Hello from colic-hell.

[aliki]

I am so grateful to have found this website, and to actually feel like we are not alone, and that there is hope for a better day. Thank you to the ladies who have replied to some of my comments.

I feel like my 9 week old baby has the worst case of colic around! Yesterday was the worst day yet, and I was crying right along with her. Thankfully, my husband came home from work early, and my mother is coming to town tomorrow to help me.

My baby, Ruby, doesn't just have colic periods at night...she pretty much cries all day long..if she's awake, she's fussing, crying, or screaming. She hates swings, carseats, and now the stroller..the only thing that works, is putting her in a moby wrap faced outward (she hates laying in a sling), bouncing on a yoga ball, and the soothie pacifier..sometimes the hairdryer, or vacuum helps if she is completely losing it.

We have been to the doctor many times, been to the GI specialist, who gave her a colonoscopy (found she had a mild allergy), put me on the strictest elimination diet (didn't help), and tried her on alimentrum formula (every other feed per doctor's rec. for 2 days). I even took her to a chiropracter, and a cranial sacral osteopath. NOTHING has helped. We have tried gripe water, zantac, and prevacid, even "flower essences"..and they didn't do a thing. A homeopathic remedy called "Coccyntal" has taken the edge off at times, but that's about it.

At times I feel so helpless and hopeless and just so depressed. I have totally become isolated, and don't even want people to come over to see her because I am afraid she will scream the whole time, and I am embarrassed. I tried to go to the mall with her, and she was fine for a while, then started screaming, so I basically ran out of there, with people saying "whoa, hungry baby!"..yeah right...I had just fed her.

I am going to a breastfeeding support group once a week, because it is so "safe" there (and they have a yoga ball!). I find myself resenting all the moms with their quiet and peaceful babies..making plans to meet for lunch, etc.

I love my baby so much, and enjoy the few moments we have when she is smiling at me, or asleep in my arms..but most of the time I am exhausted, and just feeling sorry for myself, and my husband.

Ruby is 9 weeks old, and I had been hanging on to that magic 3 month mark, but I now know that is not always the case. The doctor has recommended we try to put her asleep every hour, and early at night (though last night it took us 4 hours to get her to sleep)...and as a last resort, he says for us to try Nutramigen if things aren't better in a month (I am still breastfeeding) but he says he doesn't really feel too hopeful about that option, but it may be worth trying it for 5 days (has this worked for anyone??)

She does have mucousy poops, so I know allergy is part of the problem, but more and more I just think it is a tempermant issue, and so does our doctor...I guess it's just going to take time. But the days are oh-so-long when she is screaming, and I am all alone with her.

Strangely enough, yesterday was one of our worst days yet, but today has been one of our best??? (Though I cannot dare to set her down!)

We are grateful for the New Year's break!!

Anyways..thank you for letting me vent, and introduce myself to you ladies

[karime]

When you said it took 4 hours to get Ruby to go to sleep, my heart just sank because I TOTALLY remember that....UGH. I do agree that putting her to sleep about once an hour can be very helpful-it was for us. Of course they don't always cooperate, but it did seem to reduce the screaming for my son Levi. His was due to a temperment issue I think (he cried during the day and evening too ), and as he emerged from the colic he was very very overtired which really contributed to a lot of his fussiness after the worst was over. Getting her to sleep as often as possible and trying to get her to bed early may very well help her now, and it will hopefully help keep her from being terribly overtired as she begins to emerge from the colic.

Also, I was the worst about being isolated...I wouldn't go anywhere alone with him because it was too stressful. I did not want anyone except my mom to visit. I definitely don't recommend it, as I became pretty depressed and almost lost a couple of friends. That being said, I really feel like I have regained my life at this point. I mean, obviously everything is different with a baby, but things are so much better and I am trying to put a little more effort into my friendships and making sure that I stay connected to the world. Things will get so much better for you!! The waiting totally sucks, though.

[aliki]

I hear you...I often don't answer the phone because she is screaming, and have a hard time finding time to call people back..I can tell some friends have dropped away, but my closest are just doing what they can to be supportive. None of them have had a colicky child, so they really don't know what to say to me.

[kimreyn]

All I can say is .... I do know how you feel. Of course, today I dont b/c ...well...if you read my post (I started a new topic with it) then you will know what I mean! I just wanted to let you know I do know how you feel!!! Wanted to show support like it was shown to me just yesterday when I stumbled upon this site in desperation.....thank God~! Keep your head up....

[llamajenn]

That sounds very familiar. David was very difficult for a while, and we tried just about everything also. Around 6 weeks he started sleeping better (we started putting him to sleep on his stomach, which helped). That made him a little less cranky, and that's when we started seeing light at the end of the tunnel. It took another couple months for the fussiness to decrease to a "normal" level though. He is still pretty "high needs" now but a very happy and smiley baby the majority of the time. Now I have people commenting on what a happy baby I have! Hard to believe, thinking back at how fussy he was and how I hardly dared leaving the house. It definitely was depressing. It really passes though!

[phxmama]

Oh, I so remember those days. Georgia was the exact same way. If she wasn't sleeping or eating, she was screaming. I remember it taking HOURS to get her to go to bed at night. I never got a break and I was so tired and depressed. My mom also flew down to stay with me for a week when she got really bad. It was a lifesaver, although my mom was just as stressed as I was. She said that I was a fussy baby too, but nothing like Georgia was. She also hated the swing, carseat, stroller, baby bjorn, just about everything we had. She just screamed all day long.

We also went to the doctor several times searching for anything that might work. My doctor also suggested that we put her to sleep every hour and I will say that it did help a little bit. Of course I had to hold her all through her nap (still do), but I do think that she was always overtired.

Also, please try and get out of the house. I know it's hard when you have a baby that screams all the time, but you need it for your sanity. I can't tell you how many times I have dragged my daughter through malls with her screaming. She is no longer colicky, but she's still fussy, so it still happens sometimes. Anyway, I also got the "your baby is hungry" comments and it was so annoying. I remember one particularly bad day when I was at Target and she was just awful that day. I started to cry right in the middle of Target. I just learned to ignore the comments and go about my day. It was so much better than being home with her screaming.

While your mom is visiting, be sure to get out alone a bit too. Even if it's just the grocery store, etc. you need the break. I know that it sounds like it will never happen, but one day the colic will leave and Ruby will be this wonderful, spirited child. She will probably always be a bit high needs like all of the ex-colic babies seem to be, but you will enjoy her so much more. I know that I didn't feel like I really bonded with Georgia until the fussiness started to go away. It's hard to bond with someone that just screams at you.

And you're right, people that don't have colicky babies just don't understand, so I'm glad that you found us. I did have a friend that was pregnant while Georgia was at her worst in colic. She would come over and just sit with me while I held Georgia and she screamed. We would just talk over her screaming and it really did help me to forget the screaming for awhile. I tell her all the time how much that meant to me. She had her baby a month ago and of course, he is so quiet! I knew that would happen though, lol. Anyway, do you have someone that would do this for you?

My heart goes out to you and know that we all are here for you. I was looking for a colic support group when I found this site. There doesn't seem to be any and I think they are really needed. Nobody understands what you're going through besides another colic mom.