When my first son was born he suffered from terrible colic...for around three months...he would cry for what felt like hours and he was very difficult to console...Nights of holding him..bouncing him in his baby rocking chair..pushing him up and down in his pram until the early hours of the morning...My son Zak suffered so much... I have vivid memories of taking turns with my husband at four o'clock one morning pushing the pram over the doorway to bump him up and down..he would often fall asleep in his rocking chair or pram if we daren't try to move him....as he would wake up and would have to start over..so many nights we left him to sleep in his rocking chair or pram..just so we could get some rest.. as we were exhausted...and as I was expressing milk I would also get up in the night to express...so I was physically and emotionally exhausted.
We tried everything..from gripe water to rubbing his back...rocking defiantly helped as did use fast flow teat...we muddled through until eventually, he grew out of his colic..but it was an extremely stressful and difficult time.
What is colic
colic is not completely understood as normally babies still thrive well and are healthy and feed normally,
there is no evidence that a colicky baby will suffer from any long term affects, Colic can start from birth and last up to three months or in some cases six months.
Symptoms
Red flushed faced baby
Baby cry's and is difficult to comfort
Normally occurs a similar time each night
Baby will draw their knees up to their tummy and clench fists or arch back
This can be very distressing and difficult for the parent
Tried and tested tips
Always seek medical advice - contact your GP or Midwife to rule out any other conditions that may be causing the crying.
Feeding - try fast flow teats which can help prevent to much air being swallowed (slow flow teats can cause to much air to be swallowed during feeding), Also sit your baby upright during feeding...always ensure you burp your baby.
Baby massage - find your nearest class and attend - there are so many massage techniques that can help..ask your midwife or Surestart centre for local classes near you.
Try anti-colic bottles as they may help as they can help by reducing colic as much as 80%
Movement - pushing around in a pram, bouncing, rocking can provide a great deal of comfort to your baby.
White noise - background sounds..vacuum cleaner..washing machine there are also CD's that can be purchased with white noise sounds.
Colic can be very stressful on the parent so share the stress with your husband/partner or friend or contact cry-sis for advice and support.
Always rest when your baby is at asleep.
For more advice and support contact http://www.cry-sis.org.uk/
They offer support to families with babies who cry excessively/sleeplessness or demanding babies.
This post was also a Guest Post on Babyhuddle.
