The Colic Hard Times and What I know Now
Before I had Baby Coco, I had heard of colic, reflux, wind. To me, the sum of it was they meant more hassle and less sleep for Parents. My understanding did not improve after I attended antenatal classes. At the start of the course the Instructor said we would only retain a certain portion of the course, based on what we each considered to be key. Well, that was true for me, I took in very little on the colic/reflux/wind discussion because sub-consciously, I thought it was something that happened to 'other' babies. I had not seen it in my Nephew in this post and none of my few Mummy friends had talked about it.
Colic is excessive crying in babies who are generally well, per this nhs article. It also helpfully explains that colic is poorly understood. I experienced this first hand. After explaining the symptoms we had with Baby C, we had a Doctor give us a look, and explain in a polite, sensible tone: 'there is not much I can tell you or do for you'. It frustrated me, because when you go to a doctor about your little child who you are powerless to help, you hope the Doctor swoops in like a hero, waves his magic wand, and makes everything OK. Instantly. Hearing the words 'normal' and 'fairly common', made me take quite a few deep breathes. It really didn't feel normal to see my baby cry, in what, to me, looked like pain. The same doctor joked about how colicky babies were a form of contraception, 'you won't be in a hurry for the next baby', he predicted. It was a funny joke, but the reality of a baby not sleeping and wanting to be held through the day and sometimes through the night too, was not funny. [To be fair, he did offer a few things to try and also emphasised that infantile colic usually goes away at the 3 to 4 month mark.]
So how do you know it's colic with your baby?
Webmd says symptoms may look like this:
- Loud crying lasting three hours or more for three or more days a week, over a period of more than three weeks.
- Prolonged crying between 6 pm and midnight in a baby that has been fed.
- While crying, the baby draws his legs to his abdomen and clenches his hands and curls his toes; his face alternately flushes and pales with the effort of crying.
- Baby may pass wind.
- Tummy trouble, perhaps a problem with the cow's milk protein or lactose in some baby formulas
- Reflux -- heartburn due to stomach acid and milk flowing back into the windpipe
- A growing digestive system with muscles that often spasm
- Gas
- Hormones that cause stomachaches or a fussy mood
- Oversensitivity or over-stimulated by light, noise, etc.
- A moody baby
- A still-developing nervous system
Baby C was described as a 'colicky' baby. She did not have the prolonged crying episodes, and the timing of her discomforts was several points through the day. It seemed unfair to say she had colic, because people would then assume she cried all the time and look at me all crazy if they spent time with us and she was actually not in tears, at all.
I felt a lot of guilt and some paranoia about what it was that I was doing or not doing right to help her. So I went to my online place of last resort, the mum forum boards. Don't get me wrong, I think forum boards can be really helpful. But sometimes you have to wade through a lot of the chat to find someone who has similar sounding symptoms to yours and then wade through responses to find something that sounds relatively plausible, so it can be time consuming and you may not find what you're looking for.
Going by advice on the forums, the first thing I did was attempt to cut out dairy, I was off to a shaky start, because I suddenly realised milk is in everything. I have now found some great dairy free substitutes. I also introduced the bicycle legs, tummy massage and we already had warm baths as part of our night time routine. I then saw a doctor who encouraged me to keep those up and try some of the other techniques below too. Another tip I read online, was to keep a diary of your baby's symptoms, (though I had very little success with consistency on this one) or a food diary if you suspect its something you're eating. You could also try video recording your baby on during an 'episode' and showing that to your doctor. The episodes could be excessive crying (though that one is pretty self explanatory), but could also be straining, vomiting, grunting, or crying while passing wind. The episode, in my opinion is what your baby is going through that looks sore or keeps them awake.
I felt a lot of guilt and some paranoia about what it was that I was doing or not doing right to help her. So I went to my online place of last resort, the mum forum boards. Don't get me wrong, I think forum boards can be really helpful. But sometimes you have to wade through a lot of the chat to find someone who has similar sounding symptoms to yours and then wade through responses to find something that sounds relatively plausible, so it can be time consuming and you may not find what you're looking for.
Going by advice on the forums, the first thing I did was attempt to cut out dairy, I was off to a shaky start, because I suddenly realised milk is in everything. I have now found some great dairy free substitutes. I also introduced the bicycle legs, tummy massage and we already had warm baths as part of our night time routine. I then saw a doctor who encouraged me to keep those up and try some of the other techniques below too. Another tip I read online, was to keep a diary of your baby's symptoms, (though I had very little success with consistency on this one) or a food diary if you suspect its something you're eating. You could also try video recording your baby on during an 'episode' and showing that to your doctor. The episodes could be excessive crying (though that one is pretty self explanatory), but could also be straining, vomiting, grunting, or crying while passing wind. The episode, in my opinion is what your baby is going through that looks sore or keeps them awake.
List of techniques a combination of which may help:
>>>Please check with your doctor before you introduce any of these, and to rule out any other more serious ailments. I have no medical expertise and only offer these as general information. <<<
- Tummy massage with sunflower- there are several baby massage vides on youtube
- Bicycle legs - you move baby's legs in a cycling motion
- Gently push your baby's knees towards their tummy if it feels like they need assistance passing wind
- Warm bath
- Wear your baby in a sling. Preferably an ergonomic carrier (as opposed to a wrap sling) if you think they are showing signs of reflux
- Have your baby sitting upright during feeds
- Hold your baby upright over your shoulders or resting on your tummy with a straight back, for 15- 30minutes after a feed, if they show signs of reflux or tend to wake themselves up after you put them down
- Consider one or two sessions of Cranial Osteopathy
- Try a dairy free diet (and if you can, soya free too)
- Try eliminating other foods which you thing could be the cause
- Try infacol (per instructions)
- Try gripe water (per instructions)
- Ask your Doctor about Colief drops
- Support - get as much help from family, friends as you can, even if it's just watching the baby so you get an hour to yourself
My Mum said 'trust your instincts', and that was re-assuring to hear. If you feel something is not quite right, do not hesitate to book another (and another) appointment with your doctor explaining your concerns. If you're in the UK, go back to your GP and ask for a referral to a Gastroenteritis Peadetrician, if you're not satisfied with your GP's responses. Ask all your questions, even if you think they sound silly. I say this because it crossed my mind. I would sometimes explain to the Doctor that we were brand new parents and to please be patient with us for what was perhaps, undue worry. No medical person ever made us feel silly or bad for asking questions. Each Doctor told us to come back if we felt we needed to and to go the A&E if we experienced certain symptoms. Eventually we saw a Doctor who did help, cue, some relief for baby C. Things are different now, and I do have that little bit more time to do other things because she is sleeping better and I am not constantly worrying and googling symptoms.
What is your colic/reflux/wind story? Did you find a solution in any of the techniques above? I would love to hear from you.
Happy Countdown to the Holidays.
x
The Colic Hard Times and What I know Now
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