Tips on Treating Your Baby's Colic

Colic is often treated like the scourge that is sure to hit the unsuspecting parent. New mothers whisper about it, and relatives will quiz you on your baby's crying pattern. If you believe that your child may experience colicky behavior, the odds are good that suddenly you will have a large number of parenting experts coming out of the proverbial wood work, with advice that is sometimes laughable, and sometimes downright ill considered.

Generally speaking, colic refers to an infant who has been diapered, fed, is warm and dry, and should be happy but instead is crying incessantly. There is no good explanation for the child's crying and hence the term colic was applied. Usually, colic is somehow related to the digestive tract, and pediatricians may suggest some modes of dealing with the issue that involve what the baby is eating.

For example, a colicky baby may be experiencing gas pains. Gently attempt to burp your baby. Carry it in such a way that it can draw up its legs if needed to receive some added comfort. Your pediatrician may suggest changing the baby's formula to a soy-based kind to help the little one digest it easier. If you are breastfeeding, consider the food you have been eating that is being passed via your breast milk to the child. Perhaps it finds something you like eating irritating to its tummy.

Some advice that is not so good - or downright dangerous - is to let a colicky baby simply cry it out. A crying infant needs attention, and the old school belief that it should be ignored and just cry itself to sleep does more harm than good, especially considering that it occurs during the time that the infant forms its attachment to the parents. Ignoring cries may unfavorably impact this bonding experience. Another piece of advice that is dangerous is the notion of dipping the child's pacifier into alcohol, such as whiskey or bourbon. To an infant, alcohol is a poison, and introducing this substance to the child's body may have some severe adverse effects.

Whatever the case may be, colic is not something that can be cured overnight with a shot at the doctor's office. As your child's digestive system matures, the colicky episodes will become less and less. In the meantime, do the best you can to ease the little one's discomfort by holding the child, singing, rocking the baby, and not letting your frustration and lack of sleep getting the best of you.