Baby Gas - How to Help Baby through Colic
August 192008
The biggest hurdle with baby colic is nobody really knows what it is. Just like Attention Deficit Disorder, there seems to be no explanation for this frustrating disorder. All babies cry. And they all have baby gas. Some cry very little and others cry all the time. Some babies cry when they are hungry, have pooped or are sick. But there are also some well fed, clean babies who cry forever and forever. But when a baby cries each day at the same time for a period of few weeks and you have done every thing to comfort him/her, then your baby has colic.
Others define colic as a baby crying for more than 3 hours a day, three days a week for more than 3 weeks, in an otherwise well fed health baby. However, all babies do not fit into this rigid criteria; the point is that the crying must have the same pattern/time on a daily basis.
Colic does not happen right after birth. It appears to be more common after the first 3 weeks of birth and continues up to the age of 3 months. Most colicky babies improve by the age of 3 months.
A colicky baby can drive you nuts. It is a very distressing disorder for both the baby and the parents. The natural instinct of all parents is to worry that there is something wrong with the baby, but when this happens on a daily basis, for a few weeks or months, it can only be described as hell.
However, all parents should take relief from one fact- colic is not forever and most babies out grow the condition. Most babies will have colic for about a month or so and then all of a sudden it will disappear.
Since most babies are fussy and some are very irritable, what does colic really mean? The typical symptoms of colic include the following:
- Crying episodes which are predictable and occur at the same time every day. Most babies have these crying episodes late in the afternoon or evening (especially when you go to bed).
- The duration of crying is variable but can last anywhere from a few minutes to 2-3 hours each day. The baby may just start to cry for no obvious reason and no amount of reassuring can help. At the end of the crying episode, the baby may end up popping or pass gas.
- The colicky crying is quite intense and can be worrisome. The baby will show signs of facial flushing and may appear to be in agony. And it is not unheard of parents to rush to the Emergency rooms night after night.
- Colicky crying is also associated with changes in the baby’s posture; the baby may have the legs withdrawn and the fists clenched as if in agony. In most cases, the abdomen is tense.
The exact number of babies affected by this disorder is not really known but surveys indicate that at least 1/3 of babies suffer colic. Most colic episodes terminate at around 3 months, but for some unfortunate parent the baby may continue to have colic for a little longer. The majority of colic episodes end by the age of 9 months.
Colic and Baby Gas can now be solved with the help of the exercises from the Baby Fart Aerobics DVD. We learned that certain baby massage techniques soothe infant colic symptoms and baby gas. Moreover, the techniques were simple, and baby and parents looked like they were having fun.