Just curious if it is abnormal to suffer colic hour with a 5 month old. Our daughter has been to the doctor a million times trying to figure out why she is so fussy. We've had her on zantac for Acid Reflux and I've recently stopped dairy for a possible milk protein allergy. Aside from a good nightly cry, she is frequently fussy during the day (although the dairy free is helping a bit). Are we nuts, or is this behavior normal?
Thanks everyone for your thoughtful advice on this issue. Mostly I was looking to see if this was normal and it appears that it is, more or less. A few clarifications on things, we took her off the zantac almost a month ago, and have seen no difference. Every pediatrician that we have talked to has thought she still has the reflux, but if so, it is pretty mild. I am really reluctant to put her on more meds, so we have foregone the prevacid. I am currently breastfeeding, and have been been off dairy for a month or so. She has improved greatly during the day (I can put her down!). But she is still fussy at night. I contribute this to being over tired (she has never been a great sleeper, day or night). I tried the warm bath the other night and got her to sleep soundly by 8pm. I plan to work up to an earlier bedtime, but this was encouraging. I might add some epsom salts and I plan to try the baby massage too. In the past, we've tried the gripe water and simethicone drops (and even a homeopathic treatment for colic) without much success, but I have noticed on nights when she is gassy these are great.
Thank you again for all of your suggestions and thoughts. This is a great resource for the most exhausting and most rewarding job in the world.
Best wishes,
L.
Hi Lilia,
It sounds like she has an imbalance. I am attendng a children's wellness expo this Sat in Santa Cruz. If you are interested let me know and I will forward the flier. There will be doctors that are educating eastern medicine to share other options.
Have a great evening.
N. Marie
We used Colic Calm (online only).
Highly recommend it.
She took it until she was 10 months old.
She just has a very sensitive tummy and very low pain tolerance.
I was able to enjoy her early months and not be anxious of her next colic episode (which I dreaded and had no energy for it)
My Dr. Ok'd it.
Anything to keep the family sane.
Some babies are bored, and will fuss as a result. Do you take her outside, do things with her along, vary the environment? My children would fuss until I took them out for a stroll, to the store, anywhere to get out of the house. Then they were happy, because there were new things to see and experience. It would be nice if this is the solution, and not just food-related.
My daughter had a problem as well with acid reflux and did not have a substantial turn around using Zantac. Her Ped finally prescribed Prevacid and within 1-2 days max she was like a brand new girl. Slept through the night for the first time the 2nd day she was on that medication, to the point I was actually concerned at first, contacting her ped to see if something in the meds would be making her drowsy. Answer was no, she just finally wasnt in the discomfort she was before which allowed to sleep a full night. Wish you luck
Out little one cried every day at the same time, early evening. My husband thought it was him, right when he came home from work.
We used the baby simethicone drops. That ended the problem. It seemed like there was a cycle set up and this broke the chain. We didn't have to keep using them. I think we use them for a week and the crying was over.
We tried every kind of formula (Yes, I know breast feeding was the best, my breasts decided they were not milk producers, so the factory went on lock down.)
Stephanie
Could she possibly be teething?
G.
sounds like acid reflux to me- that is what both my son and daughter had. My son's lasted until he was three years old, my daughter's stopped at six months. sometimes kids just have it for longer. The zantac only works on very mild cases-did nothing for either of my children. My doc prescribed prevacid- it saved the day. My son was very fussy as an infant- and as soon as I got him on the prevacid, he was like a new boy. I dont see why you should have to put up with the constant fussiness- especially if something can help make your kid feel better.Hope this helps! Good luck
It could be that she is teething like my 3 month old. Is the drooling & sucking a lot? Also, colic can last until their 6 mos old, so hang in there!
Hi Lilia,
It sounds like the dairy free thing might be your answer. We had the same problem with our daughter. Please make sure you are completely eliminating all diary. Read the back of boxes. No butter at all. You'd be suprised how may things have dairy in them. You might already be doing this but I just wanted to put that out there just in case. We found even if I had a tiny amount of dairy it made her fussy. Also, it could take up to a week to get out of your and her system. If you just started give it another week.
Like others have said most babies fuss around dinner time in to the evening. Very normal.
Good luck! I know how you feel:)
Lilia,
I'm sorry to hear about the fussy baby... its never fun! But it WILL go away : - ) I wanted to put another plug in for the warm bath method. I am a working mommy (of 3 mo old girl) who breastfeeds exclusivly and dad is a SAHD :- ) so needless to say they have had a rough day or to! What has worked VERY well is simply changing scenery and distracting them from crying. They forget easily that they were crying. And warm baths seem to work everytime. Or just going outside and taking a breath or to... and remember to NOT get worked up yourself... that just fires up our little one when she can feed off our nerves. Good luck!
