I don't know what "colic" is. It appears to be a catch all word for a fussy baby who cries a lot for no specific reason, ie: medically diagnosed reason. What I do know is that my baby has gas, and a lot of it. That damn gas makes him go from happy smiling bug to face of fury in a matter of seconds. It makes him kick and squirm and rip off my nipple every once in a while. The poor guy burps and hiccups and toots up a storm, and you can feel that little tummy gurgling away. I guess that he doesn't qualify as "colicky" because honestly he doesn't cry that much and can you usually be soothed with something, but the whole gas thing sure isn't fun. So, I would like to post some options for soothing gas. Sometimes one thing works really well, sometimes a combination of things.
If the baby is too distressed to stay on the breast comfortably, I switch to a bottle of expressed breast milk so that I can make sure he is getting enough to eat, especially at night. Thankfully he goes from breast to bottle easily and we haven't experienced the dreaded "nipple confusion". I keep at least two bottles of expressed milk in the refrigerator at all times, and take one to bed at night just in case. I always do breast first because there is a very good chance that he will calmly get his fill on the breast, and I like to save any extra breast milk for going out, daddy feedings and freezing for when I have to go back to work (snif). I should also say that I tried modifying my diet, cutting out dairy, etc. and that didn't seem to help him. According to kellymom.com (which is an excellent breastfeeding resource)and other sources, what the mom eats is very rarely associated with gas anyway, unless accompanied by rash, excessive spitting up, and other allergy or intolerance symptoms.
Walking with the baby on someone's shoulder almost always makes him happy. Luckily my husband seems to enjoy this activity. He also likes going for walks outside in the baby bjorn but I don't think this has anything to do with gas relief? Maybe just being in the upright position? Repositioning does seem to help with gas, especially making sure to have tummy time. At five weeks I try to do ten minutes of tummy time at least once a day, always when he is calm. This builds his neck and shoulder muscles and also puts pressure on the tummy, helping that gas come out or go somewhere. I usually rub his back while he's in this position. A pediatrician recommended tummy time with back rubs for gas. After ten minutes he is usually tired of trying to hold his head up and does face plants or otherwise gets frustrated, and I want to make sure he enjoys tummy time so I don't push it.
When walking, repositioning, tummy time, back rubs, and also belly rubs fail, I turn to some supplemental assistance. I've looked up several products and read many reviews, and the bottom line is none of these things is a magic remedy. A product might work great for some babies and not at all for others. I've had varying degrees with success with all of them and they all have positives and negatives. The baby liked the taste of all of them and ingested them without difficulty.
First, I tried mylicon gas drops because I got them for my baby shower. The positives: It did seem to work to at least take the edge off. Also you only have to give a tiny amount. The negative is that it's not a natural substance so I can't help but think of it as medicine.
Next I tried Baby's Bliss Gripe Water. I also received this as a shower gift so I thought I'd give it a shot. A lot of my friends swear by it. Again, it seemed to take the edge off, at least for a short while. It's an "all natural herbal supplement" so I guess that's good. The negatives: It has fructose for some reason, and also 15 mg of sodium. Also it doesn't come with a dropper in the box so I had to order one separately. Finally you have to give a very large amount of this stuff- a whole tea spoon for 1 - 6 months of age which is a lot for a little baby!
The last thing that I have tried (so far) is a product called Colic Calm, which is also a type of "gripe water", whatever that means. I read several reviews online that said this stuff was a miracle and better than the Baby's Bliss because there is no sodium or sugar or anything funky in it at all. It's just a bunch of herbs. So, I ordered it up. Ok, this stuff is BLACK. No one mentioned that outright, until I dug further and found that many people were similarly surprised. The blackness comes for vegetable charcoal, which is one of the active ingredients. I guess this ingredient makes sense because charcoal is used for poisoning victims to bind with the poison and purge it from the body (usually with a vomiting agent). In the case of the Colic Calm, I believe the purpose is to bind with toxins and expel them (from the rear, not the mouth thank god). Obviously the black is the main negative. It makes for dark poops (green and black) and also stains whatever it comes in contact with black- clothes, burp cloths, what have you. I have found that if the baby drools right away it does come out with some black, but any spit up that occurs after the first few minutes has not had black in it. So I guess it moves its way down pretty quickly towards the poop end. From what I have read the black stuff is supposed to wash out easily but I haven't tried washing anything that had it on there yet. The positives: this stuff seems to work best of all. It comes with it's own dropper too, which is nice. Also you can give a very little bit- they recommend up to 1/2 teaspoon which you can give every 30 min up to three times in a day, but I start with 1/8 teaspoon. I think this is a mental block for me because I am putting black goo in my baby's mouth. I had an easier time giving him a whole dropper full of the clear gripe water. Still I would rather start minimally and add more if necessary. I don't know that it works every time I give it, but there have definitely been times when I have given it to him and there was an almost instant calmness followed by a good sleep or play period.
In the end I still try many of the remedies listed above to help my baby with his gas, rather than going straight to the Colic Calm. I still feel that if I can help him without any "medicine" that is the best way to go.
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