Let me start with the disclaimer that I am not a medical professional, and I cannot diagnose anyone’s ailments or prescribe treatments. In this post, I will share our story and what worked for us. I strongly recommend speaking to your child’s pediatrician before you start any sort of treatment for your baby loves.
That being said, I am writing this because I’m almost on “the other side” of this issue now, but I am acutely aware of the intense stress and urgency with which I sought answers when my son started having issues at three weeks old. I hope sharing this information might help other parents who are seeking answers for what is causing “colic” symptoms in their babies.
Our Story:
I remember the day so clearly. It was a Friday evening. My husband and I were in the living room, and the baby was asleep in my arms on the couch. Out of nowhere, he tensed up in my arms and started screaming. I was terrified. I had no idea what had just happened. He continued to cry and cry for hours. I frantically called my mom, the pediatrician, my grandmother…the answers were basically “I don’t know what it could be” and “it sounds like colic.”
Neither of those answers helps a momma holding a screaming baby. I had heard the term colic, but I needed more info.
After some intense reading, here’s what I can tell you about colic: according to the Mayo Clinic, Colic is “a frustrating condition marked by predictable periods of significant distress in an otherwise well-fed, healthy baby. Babies with colic often cry more than three hours a day, three days a week for three weeks or longer”. It is a vague term used to describe a set of symptoms, but it is not a diagnosis. In other words, colic is not a condition/ illness/disease that can be treated. Just a term to describe symptoms. It’s similar to saying you have congestion (Ok, sure, but what’s causing it??).
The Answers:
I’ll save you all the trial and error we went through (including three pediatricians, a specialist, and multiple lab tests) and tell you the three things that ultimately were causing colic in our son: gas, silent reflux, and milk and soy protein intolerances.
Culprit #1: GAS
The gas was probably exacerbated by the milk and soy protein intolerances, honestly. By treating the protein issue (described in detail below), his gassiness really seemed to decrease and he didn’t seem distressed when he did have gas. In any case, I can tell you that Mommy’s Bliss Gripe Water
Culprit #2: Silent reflux
In all the reading I’d done to prepare for our first baby, I thought I knew a thing or two about reflux. I knew to watch out for projectile vomiting. Reflux should look like more than just a dribble of spit up—more like the majority of his meal coming up.
What I was unprepared for was silent reflux (what we had). Reflux is caused when the valve connecting the esophagus and stomach is weak or not functioning properly. This valve is supposed to keep the contents of the stomach from coming back up, but in babies with reflux, the stomach contents often come back up resulting in frequent spit-ups. Infants who have silent reflux may not show symptoms like I described above. In Roman’s case, he rarely spit up (that is, that we could see). I found out that he was “catching” the spit up at the back of his throat and swallowing it. When this happened, I would notice him appearing to “gulp”.
Medications:
Once this was diagnosed, we were prescribed Nexium, which seemed to be working great until we realized he was allergic to it (long story). There are two other brands of reflux medication: Prilosec (also a PPI—proton pump inhibitor— like Nexium) and Zantac (acid neutralizer). Unfortunately in our case, Prilosec and Zantac didn’t seem to help. So we had no options for medication (which I had hoped to avoid if possibly anyways).
Non-medication methods for improved comfort include making sure that baby’s sleeping surface is elevated. You can roll up a towel and place it under the head-side of the crib mattress. Since Roman co-sleeps with us, I put a pillow under our fitted sheet to create an incline (like those remote controlled Tempur Pedic mattresses….so fancy). Apparently formula is thicker than breastmilk; the thicker the stomach contents, the less severe the episodes of reflux may be. We couldn’t introduce formula, so we tried (with our pediatrician’s consent) mixing a little baby oatmeal in some expressed breast milk to thicken up his meals. This helped a little bit. Lastly, smaller frequent meals vs. large meals help lessen reflux severity as the stomach isn’t so “full” after eating. We fed on demand, so he ate often and we didn’t have to make adjustments here.
And now, the big one…
Culprit #3: Milk and soy protein intolerance
Guys, I have learned way more than I ever cared to know about this issue. Ok *deep breath*…
Being allergic to milk, being lactose intolerant, and having a milk protein intolerance are all different things. You can have one of those issues and not have the others or you could have all of them. In our case, we had a milk protein intolerance.
According to GI Kids Cow’s milk protein intolerance (CMPI) is defined as “an abnormal reaction by the body’s immune system to protein found in cow’s milk…. This reaction can cause injury in the stomach and intestines….Signs and symptoms of cow’s milk protein intolerance are very diverse. The symptoms will usually develop within the first week of starting cow’s milk in their diet. Most infants will show signs that involve the skin or the gastrointestinal (GI) system. GI symptoms can include vomiting, abdominal pain, blood in the stools, and diarrhea. Skin manifestations include hives and eczema. Babies can also present with wheezing, irritability, facial swelling, and poor growth due to poor absorption of nutrients”.
The Signs:
Roman’s first sign was the screaming and abdominal cramping. Shortly after, I noticed visible blood and mucus in his stools. His stools were also very watery and frequent—like diarrhea. He later developed small patches of eczema rashes on his tummy. The silent reflux caused vomiting, but because he caught it and swallowed it, we didn’t realize how often it was happening.
When our pediatrician suggested that milk protein intolerance could be the culprit, I immediately cut ALL forms of dairy from my diet (as a breastfeeding mother, the proteins from milk products are passed through your milk to your baby). This meant no milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, creams (ice creams! *sobs*), or any processed products with milk. These proteins can take up to two months to process out of your and baby’s systems .
If you are formula feeding, your doctor can prescribe special hypoallergenic formulas (like Alimentum, Nutramigen, or others).
After a few weeks of my dietary restrictions, I noticed a VAST improvement in Roman (and his stool appearance began to normalize), but we still had issues. I learned that for the vast majority of infants with MPI, soy was also an issue due to their similar protein structure. So I cut ALL soy (read the food labels…it’s everywhere) and FINALLY, I had my happy, healthy baby back. No more crying, waking in pain, or crazy diapers!
(UPDATE: I just posted this amazing guide to going dairy/soy free!)
If you are going through anything like this with your little, I hope this post helps you! And just know you are not alone! It’s awful having to watch a little human you care about with all your soul go through something so rough, but just know you *can* get through it! Hugs to you all!
