If you have a colicky baby, this is the playbook to get you through these challenging times and hopefully get a little rest. But first things first, let's understand exactly what colic is. Colic isn't really a diagnosis.
It's more like a term used to describe when a perfectly healthy baby cries excessively. And in this instance, excessive crying is defined as crying for three hours a day at least three days a week for a duration of three weeks or more. The key thing to note is that these babies are healthy.
Their crying isn't due to any feeding difficulties, allergies, or a specific medical condition. So, the first play in your colic playbook is to rule out any potential medical causes and tackle any feeding challenges by checking in with your baby's doctor or a lactation consultant. If you've ruled these out and your baby still remains colicky it might help you to know that you are not alone.
All babies go through a fussy period that begins typically around two weeks of age, peaks at six to eight weeks, and usually improves by three to four months of age. And during this phase, some babies just tend to cry more than others. Now, knowing that you might be in for a couple of months of unsettled times, let's look at some science-backed soothing strategies to help your baby during this tricky period.
This first tip for calming your colicky baby might surprise you. It's something that's well known to be an excellent sleep aid for newborns, but it can also work wonders as a calming technique for colicky babies. So what is it?
It's swaddling. Swaddling your baby in a blanket or a swaddle sleeping bag helps to recreate the snug environment they experience while in the womb. And this familiar feeling provides comfort and can soothe a distressed baby, making it an effective method for calming them down.
One of the primary ways swaddling achieves this calming effect is by containing your baby's arms and legs. This helps to minimize any sudden or jerky movements which can be over stimulating and unsettling for your little one. By providing this sense of containment, your baby will feel more in control of their movements and consequently more relaxed.
Swaddling also ensures that your baby stays comfortable and warm, which is particularly important since your newborn isn't the best at regulating their own body temperature yet. In fact, the effectiveness of swaddling calming fussy babies is actually backed by research. A study completed in 2007 found that swaddled infants cried significantly less and slept more than babies who were not swaddled.
So if you're dealing with a particularly challenging crying spell, consider swaddling your baby, even if they're not ready to sleep. And if you're not expecting your little one to fall asleep, simply hold them in your arms or lie them down and make sure that they can see you. This offers them some visual reassurance and helps to strengthen the bond between you and your baby, ultimately helping to calm them down.
Another way to help soothe your baby during this fussy time is through skin to skin care. Skin to skin care is a surprisingly effective yet straightforward method that involves placing your baby who is dressed only in a diaper directly onto your bare chest. You can also add a blanket for extra warmth if needed.
The warmth of your skin and the sound of your heartbeat creates a comforting environment for your baby. Plus, what I think is really amazing is your chest actually adjusts its temperature to to make sure that your baby is just right, not too hot or too cold. This close contact also triggers the release of oxytocin, the love hormone, and reduces cortisol, the stress hormone, which helps your baby feel more relaxed.
And research has also shown that skin-to-skin contact can help babies self-regulate, stabilize their heartbeat, end their breathing patterns, and it's even been shown to reduce pain. So next time your little one is feeling a little bit fussy, make sure you give this one a try. Next in your playbook is white noise.
White noise is a consistent sound that plays all the sounds you can hear at the same volume. This continuous uniform sound effectively drowns out other sudden or disruptive noises in the environment. And by drowning out these jarring noises, white noise helps reduce the likelihood of your baby being startled or overstimulated.
And this in turn helps your baby stay calm and relaxed and reduce their crying episodes. In addition to masking noises, white noise resembles the continuous noise your baby experienced in the womb, providing a familiar and soothing environment. And this familiarity helps to reduce their fussiness and crying.
So when your little one is unsettled, turn on that white noise machine or start shushing and see if this helps to calm your little one. Next on your list is sucking. Sucking can have a calming effect on infants.
And this is because the act of sucking triggers the release of certain hormones in your baby's brain. These hormones are essentially natural soothers, helping to calm your baby and eventually induce sleep. During this colicky phase, it can be particularly beneficial to give your baby plenty of opportunities to suck.
