
What is Colic?
How to distinguish between a fussy baby and colicky baby?

– Time :
– How the baby cries :
– Difficult to pacify :
How to soothe colic?
Here are a few tips that have helped me calm my colicky baby.
– Hold the baby upright : colic babies are definitely more gassy. This may not always be the cause of crying but becomes the result of excessive, continuous crying. Hold the baby up right on your shoulder and rub her back gently to help her relieve excessive gas.
– Walk around : Hold the baby upright and walk around. Place her in a rocker or a crib to generate motion.
– Mimic the womb : A few experts claim over stimulation to be the cause for baby’s crying. A baby takes in a lot of information from the environment and may get a little overwhelmed to lead to crying. Making the baby feel like she is in the womb helps calm her down. Play a background sound or soothing music, switch on the vacuum cleaner or microwave oven, play natural sounds like waterfall or raindrops, play mantras on your music players.
– Silence: Sometimes babies may want quiet and stillness. If the place is too noisy, take your baby to a quiet and calm place.
– Massage : Gentle baby massage has been very beneficial for soothing my baby’s crying. Massage the baby’s stomach in circular motion and with gentle upward and downward strokes. Press the baby’s legs against her stomach. Make the baby do some hand and legs exercises.
– Warm water bath: Bathing the baby with warm water in the middle of her colic period will distract and relax her.
– Get outdoors : If the baby continues to cry take her for a drive or a stroll outdoors.
– Hing : comes in a powdered form, is an extract of an herbal plant Ferula and is used in many herbal medications. Hing (asafoetida) is a traditional way of curing gastrointestinal problems. Hing cannot be given orally to babies. Make a thick paste of powdered hing and water and gently rub it around the baby’s naval. Avoid applying the paste on the naval. Allow the paste to dry. Once dried, wipe it with a wet wash cloth. You can apply the paste when your baby is cranky.
– Swaddle up: Swaddling will make the baby feel snug and comfortable.
– Watch your diet: There has been plenty of controversy and conflicting advice even from experts on whether certain foods should be avoided by breastfeeding moms. Observe your diet and your baby’s crying pattern. Is there a certain food that you eat that leads to a gassy baby. Try eliminating dairy products from your diet as some babies are sensitive to proteins in cow’s milk.
– Achieve the perfect latch: make sure you hold the baby in an inclined position while breastfeeding. Allow the baby to latch on the areola so as not to allow any air to pass in to them mouth.
– Burp the baby well – Hold your baby up right for about ten minutes after each feed.
– Babywearing : Babywearing has been a boon for me in those days when I was frazzled dealing with my baby’s colic. When you wear your baby, it keeps her close to you making her calmer. Babywearing also allowed me do other chores while my baby was still close to me.
Stay Calm!
I know when it comes to parenting Stay calm is easier said than done. Colic is a phase that can leave a parent downright exhausted leading to frustration. I have been angry and judged as well. But it’s always better to leave the baby down and walk out, sip some water and calm yourself down instead of letting the child witness your frustrated side. Don’t ever let your anger or frustration reach to a level that you end up venting out at the child. It’s absolutely okay to ask for as much help as you need. It’s a matter of a few months, you are going to tease your preschooler in a couple of years because he was such a cry baby. You will probably brag about having dealt with a difficult child even to your grandchildren.
These are great tips! It’s so hard to cope when you’re baby is crying and you don’t know how to help.
Great tips! A friend of mine had a colicky baby and she had to sway him using the exhaust fan for sound in the kitchen to help calm him!
Great tips! My son was never colicky, but I had a niece that was, and oh lord…it’s a struggle, but these tips did work for her!
These are really great tips! So many mom’s experience this and get so overwhelmed! I think we all wonder at some point if they have colic or if it’s normal.. great encouragement!
Thank you:)
My daughter was colicky and getting her outdoors was our go to for calming her. She’s now 16 months and still really loves being outside.
Gerring outdoors is my son’s favourite too.
Armaan had colic for 7 months when finally he had to be given strong medicines to cure. After every feed I would pray that he would retain the milk. I had to keep a close eye on him to ensure he did not choke if he brought the milk out, had to make him sleep in an inclined positio. A sure sign of a colicky baby is a rock hard stomach. Most of them do not pass stools for 2-3 days adding to the discomfort.
As a mother I survived on moong dal khichdi for a year with selected veggies which would not cause any indigestion to the baby.
If you dont have a support system then a colicky baby pushes you to the edge!!!! I was a wreck for the first three months. Reach out for help girls if you have a colickybaby or give help to a mother.
At 10, I still need to monitor my son’s food as he still tends to get uncomfortable with certain food or excessive eating.
I can totally understand what you must have felt like. It’s not just physically exhausting but soul tiring. Seven months is a really long time. Kudos to you!!