Womb to Bloom - Maternity & Beyond

Your baby is colicky? Here’s the good news – it’s just a phase. I can’t tell you how long it will last – but I’m fairly confident that, when your baby is ten years old, she will not come home from fifth grade and break down into inconsolable tears for several hours at a time every evening. So, yes. It’s a phase. Which doesn’t make it any less tolerable now, does it?

I’ve got four kids and I only had one baby (my first) who was truly colicky. One of the others gave me little tastes – but he had nothing on his big brother. His colicky periods always started at about 4 p.m. and lasted until about 8. I can specifically recall walking laps around the first floor of my home during maternity leave, rocking, swaying, bouncing a screaming baby (having fed him, changed him and burped him), singing softly into his ear.

Evening after evening.

We sat on a big exercise ball and slowly bounced while I watched “TRL” on MTV (the only thing on at 4 pm in that era other than Oprah – whom I can’t stand). Sometimes, I made up darling little ditties about how I was going to wring Daddy’s neck if he didn’t get home from work soon and help me. Really, I did. But they were always to a very sweet and soft tune!

As far as I can tell, no one is really sure what causes these colicky phases, although some feel strongly that it is gas or some gastro-intestinal pain. 

I ultimately found that “white noise” worked well for my son. The vacuum cleaner running often worked. The dryer usually worked (he sat in his car seat or bouncy seat ON THE FLOOR nearby – not on the dryer itself!!).

The surefire crying soother for us was the hair dryer. It was pretty weird. But he would sit in his bouncy on the floor of my bathroom and I would just let the hair dryer run (pointed away from him, of course). The vibration of the bouncy seat was usually helpful too. The relief he felt from that noise was almost palpable. Some people swear by the white noise machines that places like Brookstone and Sharper Image sell.

Some babies respond well to motion. The laps I did of my house were somewhat futile. So, motion was not the key for us. But try the sling, the front pack, the exercise ball, the swing (oh, God love the swing…) or a ride in the car. It might be the key for your baby.

For many, there could well be a gas issue. We used baby gas drops. I’m not convinced that they really worked – but I guess they didn’t hurt. Some parents use gripe water, a homeopathic colic remedy with natural ingredients. Often, the pediatrician will recommend a change in formula or even a change in mother’s diet if the baby is breastfeeding. Baby massage, even just a good tummy rub, can help at times too. Trust me, after even a few days of colic, you’ll try anything!

So, it’s a phase. Really. I swear. It might be three weeks. It shouldn’t be much longer than three months. But this too shall pass. Just hang in there. Take a break if you need it. Call someone to help out every once in a while when you know that time of the day is coming. And know that you’re not doing anything wrong. Colic is a mystery that hasn’t been cracked by generations of pediatricians and parents before you. Keep your chin up!