Infant colic - unpleasant but not serious ailment

When colic catches your little one, don't panic. Hug your baby and help him get through these difficult times. There are ways to relieve him of a colic attack.

Kolkais a word that keeps young mothers awake at night, especially those who have heard the stories of their aunts and older friends. Why is everyone afraid of this ailment? He is not threatening, but still very unpleasant:babycries pitifully and his scream makes the parents cut their hearts out. They feel helpless and only console themselves with the thought that the attacks will go away on their own after a few months. Indeed, a preparation that would deal with colic in a minute has not yet been invented, but we are not completely without a chance against it.

Where does colic come from?

If one day your little one starts crying a lot, does not allow himself to calm down, and because of severe pain he will pull his legs up to his abdomen, you can be sure that he is in the group of approx. 40%. children suffering from infant colic. Colic is a sudden, painful spasm of the intestines. Her attacks begin between 1 and 3 months of age and usually disappear as suddenly as they appeared, leaving no traces of their he alth on the babies. Symptoms usually occur in the afternoon or evening and may last a few minutes or… several hours. So far, specialists have not discovered their cause. We only know what might be conducive to these attacks. According to many pediatricians, the most likely reason is the immaturity of the baby's digestive tract, which cannot cope with even such a well-absorbed and easily digestible food as mother's milk, let alone artificial food. There is also a popular theory that the source of attacks is the baby's allergy to cow's milk protein consumed by a nursing mother or the deficiency of lactase - an enzyme that digest milk sugar, which is found in both human milk andmodified milk. It is also certain that too much air is swallowed while the baby is being sucked too much for the well-being of the infant. Air bubbles accumulate in the baby's digestive tract, causing gas and intestinal cramps. Since the psychology of infants has been examined more thoroughly, the causes of colic are also seen in fatigue and too many stimuli that the baby is subjected to.all day long. This would explain the fact that attacks usually occur between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. According to psychologists, mum's fatigue, nervousness and stress can also contribute to spikes.

Important

The bouts of colic appear at the same time every day (usually in the evening after feeding). The baby's legs are tightened, it is tense, and its tummy is very hard. Crying is then completely different from screaming caused by hunger or boredom.

What to do when a colic appears

When the colic attack starts, try to silence the baby a little: hug it, carry it in your arms, rock it, hold it to your breast. Remember that you must not panic. If you stay calm, you can calm your baby down faster. If you start running around the room unconscious and flooding with tears, you won't help the baby, but you will make it even more irritating. Once your emotions are under control, they begin to act. There are several ways to fight colic. Try each one to see which one works best for you.

• Put the baby on his tummy and massage his back.This way you will gently squeeze his tummy, which will expel gas and improve the work of the intestines. The same effect will be obtained when the knees are pulled up to the tummy when the baby is lying on his back.
• Give the baby a tummy massage.Make slow, circular movements clockwise, then so-called "Sun and moon": make circles with your left hand, and make semicircles with your right hand to the center of your belly.
• Put warm compresses on the baby's stomach , e.g. heat the nappy with an iron (but it must not be hot!) And put it on the baby's body. It is convenient to use a ready-made dressing - a gel pad from a pharmacy, which must be preheated in warm water.
• Put your toddler in a bathtub with warm water.A bath will relax your muscles and relax your baby.
• Try to give your child products (available at the pharmacy) that facilitate metabolism and remove gases.These are fennel-based preparations, such as Gripe Water. Fennel tea or granulated teas to improve digestion (Hipp, Bobovita) can also be effective. Medicines containing dimethicone, such as Infacol, Bobotic, Esputicon, can also help. They are not absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, their effect is to break up larger gas bubbles into tiny bubbles that are less annoying. In order to obtain the desired effect, medications must be taken systematically and not on an ad hoc basis. They are available over the counter and their administration does not need to be consulted with a doctor.

You must do it

A steady daily rhythm helps to limit the amount of excitement. If your baby has difficulty falling asleep, try to do soenter fixed times for naps, meals and walks.

The constant hum of a hair dryer (or a silent vacuum cleaner) soothes some babies and helps them fall asleep. Check if your toddler reacts this way to monotonous sounds.

If you can't bear your baby's crying, get help from your husband, baby's grandmother or a neighbor. Sometimes an emotionally uninvolved person can calm the baby down faster.

Feed the baby right after waking up (then change it and change it) to prevent it from crying - the baby gulps air unnecessarily

How to prevent attacks of infantile colic?

The best remedy for colic is peace - both yours and your baby. Try to be as relaxed as possible when feeding your baby - babies are little "radars" that can sense mom's bad mood. Therefore, before the critical hour comes, limit the amount of stimuli for the little one: turn off the TV, dim the lights. If you already know that your child suffers from colic, try to limit the strength of her attacks by eliminating the factors that contribute to them. One of them is the already mentioned gulping of air while sucking. The easiest way to remove air bubbles is to "rake off". In order for the baby to burst, after eating, hold him in an upright position, gently patting his back.

• If you are breastfeeding, pay attention to your diet. It is known that mum's consumption of milk and dairy products as well as flatulent vegetables (cauliflower, cabbage) promote colic attacks in the baby. Avoid heavy foods as well. Before you start feeding, find a comfortable position, relax, and take your time. Remember that a baby can suckle for several dozen minutes, so before you put it to your breast, put a glass with a drink next to it, turn off the gas under the pot. Stopping a feed may cause your baby to cry and then gulp down the air.
• When feeding formula milk, use anti-colic teats and bottles (eg Dr. Brown Natural Flow). Such bottles have a curved shape, which facilitates feeding the baby in a semi-vertical position and allows the correct flow of milk, preventing excess air from entering the baby's mouth. The anti-colic teat has special valves that allow only the necessary amount of air to enter the bottle. Thanks to this, the baby does not regress food and has no colic. The mixture itself is also important - in the case of a tendency to colic, lactose-reduced milk is recommended, e.g. Bebiko Omneo, Nan HA Sensitive or low-lactose Bebilon.

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