Colic Calming the Chronic Crier
COLIC Calming the Chronic Crier
Your baby cries to communicate--to say that he is hungry, wet, cold, lonely, sick or bored. And if he's like most babies, he will also have fussy spells when he cries a lot for no apparent reason.
These periods of irritable crying usually fall into a pattern. Between the ages of two and six weeks, a child may cry for two to four hours a day. He may cry the most in the early evening. These fussy periods, as they become increasingly predictable, may seem endless to you, but keep in mind that they're a normal stage of development, and they won't last forever. By the time your baby is three months old, the crying should start to diminish to one to two hours a day.
If your baby has repeated episodes of crying that last for several hours at a time, be sure to consult your pediatrician. He may tell you that your baby has colic.
A colicky baby may cry in a rhythmic pattern that often reaches a screaming level. He may clench his hands, flex his elbows and draw his legs tight against his abdomen. His face may look worried or tense, his belly seems tight and he has lots of gas. Sometimes he has a forceful expulsion of gas or a bowel movement right before or right after the bout of colic.
As many as one in five babies develops colic, yet it remains something of a medical mystery. Colic has been blamed on many things, including a hypersensitive nervous system, an immature gastrointestinal tract, food allergy and improper feeding technique. Although there is no consensus about the cause and treatment of this ailment, one thing is certain: Colic typically strikes otherwise healthy babies at the age of 2 to 3 weeks and is usually over by the time the baby is 12 to 16 weeks old. And awful as it is to live through, it will not harm your baby in the long run, either physically or psychologically.
There is no surefire cure for colic except time, patience and perseverance, but some parents have found temporary relief using the following methods.
Take a systematic approach. What helps one colicky baby will do nothing for another, so you'll have to experiment to see what works with your child, says Russell S. Asnes, M.D., clinical professor of pediatrics at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University in New York City and a pediatrician in Tenafly, New Jersey. ''Take a systematic approach to determine the cause of your baby's cries,'' urges Dr. Asnes. ''Check if he is hungry, wet, cold, wants some extra sucking on a pacifier or wants to be held. If he is warm and dry and has been fed recently, he may want company, so talk to him and rock him. If he is bored, take him out for a walk or a car ride.''
No matter which approach you try, change tactics if the crying continues for more than five minutes, says Dr. Asnes. Eventually you should hit on something that will work for your baby.
Take a cue from your baby. If you find that the more you try to comfort your inconsolable child, the more he cries, your baby's colic may be triggered by an overloaded nervous system, notes Peter A. Gorski, M.D., division head of behavioral and developmental pediatrics and assistant professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago.
''If your baby has already had as much stimulation as he can handle, even calming techniques such as rocking, singing and talking softly are too much to take in and only serve to intensify your baby's irritability,'' says Dr. Gorski. Crying is one way for a baby to ''shut out the world,'' observes Dr. Gorski. So when your usual methods of calming your infant aren't working, let him cry for 10 to 15 minutes and see whether he'll calm down by himself before you try anything else. ''Hold the baby passively in your arms, or swaddle him and lay him down to rest,'' he says. '' You may even find that avoiding direct eye contact helps him calm down sooner. After the crying spell, your baby should look wide awake and be ready to interact or be resting calmly. If not, consult your pediatrician.'' There may be a hernia or some other physical problem that's causing the prolonged irritability.
Try a regular feeding schedule. ''Studies show that excessively sensitive babies are often small for their age. Their length is normal but they are thin. These babies, who indicate sensory overload by having colicky episodes, often do better with an organized pattern of caretaking,'' says Barry M. Lester, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and human behavior and professor of pediatrics at Brown University School of Medicine in Providence, Rhode Island. ''For some reason, organizing these babies' environment helps them organize their responses. Structure really helps,'' says Dr. Lester.
Help your baby gain control. ''If your baby seems to be crying most of the time, take action to help him gain control over his nervous system,'' says Dr. Lester. '' Whenever your baby is in a quiet, alert state, help him expand and lengthen this quiet time by introducing interesting toys and other objects, such as a safety mirror. Extending the calm periods helps the baby appreciate what it is to be in a quiet state and to enjoy the world. And it teaches him that he can learn to control his own irritability.''
Be flexible. Feel free to try a lot of things for your colicky baby, says Dr. Lester. Turn him in a new position in the crib, seat him in an automatic swing, swaddle him or take him on an outing. ''It may be hard, at first, to take a screaming child to a park or to the mall, but it might help him. Some colicky kids love that kind of stimulation and some don't. But you'll never know if it will help your own child unless you try it,'' he says.
Don't count on new formula. Many parents try switching to a soy formula in the hope that this will ease their baby's distress, but Dr. Gorski notes that it is very rare for colicky babies to be intolerant to milk. ''A formula change usually gives that classic placebo effect. It may seem to work for a few days, but then it makes no difference,'' he says.
Check your feeding system. ''Make sure that when you nurse or bottlefeed your baby, he is held in an upright rather than a horizontal position, and burp him well,'' says Dr. Asnes. ''This helps prevent him from swallowing too much air, a source of discomfort. Also, if you use a bottle, check the size of the nipple hole. If it is too small, your child may be hungry--and frustrated that he can't get at the formula.''
Try motion and music. Some colicky babies get temporary relief if they are swaddled and held next to your chest or carried in a front pack. Others may calm to the sound of music or the vacuum cleaner. ''There are many ways to hold and soothe a baby, but there is no universal soothing method. Some techniques that work well for your baby will do nothing for another child,'' says Dr. Asnes.
Get support. ''Don't let yourself become socially isolated. Parents of a colicky child need support.'' says Linda Gilkerson, Ph.D, senior consultant to the Infant Care Program at Evanston Hospital in Illinois and professor of infant studies at the Erikson Institute, which is affiliated with Loyola University in Chicago. Dr. Gilkerson advises that you turn to your pediatrician and family. ''Also, make an effort to get in touch with other parents who have gone through it, since they are the ones who can truly empathize with your experience.'' Dr. Gilkerson suggests that you seek out a colic support group offered by a hospital, YMCA, church, synagogue or infant drop-in center.
Look for the real baby. ''Try to see the child behind the tears. This little baby has a personality, and these tears are part of his personality for now, but they are not the whole baby. Focus on the other facets of his personality and realize the tears won't last forever,'' says Dr. Gilkerson.
Be good to yourself. Parents with a colicky child can become overwhelmed with feelings of rage, despair, guilt and inadequacy. '' You have to figure out what will help you continue to have positive feelings about yourself and your baby, and do whatever you can to help yourself,'' says Dr. Gilkerson. At times, you may just have to hire an experienced babysitter, get out of the house and do something enjoyable.
