epidural/colic question

[sharon80]

Hello,
I was wondering if anyone has done any research on this...is there any connection between colic and an epidural?

I delivered our son exactly one week early- vaginal with epidural and a little pitocin. ( sp?) He was born very healthy- 9 on the Apgar. A little jaundice, but that was it.
Then he turned out to be VERY colicky for the first 4.5 months. Then we went from that to teething. He has 8 teeth now and he's almost 9 months old. I am still bfing, but not as much as he is on solids. He also takes a bottle of formula every now and then- couple of times a week. (Alimentum..he can't tolerate milk or soy formula)
Lately, he seems like the colic is abck. It is driving me nuts and makes me feel as though I don't want to have any more children. I don't enjoy motherhood. Dh keeps telling me it'll get better...but it's almost 9 months later and I am still waiting, losing any patience I may have left.
He never slept well in his crib (which has always been in our room), and we've been co-sleeping the last month or two. Now he is waking up again almost every hour! I am going crazy. :
I am also looking for answers as to WHY this is the way our baby is. I feel guilty b/c in my moods, I often feel resentment b/c of how he is such a horrible sleeper and fuss-bucket. I look at my nephews and friends' babies, and they sleep well, bla bla bla, and I don't understand what we're doing so wrong. :
So I am going back to day 1- delivery with epidural. I know most people here prob. don't take the epidural and do the "natural" childbirth. Honestly, I was too scared and didn't think I needed to take the pain if I didn't have to- being that you feel enough pain as it is. (I was to 5 when we got to the hospital-back labor) Is there any connection b/n the epidural and colic?
Thanks for reading and the replies!

[ctdoula]

I'm sorry you're having such a hard time mama. Honestly, I truly believe the epidural had nothing to do with it. Babies are born with a temperment, and that's just who they are. Some are more needy than others, some are easy going, some aren't. Have you read Dr. Sears "The Fussy Baby Book" (I think that's what it's called, but it may also be called the High Need Baby).

FTR - I ended up choosing an epidural after 18hrs of labor out of sheer exhaustion (my labor started at 10pm), and my dd was very easy going & no colic.

[Eli's_mom]

Sharon, I had an epidural. I couldn't stand the pain - contractions every 2 minutes or less and only at 3 cm...I was exhausted and afraid. Plus, the anethesist (sp?) was knocking at my hospital room door asking if I wanted it. "YES!" I begged. lol. I'm such a wimp. Along with the epidural I also had to have pitocin because my contractions slowed after the epidural was administered. Anyways, my baby didn't have colic. He is now 9 months old as well. I think he's a pretty moody guy, but everyone says he's a good baby. He only has the bottom 2 teeth so far. Maybe your little one is so grumpy because of teething? I don't know. It sounds like he is a high needs baby. He WILL grow out of it, and it WILL get better, but in the mean time it must be so hard on you. Do you have any family or close friends around who can help you or relieve you a bit? My son is up usually 3 times a night and I'm up with him about an hour each time, and I have a hard time with that. I couldn't imagine having to deal with that every hour! You must be so tired. One thing I found is when my baby went for a nap, if I went for a nap instead of cleaning and having some alone time, I always felt tons better, even though my house was a mess and there was nothing tasty to eat for supper. When you are sleep-deprived, a little nap here and there can make all the difference.
I would recommend getting some resources like the pp suggested. I have one of Dr. Sears book and so far it is excellent. He's had 8 kids, so he has lots of experience.

[AllyRae]

Hmmm...interesting connection. I ended up having an epidural 43 hours into my induction (I was physically exhausted and couldn't labor anymore with pitocin induced contrax...43 hours was all I could take)...and my son had colic for 4 months....

[CarrieMF]

If the colic is back it probably was not colic to begin with, he could have been reacting to something you were eating or something he is eating. I never had epidurals and my youngest is a very high needs kid. She screamed and vomited all the time, nothing would console her, she cannot handle dairy and had reflux. At 8months she went on Zantac because I could not handle it anymore, it helped a little. Gripe water helped more. She had to have a combination of the 2. She is 2 1/2now and still very very moody if she gets too much dairy. She had more than she should have over the last 2-3 days and is very very bitchy today. Dairy(moreso hidden dairy) is in everything and for some kids a small amount will have an effect.

[Peony]

I agree with other posters, they are born with a temperment. I had a drug free birth, and dd screamed for all day long for 5 months. At 2, she is still a very high needs child.

