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Wondertime's interview with Christi, mom of Nicholas, (both shown left) who was 14 weeks old.


Wondertime: How old was Nicholas when he started acting colicky?

When he was born. I'm not kidding. But, I mean, the first 4 weeks of 10, he was allergic to formulas, he was allergic to milk, dairy, he was allergic to soy, so it took us about 4 weeks just to find the right formula. The next 4 weeks, he just still screamed and screamed. So, yeah, it started from the beginning.


Wondertime: What have your experiences been like with his doctors? Have they been helpful, or dismissive, or do they say, "He'll just grow out of it"?

You know it kind of comes and goes with different doctors. With my pediatrician, all they said was, "It's gas in the stomach, there's not much you can do, he'll grow out of it." They did get so scared around the 4th week that they did send me to a GI doctor and the pediatric GI. And then he kind of said, "Well, there's not much you can do about colic, you know, it's gas. Their intestinal system, it's not ready." So he decided to put him on some lactobacillus. It's a kind of enzyme to help with colic. Actually, what it is, is when they're born they don't have good flora, or good bacteria in their intestines. So what this doctor wanted to do was actually put the good bacteria in the intestines so it would help.

When you have a colicky baby, they don't eat much. They scream most of the time. So it was hard for this capsule — you put it in your formula — but it was hard for him to eat the whole bottle, so I never could get the whole thing in. It was just a big fight for me. But a lot of times, they kind of dismiss it. There's nothing you can do: Their intestinal tract is just not ready. And just make sure it's nothing else. But you think they'd give you something, at least to help him through it, calm him down. Because I can tell you, it really wears on the parent after a while. I think it's the parent that looks crazy. My friend kept calling me and going, "Are you ok?" It was bad. I tried everything, from supplements, from gripe water from the vitamin shop, to this little pharmacy in Louisiana that makes a liquid colic medicine. I went all out to try to, just do anything. It was crazy, it really was.


Wondertime: What do you do when your baby is crying and crying and won't stop? How do you keep from going insane with all the stress?

A lot of times, you're just at the point where you're trying to get him to stop. At times you get angry. He would scream at the top of his lungs, and I just had to walk outside, just for a minute, get a break. I would walk outside, I would take him and put him in the stroller, I wouldn't care if it was 3 o'clock in the morning, and I would just go walking. Just to get outside. I would call a friend.

Of course, you know, you cry every once in a while, because you're still on the hormones too. I think after probably the 4th to 6th week, I would sit there and laugh. You're at a point where you're just like, oh God, here it goes again. You get so used to it. Even the screams, I started getting so used to it. I mean, you did everything — you went from crying, to putting him down, to just kind of walking away, go outside and get some air. There were a couple times where I'm like, "You gotta take him!" My husband could see it in my face. He would take him and give me a break.


Wondertime: Do you have any stories about interacting with parents of non-colicky babies? Are they dismissive, sympathetic, well-meaning but clueless?

They don't understand, they really don't. When you meet other parents that actually have colicky children, they know exactly how to hold your baby. It doesn't bother them when the baby's screaming with them. But if you give it to a person that's never had a colicky child, I will tell you that they give your baby back. They give it back real quick. They're like, "Ah, you can have it back." The baby starts clawing at you, and he just starts screaming — you can tell he's hurting. His stomach hurts. It's not that people are not sympathetic; they just don't know how to handle it. They don't know what it's like. They've never been through it.


Wondertime: Have you had to fend off any overzealous people who haven't been through it, but they think they know everything?

No, actually, everybody's been kind of sweet. My neighbors were awesome. They never had colicky children, and they're like, "Hey, why don't you go get some gripe water, it's really good! And someone brought me over a fussy baby book [laughs]. I found people to be more helpful. Just the other day, I was in a store, and my kid doesn't really cry that much anymore, and this woman goes, "Oh, he's so sweet, he's sleeping." And I'm like, "Yeah, whatever." She started laughing. She says, "I had twins with colic." I was like, "Oh God." She goes, "That gripe water... I started laughing. And so, it's just funny, you start talking to people. There were a couple of times where I left the store because my baby was screaming so bad. People, like younger people that don't have kids, look at you like, "Hey, take your kid."


Wondertime: Any advice for moms who are going through this? Or even moms who aren't going through this. What's the right thing to say?

I think the right thing is, it takes a lot of patience, and it takes a lot of willpower to deal with it. And knowing that there's going to be a time when it's going to be done. Find someone to help you, someone that's dealt with a colicky child; they're probably the best. Someone who has a lot of patience. Because if you don't have a release, that's where it gets really, really bad. I mean, I didn't for a long time, but then people came to stay with me during Christmas, and they actually held him and took him away, and I was like, "Ahhh." You need a release. I mean, you really do. And you need to have patience, because it will be daunting. That's the worst part, the patience, because some people go crazy. People need a support system. I have 50 million friends having babies, and I'm like, "If you end up with colic, please call me."