The Dangers of Child Abuse Associated with Infant Colic!

This really is a serious issue - not to be taken lightly in any way, shape, or form! I often hear people say 'oh, your baby is suffering from colic? Poor little guy/girl/tike! It'll go away.' Unfortunately, the caregiver is also suffering - perhaps to the point of having a breakdown (hopefully not while alone with the baby, right?)!

I was 18 when I was caring for a cutie-pahtootie, bouncy baby boy - who just happened to be going through a bout o' colic! I had agreed to take care of the baby for one year, Mondays through Saturdays, 7am - 7pm, so that his parents could both go to work. I felt a great deal of responsibility, and wanted to be the best caregiver that I could be - and in my mind, I needed to get everything right, and as close to perfect as possible! But what is right and perfect - especially when it comes to taking care of a colicky baby - and when the caregiver is 18 years old?

It was imperative to me, that when the parents came home from work, they would be greeted with a contented, well taken care of, bundle of joy! The things that I would do to help the baby feel more comfortable, while feeling discomfort due to the colic, included burping him, going for walks, driving in the car, offering a bottle, etc. Most of the time I was able to find something that would ease his discomfort before long, and I always felt like a competent caregiver when I didn't have to bother either of his parents while they were working, and potentially feel like a failure as his caregiver.

However, one day was different. The baby wouldn't stop crying, because his discomfort was too great. In my mind, though, I had become used to being able to come up with some great idea to help him through his bout, so it came as a surprize to me that my efforts had no effect for him. I had gone through everything I could think of, but he cried for hours - and I was crying - and he looked so miserable, and he was looking at me like he was waiting for me to make him feel better! It was so hard to be in that position - and in retrospect, I realize that the first thing I should have done was call his parents and ask for help, but I honestly thought that would make me look like a failure at my job, and that they would find another caregiver.

So, I just pressed on trying to find ways to help him. Finally, I recognized that I was not in good emotional shape, and I still had no idea how to help (he was still crying), so I took him to his bedroom and put him in his crib (which made him cry harder, by the way), and I locked the house, and went for a walk around the block. It was very hard to walk away from the house, with the baby inside by himself, but I had to get away from the crying. I couldn't stay away for long, and on the way back, I knocked on a neighbor's door and asked if there was anything they could do to help me. They seemed to be concerned, and came over to the house with me. Well, the baby had fallen asleep - 'nothing to see here' (yeah, right!)

I was so thankful that the baby had gone off to sleep - it was such a blessing! I had taken him for a walk, driven him around (which always made him fall asleep!), rocked him - it seemed like I had done everything, and now finally he was asleep! Luckily, I hadn't lost my 'marbles' or anything - and I have to say that I would never leave an 18 yr old alone with my baby - just because that particular situation turned out ok, I know that many similar situations don't - especially when inexperienced caretakers are involved.