mark@cbosgd.UUCP (Mark Horton) (07/05/85)
Well, folks, our son Adam was born 3 weeks ago, and he has colic. I'd heard stories from others about long nights spent with colicky babies, but experiencing it firsthand is another story entirely. Karen isn't getting a whole lot of sleep, and it's no picnic for Adam either. I try to help out, as does her mother, but it's not the same - Adam often wants mommy and won't quiet for anyone else. We've tried every colic remedy we could get our hands on. They all seem to work once and then go away as the baby realizes what it is. As such, the longest possible list would be useful. I'll list the ones I know of here. If you have others or can confirm/refute some of the theories, please let me know. I'll post the final list. Theories about what causes colic: nobody knows. Some say it's an immature digestive system (in this case, it should correlate with premies, does it?) I've heard it's worse when you breast feed (we are.) I've heard it can be caused by stress in the mother when breast feeding. Length of colic: everyone says it won't last longer than 3 months. That sounds like forever right now. What is the distribution? Is it linear between 0 and 3 months? Between 2.5 months and 3 months? How likely is it to go beyond 3? Remedies: the problem is almost always gas pains, either in the stomach or the intestines. As such, a burp or fart usually produces relief. (For a few minutes, at least, then another gas pain develops.) So the standard thing is to bounce the baby around at every imaginable angle (to encourage the gas bubbles to move) to get them out. This is surprisingly ineffective most of the time. (We're not novices either, Karen's mother has been foster parent for about 15 babies, some of whom had colic. Claim is 20% of babies have it.) The claim is that holding the baby helps. He certainly demands being held, and if I ignore him he gets REALLY upset. I can tell when it's a real colic scream because his legs draw up and straighten out, the classic sign of baby belly pain. The screams are usually colic related. Other random ideas and remedies: (1) hold baby (2) burp baby (3) put baby on tummy with a hot water bottle. (I just got handed Adam, so I'm typing with one hand.) 4. rub/pat back 5. massage feet 6. snugly baby carrier on chest 7. avoid gassy vegatables like brocolli 8. swing 9. medicine which makes it easier to burp 9a. medicine with alcohol which puts baby to sleep - not recommended 10. sing to baby 11. pacifier 12. water bottle 13. rocking chair 14. cradle rocking 15. feed baby (Two hands again.) He gets hiccups a lot too, is there any correlation? One thing we've found is that by starting him on hot cereal at 2.5 weeks, he'll eat lots of cereal at 10 PM, then nurse, and then sleep until 3 AM or so. Those 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep are the best 4 hours of the day. Otherwise he's up every hour and takes a half hour or more to quiet, leaving maybe 20 minutes to sleep before he's up again. Any advice would be appreciated. Mark
reza@ihuxb.UUCP (Reza Taheri) (07/09/85)
> Well, folks, our son Adam was born 3 weeks ago, and he has colic. Right off the bat: isn't 3 weeks too early for colic? > the same - Adam often wants mommy and won't quiet for anyone else. > > We've tried every colic remedy we could get our hands on. They all > seem to work once and then go away as the baby realizes what it is. You know, I think that all the remedies are for the parents rather than for the kids! They make the parent more "relaxed", which relaxes and quiets the baby. Note that Mark claims that the baby quiets for mommy, only. Despite all the talk about bonding, etc., I don't think that a 3-week old baby knows his/her mother "that much". It is just that a mother is more relaxed, more loving, and more tolerant of the baby's crying. THE most important fact to remember is that colic WILL go away after 3-4 months. I know it looks like it'll last forever, but it won't. With our first one (now 25-month old) it was like hell. We would walk her around like mad trying to comfort her, but to no avail. When our second one (now 4-month old) started her colic at about 1 months we were more relaxed and accepted it as a fact of life to deal with. Even though her colic attacks were more severe than Kiana's, we dealt better with them and she quieted down more quickly. Two remedies that may or may not work. One: if you are tense, put him down. He may cry for a few minuted, but chances are that he is more comfortable out of your shaking hands. Also, he maybe tired and might just want to sleep. Two: try some kind of warm sweet liquid like sweetened lukewarm tea or warm water sweetened with corn syrup or crystalized sugar. Good luck and hang in there. H. Reza Taheri ...!ihnp4!ihuxb!reza (312)-979-7473
mcburnet@topaz.ARPA (Roe McBurnett mcburnet@topaz.uucp) (07/10/85)