It certainly can be normal, and she will certainly grow out of it sooner or later.
There's a book on crying that I found very helpful when my son was a baby/toddler. It's called Tears and Tantrums by Aletha Jauch Solter. The message of the book is that crying is not such a bad thing. In fact, it often makes one feel better. So instead of focussing on stopping the crying, Aletha focusses on how to be with a crying child in a supportive way. I found it very comforting to read.
My son definitely set the record on our street for crying. I think he just hated being a baby. But by the time he was three or four, he was easy going and cheerful, while many of the babies who had never cried had grown into holy terrors! So you never know! Just try to relax and let her grow up a bit.
Gripe water:
http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?pid=5672&at=0
Colic Tablets:
http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?pid=3757&at=0
Love, G.. :0)
http://stemcellforautism.blogspot.com/
BTW: has she had a Hep B vaccine lately?!!! If so you need to address liver issues, my children had a reaction to this one and caused digestive and sleep issues!!!The doctor kept telling me it was colic and it was not!!!
"I know of nobody who is purely Autistic or purely neurotypical. Even God had some Autistic moments, which is why the planets all spin." ~ Jerry Newport
Everything you've done sounds reasonable. If she's crying it is for a reason. She's trying to tell you something.
Is she gassy? If she is squinching up her face and pulling her legs up, she might be. There are ways to hold and move her that will help relieve her. I found diagrams in the Sears Baby Book that were a lifesaver. Dairy is a good place to start, but broccoli, cabbage, tomatoes, and citrus could also be problems.
Is she getting enough sleep? Babies that age start needing a regular sleep schedule (total 15 or more hours with naps). Before 3 mos they just sleep wherever, but it starts getting more difficult around 4-5 mos. Dr M Weissbluth has a book that may help (Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby).
What about clothing textures? Some people are very sensitive to what touches their skin. (I need the seems on my socks lined up or they hurt my feet). Try all cotton clothing, paying attention to softness inside.
If you aren't already, try holding her as much as you can. Your touch and smell may sooth her. A baby bjorn might come in handy. A swing may also help.
If all this fails, sometimes babies just cry. All you can do is hold them and do the best you can. You may need to get a little extra help for yourself so that you don't burn out. Even an hour can be a life saver.
hi lilia,
i'm by no means an authority on this issue but i have an 8 week old with the same issue. in addition to eliminating dairy, i also took out gluten and it has appeared to help quite a bit. his fussiness isn't completely gone but his agony has markedly subsided. hope this helps. good luck to you and your little one.
Lilia, please call me if your baby still has problem.
###-###-#### A. B
You could just have a tough cookie! My son was so fussy. He started getting better around 18 months. He cried all the time and nothing was ever right. I know that isn't encouraging but he turned into the most amazing kid and is so happy and easy going. No terrible twos! It was like he got it out of his system and now he is great! He is 2 1/2 now.
Also, she might be teething. We had a lot of luck with the Hyland's teething tablet and the Wellement's Gripe water.
Sounds like you and your doctor are headed down the right road for treatment. I know it can be tough to adjust your diet and still get enough calories to nurse. It will take a little time for the inflammation from the CMP in her bowels to go down. You should see a change after a few weeks. Remember to also search ingredients for casein and whey also. They are derived from cows milk as well. I have to be off CMP 100% while nursing both my girls and have found great alternatives! Both girls also have horribel acid reflux disease. My oldest needed Prevacid after the Zantac failed, but my 5 month old is doing great on Zantac. It may be that your daughter needs the Prevacid. Also, remember that at that age, they still need a lot of sleep and if they are over stimulated earlier in the day, they will be considerably more fussy at night when their "circuits" are exhausted. Please email me if you would like any suggestions or ideas....I have definatley been down the road you are on. Good luck with your sweet girl!
Hi Lilia,
You've had a lot of good advice about colic an digestive issues. I wanted to suggest another possibility. Have you ever taken her to a chiropractor or cranio sacral therapist? The chiropractic for babies is extremely gentle (no "cracking") and craniosacral is even gentler. I had both for my daughter after her birth and I believe they helped much more than any medicine. She was also prescribed Zantac for reflux when she was about 6 weeks old.
If you'd like recommendations, feel free to email me.
Hi Lilia,
Yes, it's completely normal :). My son had colic and it was rough. Try using the "colic Hold."
Colic Hold
Hold your baby with your hand under the baby's abdomen and the baby's head is towards your forearm, with the baby's tilted upward. Holding the baby this way helps to "massage" the baby's abdominal region with hand pressure and move the trapped gas bubbles out.
If you're nursing, diet can be a factor, so stay away from foods that may make you gassy if you nurse the baby. Also, get a baby massage book, they might have one at the library, to help her relax a little and maybe even distract her from the discomfort.
