Colic - Prevention Is Better Than Cure

'''Firstly we need to establish what the term colic means. Colic is theterm given to the build up of gases in babies causing pain anddiscomfort. It is not an illness or a serious medical condition; it ishowever, very draining for both mother and baby.'''                       The main symptom of colic is usually constant crying for no apparentreason. For example your baby wont be hungry, need their nappy changedor have a temperature, they will not want to be laid down, sat up,played with or left alone. Nothing you do will ease their crying. Mostbabies have a colicky time of day, which is usually in the afternoon orearly evening. The good news is that colic normally passes by the ageof 3-4 months. Below you will find some top tips which we as a family have utilised to great effect. Dont shake your babys bottles. When making yourbabys bottles swill the bottle gently to mix the milk and powderinstead of shaking it. Shaking the bottle just causes more bubbles,which may lead to colic later. Get the best bottles you can afford. There arecompanies that make bottles that claim to ease or prevent colic inbabies. If you can afford to, try many different bottles to see whichones work better for you and then use them religiously. Get a good colic treatment. There are many colictreatments out there. All babies are different and what one parentrecommends may not work for your baby. Just keep trying differentremedies and see which one works best with your infant. Feed your baby in an upright position. Most parentsposition their baby lying on their backs with their heads propped up ontheir arm for their bottle-feeds. Try to keep your baby as upright aspossible without making them uncomfortable. You are aiming for theirback and head to be in a straight line with an imaginary ping-pong ballbetween their chin and chest. If you picture a long necked bottle andnow imagine a kink in the neck of the bottle you can see how easy it isto trap wind inside. Patting is better than rubbing. If you picture yourlong necked bottle full of a fizzy drink with bubbles attached to theinsides then begin to rub the bottle on the outside, what happens tothe bubbles on the inside? Nothing? Exactly. We have a tendency to rubour babies backs to bring up wind rather that patting them. Rubbingtheir backs is soothing for mother and baby but does little to bring uptheir wind. Patting will help to move the air bubbles and willeventually release their wind. Hold on to your baby. Once the feeding and winding isover and done with and your baby looks content you may be tempted tolay them down. Dont! Try to keep your baby in an upright position foraround 20 minutes after a feed, even if they are asleep. This will helpthem release wind naturally without any intervention. Dont lay them flat. When you do lay your baby down tosleep try to ensure they dont lay flat. If they sleep in a cot, putsomething under the head end of the cot mattress to raise it slightly.Make sure you dont raise it too much as your baby may slide down themattress and disappear under the covers. A baby bouncer with anadjustable seat angle is ideal for sleeping in during the day. Give them water. Babies that are fed on formula milkoften suffer with constipation. Prior to their colicky time try to giveyour baby 1 2 ounces of cooled boiled water. This should not be givenin one go, spread it out throughout the day. The ideal time is whenthey are impatient for a feed but they have a little while to go, givethem a little water, but dont fill them up. This will ease theirconstipation, meaning they wont get a stomachache and it also helps toease their wind. Keep an eye on their nappies for the next couple ofdays, too much water will result in runny number twos. If you try all the above it should have an impact on you and yourbaby, reducing the amount of time spent crying and trying to soothehim. If it doesnt work, help to soothe your baby during its colickytime by giving him a warm bath, put on a lullaby CD (it really works)and gently rock them side-to-side. babies on the boulevard [l]