I had never heard of baby colic prior to becoming a mother. I didn’t even know that infants had to go through so much discomfort after birth. If you are a new mom and in the same boat like me, this post will be your guide to understand what is colic in babies, how to relieve colic in newborn and how to make colic baby sleep.
Most friends who had babies never discussed colic issues with me until I started talking about it, then all sorts of horror stories started coming out. Infants who suffer from Colic cry constantly mostly around midnight. At this hour most parents, especially tired mothers just aim at one thing how to make colic baby sleep. This write-up aims at helping new mothers understand Colic and home remedies that could help put your baby to sleep.
Despite myself, I can’t help but feel jealous of parents who didn’t go through this baby related problem since it was quite difficult for me to manage as well as for the baby who was in pretty bad shape while it lasted. Those sleepless nights when you have a baby constantly bawling at the top of its voice and you are constantly tired, irritated and sleepy. Colic makes you question the very notion of having kids in the first place, especially when you are alone and new to parenting.
What is Colic in babies?
Colic refers to excessive crying in infants. It is believed to be the result of gas buildup in the intestines, but its cause is not completely understood. Colic typically begins within the first few days after birth and is most common between 2 and 4 weeks of age. There are several strategies that parents can use to help soothe colicky babies. These include keeping a consistent feeding and sleep schedule, swaddling the baby, and using white noise, such as a white-noise machine or a fan.
Babies with colic may also be more sensitive to certain foods and chemicals, so it’s important to pay attention to any potential food allergies or sensitivities. Colic is characterized by excessive crying in babies. The medical term for colic is “infantile colic,” which refers to crying spells that occur for at least three hours a day for at least three days per week for more than three weeks. Although the exact cause of colic is unknown, it is believed to be the result of gas buildup in the intestines. The intestinal walls may also be too rigid, which can lead to increased pressure on the gas-producing (or “gassy”) stomach contents.
Challenges of new moms
Since I didn’t know about colic at all we took our month old baby to the hospital at midnight once thinking something was majorly wrong. He had been fed properly so there has to be something wrong as I could not figure out why it was crying so badly. The Pediatrician on rounds than explained to us what COLIC is and gave us required medication. Medication did work for few days and then a friend of mine told me not to give any medication there are home remedies just as effective.
I will always be thankful to Google and those lovely mother bloggers who was wrote about mother and baby issues. After doing my research and reading few articles, I tried few home remedies that help me out. For most infants this is a phase resolves gradually within a few months.
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What is Baby Colic?
Baby Colic is defined as intermittent crying one or two times a day by a healthy, well-fed child. Most doctors believe reason behind colic is air trapped in the abdominal cavity which leads to discomfort.
Colic can be distressing and parents of colicky babies can suffer from relationship stress, breastfeeding problems and even postpartum depression. I went through major depression and didn’t even realize. Here is my story of postpartum depression
There are medicines put there but I generally don’t recommend medicines so I tried few home remedies.
11 home remedies on how to make colic baby sleep
- Warm Compress – Dip a baby towel in warm water and place it on baby tummy. Rubbing towel in circular motion helps. This is widely used home remedies and relaxes a colic baby.
- Oil Massage – I remember when I asked a friend about tips on how to make colic baby sleep, her grandmother simply said massage nicely. An old day’s therapy which is quite helpful. Gently massage the tummy in circular motion.
- Burp Time – This remedy is quite commonly practice and allows colic baby to calm for sometime. Pretty basic but always burp your baby after feeding. This reduces formation of air pockets. Learn how to burp a colic baby.
- Asafetida (Heeng) -Add a pinch of Asafetida powder to 1 spoon of water. Mix it well and rub this around baby’s navel clockwise. I can vouch for this tip, it did help me.
- Warm bath – Bathing your kid during colic is quite helpful and provides a soothing effect
- Lullaby – Playing Lullaby for 15-20 minutes does help. We played few of them in the beginning but my baby always enjoyed Electronic Dance Music so for us songs by Martin Garrix and AVICII were saviors. I guess this was the result of the Aviici concert I had attended when I was expecting!
- Fennel Seeds – If you are breastfeeding please drink fennel seeds water . It can relieve gas and benefit baby a lot. Just boil fennel seeds with water and drink that water till the time you are feeding.
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- Knee exercise – This is quite helpful during first 6 months. Put your baby on its back, hold the feet and push legs towards the tummy area gently. Repeat the process a few times
- Gripe Water* – We have also used gripe water since recommendation came from many parents and It was quite effective. In fact, my baby is 3 years plus now and we still use it.
