INFANT COLICS:
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

Colics are caused by trapped gas into your baby's gut which cause him great discomfort leading to a very unsettled infant that end up crying for excessive chunks of time without apparent reasons. There is no scientific way to proof or diagnose colics however it's common belief to consider your baby "colicky" when he have sudden crying episodes, mostly happening in the late afternoon or evenings, crying for over 3 hours in a row, 3 or more days per week, 3 or more weeks per month.

Unfortunately this is not a very accurate way to diagnose this uncomfortable condition however it is one of the most common issue most parents struggle with and it is most common in babies from 3 weeks to 5 months of age. The good news is that they will outgrow it as their digestive system strengthen up while approaching weaning age but for the time being this post will help you understand how to cope with it.

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To help you recognise the symptoms, other typical signs of colics are when your baby arch his back, have stiff legs or have stiff abdomen.The problem I've encountered many times during my career is that, due to the unclear nature of this condition many parents don't know how to diagnose colics or deal with it, rushing into self taught remedies in the hope to calm down and relieve their little one as quickly as possible. 

There is nothing more frustrating for parents than not understanding why their baby is crying or what they can do to help them, feeling completely powerless about it, which is the exact scenario that colics usually create.

This often lead parents to approach the issue making the same old common mistakes such as: rocking their baby for hours in the hope to comfort him, give pacifier all day long or use medications like"Infacol".

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As you can imagine these are all quick fixes that only temporarily alleviate the situation without really solving the problem to the core but only leading to new bad habits that will make their life much harder later on.

Babies are pure and delicate and medication like Infacol are just harsh chemicals that poison their sensitive system only to temporarily alleviate symptoms while never really fixing the problem to the core.

That's why I am personally not a big fan of these easy to purchase over the counter medications and always discourage families from using them as it only make the matter worse on a long term.

I'd rather educate parents on the extreme importance of effective burping showing them the proper techniques and teaching them to promote digestion time after each feeding session, to avoid trap gas and possessing in the cot, (rather than putting their baby to sleep straight after eating, as 99% of parents do).

Imagine going to sleep after a full meal, you would most likely feel sick and not having a good night sleep at all. That's the number one most common mistakes parents do. 

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Unfortunately not many professionals in the field teach or talk about these key points which would avoid to most parents the issue all together.

Babies are very gassy as their are fed on a liquid diet only. Gas has to come out one way or another, if you don't properly burp your baby, he will inevitably still have trapped gas into his gut which will be passed out through their bottom causing them pain, (aka colics).

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I honestly don't comprehend why so many people still don' understand this simple concept and rather rely on medications to fix something that it's so easily avoidable with the proper burping techniques.

Another MYTH I still hear way too often that really upset me, is when people tell me that they've heard that "breastfeed babies self burp".

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I've occasionally been told, this has been taught by a midwife at the hospital which is absolutely shocking to me. 

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THIS COULDN'T BE FARTHER FROM THE TRUE and midwives that spread this dangerous misconception should change career asap.

How do you expect a newborn to self burp it's beyond unreal to me!

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Babies can self burp only when they reach sitting age, (around 6 months), because the sitting position is what help them squeeze their lower pelvic pushing out any left over air they may have in their guts. Even then, they will still need occasional help to burp as they are still little, but newborns are definitely not capable to self burp prior 6 months of age, especially breast fed babies which have the tendency to have more acidity in their stomach and lots of running poo, (unlike formula fed babies which usually release a more solid stool).

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I am beyond amazed at how little informations are still taught to date about the importance of well burping and helping babies digestion, which are instead the core points in my approach when working with clients.

I cannot stress enough about the importance of consistent burping and proper digestion.

I've been sucessfully sleep training hundreds of babies and offered Maternity support to countless families all over the world and I can proudly say that I've never in my entire career had a colicky baby in my hands, due to my extreme focus on teaching the right burping techniques and promoting baby's digestion.

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So please try to stimulate your baby well enough to keep him awake during his feed and to help him digest before each nap. I know it's quite hard in the first couple of weeks of their lives since babies are very weak and sleepy but it will get easier as they grow and become more aware of their surrounding.

To recap if you believe your baby it's struggling with colics, my biggest recommendations are:

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-BURP OFTEN AFTER EACH FEED: to give you prospective, assuming your baby had a full feed, (meaning he took full capacity of milk he is able to take at his age), I always get from 5 to 8 burps out after every feeding session, either if breastfed of bottle fed, (or both). 1 or 2 burps are not longer enough from the third week of his life on, so keep checkin for that last burp especially before putting him down for a nap. Remember, babies have lots of gas!

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-PROMOTE DIGESTION TIME: I know babies get really sleepy on the breast , especially after a good feed, but it is important for you to keep your baby awake while latching to encourage and active feeding session, otherwise he only end up "snacking" and not eating a full feed as he should, ending up being hungry way too often. You should aim to feed your baby every 3 hours during the first few weeks of his life, if you feed more frequently that that it's because your baby is "snacking" and not properly having full feeds.

Encourage full feeds and proper digestion before each nap, this is only achievable if you manage to keep your baby awake and active on the breast, if you let him fall asleep on your boob you will end up feeding more often and he will most likely have more trapped gas as he didn't have proper digestion time between feeds.

Try to keep your baby awake for at least 20 full minutes after each feed and keep him in a more erect position to avoid posseting as he will be laying dow most of the time while sleeping.

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-INTRODUCE PROBIOTICS: Probiotics help balance your baby's gut bacteria promoting is digestion and helping him reduce the acidity level in his stomach.  It's a gentler approach that work for most babies. 

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-WARM BATH: a warm bath always help the most unsettled baby. If you are having a particularly difficult day run a nice warm bath for your little one,  (38 Celsius degree), best before the last feed of the day around 6pm, so that you have more chances for a peaceful night.

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-SWADDLE: I recommend this all the time but it's particularly recommended for colicky babies. A good swaddle is your best friend! Check out my full post in here to learn all the benefits that swaddling can bring you.

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Remember, even during the hardest days to keep calm and keep trying, there is noting wrong in asking for help to family or friends and just know that most parents went trough the exact same struggle you are experiencing, so you are not alone and things will get better soon

 

You got this Mama! : )