dear all,

i must say i agree with dr. kathy d, why assume that babies have a fussy
period? it seems counterproductive to good growth. so back to the colic
question, i am curious to know how others assess colic and causes. i normally
talk to women over the phone and only rarely see them, so you can see my
limitations here, but i must say that dairy is SO COMMON as the cause of
colic, and i hate to think of someone suffering (and the parents, too!) for
months on end when it could be solved.

i first assess if the symptoms truly sound like colic, along the lines of  dr.
sears, if you have to ask, it isn't colic.

what is the age of the baby> normal time of onset is about ten to fourteen
days, etc.

(i also first get age and weight, birth weight, etc., to determine if health
and growth are normal, and ask about input and output which tells me if
oversupply might be a cause)

i ask about the mother's diet, both during pregnancy and after. any increase
in the dairy intake during pregnancy is a red flag to me that dairy
intolerance might cause the colic. i believe this came up before, the need to
say dairy intolerance or allergy depending CLEARLY which one we are referring
to.

if i suspect dairy intolerance might be the cause of the colic, i ask the
mother to describe her diet in detail over a twenty-four hour period. it takes
several hours for bovine protein to enter the milk and build up to an
intolerable level in the baby, hence the usual afternoon-evening time period.

i ask the mother if she is taking prenatal vitamins still, or extra iron in
some other form. if this is the case, i usually explain to the mother that
either of these two things might be the cause (dairy or iron), and not to
eliminate both at once. after dairy, iron is the next most common culprit.
this also happens if the hcp prescribes a liquid vitamin for the baby, as they
usually contain iron.

i never have to ask if it might be reflux, the mother always starts out by
saying that the baby spits up too much or too often, or during or after
feedings.

there are so few of them that aren't included in these categories, and if
these aren't the answers, we go on to more attachment parenting strategies,
and there are so few that aren't helped significantly by these things, i can't
say what else is a common cause. but if one believes that being fussy or
colicky is "normal" for babies, then you might overlook a fixable cause.

this is a quick summary, what else do y'all look for in "colicky" babies?

carol b.