He infant colic It is one of the most frequent reasons for pediatric consultation due to the suffering that it generates in a baby of a few days or weeks and that which causes the parents, who in many cases become desperate for not knowing what to do to help them.
It is a cry that does not stop, that parents interpret as a moment of pain, anger and discomfort of children, which makes us try to act in some way and in many cases leads us to lose our nerves, because of the helplessness and exhaustion of seeing that despite our efforts, the baby continues to cry.
If you are in this situation and would like to know what are the possible causes and try to help your baby stop crying, then we explain what is infant colic and what are the possible solutions to treat it.
What is infant colic
In medicine there is a very useful diagnosis but very little specific for those situations in which a person explains that he is not well, but the cause is not found: general discomfort. It is something like saying "this person is wrong, but we still don't know why", and that diagnosis lasts until the final one is found that finally replaces it.
In Babies and more Colic in the baby: is it true that there are foods during breastfeeding that produce gas?Well, in pediatrics something similar happens when a baby of a few days cries and parents do not find a way to calm him: infant colic or baby colic. In fact, it is so unspecific that in many publications it is no longer called colic, but inconsolable crying baby, which is the same as saying nothing:
- Madam, your baby has an episode of inconsolable crying of the baby.
- Do not tell me, I had not noticed ... thankfully I have come (answers the mother ironically).
So as it is the same as saying nothing, it seems that colloquially it is better "infant colic" or "baby colic", which does sound a little more sick:
- Madam, your baby has colic.
- Wow, I imagined it. I already said that so much crying could not be normal.
The problem is that it could be something, or not be anything, because as I say you have to delve a little to know if it could be solved.
Symptoms of babies with colic
First of all, before starting to look for causes and solutions is to know if the baby really suffers from infant colic, because all babies cry and there are parents who think they are colic when all they have is a baby who is communicating to them something. For example, leave the baby in the crib and expecting him to sleep alone is absurd on many occasions, and will only cause crying. He has no colic, you have left him alone.
On the other hand, that two or three hours have passed after the last take and cry more and more, it is not colic, but hunger. Similarly, a baby may cry from sleep, because he has a "pierced pedet" (gas), or wants to poop and does not come out, and then that is not colic (this is known as infant disquecia). There are even parents who say: "He has colic, he cries a lot, but we catch him and he passes." No, this is not colic, this is loneliness.
Is considered infant colic when crying happens in a baby of less than three months of life, which occurs in the afternoons, usually after six, which usually begins towards the second or third week of life reaching the highest peak over the sixth week, when you can cry up to three hours in a row, at least three days a week. In addition, it is a cry that does not stop if it is fed, if it is caught in its arms or if it is covered (by cold).
Possible causes of inconsolable crying of the baby
This crying so annoying, that it is solved only after the baby turns three months old, when it is more mature and cries less and less, it may be due to various causes that are accompanied by the resulting solutions (or attempted solution).
Milk allergy, lactose intolerance, ...
The first of the possible causes of crying in the baby is that something he is eating is not doing well. It can be lactose or cow's milk protein from infant formulas that replace breastfeeding, or it can be something the mother eats that happens to milk And it bothers him.
If this is why, the crying of the baby usually escapes the definition of colic, because a baby with an allergy or intolerance does not cry only in the afternoon, but also at night and in the morning; But as he cries so much and the parents say that "they will be colic" (and sometimes some professional), it is worth considering.
In Babies and more Probiotics may help reduce infant colic in breastfed infants If the baby is breastfed, it is usual for crying to be caused by some type of exciting substance (drinks with caffeine) or dairy products. The solution then goes through remove caffeinated drinks and wait two or three days to see if there is change. If there is, take them again to confirm (if you take them again to cry, the cause of the crying is clear). If this is not, then the test is done with milk and derivatives (or first with this, and if it fails it passes to caffeine), eliminating any product that may contain milk, waiting a few days and then introducing them again if it has stopped crying.
In case you take a bottle, the recommendation is exchange artificial milk for a hypoallergenic formula, to see if this reduces crying.
Feed the baby after crying
Breastfeeding is given on demand, and feeding with artificial milk too. This means that as soon as the baby begins to moan, and before he cries, it is necessary to feed him, regardless of whether one, two, three or four hours have passed. If the baby cries, and if he does so loudly, he begins to swallow air, begins to suffer stress and anxiety, and all this affects two things: that at the end of the day be saturated and exceeded for having had a bad time during the day and having air to be burped.
