The end of my rope with colic

[Heidivee]

Hello,

I am writing because I have tried just about everything and things just seem to be getting worse.  I have read Tracy's book, read this board countless times, and Max just doesn't fit into any of these categories.  We found out Max had colic at 3 1/2 weeks when he was up crying from 7PM to 11PM every night.  The doctors can't agree on if he has infant reflux and now at 4 1/2 months, Max's sleep problems have compounded and are getting worse.  He has been wonderful during waking hours, but as soon as we even create any sleep enviornment he turns into someone elses baby. :twisted:
He has every possible sleep problem.  He screams loudly for the first 20 to 30 minutes we put him down (and about 1 1/2 hours in the evening now) no matter what method we use.  PU/PD makes him more frantic with kicking and screaming, P&S just cause more irritation and he HATES to have his arms swaddled.  Swaddling his legs doesn't work because he's too strong. The only way I can get him to calm down is to lean on him and hold down his legs and arms and let him scream for 20 to 30 minutes.  He cries himself to sleep at every nap time. After the 20 to 30 minutes of screaming and wakes up at 5, 10 and 45 minutes.  I try to pat him back to sleep quietly. Each time is met with screaming and irritation.  He gulps in so much air that he gets gas and then wakes up from gas pain in between.  He won't take a pacifier (we've tried several times) and he starts to chew on his fingers nervously because he doesn't know how to suck on them yet.
He does not sleep through the night, as a matter of fact, he wakes up at 8:30PM, 9:30, 10:30, 1:00AM, 2:00AM, and 4:00AM most nights.  Each time he screams and has horrible gas.  I've stopped feeding him at night and just tried to calm him, but it takes upwards of an hour to get him back to sleep sometimes. It just seems he can't make that transition from wake to sleep.
He is breast fed and I do my best to burp him to decrease the gas, but the crying only makes it worse.  I have cluster fed, spread the feeds out to decrease the lactose quantity, grouped the feeds together
We have tried everything.  We'd taken activity down to the bare minimum during the day, added dark shades to his room and removed any distractions, he is on the 4 hour EASY plan, and we are following it to the best of our ability.  We make sure he's only up for 1 1/2 hours and then it's down for a nap. 
I've taken him to the doctor several times and they tell me to let him cry it out.  Well, we tried that and it was a nightmare of 2 to 3 hours of crying. 
I'm desperate for sleep and I'm panicked because I have to go back to work soon. 

Can any provide some assistance?  Am I missing something?

[Tonya]

Ok - first off, I am sooo sorry that you all are going through this!!!

I didn't breastfeed past our hospital stay (personal reasons) but i have read many posts that what the mother eats affects the baby.  Are you eating anything spicy?  Dairy?  Maybe the baby is intollerant of something??  Not one to give advice here - sorry - just throwing out some ideas.

Are you still not feeding him at night?  Is he getting enough during the day?

I think the best thing to start with is posting your schedule. When does he wake/eat/sleep, etc?  If you post that, I will try to help you!!!

You said the ped's cant agree on reflux - is he on any meds? 

Take care sweetie - it will get better.

[branwen]

Oh, Heidi this is terrible.  HUGS for you and your family!  Except for the nights your situation sounds very similiar to mine at the 4 month mark.  This is a hard period.

I have a couple of thoughts for you.  First have you been to a lactation consultant?  I would really suggest this.  He could also be having a poor latch and getting lots of air this way.  Also feeding is such a part of sleeping that since you are breastfeeding it could be related.

As a breastfed baby he might not be able to go the 4 hrs yet.  I would really suggest going back to 3 hrs, esp since you haven't gotten him on a consistent EASY.  Also it could be that he is DESPERATELY overtired esp if he is waking so much during the night.  I would keep up during the day 45 min tops and try for the nap then.  If you wait until 1.5 hr mark and then add the time it takes you to get him to nap he is beyond exhausted at this point.  Start at least 45 min before you want him to actually sleep so he doesn't get overtired during the process.

Have you explored over-active letdown issues?   My other suggestions especially if he could have reflux is to SINGLE SIDE FEED if you aren't already.  The thing is he might not be getting the hind milk.  One way to tell is if his poops are stringy and on the green/brown side of things and has lots of gas.  Another symptom is being very hard to burp. Have you tried elevating the matress on one side?  I would also try eliminating as much dairy from your diet as you can if you haven't already.  This REALLY helped my dd.

I would not listen to anyone who tells you to CIO, especially because it sounds like he is overtired and in pain from gas and tummy troubles.   If you can get him to sleep with rocking for a bit or holding him while you work out the EASY I think that is okay.  You guys are all struggling and you have to do what you have to do.  I'm not a fan of implementing all these methods when it seems clear that the baby is in pain and it is not just fighting the independent sleep...if you know what I mean?

Please post back with questions/thoughts!  We're here to help you guys!

[CanadianMom]

I was also going to suggest raising the mattress at one end - you can put a pillow under the crib matress.
I might also suggest ovol drops and or gripe water, both have helped my children some.  My dd I gave the ovol drops before a feed, and they help to break up the gas.  gripe water helps with sore tummys and gets rid of hiccups.
One of my friend daughter had colic and she took her to the chiropractor, that seemed to be the only thing that helped her.
Hope this helps.
Lisa

[Sarah O]

Wow, I feel for you...let's hope it passes soon!  I was breastfeeding until I read about allergy to cow's milk in infants (it's temporary, it passes through the breastmilk into the baby and the result is screaming during and after feeds, horrible gas (can be foul), and "colic"-like behaviour.

As soon as I (with tears of guilt) put my twins on Nutramigen (hypoallergenic formula) all this nastiness disappeared.  If you're open to trying it for just one feed it might be a good experiment?

Wishing you all the best and huge, understanding hugs...

Sarah