One Mom's Story: Stacey and Baby Drew

Today's One Mom's Story comes to us from Stacey. Normally, when I conduct these interviews, I ask the parent a set of questions and from there, write the story. Stacey's answers, however, were so poignant, that I felt it was best to leave as a Question and Answer interview. Read on to see how she and her husband, Brandon, helped their baby daughter, Drew. Is this your first child?  What is his/her name? This is our first child.  Brandon (my husband) and I have been married for three years.  We started trying to conceive two years ago and were blessed with a pregnancy in April.  Heartache struck when at my nine week ultrasound we were told we miscarried.  Time eventually healed our wounds and we began trying to get pregnant again later that year. Right after Christmas of 2009 we learned that again we were pregnant and so excited.  Because of what happened previously, I was skeptical to say the least.  I was so worried about every little thing.  My belly soon

started growing and at our 20 week ultrasound, we learned we were having a little girl.  We felt so blessed.  From then on I vowed to try and forget about the past year and move on.  I wanted to make this experience perfect, and eventually came to expect it . . . perfection, that is.  Every mother believes that when they bring their baby home from the hospital, everything is going to be perfect.  The first few weeks were anything but--we were totally thrown for a loop.  We named our little girl Drew Elizabeth. Tell me a little about life before Colic Calm. Drew was extremely difficult to feed; after a few minutes of breastfeeding, she would strain, grunt and scream.  She would pull her legs up to her belly and cry.  I just knew in my heart this was not how life with a new baby was supposed to be.  As I stated before, after dealing with a previous miscarriage I came to expect that once having our little baby, everything would be perfect.  We were going to bring our little bundle of joy home and live peacefully. Drew's symptoms started early--as soon as we brought her home from the hospital.   As she got older they became worse and worse.  I was sleep deprived and heartbroken.  We almost gave up breastfeeding but because of Colic Calm, we were able to continue and today, I am still exclusively breastfeeding.  At Drew's two month-old well check visit, her pediatrician said that she was in the 90th percentile for growth and weight gain! How did you hear about Colic Calm? One day while holding our little girl asleep in my arms, I tirelessly Googled and and searched on the internet. I typed anything and everything from "red faced, infant grunting, crying, screaming, straining."  I stumbled upon the Colic Calm website and read the educational material on infant colic, gas and reflux.  The website was so informative--which made me continue searching the site. I am a registered nurse, so when I don't understand something, I tend to try to learn as much about it as possible.  I began reading the testimonials. I have to admit that I was in doubt about the product; I said to myself "this is just an internet gimmick," then saw the money back guarantee.  That was reason enough to order the product to try it.  I had to do something to help my dear baby. How old was your baby when you first started Colic Calm? Drew was about 3.5 weeks old when we gave her the first dose. When would you administer Colic Calm? We initially gave Drew Colic Calm on a as needed basis using 1/4 tsp.  We then wanted to control her symptoms before they started so we moved to preventative dosing.  We give her 1/4 tsp as soon as she wakes between 5:30 and 6:00 AM.  The same dose at 12:00 noon,  0.75 ml at 4:00 PM, and 1/4 tsp at 7:30 PM.  All doses are given before we feed her. Were you using Colic Calm for colic or infant reflux? Drew suffered from gas and reflux.  She would strain and turn red-faced trying to move the gas through her belly.  We didn't realize she had reflux until she was diagnosed. Prior to starting Colic Calm, I notified her pediatrician of her symptoms.  They had me bring her into the office to examine her.  The exam was normal so I took her home and kept trying to feed her.  Brandon and I went through a routine of leg exercises before every feeding and would then burp her ten times during a feeding, in attempts to relieve her gas. We tried simethicone drops. . . we felt like we tried everything. I remember one time while feeding her, closing my eyes and just praying to God to help my baby.  I didn't understand why she was so uncomfortable.  I felt terrible as a mother--that I was failing to help her.  These episodes would happen primarily when she was breastfeeding.  After a few sucks, she would pull off my breast, grunt, strain and scream.  