Of the two things the worst comes first, because the air leaves with a simple burp. But if he eats with air, with discomfort because he wants to kick him out and cannot, he can also get nervous and eat in disgust.
In this sense, it is advisable to arrive on time and not late, if possible, (when crying it is late), and in case of feeding the baby with a bottle do it with an anti-colic bottle or with an air valve that allows the air to enter, eliminating the vacuum that causes the suction in it. Bottles without valves are emptying as the baby takes out the milk and there is a point where it has to stop for air to enter and the milk can continue to fall, and some babies do not like this too much.
On the other hand, we must respect the demand of the baby and not try to finish the bottles at our whim. If you prepare 60 and leave 20, do not go insisting to take them, because we will fill it too much and bother you, at the risk of throwing milk, or even worse, that you do not pour it and spend an hour or two doing a heavy and annoying digestion.
Alteration of the intestinal flora
It is now, in recent years, when it is being discovered that the intestinal flora of babies is totally different if they are born by vaginal delivery or caesarean section, and totally different depending on the food they receive. This makes digestions very different from each other, and that they have to ferment food in a more annoying way, generating more gases, greater abdominal distension and more crying.
For these cases the change of milk can be useful (when they take artificial), because the flora of these babies does not reach the level of those who are breastfed, or probiotic administration that can become part of the baby's flora to help in their digestions, although it is not yet proven to be a completely useful solution.
It has also been used for a long time for babies with some herbs such as chamomile and lime. They usually contain more sugar than herbs, so they are not recommended. It is better, in any case, and whenever the pediatrician indicates so, do a normal chamomile and give one or two teaspoons if it improves.
Being the belly, in addition, it works very well anti-colic posture, which is all that in which the baby is caught holding his abdomen, exerting minimal pressure. Whenever we hold your belly a little, you will find something better and will be closer to relaxing than if we take it differently.
In addition, massages can be useful to help the baby release intestinal gas and poop. A visit to a physiotherapist Treating babies can be very useful as therapy and to teach parents what kind of intervention they can carry out at home to continue with it.
Gastroesophageal reflux
Another cause of crying is baby's gastro-esophageal reflux, which is the passage of stomach acid up into the esophagus, which causes crying in the baby because of the pain. In this case the crying is not only in the afternoon, but it happens at any time, and being impossible to calm many people confuses it with colic.
However, being so repeated, being so irritable, you should go to the pediatrician to carry out the relevant tests that rule out or confirm the diagnosis, since reflux is treated.
Let it be none of this, but a "I can not more"
Finally, it is possible that it is nothing we have said and that the crying in the afternoon responds to a "I can't anymore" of the baby. A sum of all the stimuli that he receives throughout the day that, when arriving late-night, make him burst into tears as the only escape valve to the stress or anxiety he has felt.
Why anxiety? For anything: it's a baby and not able to reason, so you can't understand what your discomforts are, why, or know that they will be calm right away. A baby only cries when he is sick and if help takes time, stress makes him cry more and more so that the solution does not take longer.
Given this it is recommended to use a baby carrier during the day, so that we can take you there, so that you go vertically and can release the gases you want as well as to be in motion and in contact with the body of mom or dad. Or in arms: many arms as prevention of colic, to prevent them from appearing later.
Other solutions, just in case
We have given the possible solution to each cause, but they all work for everything, because as we say the cause is unknown, and because it can actually be more than one at a time: a baby may cry because his belly bothers him, but also because in the afternoon he is very overwhelmed.
As a baby can also cry for other things that we have not mentioned, or as there are other things that can help in the above cases, we leave you with some of the solutions that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends, in addition to those we have already commented:
- Wrap the baby in a blanket so he feels warm and safe.
- In case the mom or dad smoke, try quit smoking or do it outside the house.
- Do not smoke if you get pregnant again.
- When the person with the baby feels that he is in tension and anxious about crying that does not stop, he should ask another person to take care of the baby and leave the house for a while. If there is no one with whom to share the care of the baby in that situation and the person who has it in his arms begins to lose his nerves it is better to leave it in the crib crying You lose your temper and shake the baby. This could cause blindness, brain injury or even death.
