Baby colic is a well-known disorder among young parents, even those who have never experienced it. Impressive, they provoke sharp pain , intense crying and characteristic movements in the newborn , not always easy to soothe. If of course, doctors, pediatricians and other early childhood professionals are your best recourse to help, here are some tips, tricks and good reflexes to relieve baby's colic.
Baby colic: what it is and why it hurts our babies
Infant colic is very similar to the colic you can suffer from after overeating, only their cause differs. Pain, gas and bloating cause severe crying spells in very young children. Although not everyone is affected, many small babies face colic.
The reason for this pain, which we could do without, is still relatively unknown. Doctors and specialists are shared between:
- Immaturity of the digestive and nervous system babies,
- A intestinal microbiota less rich,
- there amount of air swallowed during bottle feeding,
- there fermentation of breast milk in the mother's stomach and diet for breastfed babies,
- of possibilities food intolerances with cow's milk proteins for example...
Only one thing is certain, the The pain caused is intense , enough to strain the nerves and hearts of the entire family.
Characteristic symptoms to spot
Impressive especially because of their violence and because they are triggered very early in the child's life – sometimes from birth, most often around 3 weeks and until around 4 or 5 months – infant colic can be recognized by the particular behavior it causes.
They generally occur at the end of the day And almost always, very quickly after meals . baby squirms in all directions and nervously folds the legs towards the stomach .
Bloated , he suffers from gas which seem to relieve him for a short time. Shortly after expelling them, the pain returns.
To express it, the infant cries and screams at the top of his lungs . Her congested face is often red under the effect of tension and suffering. Even his sleep can be restless. He may wake up screaming. Often distraught – we understand – parents do not always find how to calm their baby.
But centuries of love and observation of children have still managed to give us some ideas for relieving baby colic.
5 actions to soothe colic pain in infants
Nothing is more difficult than seeing your child suffer without knowing what to do. When it comes to colic, unfortunately, there is no miracle recipe. However, depending on the babies and the moment, certain gestures can soothe and even completely reduce the pain.
Quickly create a calming atmosphere
As soon as the meal is over, if you notice that baby is showing signs of discomfort or pain, create a calm and gentle atmosphere around you. Draw the curtains Or lower the shutters , play your favorite lullaby of your baby and bring him his cuddly toy or pacifier to comfort him.
Make your forearm a hammock to rock it
This is a surprising position often adopted by dads whose forearms seem made for it. To calm baby, lay him down, stomach against forearm , the head in your hand and the limbs extended on either side of the arm.
Accompanied by a light rocking or a regular movement through the house, this posture, by The pressure it exerts on the stomach and the heat that accompanies it often manages to soothe babies and not only in cases of colic.
Massage her stomach
Seat baby comfortably. Lying on his changing table, on your bed or even on a thick rug, he is facing you. With the flat of the hand, Massage his little belly gently in a clockwise direction .
Be patient. The heat of your skin and this circular movement reproducing the biological sense of transit may have their effect. The effect is similar if you cross your child's legs and gently raise them towards the abdomen , again using rounded movements.
These massages have the advantage of promote the evacuation of gases and therefore, to relieve pain. For an even more pleasant contact, add a few drops of sweet almond oil.
Use the heat of a hot water bottle
This is a technique that works well, on different pains and at all ages. In our opinion, the hot water bottle is one of the essentials to always have at home. Back pain, period pain, fatigue and infant colic, it is effective for almost everything.
Be careful, however, to choose a baby hot water bottle and to offer it just warm to avoid any risk of burning . In a water bottle for example, simply run hot water without passing it through a kettle. Always check its temperature (as for the bottle) on your wrist or on your stomach and only use a swaddled hot water bottle so that it does not come into direct contact with baby's skin.
Try cuddling in a baby sling
In a baby sling, slip baby in and try a skin to skin session to calm him down. If grandmothers talked about swaddling, the cocooning session has replaced it with the same beneficial effects.
Against you baby listens to your heart, lets himself be lulled and reassured. In most cases, he ends up falling asleep for a moment of respite.
Monitor your meals
One of the clues to explain the appearance of colic in babies is the air swallowed when feeding a bottle. Accumulated in too large a quantity in the stomach, it would cause bloating and pain.
To avoid this problem, straighten baby a little in your arms at meal time and use anti-colic pacifiers . Elhée pacifiers are, for example, equipped with a valve adapted to reduce the volume of air absorbed and facilitate digestion .
Who should you turn to if your baby's colic persists?
If, despite your attempts and your good will, the situation does not improve quickly, do not hesitate to consult to find the best solution and relieve your baby.
THE pediatrician is your first resort in the event of a health problem for the baby and even more so for the newborn. After ruling out the different possible causes of abdominal pain (pathology, reflux, etc.), he will be able to diagnose colic and provide a solution. A change of infant milk or a homeopathy prescription can be part of it. A video published by La Maison des Maternelles in November 2020 also explains very well the positioning of this doctor, a specialist in baby health.
There Maternal and child protection (PMI) is also an excellent interlocutor, particularly for reassure and guide you in learning the best comforting gestures to give to your baby. The childcare nurses, doctors and midwives (among others) who work there give you the benefit of their valuable experience with many babies.
The osteopath’s little extra!
At Elhée, we particularly like everything that is soft for babies. Round baby bottles, medical silicone, organic cotton diapers... So, when it comes to finding a solution to some of the most heartbreaking cries of little ones, we say yes! Of course, each baby is different, as are their feelings and those of their parents.
So, when in January we met Olivier Darmont, perinatal osteopath passionate about his profession, we were delighted to learn that his specialty could overcome many disorders in infants, young children and pregnant women. We also talked about it together in a video that I am sharing with you here.
And yes, osteopathy can help you relieve baby of intestinal pain by working on tensions and blockages in the body, particularly in the intestines and pelvis .
And since osteopathy is a natural and non-invasive medical discipline based on gentle manipulative techniques, there is no risk in trying it. Many parents noticed real improvement in their baby almost immediately, in the days following the first consultation.