This could be through a pacifier, a clean finger, or if you're nursing through more frequent breastfeeding. This increased breastfeeding can lead to a pattern known as cluster feeding, where your baby wants to feed more often, particularly during these periods of day when they tend to be a bit fussier. Cluster feeding can help soothe your baby and can also increase your milk supply to meet your baby's growing needs.
So remember to let your little one suck during this unsettled time. It's a simple, natural strategy that can be a significant help during this challenging period of fussiness. Before we move on to the next tip, it's key to remember that getting enough sleep can really help a fussy baby.
So to help you out, I've made a new parents guide to naps. This guide helps you know how many naps your baby needs each month and how long they should generally stay awake for before their next nap. Essentially, it takes the guessing game out of your baby's daytime naps.
So to get your free copy, just click the link in the description box below. Your next play is distraction. The simple act of giving your baby a different thing to focus on can help pull them out of their crying fit.
Some simple distractions that you can try with your little one include singing and gently dancing with your baby. Not only does this give your baby something else to concentrate on, but your voice and the movements of you dancing can help soothe and calm them. You could also try giving your little one a warm bath.
A warm bath can be comforting and relaxing for your little one. The sensation of the water, the sound of the rummening tap and the general ambience of bath time can help distract and soothe your fussy baby. Or you could try giving them a baby massage.
A gentle massage can help relieve tension in your baby's body and promote relaxation. And the skin to skin contact can also make your baby feel secure and love, diverting their attention away from crying. Another effective distraction technique is going for a car ride.
The motion and rhythm of a car ride can be very soothing for a baby. Additionally, the change in scenery can provide interesting distractions that can help stop the crying. Alternatively, you could take them for a walk in the pram outside.
A stroll outside can offer lots of different distractions for your little one from the movement of the pram to the sounds and sights of nature. Or you could try sitting your baby in a baby rocker or a swing. When you place your baby in a rocker, they're given a fresh perspective and a change of scenery which can distract and take their mind off the crying.
Furthermore, the gentle swaying motion of the rocker is similar to what they felt while in the womb. And this can be very soothing for newborns. And lastly, many baby rockers are equipped with built in toys or musical features.
And these can help entertain and distract your baby briefly during their fussy period. Before we cover the most effective strategy to calm a fussy baby, I want to quickly mention something that I don't recommend. And I know some of you watching may disagree, and that is chiropractic care.
There are a few reasons why chiropractic for babies is not recommended here in Australia. Firstly, there is limited scientific research supporting the efficacy of chiropractic care for babies. Most of the information we have comes from individual stories or case reports, and these don't provide solid evidence that chiropractic care can help babies who cry excessively.
Secondly, babies are still growing and their bodies are really delicate. Their bones, joints and soft tissues are fragile, so chiropractic treatments can be harmful. If the treatment isn't done right, there's a chance of serious injuries like fractures or dislocations.
And lastly, not every chiropractor has specialized training or experience in working safely with babies. And this means there's a risk they could use the wrong treatment and potentially harm a baby. And because of these reasons, I don't recommend using chiropractic care to treat a colicky baby.
Finally, the most effective strategy for calming a fussy baby is simply holding them. This strategy is so effective because you're essentially creating an environment which is similar to what they would have experienced when they were in the womb. When you hold your baby, they can hear your heartbeat, which is a familiar and soothing sound for them.
The way you hold them actually holds their arms and legs in a comforting, confined way. And this stimulates the feeling they would have felt when they were in the womb. Generally, their hands can reach their mouth, which allows them to self soothe by sucking on their fingers.
And often you may be walking or moving around while you hold them. And this mimics the movements they would have felt when they were in the womb. There are actually four unique ways to hold your baby that will be particularly helpful during this colicky period.
And that's a whole video in itself. So make sure you watch this video next, where I walk you through all of these four holding techniques so you can use them to soothe your crying baby. Honestly, it's amazing how well these holding techniques work, especially when it seems like your baby is inconsolable, no matter what you try.
So make sure you check it out.
