Tuesday, March 22, 2011

What Has Caused Colic in the Child in Your Care?

What Triggers Colic in Babies?

Helping a child with colic is primarily a matter of experimentation and observation. If you can identify and eliminate a trigger for the colic, that is best. Even if you can't, learn which measures most comfort the baby.

Possible Triggers:

Foods - If the baby is breast-fed the mother should avoid stimulants such as caffeine and chocolate. She should also eliminate dairy products and nuts for a few weeks, as these may be causing allergic reactions in the baby. People often hear that breastfeeding moms should avoid broccoli, cabbage, beans, and other gas-producing foods. However, there is not much evidence that these foods are a factor.

Formula - Switching formulas is NOT helpful for most babies, but is very important for some.

Medicine - Some medicines the breastfeeding mom may be taking can also lead to crying.

Feeding - If a bottle feeding takes less than 20-minutes, the hole in the nipple may be too large. Avoid overfeeding the infant or feeding too quickly.

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3 comments:

Reyna said...

The mother stopped eating foods that are likely to cause gas.

Anonymous said...

Def. making sure they burp after every bottle- sometimes stopping mid-way thru and trying to get a burp out helps- and never letting them lay down for a nap without burping.

Making sure they have comfy clothes on.

Playing soft music..even if it does not help the baby, it always helped me to keep calmer and mask some of the crying. And if I sang the baby would stop crying to listen. Going outside helped to-
for some reason watching a green tree or bush helped- even more so if it was swaying in the breeze.
Running water, a bath, baby massage- going for a stroller walk, car ride.

lovebeingananny said...

Changing baby bottles can help sometimes too. Make sure the mother's friends or other nanny friends come over for visits to help provide you with support.