, then I would sway and shush them, helped a lot.  I used Mylicon like crazy too, but when we switched to Nutramigen, there was barely any gas so it didn't really make much difference then.  Annie's right though, anything's worth a try if it doesn't hurt baby.   I have also heard good things about hte chiropractor.  Worked good for my older son when he had ear infections they couldn't stop.  Have not had any since we took him in, he was about 1 at the time.  They were really gentle and so good with him.  Hang in there and good luck, it will get better.

[tomel]

Try to burp her a couple times while your feeding her....dont wait till she's done
Colick can happen any time of day.  
Make sure to give yourself a break once and a while.

[NataliesMommy]

Also, try a white noise machine when trying to put the baby to sleep.  It is very soothing.  My doctor told me to just leave the vacuum running in the hallway outside the baby's room while she was napping/sleeping.  The white noise definately helped a lot.  Also, tons of burping and heavy bouncing on the knee.  My dd would stop crying in the car anytime I went over big bumps in the road(I would look for the nearest speed bumps).  The big bouncing helped a lot, oh and I gave her the gas drops before I fed her so they had time to get into her system.  It WILL get better, I promise you that.  I know how difficult it is for you, it is a feeling of helplessness.  Hang in there and try to be as patient as you can.

[kris123]

I would ask the dr about previcd (sp)  Zantac did not do a thing for my son.  He was really bad about 6w old.  He didn't spit up either - they don't need to spit up to have acid reflux - he would gage.  They put him on the previcd and about a week later he was a different baby - but was also still colic.  He is now 13w old and much better and cries still but not as much as he did. It does get better.  I would try another med trust me.  I also have him on Similac Alimentum which has been the greatest.  He has less gas and everything. So with the med and Alimentum he has become a different baby.  It took about two week for the fomula to work.  It will pass trust me.  I hope you have help

[kris123]

Shite noise is great too??  The vacuum worked a little  My son hates the car seat and hates to ride

[kris123]

Sorry White