Parents of babies with colic

How do you handle it? I'm starting to lose my mind with all the crying and the feeling that he is in constant pain and there is nothing I can do to comfort him. I'm so glad it's Friday and DH can help over the weekend. When does the crying start to decrease?

Re: Parents of babies with colic

i just wanted to give you hugs . I personally didn't have a colic baby but from what i've read and heard from the other ladies it usually subsides around the 3 mos mark. Hang in there!

Re: Parents of babies with colic

Breathe and cry!! I mean their were times I just put him in his crib and cried along with him - it was the only thing to prevent me from losing it on my bad weeks.

Try to find things that work for your son to help...although I am sure you have tried everything. Kevin loved being held so I dealt with it all day long (baby bjorn helped some)...but that didn't work for long or all the time. He liked the typing on the computer - I did that many a nights at 2am to get him back to sleep. The big thing was running water. Somedays I would sit him in his bouncer and run water for like 20 minutes straight to get a break (make sure it is cold - I accidentally ran out of hot water from doing that once). Pretty much every night, we would fall asleep to a cd of either the heartbeat or rain on a roof....

Funny - - now at 16 months - I had almost forgotten we did things like that!!

Also, as far as pain - could it be what he is eating? My son got so much better when I switched his formula as far as pain...that constant pusing and constipation went away instantly. He still remained colic and had minor reflux but the pushing and pain was relieved by formula - makes sense since now I know he is lactose intolerant.

It does get better for me - it got worse and hit the worst at 10 weeks and got better at 11 weeks!!!

Re: Parents of babies with colic

It is so hard- I feel for you! I spent a lot of time with her in the carrier on my chest, sometimes she would sleep that way for a few hours to give me some relief.
I also spent many night crying with her, especially the 10 pm to 4am shift, which she would scream straight through.

At that time I wanted to punch everyone who told me "it would get better" but I promise it does.
For us it got better around 3 months or so.

Re: Parents of babies with colic

Alex is 9 months and I still remember those days so vividly - it's just about the only thing holding me back from TTC again! Just remember to give yourself a break - even if it's just an hour here or there - hand off baby to DH, mom, sis, anyone and do something for yourself. And cry. I can't tell you how many days I would just sit in the glider, rocking Alex as she cried, and I would just sob right along with her. You'll manage - I promise - some days will be harder than others and with each day you'll find new tricks on how to deal with your baby. For me, the only thing that worked was to keep Alex close to me - rock her, hold her, use the baby carrier, dance with her, etc. And, taking her outside usually distracted her from her discomfort - I would take her shopping, for a stroll, etc. Don't be embarrassed if she cries when you're out - I made that mistake of never going out in the beginning because I was so embarassed and I remember one day going to Macy's while DH watched Alex and I was amazed at how many mommy's I saw strolling their infants as they cried, and you know what? No one even batted an eye. The only reason why I noticed was because I was a new mom.

For us, Alex didn't get better until about 4 months... I know it feels like this is it, you're life will never be the same and you'll always be struggling, but I promise, there IS a light at the end of the tunnel and you WILL come out of this with a happy, smiling baby

Re: Parents of babies with colic

Thanks for all your advice. It really made me feel better. Knowing other people went through this and cried right along with their babies helps a lot. We do this often.
I think I'm going to try and take him out today. I hadn't been too much because of his crying, but your advice is great about going out.
With regards to his discomfort, he is strictly feeding on pumped breastmilk, so I don't know if that could be bothering him. I'm very careful about what I eat.
Thanks again. You really made my morning better!

Re: Parents of babies with colic

I agree with everyone else, it does get better... I did a lot of crying in the beginning when I just felt like I couldn't do anything to help her. I found that she would stop crying when I turned on the vacuum or did squats holding her...She got better around 9 or 10 weeks I think...she is such a happy baby now, I never thought it would happen. Stay strong!

Re: Parents of babies with colic

My daughter was colicky and I promise you, it really does get better. Honestly, ear plugs helped a lot. We could still hear her, just took the edge off the screaming.