In article <1306@cbosgd.UUCP> mark@cbosgd.UUCP (Mark Horton) writes: >Well, folks, our son Adam was born 3 weeks ago, and he has colic... >..We've tried every colic remedy we could get our hands on. >Remedies: the problem is almost always gas pains, either in the stomach >or the intestines. As such, a burp or fart usually produces relief. Look carefully at the MOTHERS diet as well.. avoid gas producing foods as these foods can go right into the breast milk.. Our son had some problems with gas pains whenever my wife ate broccoli (for sure) and some other foods that escape me now.(it was 4 years ago). Hope this helps... -- Roe McBurnett {ut-sally,astrovax}!topaz!mcburnet or Hill 521 x4273 \-> !ru-green!mcburnett
skipt@inuxm.UUCP (M Tourville) (07/11/85)
> Look carefully at the MOTHERS diet as well.. avoid gas producing foods as > these foods can go right into the breast milk.. .....also consider any vitamins (especially those with iron) which the mother may be taking to help get her back on her feet...try two or three days without them
barb@pyuxa.UUCP (B E Nemeth) (07/11/85)
When I was nursing my daughter at one time I ate cole slaw, not foreseeing the results. The poor little "munchkin" had gas pains which lasted about 24 hours (24 hours of almost constant crying!!) Lukewarm fennel seed tea seemed to help, but definitely the nursing mother's diet is extremely important!! (2 years later, I still haven't eaten any cole slaw!)
bobn@bmcg.UUCP (Bob Nebert) (07/12/85)
> > the same - Adam often wants mommy and won't quiet for anyone else. > > > Note that Mark claims that the baby quiets for > mommy, only. Despite all the talk about bonding, etc., I don't think > that a 3-week old baby knows his/her mother "that much". >>>>> I disagree. The baby very much knows his/her mother do to the >>>>> heart beat and body odors. > Two remedies that may or may not work. One: if you are tense, put > him down. He may cry for a few minuted, but chances are that he is > more comfortable out of your shaking hands. Also, he maybe tired and > might just want to sleep. Two: try some kind of warm sweet liquid > like sweetened lukewarm tea or warm water sweetened with corn syrup > or crystalized sugar. Good luck and hang in there. > >>>>> Corn syrup is good ( we used it on two of three kiddies but I would >>>>> think twice before giving a baby caffine and tanic acid (tea)
ewj@hscfvax.UUCP (850039@P.Fuller) (07/13/85)
I think the idea of giving a 3 week old baby tea, sweetened or unsweetened, corn syrup or crystallized sugar water is ridiculous! The health of the baby is in question. Colic need not continue for 3-4 months, and it is certainly not necessary to introduce caffeine and/or refined sugars into the life of a new born.
tp@ndm20 (07/14/85)
We had a real problem with our baby. The nurses on the medical advice line said it was colic, but it got so bad we finally went in to the doctor. It turns out Jackie is allergic to milk! Most doctors can tell the difference from examining the baby, but described over the phone, it sounds just like colic, and if this is your first baby, they'll write you off as over-anxious parents. The key difference is the length of the symptoms. Jackie's doctor says that colic is rarely more than four hours at a stretch, usually in the evening around 6-10. Your message sounded like it was pretty much around the clock. If this is so, and if the attacks seem to come a consistent amount of time after a feeding, get to a doctor. We tried limiting my wife's diet to remove all dairy products, but that didn't help much, and since she was recovering from a c-section, the limited diet was very rough on her, so we switched to Isomil. That fixed it (after about 2-3 days for her system to clear itself). By the way, warmth will often comfort the baby. Jackie slept with us for just that reason. About the only sleep any of us got for the first 2-3 weeks was with her snuggled up against me so the warmth would ease her pain. Oh, yeah, you mentioned 3 weeks old? From what I heard, that is early for colic.
itkin@luke.UUCP (Steven List) (07/15/85)
In article <1090@ihuxb.UUCP> reza@ihuxb.UUCP (Reza Taheri) writes: >I don't think >that a 3-week old baby knows his/her mother "that much". It is just >that a mother is more relaxed, more loving, and more tolerant of the >baby's crying. This is not so. A mother smells different, feels different, talks different. All of these things are known by the baby. This is well known. A baby can smell the breast milk and other scents on its mother, and be soothed by the presence of the nurturing/feeding parent. It still happens as they get older. -- *** * Steven List @ Benetics Corporation, Mt. View, CA * Just part of the stock at "Uncle Bene's Farm" * {cdp,greipa,idi,oliveb,sun,tolerant}!bene!luke!itkin ***
rws@gypsy.UUCP (07/16/85)
Check how often the child is eating, and whether s/he is gaining weight. We thought our son had colic, but when he hadn't gained weight after three weeks, the doctor suggested we switch from breast to bottle. Presto! happy baby. Bob Schwanke Siemens Research Princeton, NJ 08540-6668 seismo!princeton!siemens!rws
pc@hplabsb.UUCP (07/17/85)
More info on colic:
As Mark mentioned, pediatricians won't commit on the cause(s).
