If you have a baby with colic, this can be extremely stressful for parents. The baby will often cry loudly for hours on end. This can make the parents feel totally helpless and very concerned that something is seriously wrong with the baby, especially if they are new at parenting.
Some signs that your baby has colic are if the baby cries for hours nonstop or if the baby has bowel pains. You can usually tell when the baby is in pain because they pull their feet up under themselves and clench their fists together.
Colic is something that doctors actually know very little about. They really don't know what causes it, but they do have some ideas. One theory is that the baby takes in air with the milk he drinks which enters the stomach and causes gastrointestinal pains. The air is ingested when a baby either drinks too quickly or drinks in gulps.
Other people think that colic is caused by the foods the mother eats. When a mother breast feeds her child, everything she eats is passed to the baby. Mothers should not eat very much gas producing foods like onions, orange juice, cabbage, apples, plums, vegetables, caffeine, chocolate, tea, or spicy foods. If you are the mother, you can try to vary your diet and see if different foods make a difference.
Another idea about the cause of colic is that the baby's nervous system is not fully developed and therefore, can't handle everything going on around them. They become overwhelmed with all the new surroundings, and begin to cry nonstop.
Colic is extremely common in newborn babies and has nothing to do with parenting skills. You can be a great parent and still have a colic baby. Usually colic disappears by the age of three months.
Although you can't make the colic go away, there are some things that you can do which will help the baby feel better:
· Hold the baby close to you and gently rock it.
· Get a swing for the baby that he can rock in.
· Bring the baby out for a car ride.
· Try giving the baby a pacifier.
· Give the baby a warm bath.
· Turn on something that makes a monotonous sound, like a fan.
· Give the infant Simethicone drops. This will help with the gas pains.
If your newborn has colic, this is usually nothing to worry about. It will go away on its own. Just make sure you try the above tips because they can really help the baby. However, if your baby just cries nonstop or if they begin to vomit, get diarrhea, or constipation, then make sure you see your doctor because they could have another more serious problem.
How To Deal With Colic Babies