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A UK Pregnancy, Parenting and Lifestyle Blog
July 17, 2014

Topic Thursday: Colic in Babies

Colic. The word parents have either never heard of or the word that fills parents with fear! We’ve been struggling for over two weeks now with Isla in the evenings and one of the main explanations that keeps cropping up is colic.

Colic is a strange one in the sense that it provokes so many different opinions and advice strategies. it is usually defined as:
‘excessive, frequent crying in a baby who appears to be otherwise healthy and well fed’

It affects up to 1 in 5 babies and is a poorly understood condition. Apparently it usually starts in babies in their first few weeks of life at stops by 4 months or 6 months at the latest. It’s a bit strange in our case because Isla was 11 weeks old when it really kicked off (if it is colic!). She did have a few episodes at around 4 weeks and 6 weeks of uncontrollable crying in the afternoon but nothing like it has been for the past few weeks…


When a baby has colic it looks like they are in distress but the crying/screaming are not harmful to them and they should still feed well and gain weight. We’ve noticed that Isla’s face goes a bit red and she clenches her fists and arches her back sometimes – apparently these are signs of colic. Babies can also draw their knees up to their tummies during a crying outburst too.

Colic is apparently just as common in breast fed babies as it is in bottle fed babies. Isla is bottle fed and I had a few people tell me that this makes her more susceptible to colic but it would appear they were wrong!

The thing is with Isla, she’s always brought up her wind pretty well so I don’t think that can be what’s bothering her so much. We use Dr Brown’s bottles, which are fab, and know the techniques that work best on her for burping. We’ve also been using Infacol before every feed for a week now with no difference. Might need to try Colief if it doesn’t kick in soon!

The crying comes out of no where between 6 and 8pm and can continue for up to 2 hours at the moment. A few times it has started in the afternoon as well. I do try to make sure she isn’t overstimulated throughout the day as I know this can be a contributing factor.

It is utterly heartbreaking to hear your baby crying in the way they cry when it could be colic. It’s like a whole new level of crying and nothing you can do will help or soothe them. We’ve been utterly exhausted trying to help Isla out in the evening. On occasion, we’ve both had to walk away for 5-10 mins because it’s just too much. Some nights, literally nothing will work. We will take her for a walk in her pram, take her in the car, rock her, walk around with her…you name it, we try it and it doesn’t help! As long as baby is in a safe place, it’s totally ok to leave for 5 mins, refresh and go back and try again.

These are some common tips for helping a baby with colic though:
  • Tuning into baby’s signals – recognise pre-cry cues and try and distract before it starts with a feed, change, sleep etc
  • Make sure baby is relatively upright during feeding and prevent air swallowing in bottle fed babies
  • Try anti colic bottles (Dr Browns and Tommee Tippee ones look the best)
  • Try Infacol, Colief, gripe water before feeds

  • Burp baby after every feed (don’t know why you wouldn’t anyway!)
  • Massaging baby’s tummy clockwise to help trapped wind
  • Let baby have a dummy for comfort sucking
  • Quiet things down before bedtime to prevent overstimulation
  • Try white noise (we’ve got a sleep sheep and an app on my phone)
  • Rock baby
  • Hold baby close to you
  • Give baby a warm bath (this makes Isla much worse!)

Once Isla does get to sleep, she’s pretty good. She will go from 10 or 11pm to around 4 or 5am which confuses me…do colicky babies sleep for this long a period or do they wake up?


At a ‘Life with Baby’ class, run by health visitors, that I went to this week, I brought it up but there wasn’t much they could say to help. They just went over all the signs and the soothing techniques above. It looks like it’s just a case of waiting it out. I know babies go through developmental leaps too which can’t help matters and probably contributes to the issue.


I guess it sums up how loose a term colic is and how it’s not actually that well understood if we’re not even 100% sure it’s what our baby has just now! All the signs do point towards it though…



Here’s a bit more info on colic:

http://www.cry-sis.org.uk/index.html

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Colic/Pages/Introduction.aspx

http://www.babycentre.co.uk/a77/colic

http://purplecrying.info

Here’s hoping whatever it is, it goes soon. Hope your babies haven’t/aren’t suffering with colic!
Binky Linky
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Kisses and cuddles with my faves 💖💫 Kisses and cuddles with my faves 💖💫
‘Each of us as citizens, has a role to play in c ‘Each of us as citizens, has a role to play in creating a better world for our children.’ - Nelson Mandela ❤️
It’s not enough though, is it? We’ve always h It’s not enough though, is it?

We’ve always had diverse toys in our house (not enough, but I’m working on it ❤️), but when questioned ‘why do you buy your kids Black dolls?’, I’ve faltered and answered incorrectly. I would respond saying ‘because that’s the doll Isla liked the best. What does it matter? We’re all human’, rather than questioning why that person is questioning it in the first place.

