Colic: Boot Camp for Parents

2/19/2008

Colic is the first big challenge many new parents will face, and it can be a killer. A colicky baby cries for hours at a time without apparent cause. The crying spells occur at about the same time every day. This usually goes on for about three months, and, just as sleepless and frustrated parents are about to raise a white flag, it suddenly goes away.

Often babies are diagnosed with colic when they actually have gastroesophageal reflux (GER), which responds to medication and dietary manipulation. What’s the difference?

• Colic generally occurs at similar times every day and lasts a number of hours. Babies with colic still feed well.
• GER can occur at any time, but often during and after feedings, and lasts many weeks or months longer than colic, if untreated.

Over the years, I’ve found that some babies with “colic” are hypersensitive, especially to touch and sound, and so aren’t as easily soothed by the usual parental tricks. It may be that their nervous systems are still immature, and that’s why colic is eventually outgrown. Or some think that these babies may just need the emotional release of crying at certain times of the day.

How can you soothe a baby with colic?

• Massage helps both babies and their parents relax and unwind, thereby breaking the tension feedback loop. A parent’s anxiety is easily felt by an infant, so if you want a calm baby, you must first calm yourself. Find a quiet spot and use a palmful of a natural moisturizing cream to massage your baby in a calm and gentle fashion for 5-10 minutes once or twice a day. You can go by instinct or learn baby-massage techniques from a book, class, or DVD. Tiffany Field’s DVD Infant Massage and the book Baby Massage by Alan Heath and Nikki Bainbridge are both great resources.
• Brew a little chamomile or fennel tea to relax a crying baby. Give no more the 3-4 ounces of the diluted tea a day.
• Find your child’s magic relaxation trigger. Many colicky babies respond to a sound or a motion—the white noise of a washer-dryer, a particular song, a car ride, or a walk in a baby sling. Some like to be swaddled tightly in a thin blanket. You’ll have to experiment around to see what works with your own child.