Conquering Colic

Photo from Dr. Brown's website

A few weeks after bringing The twins home, Audrey started having really long crying episodes with no apparent trigger. We carried her, rocked her, sang to her and placed her in a cradle swing which helps soothe and calm babies but she just wouldn't stop crying. It came to a point when we would dread the early evenings because that was when her crying would start. Joey and I felt really helpless and at the same time so sad for our baby who couldn't tell us what she was feeling. After several sleepless nights (both for baby and parents), we brought her to the doctor. Her usual pediatrician was away on a seminar so we consulted with the reliever doctor who suggested small frequent feedings because Audrey's stomach was still small and too much milk can increase intestinal gas. Once we followed this, Audrey's crying lessened but I was still unsatisfied. I guess this is also partly because I had a point of comparison - Antonino, who would be calm as long as he was fed and clean. So I researched how to lessen infant gas. One suggestion I found was to change feeding equipment. This meant switching to a slower flow nipple. We were already using the slowest flow of the twins' feeding bottles so we experimented instead with different bottles which are known to specialize in reducing infant gas.

Several brands stood out when I was browsing parenting message boards, but the one with the most number of positive reviews was Dr. Brown's. Even so, we were a bit discouraged because it had additional parts. Having to wash 5 bottle parts instead of 3 just seemed too high maintenance for us. So we picked the second most popular brand. We noticed that this brand had a softer teat which made it difficult for Audrey to latch and feed. It also didn't do anything about her gas as she would still end up crying because of the air in her tummy. So we decided to give Dr. Brown's a shot. 

Photo from Dr. Brown's website

Dr. Brown's bottles come with a 2-part internal vent system - the blue thing inside the bottle. The vent returns the air which gets to the nipple collar to the back of the bottle. This means air and milk don't mix so air won't be swallowed by your baby! And because air and milk don't mix, the vitamins in the milk are preserved because oxidation is also prevented. Pretty cool, right? 

The first time we used Dr. Brown's, we already noticed that Audrey had less spit up and was less fussy during and after feedings. She also finished all of her milk! With the previous bottles, she would have around 10 to 20 ml of leftover milk. And for the first time, she didn't have an evening crying episode either! Joey and I also liked the bottle's narrow design because it made holding the bottle easier for us. The bottles also come with their own vent cleaning brush which was great because normal brushes sold in stores do not fit the Dr. Brown's vent system. After a day of using Dr. Brown's, it  was like we had a brand new baby. Audrey was definitely happier and her bouts of excessive crying were gone. Because of this, we came to the conclusion that the extra work it took to wash more bottle parts was worth it. Audrey really loves drinking from her Dr. Brown's bottles and they truly made a difference in her feedings and in our lives!

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