I thought I'd share a few things I've learned about gas, intolerance, sensitivity, and acid reflux, in hopes of helping you rule out if it's colic or not. As a side note, after totally going off dairy, Trevor now sleeps during the day! I have learned so much (most from experience), it is hard to share it in an organized manner.
Intolerance/ Sensitivity- see this
site. I will not try to give all the same info, just some additional information that I have learned from my experience.
When you breastfeed, one reason your baby may be fussy is due to something you are eating. I could eat anything when I nursed Claire, so this was all new to me. As I learned from my doctor, dairy is the first thing to test. Other things to test are soy, wheat, corn,eggs, and peanuts. If your baby does have problems with dairy, then a large number of those babies also have problems with soy as well. So instead of soy milk- try
almond milk.
If your baby is sensitive to it, then they may be fussy and not sleep well and spit up. (But be forewarned, Trevor never used to spit up. He spits up more now, after I have given up dairy then before I gave it up.) When I gave up just cow's milk and ice cream Trevor stopped having the gas spells- [What I mean by that is times when he could not be consoled- no matter how I try to pump his legs, burp him, massage his back- believe me, during these spouts, I tried everything. (The one thing that helped was to hold him like I was burping him on my shoulder, but be sure to push his legs up into his stomach, while I was rocking/bouncing up and down. The doctor suggested doing something like this while the baby is on his side, but every baby is different so you have to keep working to find the perfect position, once you do it makes all the difference) The reason I knew it was gas, and not something else, is because he would always
say "eh" it kinda sounds like a grunt.]
But I knew something was still not right, when my baby less than 2 months didn't sleep well during the day (Even though I tried so hard to make sure he was only awake for a short duration so he wouldn't get overtired) I would nurse him and he would eat well, and then he would be totally out, easy to set down for his nap, and then even though the room was somewhat dark, the noise maker was on, the temperature was good, and he was swaddled he would wake up after 10- 20 minutes and this would continue all day. Let just say Claire watched a lot of SuperWhy- lol. So I went off all dairy and after a week or two - I noticed a huge difference and now he is such a happy and sweet baby.
The doctor thought he was just sensitive to dairy, so a stool culture is not useful to test this. If he is sensitive to dairy then I can have dairy when his stomach is more developed. My doctor said to test having dairy again at his 2 month checkup, and if he tolerates cheese and yogurt then try ice cream or milk, and if he doesn't do well with either, then try again in 2 months.
If your baby is more than just sensitive to some food your eating, then it is called an intolerance. If the food your baby is intolerant of is eliminated from the babies diet, then they usually outgrow the intolerance by a year old. If your baby has an intolerance, to some food you are eating- they may have a rash or diarrehea. So there are two things I have heard about breastfed babies and diarrahea: a) it is not very seedy and is even kinda watery and b) an abnormal number of poopy diapers. Trevor has never had a rash, but after his 2 month checkup when the doctor said to try dairy again. I wasn't even intentionally trying to have dairy yet, but I had a polish hot dog thinking it would be okay(some hotdogs don't have dairy), and the next day he went poo every two hours (during the day) for the next 48 hours.
So if you baby is sensitive or intolerant to dairy it is most likely the milk-protein and not the lactose. So lactose free milk won't help either. This
site helps you learn all the hidden ingredients that are actually dairy. I had no idea that 'whey' is dairy. And that dairy is in hot dogs and most lunch meats (look for potassium lactate in the ingredients).
At first when I gave up all dairy, if I accidentally had something with dairy in it then he would have a hard time going poo 24 hours later. But now it is the opposite of constipation. I also tested other things like spicy foods (you have to do testing to determine what spicy means- some say onions and garlic are spicy- others say mexican spices are not good) I did notice that if I had something spicy then he would be fussy the next time I fed him or even the time after (instead of 24 hours after) . If a baby is fussy after you feed and burp them, then it is likely something you are eating. After a baby eats food, should be there happiest, calmest time.
Acid reflux
I only know what I have learned from the doctor, friends and family
Acid reflux gets worse as the newborn gets older. It is not something the baby is born with. But older babies usually outgrow acid reflux. Your baby doesn't have to spit up at all to have acid reflux. If your baby fusses and arches their back while you are feeding them then they may have it. If your baby pulls away while eating (not because nose is blocked or because breast is empty) and fusses before eating more, they may have it. If your baby only sleeps well reclined in a swing or car seat, then they may have acid reflux. If your baby spits up alot and it really bothers/ hurts them, then they may have acid reflux.
If they have acid reflux, then it is not good to eat spicy food either( it contributes to the acid coming up their esophagus)
Colic
I have heard that colicky behavior happens the same time each day. And this
site has alot of useful things information. And good things to try for
fussy babies. These suggestions were even helpful for Trevor- when he was a newborn and had gas .
With all these things I mentioned, you have to also take remember that there are lots of other factors that can cause a baby to not sleep well or be fussy after eating. Maybe they are sick and not feeling well. Maybe they are going through a growth spurt and are still hungry. And sleep schedules/ making sure babies are overtired (going to sleep 1-2 hours after they wake up) can really help too.
P.S. If you ever have a baby who is breach, like Trevor was till 37.5 weeks... then this
website may be helpful in figuring out why they are breach-
Some things that helped me to think about:
-Not enough amniotic fluid- are you drinking enough water and not overdoing it
-Do you have lower back pain or is your lower back really tight- then try
this... and do not bend over for a few hours if you think they have turned- to help them get used to and like that new position or you can try a chiropractor
- If your baby doesn't move alot then you can try acupuncture- this helps to get the baby moving
- Deep meditation is supposed to help but I was doing hypnobabies and it wasn't changing anything- but maybe if your stressed it will relive some pressure somewhere in body and help baby to flip
- There are alot of other reasons- but if you have had one baby with no problem.. then chances are good that you don't these problems
