Baby Care Blog
Why Does My Baby Cry All The Time? - Colic v Lactose
Rachael Kirkwood
Do you have a baby that cries uncontrollably, does not settle and screams when you put them down? They could be worse early to late evening. Your baby may be struggling to digest LACTOSE!
I'm sure you're reading this as you are exhausted, haven't had much sleep and are losing the will to live with all the crying. I'm guessing you've tried Infacol, Gripewater and all the other medicines that claim to fix colic and trapped wind?
I spent a good few weeks listening to my TWIN boys cry uncontrollably. I changed their milk, gave them infacol, gripewater and boiled water to ease the pain, but nothing seemed to work! I had a 9 month old baby when the twins were born - trying to look after with twins who seemed to cry all day and another little baby was soul destroying. I was at breaking point!
My mum raved about Gripewater and how well it worked on myself and my sisters when we were babies, but this didn't work for my twins.
I managed to do a little bit of research and found that the twins might be struggling to digest Lactose. Niall and Luke were born at 35 weeks - I'm sure the fact that they were premature played a major part in them struggling to produce lactase, which breaks down lactose in breast milk and formula. I spoke to my next door neighbour who was a doctor, he suggested we try colief drops. He said his patients raved about them. I went straight to the pharmacy to find these MIRACLE DROPS.
I'm not joking when i say these ARE MIRACLE DROPS - My TWINS were like brand new babies within an hour of putting it in their milk. I was starting to think they were just nightmare babies, but as soon as their pain was taken away they were so happy. it made me feel awful to know they were just struggling to digest their milk. These drops changed my life overnight. Even though we had 3 small babies our house felt so peaceful. I felt guilty for thinking the twins were just naughty babies who wanted to scream all day. Mollie was actually a very good baby, she did get colicky now and again but that was relieved with a couple of drops of Infacol.
After paying £11.99 for a 7ml bottle in the pharmacy- I found them on good old amazon, twice the size for a few pounds more. You will end up paying twice the amount if you buy these in the supermarket or a pharmacy. Read the reviews here - hundreds of mums say they were a lifesaver. Check with your doctor to see if you can get them on the NHS - Some say it's postcode lottery and depends where you live, others say it's based on circumstance.
It wasn't until we ran out of the 1st bottle that we realised how much of a lifesaver they were - Niall and Luke were once again screaming the house down :( I knew right then that I couldn't live without them. It wasn't cheap, but it was worth every penny for the peace and my own sanity. I changed from Tommee Tippee bottles to MAM Anti Colic Bottles, combined with the Colief drops and it worked a dream. These bottles have won various Mother & Baby Awards for 'Best product for bottle feeding'. We finally came off Colief at around 5 months old, but my sanity is owed to these drops! I was on the verge of a mental breakdown before I tried these!
Infant colic is a common condition, affecting around 1 in 5 infants in the UK in their first month of life.1 However, it is not a serious medical condition and usually resolves by the age of 3-4 months. Colic is usually recognised by bouts of inconsolable crying, often for hours at a time, for no specific reason – i.e. your baby is not hungry, overtired, needs a nappy change or has a raised temperature.
Despite medical research, no one is certain what causes infant colic. A likely explanation may be the build-up of in your baby’s bowel causing pain and discomfort.
Colic most commonly occurs in the late afternoon and evening when your baby may cry out in pain, draw their knees up to their chest and go red in the face. Their tummy may be swollen or bloated as if they’ve swallowed a lot of air, and they might pass wind more than usual.
A colicky baby can be very distressing for everyone in the house. Listening to can leave you feeling tired, stressed and emotionally drained. Despite the intensity of your baby’s cries, it is important to remember that colic is not a serious medical condition.
We found Infacol and Colief drops helped the most with our babies, but the twins really suffered badly and the only thing that worked for them was colief drops (you can use them whether you breast or bottle feed)
The active ingredient in Colief Infant Drops is lactase, an enzyme which occurs naturally within the body.
Milk, dairy products, infant formulas and breast milk all contain a complex sugar called lactose. Lactase is the enzyme our bodies normally produce to break down lactose into the simpler sugars, glucose and galactose, so that we can absorb it.
For the first few months of life some babies may have difficulty in fully digesting the lactose in milk. This can be an important factor in some babies with colic. As your baby’s digestive system matures at around 3 months, you should be able to gradually withdraw Colief Infant Drops from use
Colief Infant Drops work by breaking down most of the lactose in your baby’s usual milk (breast milk or infant formula) before your baby is fed,making the milk easier to digest.When can Colief Infant Drops be used?You can use Colief Infant Drops every time you feed your baby until the baby is approx 3-4 months old. You should then be able to withdraw Colief Infant Drops gradually from use by:
1. halve the number of drops used per feed
2. then use at alternative feedings
3. finally, reduce to once a day until withdrawal is completeIf at any stage the signs of discomfort return, revert to previous dosage level.
Do not give more than 64 drops in any 24 hour period
Breastfeeding using Colief Infant Drops:
4 Drops• express a few tablespoons of breast milk into a small sterilised container,• add 4 drops of Colief Infant Drops,• give this to your baby on a sterilised spoon before initiating breastfeeding,• breastfeed as normal.
4 Drops• prepare the formula carefully according to the manufacturer’s instructions,• add 4 drops of Colief Infant Drops to the warm (not hot) formula,• shake the formula occasionally, and feed your baby after half an hour,having checked that the bottle is at the correct feeding temperature,• discard any unused feed.If it is necessary to make up the baby’s feed in advance:
2 Drops• prepare the formula carefully according to the manufacturer’s instructions,• add 2 drops of Colief Infant Drops to the warm (not hot) formula,• store in the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours before use and use within 12 hours,• warm to feeding temperature and feed your baby as normal,• discard any unused feed.
4 Drops• warm the formula,• add 4 drops of Colief Infant Drops to the warm (not hot) formula,• shake the formula occasionally, and feed your baby after half an hour,having checked that the bottle is at the correct feeding temperature,• discard any unused feed.
Add the drops to your baby’s milk; do not give the drops to your baby directly. Colief works best in milk that is warm (body temperature). Do not add Colief to milk that is too hot or too cold. If you have any concerns regarding your baby’s health you should seek professional medical advice.
Not all babies who have Colic will have problems digesting lactose. Please speak to your doctor and try Infacol or Gripewater first.
Info provided by Infacol and Colief
Find us on Instagram @our.manchester.homerenovation - we now have 6 children and the Twins are almost 2. My youngest is 6 months old -luckily she's not needed colief, even though she was 5 weeks early and spent 2 weeks in NICU. We do get the odd bout of trapped wind, but Infacol and the MAM Anti Colic bottles seem to help. if you're unsure of what to do please speak to your doctor. I would suggest trying Infacol and Gripewater first, then if they don't work try the Colief. I would also read the reviews for colief here and see what other mums say.
I hope you get some well deserved rest very soon x
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