Colic is usually defined when a baby cries a minimum of three hours a day, three days a week, during the first three months. Now that’s a lot of crying! And let’s be honest, a lot of stress on mom and dad. In fact, some pediatricians will tell you they can diagnose colic based on the parents — they're almost always very jumpy and distressed. Some babies who are very fussy and difficult to control have underlying issues, like a protein allergy or reflux, so you should definitely see the pediatrician to rule out anything like that. Treatment can often help. But if there isn’t a good explanation for baby’s crying, the good news is, most babies grow out of colic by the time they’re three months old. Babies tend to be soothed by these tactics: Shushing Any loud (but not too loud) white noises may remind baby of being in utero and help calm her. Baby sound machines and some baby swings and toys have sounds like rain or thunderstorm that may work. Some parents even use radio static or a hair dryer or vacuum cleaner to make a shushing sound.
Some babies really respond to motion. Try a baby swing or taking baby for a car ride if she’s being fussy. Some babies also like vibration sensations, so one of those vibrating seats or bassinets could work too.Make baby nice and cozy by creating a tight intrauterine-type environment with a snugly wrapped receiving blanket.Baby may likely be calmed by sucking on a pacifier, breastfeeding or gnawing on her own hand. Have a Bag of Tricks You might lose your mind if you stay inside with baby all the time, so learn to leave the house — but not without a bag of tricks to help baby. Whether they’re chimes that hang from her carrier, rattles, pacifiers or portable sound machines, pack things in your bag that soothe her. Knowing you’ve got a stash of weapons to combat colic will make you feel less stressed when you’re out and about. Seek Out Others Dealing With Colic Parenting a baby with colic can be very isolating, but remember, this doesn’t just happen to you.
Definitely reach out to other parents dealing with this problem. Try meeting other parents on The Bump boards or at local playgroups or parks. Not only can you learn tricks and tips from them, but you can commiserate and support each other along the way. Try Some New Tactics — Even If They’re Weird Parents have used some strange methods to calm their babies, including running an electric drill and carrying an industrial hair dryer everywhere they go. Go ahead and try everything, no matter how weird it is — as long as baby’s doctor says it’s 100 percent safe, of course. You might have to get over a little embarrassment, but as long as you find something that works, go with it. Use the Process of Elimination If baby’s out of control, go through the list of things that could be wrong. Of course, being hungry or tired or needing her diaper changed are high up on the list, but some babies are simply more sensitive than others. Baby could be too hot or too cold — some get annoyed at something as small as the tag on a onesie.
Some simply have different preferences than others and maybe don’t like being swaddled or prefer the lights to be on or off. Test it out, and over time, you’ll learn what your baby tends to prefer. After all, you both are still getting to know each other. Learn to Put Baby Down Sometimes you really just need a break — otherwise you’ll go crazy. And there are going to be times when you feel like nothing you’re doing is working. If you’re starving, you need to take a shower or brush your teeth, or you’re crying, you need to put baby down. Put her in her crib, where she’s safe, and take a break. Don’t feel guilty — a lot of new moms become so focused on caring for baby that they forget about taking care of themselves, and that’s important. Crying never kills anybody! If you’re on maternity leave and your partner is working, when he comes home, be sure to pass baby to him. Call other friends or family members to help out too — it's too much pressure to do everything yourself, even if you think you want to.
A lot of new parents don’t like to talk about their babies’ colic, because they don’t want to scare people away. But it’s other people who’ll help you through it — and you have nothing to be embarrassed about! Chances are, your baby’s crying bothers you more than it bothers everyone else. And venting about it will help you release some stress. Plus, you might get more offers for help that way. Remember that this will be over one day, and you’ll have gotten through it. My son had colic as a baby, and he kicked our butts. Now he’s a spirited, fun-loving kid.As the parent of a newborn, you have very few functions, but they’re all incredibly important: You are the provider of food, warmth, snuggles, clean diapers. You speak to your baby in hushed tones, or giggle, you adjust them to the outside world by touching them, and often you calm them by jiggling, rocking, and bouncing. Constant movement is, after all, what they’re accustomed to, and many new infants have a rough time getting used to the largely motionless environment that is Earth.
There is, of course, then, a huge industry of high-tech baby bouncers and rockers, seats that jiggle and wiggle and make white noise and sing. Some new parents swear by these seats, and find that their newborns are happiest either in the arms of a parent or in the damn bouncer, which inevitably breaks down on a particularly rough evening. Babocush is a badly named product in that realm: It’s a cushion that attaches to your baby’s bouncer, cradling them and rocking them gently on their stomach, which can help with issues like reflux, common and troubling in very small babies. This product, they say, will help with digestive problems and colic (excessive crying in infants of unidentified origin). The videos of babies rocking and rolling around on the Babocush — posted on Facebook recently — are extremely funny and cute, but the product itself is proving to be quite controversial for the Facebook parent set. You know the kind of parents I’m talking about: the ones who are waiting for literally any opportunity to freak the fuck out.
One of the Babocush videos now has over 25,000 comments on it. Some of them are positive, of course, because this contraption actually looks kind of cool. But, of course, many of them bemoan the wretched state of parenthood that would lead one to seek some respite from an infant who demands to be bounced 100 percent of the time. “Pretty soon a baby won’t know its parents. Just vibrations and jiggling,” one insightful comment reads, and several threads devolving into a discussion of the safety of bed-sharing with an infant, the most Facebook of parenting issues ever to exist. No one is trying to shirk their parental duties or force their baby to bond with a machine. Mommy just needs a minute, okay? And anything that helps is probably a good thing. Plus, the babies look cute as hell on this thing, right? Baby Daniel Settling On The BabocushDoes your baby suffer from colic or reflux?Are you concerned about flat-head syndrome? (My little boy had flattening on the back of his head).