It was heart breaking.  I could only feed her for a few minutes at a time (if that).   My husband and I were forced to finger feed her with a plastic syringe while we held her upright-- this is the only way she would get a full meal. Her symptoms persisted and worsened.  I called the doctor again sharing my concerns.  This couldn't be normal.  They saw her again and said that she was thriving so they didn't want to do anything.  The thing was, she was thriving because we spent hours and hours a day slowly finger feeding her for every feeding.  I continued to try to breastfeed her with no success.  To keep up my milk supply I had to pump prior to feeding her and then again after.  This consumed every hour of every day. When family and friends would call wanting to visit and see our new baby, I was hesitant to say the least.  I would feel myself get anxious and nervous.  Anytime anyone would hold her I would think to myself  "oh please stay asleep."  I didn't want anyone to see her in pain.  I didn't want her to wake up in pain.  Anxiety took over everything. Was your child on prescribed medicine? Yes.  Drew's symptoms eventually got worse which prompted another call to her doctor.  They recommended an upper GI series to rule out anatomical abnormalities and then said they could start her on Prevacid.  Right before the upper GI series, I received Colic Calm in the mail.  During one of Drew's screaming and red-faced episodes (and after checking with the pediatrician) my husband ran to grab the Colic Calm to give it a try.  Within five minutes of giving it to her, she stopped crying.  My husband and I looked at each other in amazement.  I stopped crying, swaddled my baby and put her down for a nap. We used Colic Calm on a as needed basis for a few days.  It worked every time!  My husband and I went back and forth debating on whether or not to have the upper GI series.  We didn't know if this was a fluke or if the product worked that well.  Being a nurse, I decided that it would be best to have the test done and possibly start the medicine.  I didn't want to "mask" a problem. The upper GI was completed and the doctor started Drew on Prevacid.  She said that the dose may need to be titrated to meet her needs.  This was scary.  I wanted something that worked right away.  Thinking that I may have to wait it out and see if the dose was appropriate didn't sound like a favorable option. The doctor requested that I stop the Colic Calm for 24 hours and then start the Prevacid.  After being off of the Colic Calm for just 12 hours, Drew's symptoms snowballed.  Brandon and I attempted to give her the first dose of Prevacid.  This was awful.  She hated the taste. Try giving a screaming infant something that tastes terrible.  We got it down, and up it came.  She vomited.  Brandon and I vowed to give this a shot so we waited another 24 hours (the dose was daily) and attempted to give another dose in the morning.  We got the same reaction from our baby.  It was horrific trying to get this medicine down.  For an hour, Drew screamed.  We could hear her refluxing.  She would gag and get an terrible look on her face like she tasted something bad and then scream out in pain.  It was terrible.  My heart was breaking.  I was crying, holding my baby, and not knowing what to do. I believe in modern medicine but something didn't feel right about this.  Not when we had something before that seemed to work so well.  We love Drew's pediatrician and trust the group wholeheartedly, but my motherly instinct kicked in.  It didn't feel right in my gut, or in my heart.  Brandon and I looked at each other and both knew. . . "Get the Colic Calm" I said to him.  We gave her a dose and within three minutes she stopped crying and settled herself down and took a nap. Right then I didn't need any more convincing. How old is your baby now?  Do you still use Colic Calm? Drew is now 10 weeks old [at time of interview] and we are on the dosing regimen as stated in the previous questions.  I plan on weaning all of her doses to the 0.75ml and then cutting out doses as she gets older. Lastly, Stacey adds: Colic Calm saved many weeks of heartache.  It allowed my baby the ability to continue to breastfeed, which to me, is absolutely priceless.  Thank you to the entire Colic Calm family.  The joyous time I have had with my daughter will never be forgotten.  It was because of your product that the time spent at home was filled with smiles, happiness and yes, some tears. . . tears of joy.  Thank you. Are you a Colic Calm user and would like to share your story? Just let us know by leaving a comment below and we’ll be in touch! As a thank you, Colic Calm will send you one bottle when your story goes live.