{"id":502,"date":"2007-07-14T23:57:45","date_gmt":"2007-07-15T05:57:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.familyresource.com\/blog\/?p=502"},"modified":"2007-07-14T23:57:45","modified_gmt":"2007-07-15T05:57:45","slug":"colic-can-make-you-crazy-solutions-that-may-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.familyresource.com\/blog\/2007\/07\/14\/colic-can-make-you-crazy-solutions-that-may-help\/","title":{"rendered":"Colic Can Make You Crazy!: Solutions That May Help"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Colic can be a very frustrating occurrence for parents both new and experienced.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" align=\"right\" alt=\"DSC_6254_a 200x151.jpg\" id=\"image617\" title=\"DSC_6254_a 200x151.jpg\" src=\"http:\/\/www.familyresource.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/07\/DSC_6254_a%20200x151.jpg\" \/>All babies have fussy periods but if your baby is otherwise well-fed and cared for and <strong>still exhibits the following behaviors<\/strong> he may have colic:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Daily fussiness that occurs around the same time of the day (usually in the evening).<\/li>\n<li>Your baby\u2019s legs may be drawn up or his belly might be distended. He might also clench his fists.<\/li>\n<li>He may become much more active during these periods.<\/li>\n<li>Likely he&#8217;s inconsolable and his crying turns to screaming rather quickly.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Does the fussiness run along this tell-tale time line? <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\">Starts within the first three weeks <strong \/>of life<\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\">Lasts up to or beyond three hours daily<\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\">Occurs three or more days <strong \/>weekly<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If your baby exhibits most of the above there&#8217;s a good chance he has colic.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The first thing to do is don&#8217;t lose it.<\/strong> It can be hard to stay calm but try to keep things in perspective.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>This stage won&#8217;t last forever.<\/li>\n<li>Other parents go through this.<\/li>\n<li>Your baby is normal he just has colic.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Cold comfort I know. Sometimes when parents get too frustrated they may accidentally  hurt their baby. You don&#8217;t need to become this frustrated. <strong>Here are some things you can do when the crying becomes too much:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Have your partner take over baby duty for a while.<\/li>\n<li>Call a friend, family member, or neighbor. Have them come over so you can have a break.<\/li>\n<li>No one to call? Walk away.  It&#8217;s better to put your baby in his crib, swing, or other safe place, shut the door and walk away for a little bit &#8212; watch some TV, sit on your porch, anything that you think might chill you out a little is ok to try.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>Longer term solutions: Tips for relieving colic.<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Pick your baby up:<\/strong> Many baby experts believe that the more you hold your baby the fewer episodes of colic a baby will exhibit. I wore my son all the time when he was a baby in his baby carrier and he did seem to have fewer long-lasting crying fits than friends I knew who held their baby less than me.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Try swaddling:<\/strong> This works wonders for some babies. try different types of blankets &#8212; fuzzy, smooth, warm, or cotton weave. Never swaddled a baby? <a href=\"http:\/\/parenting.ivillage.com\/newborn\/ncare\/0,,lz_76v6,00.html\">Here&#8217;s how.<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Breastfeed:<\/strong> Bottles push extra air into your baby&#8217;s small tummy. Breastfeeding is the perfectly nutritious way to feed your baby and is more soothing to most babies than a bottle. If you do feed your baby formula talk to his pediatrician to see if a formula change might help &#8212; it sometimes can.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Move around:<\/strong> This can stop colic cold. The only issue with constantly moving around with your baby is obviously that you become tired. Try a baby swing, ride in the car, or bouncy seat.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Baby massage: <\/strong>This is a great way to keep your baby and you calmer. Massage incorporates fluid and soothing movements along with touch that your baby will love. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.naturalfamilyonline.com\/go\/index.php\/58\/baby-massage-mar03\/\">Here&#8217;s a baby massage primer<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Remember if you get too frustrated call someone for help.<\/strong> You can also call <a href=\"http:\/\/www.parentsanonymous.org\/pahtml\/paContact.html\">Parents Anonymous<\/a> if there&#8217;s no one else to call. It doesn&#8217;t make you weak to ask for help when you&#8217;re frustrated. Parenting is hard work and asking for help makes you a better, stronger parent.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How do you calm your baby down when he&#8217;s upset?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Colic can be a very frustrating occurrence for parents both new and experienced. All babies have fussy periods but if your baby is otherwise well-fed and cared for and still exhibits the following behaviors&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.familyresource.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.familyresource.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.familyresource.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.familyresource.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.familyresource.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=502"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.familyresource.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.familyresource.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.familyresource.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.familyresource.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}