Colic - Prevention Is Better Than Cure

Firstly we need to establish what the term colic means. Colic is the term given to the build up of gases in babies causing pain and discomfort. It is not an illness or a serious medical condition; it is however, very draining for both mother and baby.

The main symptom of colic is usually constant crying for no apparent reason. For example your baby wont be hungry, need their nappy changed or have a temperature, they will not want to be laid down, sat up, played with or left alone. Nothing you do will ease their crying. Most babies have a colicky time of day, which is usually in the afternoon or early evening. The good news is that colic normally passes by the age of 3-4 months.

Below you will find some top tips which we as a family have utilised to great effect.

Dont shake your babys bottles. When making your babys bottles swill the bottle gently to mix the milk and powder instead of shaking it. Shaking the bottle just causes more bubbles, which may lead to colic later.

Get the best bottles you can afford. There are companies that make bottles that claim to ease or prevent colic in babies. If you can afford to, try many different bottles to see which ones work better for you and then use them religiously.

Get a good colic treatment. There are many colic treatments out there. All babies are different and what one parent recommends may not work for your baby. Just keep trying different remedies and see which one works best with your infant.

Feed your baby in an upright position. Most parents position their baby lying on their backs with their heads propped up on their arm for their bottle-feeds. Try to keep your baby as upright as possible without making them uncomfortable. You are aiming for their back and head to be in a straight line with an imaginary ping-pong ball between their chin and chest. If you picture a long necked bottle and now imagine a kink in the neck of the bottle you can see how easy it is to trap wind inside.

Patting is better than rubbing. If you picture your long necked bottle full of a fizzy drink with bubbles attached to the insides then begin to rub the bottle on the outside, what happens to the bubbles on the inside? Nothing? Exactly. We have a tendency to rub our babies backs to bring up wind rather that patting them. Rubbing their backs is soothing for mother and baby but does little to bring up their wind. Patting will help to move the air bubbles and will eventually release their wind.

Hold on to your baby. Once the feeding and winding is over and done with and your baby looks content you may be tempted to lay them down. Dont! Try to keep your baby in an upright position for around 20 minutes after a feed, even if they are asleep. This will help them release wind naturally without any intervention.

Dont lay them flat. When you do lay your baby down to sleep try to ensure they dont lay flat. If they sleep in a cot, put something under the head end of the cot mattress to raise it slightly. Make sure you dont raise it too much as your baby may slide down the mattress and disappear under the covers. A baby bouncer with an adjustable seat angle is ideal for sleeping in during the day.

Give them water. Babies that are fed on formula milk often suffer with constipation. Prior to their colicky time try to give your baby 1 2 ounces of cooled boiled water. This should not be given in one go, spread it out throughout the day. The ideal time is when they are impatient for a feed but they have a little while to go, give them a little water, but dont fill them up. This will ease their constipation, meaning they wont get a stomachache and it also helps to ease their wind. Keep an eye on their nappies for the next couple of days, too much water will result in runny number twos.

If you try all the above it should have an impact on you and your baby, reducing the amount of time spent crying and trying to soothe him. If it doesnt work, help to soothe your baby during its colicky time by giving him a warm bath, put on a lullaby CD (it really works) and gently rock them side-to-side.

Lisa Mills is an author based in Essex. She writes for websites and magazines. She also runs a baby gift box website. http://www.newbabygiftboxes.co.uk is a site offering a baby gift box service and other baby gifts.

Must Read If You Have a Colic Baby - How To Handle The Stress Of Colic
This is not about your baby, this is about You. How you will "survive" the colic period. I am sure that you are exhausted, frustrated and sad to say but a lot of parents feel guilty for their colicky baby. So how do you deal with all that, all the st...

Excessive Infant Crying
Your infants cries pierce your ear drums as your head throbs with an overdue headache and your pulse races to keep up with your tense nerves. Your child has been crying non-stop for over an hour and you dont know why. You feel powerless; unable to he...

Colic Remedies For Your Baby - Find Out What Really Works
Are you looking for remedies for your colicky baby? Are you looking for an 100% natural remedy that you can feel good about giving your baby?There are a lot of products out there trying to help you and your baby`s colic. It is a jungle of books, cd`s...

Is Gripe Water Safe For My Baby? Get The Answer Right Here!
Are you thinking of possibly give your colicky baby gripe water and ask yourself is gripe water safe for my baby? That is a good legitimate question to ask yourself. There is one 100% natural gripe water that I would give my baby but there are also g...

Tips and Prevention for Bad Backs
Back pain has been one of the longest illnesses around without a cure or any form of treatment that can really help, the only alternative would be to have an operation.There are creams and lotions you can get for a bad back which will help cut the pa...

Can You Cure Back Pain With Bromelain?
In this article, you will discover:What Is Bromelain?How Can Bromelain Help To Cure Back Pain?How Much Bromelain Do You Need To Take To Help Cure Back Pain?What Is Bromelain?Bromlain is a digestive enzyme which helps to digest protein.Bromlain is der...

8 Steps To Prevent Back Pain
Lower back pain is often caused by straining of ligaments, tendons or muscles in your lower back. This is often consequence of lifting a heavy object or some other heavy activity that your body is probably not used to.In this article we will try to g...

Gall Bladder Back Pain
The gall bladder back pain is usually caused due to the inflammation or improper functioning of gall bladder, which is a small pear-shaped organ on the underside of the liver, in the right upper quadrant of the abdomen. Its main function is to collec...

Natural Treatment for Chronic Back Pain
If you have chronic back pain, you may feel depressed as it can really be unbearable. Chronic back pain results from poor posture, standing too long at work, or from a previous injury. Chronic back pain is also disabling and can affect your qualit...

Treat, Relieve, Cure Back Pain Now
Ouch! Your back hurts. Youll go to a doctor if it doesnt let up soon, but meanwhile, what can you do to treat back pain? Better yet, since you dont want to simply treat it, what can you to relieve back pain? Wait a minute. What can you do to cure bac...