Colic Research: Some Great Info!!

[NorthwoodsMom]

I wasn't sure how many books I needed to read before I found something ;) I almost didn't bother with this "Your Fussy Baby" by Marc Weissbluth, M.D., but it was pretty eye-opening...

The best thing about this book is that this Dr atually did TONS of research on colic!!

While he did not come up with any cure, or even find out exactly the cause (he does have a pretty strong speculation that it has something to do with melatonin and seritonin) he has some really good researched info on things that do NOT cause colic.

For example, he cites and explains studies involving switching formulas: the conclusion was that switching formulas will not help. They may appear to work the first couple of days, but that may be wishful thinking on the mother's part. He said that some Dr's pull the "switch formulas" bit until the babies grow out of colic so the mothers at least have something to do and feel like the Dr might be helping. (FYI: research demonstrated that there was no difference in percentage of formula fed vs breast fed babies with colic).

Research similarly showed that mothers changing their diet (cutting out dairy) did not help the colic. He explained that if the baby had a food sensitivity/allergy there would be blood in the stools. He said that Dr's might also suggest diet changes and it may appear to work in the beginnig, but it is probably also wishful thinking on the mother's part.

He explained how caffiene and nicotine have nothing to do with colic, as colic has been around since before people started drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes.

Also, maternal attitude (tension, anxiety, depression or other mental issues) had nothing to do with colic.

Anyway, it was a really great find. It is a little on the academic/research side, so kind of dense reading, but I found it was very much worth it. Though I only read the first half ;) The second half has more to do with getting baby to sleep well... so I pretty much skimmed that information.

Hope this was helpful. Of course it does nothing to alleviate the colic, but helps you to understand that there really is nothing medically that can be done and you just have to wait it out.

[ktclick]

First let me say, I'm not a doctor and I haven't read Dr. Weissbluth's book. I used his sleep training methods in "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" to sleep train both my children, so I have great respect for his methods and his range of knowledge.

 

But I'd like to add, in our case, we tried waiting for the colic to go away. It didn't. We hit month 3 and it got worse, not better. My son has mild reflux, for which he's taking Prevacid. That helped SOME, but what finally helped us was figuring out that he has food sensitivites.

 

We might be in the minority, but I've talked to several moms on CafeMom who had the same experience. Their "colicky" babies turned out to be sensitive or allergic to various things they were eating and/or were in formula. Some of the kids ended up having Celiac Disease (where gluten attacks the villi in the intestines and can never be safely ingested).

 

My son is fine now that I don't eat gluten, soy or eggs. He's also sensitive to corn. There has been NO blood in his stools but he has had two major reactions (vomiting for 1 hour, wheezing, passing out, pale as a ghost) to soy, and since I tried reintroducing gluten into my diet this past weekend (after having been off it for one month), he has gotten progressively fussier, more uncomfortable and has stopped having bowel movements again. (He was going only once a week before I stopped eating gluten.)

 

As I mentioned, I'm no expert and I don't pretend to be. And it's even possible that my son was misdiagnosed as having colic because the doctors in our area don't have the knowledge to call newborn/infant crying anything else. But in our case, food sensitivites was it. I hope that there are some out there who benefit by understanding that sometimes it WON'T just go away and there are things you can do to help your baby.

 

Mind you, my son had other symptoms besides crying. He was born gassy. He would pass the most foul-smelling gas and it was always obvious that was why he was crying. There was no mystery crying jags for us. He would finally pass gas, then stop crying. Other things that have helped with his bowel issues were taking him off the supplemental formulas (he got two bottles a week at Mimi's house), putting him on an infant probiotic (with the advice of a nutritionist, NOT a doctor) and feeding sitting up (believe me, it's not easy to nurse a newborn with limited head control while sitting up!).

 

If you have any questions about any of this, feel free to send me a message. I'd be glad to help any other moms out there avoid almost FIVE MONTHS of hours of crying every day.

[NorthwoodsMom]

Thank you for posting this. I would agree that if a baby is having reactions such as you describe it would suggest food sensitivities.

I don't think anyone is an expert on colic :) I have read so much online and in books, and some agree on some things and some things contradict others... its so confusing and so all over the place that the only conclusion I can make is that there are no founded conclusions ;) But the Weissbluth book seems to contain the most actual research on the topic.

I do think it is important to rule out any other health issues before coming to the colic conclusion.

We are about to pass the 4 month mark here, and my son too seems to be getting worse. But he really doesn't have any other symptoms! I might have him tested for reflux anyway, just to rule it out.

I may actually try changing my diet to see if that works too. I remember with my first son cutting out the dairy did seem to help. He was noticibly more screamy on days I accidently ate some diary.