It seems that the earlier it starts, the longer it lasts (this seems to
dismiss the "immature digestive tract" theory). It is indeed almost
always gone by the end of the 3rd month.
Mothers who are nursing should avoid all beans & broccoli family
veggies. In lots of kids, colic peaks late afternoon to early evening and
people have all manner of rationalizations for this (I'll spare you all).
A warning about early cereal feeding: according to every pediatrician I
know (about 10), cereal is not at all good for little tummies. It is
convenient for parents who don't want to have to nurse often during the
night because it lays in the stomach & keeps the kid from getting that
hungry feeling. However, the bowel doesn't have the enzymes (& IgA or IgG--
I forget which) to properly digest the cereal, so it irritates the bowel.
This can lead to later problems & even food allergies.
Frequent "burpings"-- as often as every 2 minutes, while nursing
can minimize the amount of gas which gets trapped. I had to do that with
our Adam to avoid voluminous spitup.
Interestingly, I've heard prescribed that the mother have a little
wine late afternoon & again before the evening feeding. The idea is to
provide a slightly more relaxed mom to the nursing baby. Our tensions seem
to pass as chemicals into the milk. (This technique also undoubtedly passes
a little alcohol on to the newborn who may mellow out under the influence.
It would be interesting to see if meditation before nursing had the same
effect on the child.)
Finally, a pediatric allergist recently lectured on the subject of
early childhood food allergies at our day care center parents meeting. She
said that they now know that if a nursing mom eats food that the child cannot
tolerate, the nursing child can definitely react to the traces of the food
in the mom's milk. Prime candidates are red meat, eggs, wheat and dairy
products.
It seems that by the time you scientifically unearth what the problem
is, your Adam will be passed the colic stage. Best wishes for patience and
a short 3 months!
Patricia Collins
--
{ucbvax|duke|hao|allegra}!hplabs!pcdwl10@amdahl.UUCP (Dave Lowrey) (07/18/85)
In article <1090@ihuxb.UUCP> reza@ihuxb.UUCP (Reza Taheri) writes: >I don't think >that a 3-week old baby knows his/her mother "that much". It is just >that a mother is more relaxed, more loving, and more tolerant of the >baby's crying. It is believed that a new born infant can recognize his/her mother's voice, because they heard/felt it while in the womb. -- ------------------------------------------------------------------- Dave Lowrey "To vacillate or not to vacillate, that is the question.... ....or is it?" ...!(<sun,cbosgd,ihnp4}!amdahl!dwl10 [ The opinions expressed <may> be those of the author and not necessarily those of his most eminent employer. ]
flowers@ucla-cs.UUCP (07/19/85)
Summary: Expires: Sender: Followup-To: Distribution: Keywords: In article <1306@cbosgd.UUCP> mark@cbosgd.UUCP (Mark Horton) writes: >Well, folks, our son Adam was born 3 weeks ago, and he has colic. >I'd heard stories from others about long nights spent with colicky >babies, but experiencing it firsthand is another story entirely. I strongly recommend the book "Crying Babies, Sleepless Nights", by (I think) Sandy Jones (it is a well distributed paperback). It pulls together a lot of research (digested for the populace) on baby temperment and soothing techniques. I have found it very useful both in general for helping understand baby temperment (read it before the baby is born since you won't have time afterward) as well as for suggestions of specific techniques. Around her third or fourth week, my daughter started spending her days mostly sleeping or screaming, with little in between. Several of the techniques in the book alleviated this -- one thing it discusses is the fact that infants can pay attention to only so many things at once, so in difficult cases you can combine several soothing techniques at once when single ones don't work. For example, talk to the baby, have her in a snugli, and stand up swinging back and forth the whole time to give her motion. This helped for a while but didn't last. Returning to the book I read that two thirds of all babies with colic improve if the nursing mother cuts out cows milk from her diet. I did, and in about a day, my calm alert interested happy baby was back. I don't know if her colic would have ended then anyway, but the few times I have indulged in cheese have been when she seems to have difficult days afterwards. And checking with my pediatrician later he said "Oh yes, milk is a well-known irritant". And here I'd been carefully getting all my calcium by drinking more milk than I ever had before (now I get it from Tums). There are other common food allergies the kid could have that it discusses