Hi, I'm Melissa, and welcome to CloudMom.com. This is the second show that we're doing this
week on colic. What do you do when you have a colicky baby? And in the first show, we
talked about what are the reasons why colic happens, when does colic happen, what are
the signs that your baby might have colic? And, in this show, we're talking about what
are the things you can do? What are the remedies for colic, okay? So, watch that other show
if you think you might be dealing with a colicky baby. This show will hopefully give you some
of the recommended things you can try to do to help you and your baby get through the
situation. Okay, so, when a baby is colicky, and again, gas is considered to be one of
the major things that could cause colic or can cause colic, you're gonna wanna pay even
more attention to the manner, the style, in which you're feeding that baby. You're gonna
wanna take your time with feeds, sitting upright, having the baby sit upright, and you're gonna
wanna be burping your baby frequently to try to prevent an excess of gas, which might be
causing the baby a lot of discomfort and might be the real reason behind the colic, okay?
So, in addition to that, you're gonna be paying very close attention if you're formula feeding
or if you're supplementing with frozen breast milk. You're gonna be paying very close attention
to what kind of bottle that you're using, and again, there's a lot of bottles on the
market that advertise themselves as being great against colic. I've got a survey show
on some of those bottles, I hope you'll check it out and please weigh in if there's a bottle
that you found to be particularly helpful because I'd love to know about it. So, the
bottle is very, very important, and equally important, actually, is the nipple. The size
of the hole in the nipple. You want it to be not too small, which can ask the baby to
work too hard to get the milk, and not too big which can give the baby excess air. So,
you wanna get to the right sized hole nipple, in addition, okay? Given those things, if
you feel like you have a good feeding system in place, your baby is still going through
a lot of colic, here are some of the other things you're gonna wanna thing about doing,
okay? The AAP recommends a tummy massage which you have to do safely. The way you do it is
by putting the baby on your lap, turning the baby over, and gently massaging the baby on
the back. They think that's a very comfortable position that can release some of the gas
and make the baby feel a little bit more comfortable. So, give that a try. And again, you want to
be careful with it. Number two: Singing. This really made me laugh because if I would sing
to my baby, they would get even worse colic and we would both end up going completely
insane, but anyway... I guess if you have a good voice, by all means, sing. I mean,
I think the idea is that soothing sounds can really make the baby feel a lot better, okay?
Movement. This is a really big thing. Movement of all sorts. Walking, walking the baby in
a carrier. Strolling the baby around in the stroller, whether out of the house or inside
the house. Rockers, swings, all sorts of things that can promote movement of the baby. I even
had a brother whose baby had terrible colic who put the baby in the car and drove in the
middle of the night to try to get the baby to calm, you know to soothe the baby. So,
anyway, people will resort to almost anything when it comes to colic. So, you want to really
wanna keep that in mind that movement can be very, very helpful, okay?
Pacifiers. Pacifiers can really, really help with colicky babies. I wouldn't worry too
much about dependence on the pacifier. You can deal with that later. At this point, all
you're trying to do is soothe your baby and take care of yourself. Okay, if none of these
remedies work, and there are others, I'm just going through some of the main ones, there
are plenty of over-the-counter medications and prescription medications I would definitely
check with my doctor before using some of those. If I felt that I had a very colicky
baby, I would check with my doctor anyway, but just making the point that you want to
be really careful when it comes to medicines and your baby. Okay, moving right along. The
second part of this equation. Is you. You. Mom or dad. You have a colicky baby, so guess
what? You need to take care of yourself too because this is a very, very hard and frustrating
thing to deal with. So, I would bring in as many reinforcements as I could, whether it's
through family members, neighbors that you trust, babysitters, somebody that you trust
to come in and help you with the baby for a few hours so you can get outside, get a
break, take a shower and preserve your mental sanity. Studies show that adults who are close
to babies who cry for extended periods of time can really suffer from stress and anxiety.
It's a very, very hard thing to deal with. So make sure you take care of yourself, and
remember that colic ends. In almost all normal cases, colic is over within a few months of
age, either by three months, some say by five months. It will end, so even though you're
dealing with this and it seems like such a tricky thing and as if it will never end,
it will end and you will get through it, okay? So, I hope that these remedies were helpful
to you. If you've had a baby with colic and you have other good ideas for dealing with
it, please comment on the site. I'd love to hear what you think and for other moms to
be able to see that as well. Thank you so much for watching CloudMom.com and see you
next time.