[sharon80]

Thanks ladies!
I feel better about the epidural now. I am not trying to blame myself as much.

Ds was on Zantac and Reglan from 1 month until recently, when we weaned him gradually. He was doing GREAT w/o it. However, I just started a p/t job, and he is getting more formula. (the hypo-allergenic "predigested" Alimentum). I am wondering now if we should give him the med. again and see??? Hmm.

Our other thing is that before he'd sleep in his carseat, sometimes the crib. Now it's in bed w/ us. Any ideas there? I don't mind the co-sleeping all the time, but I can't always nap w/ him, and unless we're there w/ him, it doesn't last more than 10 mins. I do take the a.m. nap w/ him.

Thanks again!

[lisabc311]

I'm sorry you are struggling with a high-needs baby. I also highly recommend Dr. Sears' books.

As for epidural-colic connection. I really don't think there is one.

Colic is something that affects 20% of all babies...across all cultures. Some areas of the world have high epidural rates and some have no epidurals at all. If there were a connection you would see a descrepancy there.

Please stop blaming yourself! I know as Mommies we tend to do that. Be good to yourself.

[Ekatherina]

to you and your baby....i don't know but me and SIL had babies almost the same time and me without epidural her with epidural and her baby is veeeeeeeeeery colicky (sp?) my baby not at all...but then again my baby is only nursing only breast milk..her is on formula ....so maybe colic is from the formula.......

[Henry's_Mamma]

I'm sorry you're going through this. My ds is high needs as well and, well, some babies are just like that. It is who they are. They are spirited and persistent. That's all, although that can be a huge issue, I know. Also, some babies are born with good sleeping genes, some not. It has taken me awhile to accept this about my ds since dh and I are both A+ sleepers although we have parents and grandparents who are not good sleepers. Anyway ...

I second (or third??) the allergy connection. If your ds has diary and/or soy intolerence/sensitivity/allergy it can make reflux and/or digestive and/or sleep issues MUCH worse. And it's not just the dairy and/or soy that he might be consuming but what you are having in your diet that he then gets through your bm (the proteins are what cause the problems and the proteins pass through into bm -- it can 2-4 weeks to leave the body system after you stop consuming them). You both need to avoid both the obvious and inobvious (e.g., for dairy: whey, cassinates, lactose, etc.) forms. READ LABELS!!!! Since your ds is eating solids, if he's eating commericial baby cereal, only Healthy Times and Beech-Nut are soy & dairy free. Even items labeled as dairy-free (such as soy cheeses) may actually have dairy-derviatives in them.

FWIW, IMO, I'd really concentrate on avoiding the formula as much as possible (even the readily digestible formulas can be hard on system that's already having problems) and on avoiding all obvious and hidden forms of dairy and/or soy in both of your diets for a month to see if things improve (I did dairy-free for 9 months so I know what you are up against -- and I think I may be headed back in that direction). Ultimately, it could just be teeth, though. My ds just got his 8th tooth and he's almost 14 months old, so I can imagine what 8 teeth in 9 months must have been like. Poor baby!

Hope this helps!

[ALittleBitCrunchy]

I've had epidurals with both my deliveries. My son is the most laid-back, content little guy I've ever seen. My daughter, on the other hand, was affectionately nicknamed "the banshee" by my family and friends because she shrieked for weeks on end. Hers was a digestive colic, and using Alimentum made her 95% better within a week. I never really thought about it before, but she also had a bit of a relapse at 9-10 months. Her reflux came back, the stomach issues and sensitivities came back, the crying came back. I wonder if there is a developmental stage that sets off the colic again? All I can offer you is assurance that it DOES get better.

I hope that you are both feeling better and through this stage soon!

Stacy

[CarrieMF]

Having more formula, laying down more to sleep and taking the baby off the reflux meds, I'd suspect the reflux is back and he needs to go back on them, getting off as much formula as you can and start sleeping more upright again.

[Hey Mama!]

My first dd screamed almost non stop the first months of her life. I thought it was colic but I now know she was miserable because of the formula. She could not handle milk protien and soy was barely tolerable for her. She was in pain, plain and simple. Like previous posters said, I'd cut back on the formula and see how he does.

