Baby colic – myth or reality?

THERE IS NO COLIC LIKE COLIC

Colic has somehow been naturally associated with the infancy of our babies for a long time and phrases like: "We're fine, if only we weren't bothered by that colic." Or: "What's that baby crying so much for? Does he have colic?" And somehow it's gotten into our heads that it's probably quite normal for little babies to have tummies that hurt, and we lump it all under the term "colic."

 

If we put the term colic into a search engine, we find something like this:

 

"Infantile colic is manifested by bouts of crying, especially in infants in the first weeks to months of life, for no apparent cause, with crying usually lasting more than 3 hours a day, at least 3 to 4 times a week, at regular times of the day or night." 

 

But this may not at all be due to abdominal pain, as colic in the medical sense, which it is:

 

 "violent spasmodic paroxysmal pain in the abdominal cavity".

 

Due to the influence of foreign language media and reading articles, these two terms have somewhat merged and now we don't know whether our baby is suffering from a tummy ache or from the English "colic", i.e. unexplained crying of the baby without an obvious cause. Therefore, if we treat that "English" colic with medicines for our Slovak colic, of course they are not effective.

 

IF HIS TUMMY DOESN'T HURT, WHY IS HE STILL CRYING?

Yes, we do. You've tried everything. The baby is fed, changed, not cold or warm, not abandoned or lonely, we hold him tightly in our arms, wash him, rock him, rock him, massage his tummy, exercise his feet, rub him with oils, play white noise and he still won't stop crying. So out of desperation, we reach for various baby flatulence reducers (fennel tea at best) or rectal tubes and none of it works.

 

We understand. After all, it's logical, the baby's tummy hurts, that's why he cries so much, and you've run out of options (and nerves). But what if we told you that the dog may not be buried in your tummy at all, and you've been looking in the wrong place for the cause all along? We'll let you in on a secret that could turn your life upside down: those high-crying babies aren't suffering from tummy aches, but from not understanding their needs and not knowing how to respond to them in the right (and timely) way. The harsh truth, we know. But no one has studied high parenting, and few of us have been taught how to care for a newborn by our parents or community. So we're left with no choice but to rely on available resources (mostly internet-based and inaccurate) and, at best, our intuition.

 

So what are these needs and how do we learn to meet them so that our little ones don't have to cry so much? A great and detailed article on this topic can be found here. We'll outline at least a few key tips that can improve your crying situation almost immediately:

 

1.GET YOUR BREASTFEEDING TECHNIQUE TO PERFECTION

The right technique can work real miracles, you can trust us. Also, it is important to ditch the "timing of breastfeeding" and breastfeed on demand. We also strongly recommend a visit to a lactation consultant who can show you how to latch on properly. This is because it can quite easily happen that with shallow suckling or just "cooing" the baby does not drink enough milk, but just gulps air. (Which ultimately can really lead to gas in the tummy.) A lactation consultant can also assess drinking output, as even reduced breastmilk intake during the day (whether caused by long intervals between feedings or skipping feedings due to long naps in the stroller with a pacifier) can cause a slow decrease in output that your baby will evaluate with dissatisfaction. In order to prevent a decrease in breast milk production and the resulting dissatisfaction, a number of measures can be taken, such as:

 

1. Skin-to-skin contact, which we have already praised in this article

2. Take baby out of swaddle and put him in a scarf or carrier

3. Study videos and photos of proper swaddling and try to practice it as best you can

4. Try co-sleeping with your baby (observing all safety rules, of course)

5. Learn to squeeze the breast while breastfeeding

6. Alternate breasts when breastfeeding

7. Get rid of all things that spoil breastfeeding (pacifier, bottle, hats, etc.)

 

2. SLEEP YOUR CHILD SOON

Yes, it may look cool now, but you don't even have time to blink and it's already too tired. That's when he's miserable and falling asleep is more challenging. So try starting to put baby to sleep a little earlier than usual and you may be able to avoid this overtiredness and the (mutual) frustration associated with it. Remember that babies can't soothe themselves and need our help to get to sleep, and if they don't get it, they experience despair. While baby is still calm, take him to bed with you, shed as many layers as you can, let him feel your smell, your heartbeat, your touch and your warmth, snuggle together under a comfortable blanket and enjoy your time together peacefully lulling him to sleep and maybe even putting you both to sleep.

 

3. TRY NEW WAYS OF COMFORTING

Soother spits out, refuses stroller, cries even in a swaddle? It probably needs you and your closeness and no substitute is enough. Babies crave the warmth, touch, smell or heartbeat of their parents. Try giving this to your little one and strapping him into a scarf or carrier, you'll see him calm down. (If not, there's still fitball.) When all else fails, skin-to-skin contact in a soft dress from Vačice will make sure of it.

 

4. BEWARE OF "OVER-SATURATION"

We introduced this term in the context of newborn care, and it describes a condition where the baby is already overloaded after a full day and cannot process all the stimuli presented to it. Try to eliminate some stimuli (especially in the evening) and you can avoid the overexcitability that logically leads to sedentary crying. Consider, for example: changing before breastfeeding, burping, bathing every night, forcing the baby to fall asleep on his own or weaning from the breast before he falls asleep stiffly and see if anything changes.

 

 5. MAYBE HE JUST WANTS TO POO

There are babies who prefer to poop and pee when they are unwrapped and try to let us know by crying or kicking (reminiscent of a tummy ache), we just don't understand it. Try freeing the baby or holding him over the sink and see if he is relieved. It's not rocket science, just unwrap the baby after each sleep (or between breastfeeding from either breast) and hold him in a ball over a round-rimmed bowl (feel free to use a whisking bowl) and wait. Baby gets used to it very quickly and will often wait for it. After all, our babies are like little birds who don't like to poop in their own nest. 

 

It may sound unbelievable how the cause of a baby's crying can be so easily mistaken for something else. In doing so, help can be very simple. Our closeness and attention. Let's give it to our little creatures while we can and while they are so tiny.

 

For more information, be sure to take a look at www.mamila.sk