The Dreaded Colic – A “CRYsis” for the whole family
INFANT CRYING IS A FACT OF LIFE. Fortunately, most of the time, even a baby’s most passionate shrieks just mean he’s hungry, wet, soiled or lonely. And, he will melt into blissful quiet once you give him what he needs. But, what if your cute little guy keeps blasting even though his diaper is dry and you’re cuddling him in your arms? What happens if you try everything and he still doesn’t stop screaming? That’s when parents start to wonder if their baby has COLIC.
The word infant comes from the ancient Latin and means “without a voice”. However, as many parents can attest, babies with colic have more than a voice – they have the energy to cry longer and louder than any adult!
All babies (with colic or not) have short periods of crying during the day but usually these bouts only last for a few minutes, totaling about ½ hour a day. And these babies settle quickly once they’re fed, picked up or carried. Infants with colic, however, are different. Babies with colic flail and kick and let out frantic screams. Once they get started, they can yell, on and off, for hours.
Tags: Colic
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When my husband and I look back on the first 6 weeks of our daughters life, we laugh at how often I tried to feed her. She cried so much that my reaction was always, Oh, feeding time. And the feeding never really did the trick. Eventually we figured out it was colic. She kicked and screamed like mad and it was actually a little frightening. Remember theres crying and then theres REALLY CRYING and if its colic feeding or changing might not do the trick. THANK YOU DR KARP.
No kidding – it really is a CRYsis. LOL. I told my sister I thought her newborn had colic becuase of the way she would cry for hours on end – she looked at me like I was crazy and then after a couple weeks of endless crying she started to feel like the crazy one. LOL. Luckily it usually just goes away with time
Amalia, your sister probably felt the way most parents do when colic enters the picture. You start to blame yourself and feel like its your fault and that your parenting skills arent up to snuff. But the truth is theres little you can do to cure colic – all you can do is make sure your baby is comfortable and soothe him or her until the crying subsides.
Were dealing with a 3-week-old with colic right now – in fact, he is doing a symphony of crying from the next room as I write this – and it was really terrifying for the first few days. Weve found that the SHHHING makes a big difference. I was just about to lose my mind until my sister gave me The Happiest Baby DVD.
Yes, Briggs is right, so many parents feel guilt and shame when their baby has colic. That crying and crying starts to make them feel like theyre responsible, but there is really no discernable cause for colic.
got the dvd today my baby 21/2 weeks just not getting it i know it will take time but he fights the swaddeling so badly and gets so overheated the only thing working from the dvd is the sounds he stops crying then driftd to sleep for only 2 hours any advice on just getting the swaddeling in play
The 5 S’s were a lifesaver! I don’t know how my husband and I would have survived that time if we hadn’t learned about Dr. Karp’s techniques in a birthing class. We were so overwhelmed and tired, the non-stop crying can make anyone feel vulnerable and powerless.