[thepeach80]

I had an epi w/ both, but I had it longer w/ AJ b/c he ended up being a c/s. I only had it w/ Evan for about 1.5 hrs and he cries and cries too. He has reflux and I'm thinking I need to cut out soy too now b/c he has eczema as well. Remember, 10% of milk allergic babies still can't handle hypo formula. What formula are you using? Alimentum RTF seems to be the formula of choice for allergic babies b/c it's corn free as well which can upset little tummies.

[fiddledebi]

I had an epidural with DD and yes, she was a "colicky" and hysterical mess for 5 months. I have no clue if the two are connected. I don't eat dairy, and tried eliminating soy, but nothing helped. She was just an unhappy infant. I have heard that some babies just hate birth in general so much that they *have* to cry for months just to get over it. I'd buy that rationale for my daughter.

A book I really liked was "Crying Baby, Sleepless Nights." I can't remember the author, but my lactation consultant recommended it. It didn't give solutions as much as help me understand what might be causing her misery.

There was also no warning when the sun suddenly came out in her world. She went from crying-in-arms almost all the time one day, to sunshiney the next, right around 5.5 months. It coincided with her figuring out her hand control enough to suck her thumb, but I'm not sure if that was coincidence. So, keep the faith -- your little one may turn a corner any second.

[mommy2be]

just thought id add that i had no epidural and my babe had colic for the first four months--also it couldnt have been from formula b/c he didnt take any of that either. i agree w/other posters who said babies are born w/a temperment--

it will get better...just try doing as much as you can to relax when your dh is home. take a lavender bath, get a massage, have some quiet time..etc. sometimes a good thirty minute break will help you w/the stress.

[USAmma]

I'm sorry you are struggling. Don't blame yourself.

I just wanted to give you a heads-up to get your baby checked out for silent reflux. My baby had "colic" for 3 mos. and finally she went all day without eating and was screaming in pain (she screamed a LOT). I went to ER with her and she was diagnosed with severe reflux. I got her on meds and she became much happier within 2 weeks. Nitara didn't vomit in the early days, just the typical baby spit-up. However she was having "silent" acid reflux up and down her throat that was causing her to be in a lot of pain.

She arched her back a lot, was a poor sleeper, did best when upright in the Snuggli (hated the cradle hold in the sling because it compressed her tummy), etc. etc. Looking back I see all the signs of reflux but when the ped kept saying colic, well I believed her.

Nitara was also on Alimentum for several months. She couldn't tolerate my milk. Are you on the allergy elimination diet?

Another cause for colic is just an immature nervous system. It will get better over time if that's all it is. Both my girls have some nervous system issues and take longer to mature in certain ways, and both had terrible colic. But with Nitara it was 10x worse because of the reflux.

HUGS and hope it gets better soon!

Darshani

[richella]

I had epidural and rowan was a little colicky, starting about week 4. After a week or so I remembered I had a book, Chinese Massage for Infants and Children, by Kyle Cline. it has a massage routine to do for colic, and it worked quite well. The crying completely went away. She had a couple times since when she cried unexplainably, but with the same treatment she stopped in less than 15 minutes. The book was such a godsend, I don't know how I could stand if she cried like that for so many months!

I haven't had dairy (or meat, though I added eggs back when I was pg.) in my diet in over 10 years. When people ask me if that's hard, I say the hardest part is making the commitment. There are so many more products out there now than there used to be, it's really do-able.

[redsonya]

don't worry about it, the epidural didn't cause your son's colic. I didn't have an epidural with my colicky son. It was an unmedicated birth. He screamed nonstop for the first few months of his life and is still high strung. I believe it's a personality thing.

The orange font makes your post very difficult to read.

[3littlesweeties]

Sharon,
Oh, I know how you feel!! I seriously can empathize with you!
I learned something in this last year that might really suprise you that really works for colliky or just fussy babies!
That is.... they need a chyropractic adjustment!!! Holy Moly!!!Who woulda thought!
I am so serious, that is what they are fussing about, they just don't feel good.
Each lumbar can affect a different organ. Such as if your neck is out it can affect your hearing. Or your midback can affect your kidneys ect.
So, My advice, call around and find someone who does babies often and with success in helping fussy babies.
Sometimes it's hard to find one that can do it right.
I had one tell me my baby was fine and didn't need an adjustment a week after she was born. But then thankfully I did find one who was very familiar with babies and knew exactly what she needed and did no more than that. I took her in every month after that because of how much they grow so fast it's great to keep them alligned.
Hope that helps!
Let me know what you find out.
Nicole