Hang in there!
-M
Hi Lilia,
Colic in babies has been going on since the beginning of time! My second son had colic--this was before doctors began putting babies on things like Zantac. The best thing for him was for me to be calm. When I began to drink a lot of chamomile tea, his colic improved greatly. I'm sure you know not to eat spicy foods, caffeine, etc. There is an end to it, don't worry!
What time is her "witching hours" (as our pedi called it)? My daughter use to do this from 6 until she went to sleep and hind site (much like the first two posts said) I should have been putting her to bed at that time. I know it seems early, but even at 18 months my daughter is in bed by 6:30 or 7:00. She actually started to sleep through the night (at 11 months!) when I moved her bedtime from 8 to 7.
Best of luck,
C.
Instead of drugs which have known side effects try Xango. It is a natural supplement based on the Mangosteen fruit and has proven beneficial to many who have acid reflux. It is full of natural anti-oxidents and anti inflamitories so there is no side effects to worry about. If you want to know more email me at ____@____.com.
Yep, this is pretty common & nope, you're not nuts...just worn out! A lot of peole refer to it as the 'bewitching hour.' Both our boys went thru this & we just had to deal. For our younger one I think he was getting tired but not wanting to go to sleep. Like he was gonna miss out on something at 2 months old! What worked was rocking while nusing & ever-so gently putting him in his crib once he was asleep. Sometimes it lasted just a short period of time, other times it was a couple of hours. You could also try a bit of massaging. You mention she is frequently fussy thru the day. For my friends w/fussy babies they said taking walks helped. Sometimes just a change of scenery so try going out in the yard when she's fussy. Do you have a baby swing yet? There seems to be something about that backward & forward motion that they like. Oh, I just remembered, during thess fussy times, our son liked it when I sat on our big exercise ball w/him on my lap & bounced up & down. I remember how stressful that crying was & I'm sure some of the fussiness was cuz he was feeding off my anxity so remember to take some time to yourself. Best of luck!
Every child is different. You might have tried this already but just wanted to throw it out there. Try Gripe water, it worked wonders with all my kids. You can find it at health food stores and some drug stores like Rite Aid. When nothing else worked this did. Good luck!
Do you think she is cutting her teeth yet? You might want to try cold teethers and baby tylenol if so. My daughter had 8 teeth come in from month 4 to month 8. Maybe your daughter is now longer colicky and has "moved on" to another challenge!
good luck!
Like Jackie said, a warm bath helped my son quite a bit. Our son had a terrible time with this. We foudn out he was allergic to peanut butter and it got about 50% better. Then we started to look for another allergy and found out he was allergic to eggs.
Lilia--
You have a beautiful name, by the way. My oldest child had this same situation....zantac treatment, continuing fussiness after her typical bad case of colic for the first four months. Her entire first year was a bit rough, but the digestive tract problems started to improve greatly after 10 months of age. I hope that is encouraging to you and not discouraging to you. We were told that it took her body to grow and mature in her digestive tract somehow. The great news is, she has NO residual problems with acidity whatsoever, and has no other digestive problems to speak of. She has no food allergies or intolerance at all. She is a wonderfully healthy and vibrant girl of 14 years! But I remember that first year like it was yesterday. Take care, wish you the best, K.
Hi, I am sorry for your baby's suffering.
You may want to check out www.sharethecause.com/live
This information is very valuable and is why this generation of children are having digestive, health, and other challenges. You can also check out my other blogs.
L. Medina
Hi Lilia,
A number of things could be going on, such as teething, as one poster suggested. When you say "colic hour," is it the same hour every day? If so, what is your daughter doing the hour or so before colic hour? Is your baby getting enough sleep, both at night and with naps? Does she still take three naps or has she switched to two? Our son had reflux, and Zantac was not enough to help. Reflux can be part of an overall issue with bowel motility (how the stomach and intestines move their contents throughout the system. This can result in pain, constipation, etc. Our son was on Reglan, in addition to Zantac, to manage this. Also, we found our highly regarded pediatrician ill-equipped to deal with a severe case of reflux. We insisted on a referral to a pediatric gastro-enterologist which made an enormous difference.
just a thought, but make sure you are getting her to sleep a lot. i thought my little one was tummy upset all the time, and was just trying to get him to sleep b/c at least he wasnt crying and suffering, and i see now that he really needs so much sleep. that would also explain why it is worse at night, b/c they are just done for. also, warm baths during the fuss time might help.
50 percent of caucasians and i think 70 percent of afro-americans are allergic to cow milk.we are not cows and don't have 4 stomachs-the most natural for our bodies is human milk and is not really necessary beyond 9 months of age.a friend of mine could no longer breastfeed and her son was allergic to cow milk-so he survived on jello.
