colic or purple crying

[joannalovesyou]

the past two nights, milo has cried inconsolably from midnight to 6 AM. the ONLY thing that quiets him is nursing, so we end up nursing pretty much constantly.

i have probably gotten a total of 9 hours of sleep over the last 3 days. i am wiped out. even with my partner being awake with me and helping to try and console him, there is not much he can do in the end because he can't breastfeed, so he can nap while i need to stay awake.

we've been using all the happiest baby on the block techniques and they definitely help soothe him for short periods but then he resumes a cry that sounds like he's in pain: long, piercing cries, not the same as when he's hungry, has a dirty diaper, or some other general complaint.

does anyone have any tips? i know that this is totally natural and that he's not in actual pain and it will go away in a couple of months, but in the meantime, it makes us so sad to not be able to make him feel better, and we're turning into sleep-deprived zombie parents.

[wife&mommy]

Could he have a sensitivity to something you are eating? Dairy, wheat, eggs, tomatoes, etc?

[ivymae]

How is his latch? Do you think he could be swallowing air and having gas pains? Is he a good burper? I've found that I almost always have to burp longer (and harder) than I think I do if I want to avoid the shrieky belly pain cries. With DD1, I could nurse her and just lay her down, but with DD2 I have to burp her every time for at least 15 minutes before she will burp, and if we skip it, we al pay for it later.

*hugs* I hope you get some quality rest soon.

[guest9921]

I would second the food sensitivity suggestion - though I see that youre possibly a vegan, so it couldn't be dairy.

What about broccoli? Spinach? Other gassy veggies?

[VickV]

If you're eating a lot of soy that could be the culprit, too.

But yeah - burp him like crazy. I have to use Mylicon sometimes with Olivia because she's soooo hard to burp, but I know that's what is causing her to have her extended crying jags.

[look11]

You might try Gripe Water, too. We used it almost daily for MONTHS with our first, as she seemed to have constant tummy issues. It really seemed to help. If you don't have any, you should be able to get it at a local health food store or baby gear store.
Otherwise, I simply nursed constantly for 6 months. Sorry

[joannalovesyou]

Originally Posted by wife&mommy

Could he have a sensitivity to something you are eating? Dairy, wheat, eggs, tomatoes, etc?

i'm a vegan and i've been eating a fiber-rich diet for my own needs because i've been constipated post-partum, but it has occurred to me that this would lead to more gas for him. i'm going to get some gripe water in case it's gas.

[wife&mommy]

oh sorry i forgot about vegan! well, could be the fiber maybe