Little Emily has colic

A couple of days ago Emily wasn’t herself. Usually it takes an awful lot to get her to sleep during the day but Monday, Monday was different. She slept all day. Not little naps like she usually does but long deep sleeps and when she did wake up a lot of crying. It was worrying. I mean she was eating so that wasn’t a concern, she didn’t have a temperature but she was sweaty. A little sweat Betty. She even pooped more than usual. Usually being a formul fed baby she only poops once a day but she did it twice which probably to most isn’t concerning but when poop comes out two different colours unless less than 2 hours, alarm bells kinda start ringing. Anyway after a good few minutes trying to wake her up and a worried call to NHS’s out of hours GP 111, we managed to get an out of hours appointment at QEQM. After a check up and a onceover, the doctor diagnosed Emily with colic and a virus. Pretty crappy 6th week of her little life for our little Emily. So, like us feeling silly that we didn’t know what she had by not seeing the signs, we asked the big question… 

What is colic? 

According to the NHS website: 

” Colic is the name for excessive, frequent crying in a baby who appears to be otherwise healthy. It’s a common problem that affects up to one in five babies.

Colic tends to begin when a baby is a few weeks old. It normally stops by four months of age, or by six months at the latest.

Looking after a colicky baby can be very frustrating and distressing, but the problem will eventually pass and is usually nothing to worry about.”

It’s horrible seeing Emily not being herself. At the moment during the day she’s so sleepy, usually she’s awake staring into the distance finding a shadow to admire or smiling at some random shit Sam or I do. Not be so sleepy, this sleepy. But she’s mostly sleepy during the day. At night it takes a lot to get her to sleep. But bathing and feeding her later seemed to have done the trick lst night and she fell asleep at 10.20pm and woke up at 2.50am (40 minutes before her usual time to wake up and feed). 

Emily showed signs of colic a little over a week ago. The signs included:

• Crying at roughly the same time every day
• Crying for no reason at all (after all other options are explored – hunger, nappy and sleep)
• She pulls up her legs and clenched her fists 
• Increased bowel activities 

Thankfully the doctor said it won’t last but it’s horrible to see her in pain and uncomfortable.  In the meantime we have Infacol and calpol to give her which currently soothes. 

If you want to find out more about colic and if your baby might have it, check out the NCT website.