- ColicAid* -This is also another over-the-counter medication but please check with your pediatrician before introducing it to the kid. It was quite effective but we didn’t continue for long.
- TV White Noise – Highly unconventional but worked quite well for us. White noise is just like heavy rain noise ( which works wonders, download a rain app) and my baby used to sleep for hours listening to it.
Please check with your pediatrician before using any over-the-counter medication.
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Conclusion
Colic is a very common condition seen in infants. Some infants with colic can even cry non-stop for hours at a time. It is important to know what is colic so that you can help your baby. Colic is characterized by excessive crying in infants. If you are dealing with colic baby, there are several steps you can take to help relieve your colic baby and soothe him or her to sleep. I am sure the home remedies shared above will come handy
I have no children yet but I heard of this before and the information you have shared is helpful and informative thank you ! Now I have an idea of what to do should it ever occur
My son needs to read this. My poor grandbaby is so colicky!
I’ll remember these tips for my future baby
Thank you for sharing these tips. Would be very useful when I have a baby.
It’s amazing that people don’t talk about this more, particularly in mommy circles. Sounds like it could be stressful for new mother’s who don’t know what to do for a baby’s colic
Awesome tips, been a long time since i have had to take care of a baby with colic and I cant say that i miss it
My mommy friends always talk about babies sleep and the struggle. Gonna share this with them.
I’m bookmarking this post for later as I’m pregnant! These are such useful tips and I didn’t know what colic really was before reading this!
What a great resource for new moms. I’ll be sure to share with my niece .
Great information. Only now I know what is a colic baby. Before I am never aware of it.
Such wonderful information and it really helps to all newbie mother. I will share this to my sister in law 🙂
Hope these tips come handy
I am so lucky that my son didn’t suffer from colic. These all sound like useful remedies for those who need it!
Lucky you!
I remember when my oldest was young. back then they recommended the “colic hold”, I believe that is what it was called.
Yeah! that does help
Oh gosh our little one had reflux as a baby so sleep was rough at first. I plan to send this to my girlfriend going through it now
I never heard of Baby Colic. I make sure to pass this information to my friends with babies.
I don’t have a baby yet but I think your post is very educating
Oh you reminded me of that awful time, and yes, I confirm colics have been a nightmare for us! Luckily the fennel seeds worked for us, and we also did the knee movements, then things got much better. All your tips sound great and are things I’ve either tried or heard that worked for other people. Also the TV white sound is new to me, but our midwife told us once to try the sound of hair blower!! and it worked!! (but the soothing effect is very brief).
TV sound worked for us! but after a while it got annoying.
I grew up partly in England and Gripe water was always popular for colic. When I had my twins, one of them was colicky and we used gripe water. It was very effective.
Yes! Gripe water still comes handy
My daughter had colic…it was a rough 3 days. * hugs on you *
Tough times!!!!
Colic is definitely no fun at all. It’s so hard for parents when their sweet baby just can’t be calmed.
With my first one, we had a severely colic baby. It took quite sometime for us to understand what’s happening but the white noise thing worked like wonder.
When my son was just a few months old, we would religiously burp him after each feeding. I guess that is the reason why it’s my first time to hear about Colic.
Great tips. Thanks for sharing.
My friend has a baby with colic issues. I will share this very useful post with her.
My younger son had a bit of colic. I swore by gripe water and massage for him. We went through so much gripe water those first few months with him.
My younger brother was super colicy as a baby and so my family spent hours rocking him and taking turns. It’s definitely not fun for anyone involved.
I wish I would have read this when my children were younger!
This is a very useful list! Colicky usually mean, imo, that theres something wrong so I love you process of elimination.
Great information. My babies didn’t have colic, but I have had friends whose babies did. It actually is deterring them from having more children. I’ll pass along the info.
I was a colic baby and oh my all the stories my parents and grandparents like to tell about me and that time! It was pretty challenging. This is a very helpful list.
Really informative article! Those sleepless nights from a colicky baby really make you desperate for remedies, so this is perfect!
My second daughter used to suffer from colic and I used to pull my hair. Once my mom came over and taught me about the oil massage, it works like magic.
Having an experienced person to lean on in times like this is priceless. So glad your mom was there for you.
Not sure what are talking about! I had no one
Very informative. It’s safe and preservative-free home remedy
Very useful information. Nice post.
Very informative. I will share it with my friends and families as well 🙂
Babies magic tea is good for newborn’s colic. It’s safe and preservative-free home remedy that worked for both my babies.
This is quite helpful post. We did try Whitenoise and it worked wonders for us. We didn’t gave any medication to our baby. I see that you have quite an interesting view about of Toddler’s friendship. I like that as well.
Thanks Navie