Colic must be a terrible experience for a baby and it is so frustating when you have tried to help him or her feel better, but the crying continues. Here are some helpful ways to control and lessen the experience of it:
1. Do set the baby "in motion". Mild repetitious motion, such as a rocking chair can calm a colicky baby.
2. Let the baby sleep. Some experts would have you picking up a baby everytime he or she cries and it really is important to establish the issue of trust with your baby during the first year. However, when it comes to colic, often what the baby needs is to get to sleep, and the more you pick them up, it stimulates them further. Chances are, the baby is very tired and sleepy, along with the colic problem. To assess whether its fatigue, try everything else first. Feeding, burping, changing, cuddling. Then, if the baby continues to cry, he or she is tired and should try to sleep, so put the baby down and walk away. Often, the baby will settle down in five minutes and sleep.
3. Stay calm. Remember, this is an unpleasant stage in the baby's development and will pass.
4. Take the baby off cow's milk. Personally, I believe that cow's milk is only good for a baby calf. The best advice is to breastfeed for a year and even then, do not use cow's milk. Studies do show that babies reared on cow's milk often have allergies and other ailments. There are other types of milk such as soymilk or rice milk.
5. Try peppermint water, it is a century-old remedy for colic. Get a piece of peppermint and soak it in spring water, then feed a bottlefull of the peppermint-flavored water to the baby. Never use straight peppermint oil though as this will be too strong for the baby.
6. Keeping a calender is a good idea of your baby's weight as well as the frequency and length of crying bouts will be of help to keep track of the baby's progress through this painful stage
7. Soothe the baby and maintain as much direct contact as possible with your newborn. Studies are showing now that carrying a baby more frequently before colic ever sets in, may lessen or even prevent the condition from ever developing in the first place.
8. Put your baby on a schedule of sleeping and waking as this will get the baby in a habit of falling asleep without your assistance. When sleep time comes, kiss, hug, sing them songs and this way they learn to make a transition from alert to sleeping time.
9. Touch base with your pediatrician
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