How To Deal With Baby Colic

Parenthood is a blissful experience. Every parent wishes to experience the joy of watching their child grow into a beautiful human being. The idea is immensely desirable by those who have children and appealing by those who see themselves as parents in the future. Indeed it is fascinating to become a parent, but mind you. it’s not all that easy as it sounds. You might imagine a baby giggling in your arms, conveniently forgetting that they cry more than they giggle.

Parenting is like an assignment that has its deadline shifting to every new day. As happy as it seems, it is also excruciatingly painful, drawing too much out of you mentally. Hence, it comes with a lot of preparation, and understanding the ways in which you can communicate with your baby until they begin to speak, is a skill that is highly important.

Here, we acquaint you with a problem fairly common in babies – baby colic

Signs and symptoms to know if your baby has colic

How do you know if your baby is colicky? Well, it’s to do with something you did or still dread the most during or after your pregnancy – crying spells. Yes, you read it right. Crying spells, an extremely normal reaction among infants, is how you can determine if your baby is colicky.

But how?

It is understandable if your baby cries if he/she is hungry or annoyed, or even if he/she just wants attention because she feels left out. After all, it is the only existing mode of communication before he/she learns their first word. But yes, baby colic might be the case with your baby if there is an abnormality in his/her crying spells. Let us see how.

1. The crying might last for longer than the usual.

2. You might not be able to comprehend the reason behind the spells. For example, you might have or are feeding your baby regularly and he/she isn’t starving, but they still cry.

3. They generally occur during either late afternoons or early evenings. It tends to go on for hours.

4. Your baby might seem flushed or fairly red while crying.

5. They also might have their knees drawn up in front of their belly or their back arched

6. He/she is passing wind too frequently while crying. There are frequent bowel movements becomes an episode.

Why?

Colic as such does not have a particular cause for its occurrence. It is only when serious medical problems have had a negative diagnosis that you have colic as the reason for your baby’s crying spells. There are a number of plausible causes for it.

1. Gastroesophageal or acid reflux (GERD), which is frequent vomiting by your baby due to irritability in their esophagus, can cause them to cry for hours. It also results in significant weight loss, which is evident over a period of time. They may reject feeding as well.

2. Some people also believe it has to do with the baby being around tobacco exposure. It could result in irritability if the mother smoked during pregnancy and continues to smoke while she breastfeeds the child.

3. Again, babies who still latch onto the breasts are prone to colic if you’re consuming gas-inducing foods as a mom. Vegetables and fruits such as broccoli, cabbage, onions and certain kinds of sugar like lactose can cause irritability in your baby’s system.

4. For babies who feed from the bottle, the reason could be a natural intolerance to either lactose or other milk protein present in dairy products.

Is it genetic? Or is it calls for a parenting orientation?

No! It isn’t genetic and has nothing to do with lousy parenting or ignorance on your part. It is natural for you to feel upset if you aren’t able to tend to your baby. Her constant crying spells might send you into a short depressive state that also involves confusion. But don’t worry.

It is a common thing among babies and is spotted in at least one baby among five. Occurring during the first six weeks post birth, it is known to last as long as 3 months or a maximum of 6.

You might be frustrated, or even conceive negative ideas about how to deal with it. But keep calm and do the following.