also. It also spends time on specific intestinal malfunctions. Supposedly their little intestines can cramp in an uncoordinated manner rather than in a syncrhonized manner. It is fairly hard to determine exactly what is going on when infants seem to have stomach problems, but certain medicines known to alleviate irritable bowels and cramping are effective in them so they assume that is the problem. In such cases they suggest going to specialists in pediatric gastroenterology (a listing is included in the appendix). Much of the discussion on infant temperment is interesting. How some babies need rocking and jiggling to help block out the world, and others find it annoying and instead need calm. In some cases colic seems to result from too much stimulation during the day that builds up and explodes in the evening. Much of this I knew from taking care of young relatives, but having it all presented in a cogent whole, referring to results of studies, is quite helpful when you are suddenly faced with your own little baby. Some specifics that I remember from the book: >I've heard it's worse when you breast feed (we are.) Supposedly both breast and bottle fed can get it. >Length of colic: everyone says it won't last longer than 3 months. >That sounds like forever right now. What is the distribution? Is >it linear between 0 and 3 months? Between 2.5 months and 3 months? >How likely is it to go beyond 3? Most cases end in a few months but there are cases that can go on for almost a year. >One thing we've found is that by starting him on hot cereal at >2.5 weeks, he'll eat lots of cereal at 10 PM, then nurse, and >then sleep until 3 AM or so. Supposedly it is a myth that solids make babies sleep better (caused by the fact that the baby is also getting older and better able to sleep longer when the parents start trying solids). There might be some other explanation, e.g., food allergy to something in the milk, would produce a more satisfied sleeping baby. Or maybe it is true. Many people and pediatricians today advocate breast-milk ONLY until 6 months. When I asked about it, I was told that the intestinal membrane is not fully mature until about then, and before then larger food molecules can pass through that wouldn't make it after six months, causing allergies (that continue after infancy since the body has been sensitized, producing a more allergic child). [Other reasons discussed in the book are that breast milk causes the mucus membranes of the intestines to mature better, and there are some tentative correlations between adult gut diseases and formula feeding.] So you might want to consider breast milk only -- if your pediatrician is not supportive, try contacting your local La Leche League. I didn't mean to go on so long, but the book is full of interesting and helpful facts that apply to this kind of distressing and trying situation. Good luck. Let us know of what happens.
mark@cbosgd.UUCP (Mark Horton) (07/24/85)
I'd like to thank everyone who responded with ideas about how to ease Adam's colic. I hope to eventually find time to compile it into a checklist and post it. Right now, while things are much better than before, I don't spend a lot of time reading news. Adam has improved quite a bit - he now has cranky times that last anywhere from half an hour to a full day, and Karen and I do get some sleep from time to time. Adam actually slept for 6 1/2 hours straight last night! One thing I've learned is that the word Colic is derived from the word Colon. It's related to discomfort in the colon - mostly from the tissues being stretched out. This can be caused by gas, or by constipation. So trying to cause a burp may not help, it's the other end that's most likely to be the cause of the problem. Here are some things that work real well for us. (1) A "snuggly" baby carrier - the kind you strap to your front. He's usually quiet in there, unless he's hungry, more so than just being held. (2) cereal - Adam is on two feedings a day now, and after each one he'll have 3-4 hours of good time. (This child is really a pleasure to be around when he's not in pain - I think he really enjoys those times too.) We put some Karo dark syrup in the cereal and in his bottle of water (he gets that between feedings as needed, it's hot out and he gets thirsty too) this helps loosen his bowels. (3) glycerine suppositories. When he's constipated, these babies do the trick. Adam was cranky all day yesterday, with no BM. We (Karen, actually) lubricated him and out came a few diaperloads. After that, he had a big meal (his appitite had been low) and went to sleep for those glorious 6 1/2 hours. Our doctor cautions that you have to be careful with these, the child can become dependent on a suppository to have a BM (needing the lubrication) so they should be used sparingly. Mark