If the child shows attacks of severe anxiety, which accompanies a long and piercing cry, then, most likely, he has colic. However, despite everything, the baby has an appetite, he eats well, normally arrives in weight, and the pediatrician does not show any deviations in his state of health. About how to relieve colic in infants and will be discussed below.
How does colic look?
The child ceaselessly cries for several hours, often in the evenings, at times sharply screams, pushes the legs or "knots" them, can perform pretentious movements with the whole body. At the same time, his stomach is slightly puffed up and tense, often after the gases come off or defecate, he calms down for a while. At the same time he often looks for the breast, greedily grabs it only to immediately throw and scream with renewed vigor.
According to various sources, colic is observed in 30-45% of infants. What is characteristic, more often they suffer children, who are extremely troublesome parents, and who tend to worry about the slightest occasion. The kid always has a close emotional connection with the mother, so the anxious mother always has a restless baby.
Often colic can provoke a banal overfeed. The overflow of the child's gastrointestinal tract causes its stretching, gas formation, spasms, pain. Some babies suck very greedily and at the same time swallow together with the mother's milk a large amount of air, which causes regurgitation, as well as painful sensations during and after feeding.
Some of the children are born with relative functional immaturity of the gastrointestinal tract, which contributes to increased gas production, uncoordinated shrinkage of the intestine and, ultimately, pain. Also, infants often have transitory (temporary) failure of the enzymatic function, which disrupts the digestion and assimilation of even the mother's milk. Not to mention artificial mixtures.
Another reason for the occurrence of colic in infants is a transient disorder of the intestinal microflora. The child is born sterile, the first day of life is the colonization of his intestines with microflora. Not all of this process runs smoothly. A large amount of microflora that promotes fermentation, other unfavorable processes in the intestine, can cause colic in infants.
When treatment is not required
And, despite all this, colic is not a disease, it is a temporary condition that does not require specific medical measures. The child must cope with his problems himself. Our task is to lightly help him to relieve colic and calm himself.
Colic is not dangerous to the health of the baby, does not violate its growth and development. And only persistent, uncontrollable colic will require medication. But, most likely, it will not be colic, but some kind of disease, manifested by colic symptoms. Therefore, the examination of the doctor with persistent colic is mandatory. But the doctor did not find any significant deviations, the weight of the baby is gaining good, it develops as expected, but every night until midnight, it screams itself and others around.
How to help?
First of all, you need to provide the baby with adequate food quality. Food that is able to assimilate the immature gastrointestinal tract, which contains already prepared enzymes, protective antibodies, which has the optimal composition and caloric content, is the mother's milk. And no, even the most highly adapted, mixtures today can not replace it. To feed the child it is necessary, of course, on demand, but without search. You can practice intermittent feeding, especially in greedy sucking children, giving the opportunity to regurgitate swallowed air. Be sure to ensure that the child can grasp the mouth not only the nipple itself, but also the area of the parasol - so it will swallow less air when sucking. At the end of feeding, you need to hold the baby as long as possible in an upright position to allow his stomach to completely free of air.
Mom, breastfeeding, you must follow a certain diet. Contraindicated products such as cabbage, peas, beans, radish, grapes, sweets. These products tend to enhance the process of fermentation in the intestines and cause seizures of flatulence, as well as avoiding highly allergenic foods.
If you feed the child with a mixture, choose highly adapted mixtures with the characteristics necessary for it: the presence of thickeners (with regurgitation), the addition of bifidobacteria (in cases of microflora disorders), etc. Choose a mixture will help you doctor. Use for feeding a bottle of a special shape or with special nozzles, helping the baby not to swallow a lot of air. And exactly as with breastfeeding, you can feed intermittently and keep upright if the child sucks with greed. Do not forget to follow the frequency of the stool from the baby. Stool or gas stasis may be the cause of colic. Normal stools in children - from 7-8 times a day to 1 time in 2 days, but there should be no worry!
There are children who simply need to be carried more often on their hands, rocking. This applies to children with immature nervous system, premature, affected during childbirth. But there are also quite healthy children having a high need for physical contact with the mother. Such babies can be seen at once: picked up the silence, just put it in the crib - shout! And in the hands of the pope they scream with the same force as in the crib. Here, mother needs to make a choice: to show character and nervousness to the baby and herself, forming various problems in the future, or accepting him as he is - loving you, your touch, the smell of your body and requiring physical contact with your mother every hour.
Some children, on the contrary, behave more calmly in the hands of their father. My mother smells so delicious that I want to eat more and more, but it's time to rest. Such "gluttons" just need to stay away from mom from time to time.
When the baby is uneasy, you can attach to his tummy a hot iron and a towel folded or folded four times. Good help stroking the abdomen clockwise around the navel. You can take the baby in his arms, tightly press against his chest in an upright position. Some children are much more relaxed with tight swaddling. Why - is unclear. Perhaps this situation reminds the baby of that serene time when he was safe in a close maternal womb?
With intestinal colic in infants, some parents give dill water. From time to time this can help. But activated charcoal works better. Try to crush two smaller tablets and mix with 200 ml of boiled water. Such a drink, offer the baby several times a day. Also good to eliminate gassing in the intestines are simethicone based medicines, which can contain even chamomile and fennel.
Nowadays many children's herbal teas are on sale. Chamomile, mint, fennel, which are included in their composition, are quite acceptable, but all these teas are sweet, and the sugar is peculiar to intensify the process of fermentation in the intestines. So after tea, colic in infants may even increase. It is better to make tea with chamomile at home. Stock up with chamomile for internal use. Pour a teaspoon of chamomile with a glass of boiling water, close the lid and wait until the tea has cooled to room temperature. To drink a child this tea should be during the day to 20-30 ml, preferably on an empty stomach, and the temperature of the tea should be slightly above the body temperature.
From phytotherapy, you can recommend bathing infants in the bath, adding an infusion of soothing herbs. This motherwort, mint, valerian, melissa, sweet clover, cones of hops. These herbs should be allowed to stand on a water bath (2-3 tablespoons per half-liter of boiling water for 15 minutes), strain and add to the bath. The bathing procedure in this case should last at least 15 minutes, and the water temperature - 37-38 °. Baths of this kind relieve spasms of the intestines, improve blood circulation and soothe.
Just look carefully at your own child and you will be able to understand what he needs at the moment, which will help to relieve colic - breast babies need a special approach. After a while, everything will fall into place. Mom will get used to the baby, and the kid - to my mother. And everyone will breathe more freely.