Oh we started off so well. Both babies were breastfeeding so well and seemed quite happy most of the day. Yes they cried sometimes... all babies cry sometimes... but in the last week... Alice has taken it up several notches and throughout the day her cries go from normal (as in what she's been doing up until now) to full fledged screaming where I think there must be something going on. This all started about a week ago when she would start to nurse, be good for about ten minutes and then start wailing. She has been spitting up a ton also. I had to start supplementing her with expressed breastmilk which isn't ideal as it means I have to pump every feeding for her and I am just not ready for her to no longer breastfeed. I mean if feeding her expressed milk with a bottle is the only option then that's fine but I am hoping it isn't. In terms of bottles we have had to feed her solely with the tommee tippee anti colic bottle... their regular bottles seem to add to the spit up issue.
Last night she cried from oh about 4 o'clock to about 8 o'clock..... not a fun night.
I ended up running to the store and buying some homeopathic colic remedy. We gave her one dose last night and she seemed happy the rest of the night however Andrew was out all night at a work function and that dose was given when he got home so part of me is wondering whether she just wanted her Daddy.
Either way there is something up with her tummy and I am hoping to get to the bottom of it asap.
We have an appointment with our naturopath tomorrow so hopefully she will be able to help us out. I have read that regular GPs often overdiagnose infant GERD or reflux and prescribe Zantac. Um Zantac to my two month old... I think not!
Now I thought that colic was something you were born with and began very soon after birth... do you know if this is right or is it possible to develop a couple of months into life?
help... please....
This is such a good question I have been wondering if my baby has a little bit of colic too. I would love to hear what you find out and good luck!
ReplyDeleteSorry I can't be of any help Ashley. I hope you get to the bottom of it and the naturopath will be able to help.
ReplyDeleteI don't have personal experience, but have discussed this with many of my breastfeeding friends. In all cases it turned out the baby had allergies (specifically milk allergies) - one option is to start limiting your diet.
ReplyDeleteThe allergy causes reflux (silent reflux is also a possibility), so dealing with the allergy fixed the root cause - instead of just treating the reflux.
Another option would be to contact a lactation consultant, there are lots of great ones in Ottawa.
Is she going through a growth spurt? My babe did this for a few days just before a growth spurt. One night she cried from 4pm until 11pm! And she wouldn't nap, and she wanted to eat but kept fighting my boob. After about a week, she was fine and back to her regular self. I also found that I had to completely cut out caffeine because it affected her mood and made her cranky. From my understanding, colic is defined as crying for at least 3 hours a day, every day, for at least 3 weeks. Otherwise it's just considered cranky time. Oh, and my girl also spits up ALL the time, so I started to feed her less but more frequently. It helps. I read somewhere that babies' stomachs are only the size of their fist and overfeeding leads to spitting up. Cutting back on dairy is a great suggestion too. My sister's boy was allergic to cow milk and was miserable anytime my sister consumed dairy. Good luck! Hope this helps!
ReplyDeleteI read in a baby book that colic is the rule of 3's: consistent crying for 3 hours or more a day, 3 times a week just like April said above...It could be an upset tummy for sure. I have also heard that eating salad while breastfeeding affects milk and sure enough, I had salad this week and Aiden was a wreck in the evenings! Aiden had similar symptoms and we were starting to think he was colic but we ended up giving him gas medicine and made sure he was burped really well after feeding. This really helped and he doesn't spit up as much and isn't so fussy...I hope you figure out what is going on and when you do, please let me know if anything has worked! I'd love some recommendations!
ReplyDeleteCut out dairy and wheat from your diet and see how she does. A lot of babies have tummy issues with wheat and dairy. It sucks for you but your diet definitely will affect them. Cut yourself down and you can slowly integrate things back in to see what affects them and what doesn't. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteHmmm this happened to one of mine a week or so ago. He ate fine for the first 10 min. then it was screaming! He is back to normal now. So maybe it is a growth spurt!?
ReplyDeleteTo answer your questions... I'm not sure if I'll start my period or not. A friend of mine went on the same pill while breast feeding and she still didn't have her period until she stopped breast feeding! So I'm hoping to have the same experience :)
I absolutely agree that it is either a growth spurt or intolerance to something in the milk. If you want to know for sure, give her formula for 24 hours. If she calms down, you'll know if it is your milk.
ReplyDeleteI've had a fried who had to stop breastfeeding because her boy developed lactose intolerance... And she had an impossible time convincing doctors that it was not just colic.
Good luck! We're rooting for you.
Oh so many of you are suggesting I cut out dairy. I have done this before pre-pregnancy and I also cut out wheat for several months. It was a tough go and honestly, I have never had so much dairy in my life as I am having now. I seem to crave it. I might have to give it a go though. I will see what the doctor suggests tomorrow but I know I might have to go this route.
ReplyDeleteHadn't thought of a growth spurt, perhaps that's it (I hope).
Thank you for all of the suggestions!
@Courtney - normally I do take probiotics but I actually ran out a few days ago... wonder if that is messing her up.
ReplyDeleteUgh, it's so hard to hear them crying like that. I hope you get some answers at the doc. Could it be gas/pooping issues? That's what it seems to be with my girl. And we've tried Colic Calm before but I can't say we noticed a difference. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteWe love Colic Calm. It helps for many things, including little things like hiccups. It is great to have on hand. My youngest had similar problems. They kept saying he was just a colicky baby. I knew it was more. We finally realized he had silent reflux. They tried to give him zantac, but I wanted to find a different fix. I felt like that was just putting a bandaid on the wound, not healing it. By much trial and error, we came to see he cannot tolerate milk or gluten. I switched from regular milk to almond milk and just that one change was amazing. This is what he drinks now.
ReplyDeleteyes try dairy! my daughter screamed her little head off for hours and even had some blood show up in her stool from her intestines bleeding! as soon as i cut out dairy it was a huge change.
ReplyDeletegoodluck - sleepless nights with screaming little ones are no fun :(
She sounds like my Zoe with the spitting and my Sydney with the screaming. Zoe also spits up a lot... it might be mild reflux but we've counteracted it by holding her upright at least 30 minutes after every feed (or using Fisher Price Rock n Plays). This helped with the spitting up and we've gotten to avoid meds. However, if it is a more severe reflux issue, meds aren't the worst thing. Untreated reflux can lead to severe damage to the esophagus. Sydney started recently screaming while breastfeeding too. Unlike your girls, she was never the best at it, but we could always manage it. Now it's like I'm killing her... I still try every feed, but usually we end up using the bottle.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!