Preterm baby Colicky - When does it stop!?

I have twins who are 8 weeks old right now. They were born at 34 weeks, so their corrected age would be 2 weeks. One of my babies is extremely fussy and colicky. It's especially bad in the evenings and at night. Does anyone have any tips for reducing the crying? I wondered if anyone had any success with any of the colic medications?

Also, I was reading that colic usually peaks at 6-8 weeks for an infant born at full-term and ends at about 3 months. Then I figured that since my babies were preterm, their peak may be a little later. When I realized this I got quite depressed, cause I can't wait until this phase is over! Did anyone have a preterm colicky baby? If so, how long did the colic last? Do you remember when it peaked? I'm finding this really hard! One of the only things that keeps me going is thinking that it's going to get better..

 

Mine were born at 33 weeks and one of them was like yours. Crying, gassy, colicky, etc. Giving him a bottle of BF or formula was a nightmare. I got him on Zantac at 2 months because of reflux and it made a world of difference. But, in the meantime, you can try Gripe water, Mylicon gas drops, but what would really calm him down was either a warm bath or I would wrap him up good and tight, sit him with his back against my stomach in a glider, hold one hand firmly on his tummy and hold a pacifier in his mouth and rock. The sucking would get any gas out and my hand would get his tummy area nice and warm and he would relax. I have also seen (but not tried) a colic soother in the One Step Ahead catalog. It is this belt thing that you put on the baby and it is supposed to help. The website is onestepahead.com if you want to see it. It does eventually end. My one baby really calmed down around 3 months. Good luck and hang in there!!

 

QUOTE(nickerbockers @ Jan 15 2008, 07:54 PM) [snapback]574068[/snapback]
I have twins who are 8 weeks old right now. They were born at 34 weeks, so their corrected age would be 2 weeks. One of my babies is extremely fussy and colicky. It's especially bad in the evenings and at night. Does anyone have any tips for reducing the crying? I wondered if anyone had any success with any of the colic medications?

Also, I was reading that colic usually peaks at 6-8 weeks for an infant born at full-term and ends at about 3 months. Then I figured that since my babies were preterm, their peak may be a little later. When I realized this I got quite depressed, cause I can't wait until this phase is over! Did anyone have a preterm colicky baby? If so, how long did the colic last? Do you remember when it peaked? I'm finding this really hard! One of the only things that keeps me going is thinking that it's going to get better..



Boy oh boy-- Do I ever!!!

My boys were 35 weekers and are Identical twins (no health issues- born 6 lbs a piece) I had c section early cuz I gained 100 lbs and was a WHALE.. Anywhoo....

Fast forward to 7 weeks--- I have one baby who is an ANGEL.. laid back, chillin' all day and nite--- just give me a blanket and a pillow and i'm cool-- kind of guy.....

And I have the other one... Nicolas... he is--- well,,,, let's just say-- "the challenging one--" COLIC is his middle name.

It got soo bad from 3-6 pm that I literally cried every single nite. Mercifully, their bedtime is 6 pm (they chose this) and so I only had/have to suffer for about 3 hours but OMG.. It started out at 4pm and I simply called it "Four o'clock fun"-- but it got MUCH worse and was no longer "funny".

You are correct that it is supposed to end at 12 weeks (WhY and How,,, I do not know!! I don't even know IF I believe it..)

So.. Mine are 10 weeks adjusted right now (shoot me now) so I'm holding out for 2 more weeks. Taking it moment by moment and hour by hour.. It definitely adds a WHOLE new element to mothering twins doesn't it?? Sooo much more unpleasant!

The crazy part is, that until that time- he is a good baby-- he is more work than his bro-- but he's NOTHING like he is in the afternoons/evenings!! What is with that??

I have him on Zantac cuz I don't know if he has a stomach ache or what.. he is formula fed. I tried gas drops-- NO LUCK. Now I have ordered some "gripe water- colic calm" from Diapers.com I'll let you know how that goes!!!!

I know it's hard cuz I'm still "IN IT" as I like to call it.

We will get thru this. It is the hardest thing I have EVER gone thru in my life but I hold onto hope that it will get better; if for no other reason than-- IT HAS TO!

Hold on, you will do just fine!! (How unfair that we have to wait EXTRA long cuz our preemies!!???) Oh well.. vent anytime!! I will too!

 

The gripe water was wonderful for my DD. It was the only thing that helped. I didn't get it until she was like 9 or 10 weeks. Too bad I didn't know of it before. But at just about 3 mo she started getting much better. Now she is so happy. Good luck , you can do it. Mine were only 4 weeks early but it was gone by 3 mo (or most of it). I know it feels like forever. I remember people saying it is only until 3 mo. It felt like forever. She started at 2 1/2 or 3 weeks so I wasn't excited. But you can make it.

