Cranky Kid
Your bouncing bundle of joy is coming home. You fasten all
the many straps carefully over this precious cargo and drive oh so carefully
home. Exhausted from nine months of growing this baby, you are now doubly
exhausted from the delivery. You place your child into the crib, making sure to
read several times the correct way to lay a baby to rest in a crib. Then
wearily crawl into bed. Sleep is quick to take over. Two to three weeks of
little sleep but precious bonding time; then suddenly things take a twist.
“Waaa Waaaa.”
Leaping to your feet you go running to check on little Sue. She
is crying in a high pitched voice, arching her back and alternately extending
her legs, then drawing them in close to her body. You try bouncing her,
singing, and rubbing her belly. Time keeps ticking away and three hours have
passed before Sue finally calms down. Relieved and frazzled you tackle the
various tasks neglected during this time. Next day Sue repeats the drama all
over again, and again, and again. Finally at your wits end you take her to the
doctor and discover that Sue has colic!
Before you decide
your baby has colic; be sure there are no medical causes such as intestinal
tract difficulties, blood in the stools, or urinary tract infections etc.
Colic:
Strikes up to forty percent of children in their first two to three weeks of
life for no specifically determined reason. If your child cries for longer than
three hours for at least a few days a week, then he/she may likely have colic.
Good news is
that your baby is fine; bad news is that baby may cry frequently for four
months.
Causes:
Gas? Overly sensitive to sights, smells and sounds? You smoked while pregnant?
A First child? Last child? Different intestinal flora? Could be any of the
above or none. Colic causes remain unknown and although there are many ideas
about colic none have been proven.
How to help?
1.
Keep breathing. Take slow, deep breaths and when
you begin to lose patience get a friend or someone to watch baby while you go
work out or run or something to release the pent up frustration. Both baby and
your wellbeing is of the utmost importance.
2.
Try carrying Sue in a sling that snuggles her
body firmly together against you. Versus baby all loosely dangling from a pack.
3.
Give only water or formula or breast milk to drink. (At this age juice
can build up gas in the digestive tract escalating your problem.)
4.
Try calming music and gentle motions.
5.
Don’t feed your baby too much in hopes it will stop
the crying; it will generally make it worse.
6.
There are some who have experienced relief when
using probiotics; but be sure to consult with a doctor to find out what kind
is safe for your baby.
7.
Herbs are promoted by some; but beware,
although “natural” they can be toxic and deadly if misused.
8.
It is possible that your baby has a milk protein
allergy. So if nursing, eliminate all dairy you’re your diet for about three
weeks to clear the breast milk of the cow’s milk protein. Hopefully by then your
baby’s stomach will feel better and the crying will return to a normal level.
There are many other suggestions, we have only given you a
few to get started. Good luck!
Resources:
http://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/crying-colic-9/what-is-colic?page=3
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