Colic, things you could try to help
Are you reading this, between the evening hours of 6-8pm? After a long day of being a new parent, pacing the floor with - or rocking frantically your screaming baby that just won’t settle? I’ve been there my friend. In fact I’m reliable told I was that baby many moons ago!
I know how desperately you want to help your little one, you can feel that discomfort in their body and wish it would pass just as quickly as it came. Colic can be a battle for many babies. Hearing the word can strike fear into most parents (yes me even now).
Searching for what causes colic can cause even more despair for a new parent, googling tirelessly in the hope to find out what the reason for this could be.
The NHS website says this on the causes of colic;
- "There are no known reasons why some babies get colic & some doctors think it's a type of stomach cramp. But it may happen because babies find it harder to digest food when they are really young.
- Constant crying could also be due to food allergies, such as cow's milk allergy. If you think this is the case, talk to your GP before making any changes to your baby's diet."
As with a lot of things when it comes to a newborn baby, we just don't know exactly what triggers colic. With the mystery still surrounding its cause, we thought it best to do a little digging on what can help.
Ultimately colic should just be a phase in your babies life and pass in a few weeks. The NHS says;
- “Colic is a very common condition affecting 1 in 5 babies, regardless of whether they're breast or formula-fed.”
- “Colic usually starts when a baby is a few weeks old – and stops when they're around 4 to 6 months of age”
So whilst you and your baby are going through the colic-coster here are some tips on how to help your baby:
- So first up let’s take things down a notch. Let’s dim the lights close the blind and why not put on some calming music. No I’m not trying to get romantic here, but remaining calm can help both you and your baby.
- Being calm in yourself can help sooth and calm your baby down. By dimming the lights and putting on calm music or even white noise or background sounds can also help relax you both. Ultimately we want to be soothing and not stimulating. As an over stimulation environment will not be helpful to a crying colicky baby.
- Water may help, why not take a shower together or a bedtime bath. Warmth and the white noise of the shower can both be helpful. You’ll also be skin to skin with your baby which will help regulate you both.
- Maintain as much direct contact as possible. Pediatricians often recommend carrying and cuddling a colicky baby as much as possible.
Carrying the baby frequently before colic ever sets in may prevent the condition from developing in the first place. In one study, caretakers of 99 normal infants increased their carrying of the infants by the age of three weeks. The result? The babies cried 43% less than other babies of the same age. The crying peak never seemed to occur in the infants who were carried. Furthermore, studies of a tribe of hunter-gatherers in Botswana, the !Kung San, found that their infants cry as often as North American babies, but only for about half as long. That may be because mothers in the tribe spend significantly more time with their babies held close to their bodies than North American mothers do.”
It’s incredible to think that a whopping 43% of babies cried less by just being carried.
I mean we’ve known the magic of baby wearing for a long time. So much so we created Hana baby and haven’t looked back since.
Carrying and cuddling is what our Hana baby wraps are all about. They allow you to keep baby close whilst still having two hands free. Skin to skin is also easy to do in our Hana baby wraps. Our organic wraps are soft to the touch and breathable, whilst our bamboo wraps keep you cool in the summer and warm in the cooler months.
We’ve had some great feedback on how are Hana baby wraps have helped parents with click babies. One parent wrote a review on amazon saying:
"Lovely product and my baby likes it and I use it for getting her to sleep in the daytime as good to be upright with reflux. I’m happy it’s bamboo as it’s breathable and much less hot for the baby than other sling wraps."
"Being carried around in a sling is one of the few things that will soothe my little girl when she is colicky, so this wrap has been an absolute godsend. Would highly recommend."
Being a parent myself with two children who both suffered from colic this feedback really makes my soul sing: Knowing that the products we have created are helping so many new parents and babies.