 

Both my girls were colicky! They screamed for 5+ hours every single nite. What worked for mine was a formula change to Nestle Good Start and Dr Brown bottles, within 24 hours of starting the bottles, colic was gone! I was also expressed bm at the time too but had to supplement with formula...

 

Mine were born at 35 wks exactally. Started colicy behavior at 4 wks exactally and like a switch was flipped quit at 12 wks exactally... not kidding to the day with all of it! Good luck for a few more weeks.

 

Evan improved at 10.5 weeks exactly. It was all uphill from there. Now he is the sweetest, most content, patient, independent baby you could ever hope to meet. Hang in there!

Have you seen the Happiest Baby on the Block DVD? That helped us a lot. Also, carrying Evan in a Moby Wrap. An early bedtime was very helpful too. Everyone said it was too early to put a bedtime routine and early bedtime in place, but after 7 weeks of craziness, we went for it. Best thing we ever did.

 

QUOTE(ivfbound078 @ Jan 15 2008, 07:36 PM) [snapback]574114[/snapback]

Boy oh boy-- Do I ever!!!

My boys were 35 weekers and are Identical twins (no health issues- born 6 lbs a piece) I had c section early cuz I gained 100 lbs and was a WHALE.. Anywhoo....

Fast forward to 7 weeks--- I have one baby who is an ANGEL.. laid back, chillin' all day and nite--- just give me a blanket and a pillow and i'm cool-- kind of guy.....

And I have the other one... Nicolas... he is--- well,,,, let's just say-- "the challenging one--" COLIC is his middle name.

It got soo bad from 3-6 pm that I literally cried every single nite. Mercifully, their bedtime is 6 pm (they chose this) and so I only had/have to suffer for about 3 hours but OMG.. It started out at 4pm and I simply called it "Four o'clock fun"-- but it got MUCH worse and was no longer "funny".



Mine were 35 weekers too. I have one that is easy and one that is causing me to lose my mind. I asked my husband to please bring the children to see me when I am in the looney farm. :lol:

My fussy one spits up terribly. She is on Zantac, but I don't really see that it has made any change. When it is bedtime, she screams uncontrollably. I can get her to sleep by nursing her, but she wakes up the moment I put her down, spits up everywhere, then screams until I finally give in to nursing her again. It seems like an endless cycle. I have found two things that sometimes work. One is lay down with her and nurse her. I have found she is not really nursing that much, but using it as a pacifier. The other thing that has worked several times is to put her in a bouncy seat in the bathroom with the fan on. She will cry for a few minutes, but eventually goes to sleep. I think she is getting used to this as last night she actually stopped fussing the moment I put her in the bathroom. It sounds terribly cruel to me to let your child sleep in the bathroom, but I ran out of options short of staying up all night holding her.

 

Mine were 36 weekers and it stopped for us at 14 weeks. It was a long road. I rented Happiest Baby on the Block and both DH and I watched it and applied all of the techniques many worked. We swaddled (still do), used white noise - very loud (I put it on my ipod and played it on repeat on the docking speaker), when it was super bad I would get in the bath with her (I remember one night we stayed in the bath for 2 hours). There is a technique on the video for holding them a certain way and DH did that and had good success with it. That video is also available at amazon.com and you can rush ship it.

Hang in there!!

 

QUOTE(girls! @ Jan 17 2008, 09:52 AM) [snapback]576514[/snapback]
I rented Happiest Baby on the Block and both DH and I watched it and applied all of the techniques many worked.


We also used this DVD and swaddling, shushing and laying baby on her side worked for us. Ours were 34 weekers, but one was very 'spirited' and the other very laid back. I don't remember when the super-duper fussy stage ended (how sad is that), but I don't think it was some magical overnight thing where one day it stopped. Sorry! GL and hang in there.. if its any consolation, at 10 months they are both very happy, funny, non-colicky babies!

 

Mine were full term babies. They were fussy from Day 1. I tried Mylicon, Gripe Water, Axid, different bottles, swaddling. You name it, I tried it. I often times came to this site looking for advice because I was at my wits end and completely stressed out.

At 3 months, I decided to stop breastfeeding because it was just too much for me (one was at the breast and the other was taking EBM). I switched them to Enfamil Lipil and they went from fussy to super fussy (literally 1 hour of not crying in a 24 hour span). I didn't even consult with my pediatrician. I went to the store that evening and bought Enfamil ProSobee. My kids did a complete 180. They slowly got less fussy (come to find out, C never had silent reflux, it was a formula issue). They started to play and watch Baby Einstein. We're still on ProSobee to this day.

I can't be certain that formula issues are the cause of your little ones cries, but I am strong advocate of experimenting with other formulas to see if that is the problem. This is based on my experiences and it worked for me. Around 4 months is when I finally started enjoying my twins. It'll get better. Just keep trying different things.