Oh no! It's Colic!

by Hummingbird Infant

How to Cope When Your Baby Has Colic: Tips and Tricks

What is colic?

Colic is when babies cry for long periods of time, about 3 hours, for no apparent reason.

Colic often starts around 2 to 6 weeks old, and subsides around 3 months.

Colic often results in stress and crying for the whole family.

 

Who is to blame?

Not you. Not your baby. Colic is a medical mystery.

 

How to cope.

This is going to be tough time, but you need to remain soft. And to do that, you need a break.

 

Ask for relief, even if for a short time, from a patient partner or friend.

“Remember when you asked how you could help? My baby has colic. I trust you as a calm ‘baby holder’ despite their crying. I need some relief. Can you come over?”

Then, leave. Go for a walk, go to the store alone, go somewhere you can’t hear the crying.

Return after you’ve had some peace.

 

Alone and feeling overwhelmed?

 It happens. Perhaps more often than you’d like.

  • There is no shame in taking a moment. Put your baby in their crib. Put on a timer for a few minutes and get out of an earshot. You can’t leave your baby, but if you know your baby is safe, you can leave the room. It might be just the 2 – 3 minutes you need.
  • Breathe, do something that soothes you.
  • When the timer goes off, calmly return. Do your best to comfort your baby.
  • If you’re still stressed, take another moment. Set the timer, return, do your best.
  • Remind yourself that these things just happen. You aren’t doing anything wrong. Your baby isn’t doing anything wrong. Babies cry. Yours cries more than most. This too shall pass.

calm

Simple Comfort Techniques That Remind Them of the Womb

  • Feelings
    • Co-bathe with your baby. Water temperature at 101 degrees or below for their sensitive skin. Not the hot bath you'd prefer!
    • Give them a swaddle bath. This will make them cozy, warm and have the womb like feeling that could just soothe.
  • Motion 
    • Swings, car rides, bouncy seats, and all of the old favorites
    • Placing your baby in their infant car seat on the dryer. Be sure to while hold handle, so they don’t vibrate off. Talk to them. Sing to them.
    • Vacuuming while holding your infant in a front carrier. The white noise is soothing.
    • Shush or hum while holding them close, with a bouncing movement.

Silver linings: your baby gets to see different parts of the house, being held in different ways promotes developmental benefits and your house is getting clean  

 

Touch

  • Massage for skin to skin touch, calming, and gas relief
  • Warmth, snuggles and love to nip it in the bud
  • Swaddling for comfort and to help baby relax
  • Swaddle bath with a bath swaddle
  • If you see the fussiness coming on, try to do a soothing bath. The Warm Hug Bath Swaddle is neoprene based to keep your baby warm, calm, and womb like during bath.

Silver linings: you remind yourself and your baby that your love them always, forever and no matter what. And, after their swaddle bath, they’re nice and clean, too.

 

About Sarah Shoemaker: Sarah is passionate about removing the stress from the tiny moments in parenting. Trained in child development from top Harvard child development experts such as the late Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, having the benefits of an on-staff parenting expert, and a consumer insights process while working in a juvenile product career, led her to a consulting career centered on consumer insights, and now, Hummingbird Infant . It’s a passion project. Understanding infant development and what parents and babies are capable of is front and center. Drop her a line. She’s happy to email you all the good stuff.

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