Dealing With Colic

When my baby girl was around 3 weeks old she would go through bouts of crying. Endless crying, it would last all day or all night, or both. I didn't know what was wrong.

I jumped on Dr Google and figured that she was going through colic. Colic is when a baby cries but there is no obvious cause. There is no scientific reason but professionals believe it may be linked to the developing digestive systems, so babies are unable to digest food properly or may have allergies or intolerances. The crying is prominent, for some babies, in the afternoon and/or between the hours of 6 and midnight. Babies may become colicky around 6 weeks and a few months old and it usually stops when the baby is around 3 or 4 months.

The advice given to me from friends and family when the automatic thought was that my baby had wind, was to give Gripe Water, unfortunately she was too young, as it was recommended that Gripe Water is not given to babies under 6 months old. So I tried other methods which I had researched. I had tried colic drops such as Infacol and Dentinox, neither alleviated the colic to be honest, but we give them to our babies in hope that it would help, or to release us of the feeling of doing nothing and feeling helpless.

I tried giving her warm baths, submerging her tummy to encourage the wind to come out. I changed my diet, subtracting any peas, beans and greens, any foods which cause gas. 

Nothing seemed to work, except putting her in the sling and taking her out for a walk. Once she cried from 1pm to 5pm when I had had enough and decided to take her and my son for a walk. We walked to our local park and circled the park a few times, luckily we were still in September so the weather wasn't too cold. She slept. There was silence. That sound, or lack thereof, that I had so desperately needed. A little respite and peace and a small carving of time that I needed to not worry about her and the pain she must be going through to warrant such screams, from such a tiny body. 

Thinking she was well into her dream state we made our way home. As luck has it, as soon as I closed the front door, she woke up and yes, you guessed it, started screaming. 

When I visited my mums house she would play 'I said, I am' by Mikey Spice and it would always put her to sleep. So remembering that, I grabbed my phone, as white noise wouldn't work with her, jumped on YouTube and played her familiar song. It worked. I cradled her so the side of her face and chest rested on my arm and rocked her. She stopped crying and eventually fell asleep. 

Here I am, 3 weeks into my mothering journey and facing something I've never encountered before. It was hard. It was long. It was tiring. I felt unsupported. I was exhausted. But through that all, my main concern was how my baby was feeling and how she was coping. 

I remember staying over at my mum's once and mama, like clockwork, started crying around 10pm. I could see how concerned my mum was, she kept advising me to take her to the hospital because this doesn't sound right. She said that she had raised 4 children and she had never experienced something like this before, so something had to be wrong. I assured her that some babies have colic, that there was nothing that the hospital could do, and all we could do was try and alleviate her discomfort/wind. My mum never seems to believe me when I tell her about things concerning my children, I don't know why, it always makes me feel like she thinks I'm incapable. She spent days researching online and talking to her friends and one day came back to me and told me that her friend said insert everything I've previously told her . Then she believed me. 

Having a baby with colic is no easy feat but it does get easier and you will find something that the baby will take to. Mine was rocking her on her stomach to music, yours might be walking around in a pram, white noise or the stars on the ceiling. It doesn't last forever. When it gets too much, lay the baby in a safe space, such as a cot or moses basket and step outside for a breather, a little time to yourself so you can re-centre and then go back and give the attention your crying bubba needs.

 Keep using your instincts, no one knows your baby like you do and trust yourself, it gets easier, I promise! Keep going Mama, you've got this! 

Until next time, keep minding your Business, your Babies and your Bae x