In a massive learning curve this week, where I am actively trying to become an anti-racist ally, not just anti-racist/non racist in general, I have found so many shortcomings in my effort to educate my kids and in my own attitudes towards race. But this isn’t about me. So here are some resources I’d like to share on top of the ones shared in my stories.

Some books to read:
Me and White Supremacy - Layla F. Saad.
Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race - Reni Eddo-Lodge.
How to argue with a racist - Adam Rutherford.
Brit(ish) - Afua Hirsch.
White Fragility - Robin Diangelo.
I Am Not Your Baby Mother - Candice Brathwaite.
So You Want to Talk About Race - Ijeoma Oluo.

Diverse kids books:
Anti Racist Baby - X. Kendi.
Riley Can Be Anything -Davina Hamilton.
Look Up - Nathan Bryon.
Mae Among The Stars - Roda Ahmed.
The Mega Magic Hair Swap - Rochelle Humes.
Let’s Talk About Race - Julius Lester.
Welcome To Our World - Moira Butterfield and Harriet Lynas.
This Book Is Antiracist - Tiffany Jewell.
The Extraordinary Gardener - Sam Boughton.
Let The Children March - Monica Clark-Robinson.
Ruby’s Worry - Tom Percival.
A Kids Book About Racism - Jelani Memory.

Some things to watch:
When They See Us.
13th.
Who Killed Malcom X.
Time: The Kalief Browder Story.
Explained: The Racial Wealth Gap.
Dear White People.
I am Not Your Negro.

My to do list:
- Sign more petitions.
- Donate to more causes.
- Listen to podcasts and share.
- Encourage changes in the school curriculum so that my children, and their classmates, get a better, much more rounded and diverse education.
- Call things out.
- Have honest/open conversations.
- Share content.
- To keep educating myself, whilst never expecting others to do it for me.

It’s just a starting point.

Thanks for listening x
Black Lives Matter. I can never pretend to unders Black Lives Matter.

I can never pretend to understand, but I will always stand.

I’ve been on a huge learning curve this week and have, shamefully, come to the realisation, which I should have a long time ago, that it’s not enough to just not be racist. We must also be actively anti-racist and do everything in our power to ensure our children are too.

Today is a day to stop, listen, support, educate ourselves, donate, sign petitions, take action in any way we can, big and small, to make sure that everyone knows we stand with our fellow humans, family and friends. But we can’t just do this today. We must do it each and every day going forward ✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼✊🏻
And breathe! First day without both my babies for And breathe! First day without both my babies for the first time in 10 weeks today and it couldn’t have gone better. Both had wonderful days and were full of stories when they got home. I said over on stories last night, which got an incredible response so thank you to everyone who reached out, that I am completely comfortable with my choice to send the kids back to school and nursery but would never, ever judge anyone who felt different. We are all in different boats in this storm we’ve found ourselves in and what works for my family, might not work for yours. I have deliberately stayed out of the ‘are you sending your kids back or not?’ debate as it started to feel like another toxic discussion, in the media and on social media, that was resulting in yet another parenting divide.
I could have had the kids in this whole time, under key worker provision, but tried my best to hang on till the phased reopenings that I hoped would happen when they did. They were what I was aiming towards. Don’t get me wrong, I have LOVED having the kids at home together for such a sustained period, we have made lots of memories and learnt so much more about each other, but mixed in with the nature of my job and the fact that @thisdadalife is deployed and so I’m on my own with minimal support, I couldn’t have gone on much longer.
When I got in from dropping them off today, and as I went upstairs to work at my desk, I literally collapsed on the stairs and almost cried in relief. Relief that we made it through, as dramatic as that sounds. I don’t think I realised the toll it was taking mentally as I was constantly running on adrenaline.
I am so happy to get a bit more balance back and to, most importantly, feel like a better mum again. Not a snappy trying to juggle it all 24/7 with no break mum.
If you sent your kids back today, whether you wanted to or not, I’m with you and support you.
If you have kept them home in your bubble for longer, I’m with you and support you.
If you’re still unsure what to do and are undecided, I am with you and support you.
Nobody knows the full extent of someone else’s circumstances and we have to stop and realise that before we judge anyone else ❤️
Ibiza vibes in Puerto Gardeno today 😂☀️😅 Ibiza vibes in Puerto Gardeno today 😂☀️😅
This is the first year in YEARS that I have felt ok wearing a bikini. And I feel like it’s more down to how strong I feel, rather than how I look. Whatever it is, I hope it continues ❤️
On another note, how tanned does the @filterbymollymae fake tan make you look! 🙌🏻
(Both bikini and cover up are from last year).
#losingmyboobstho #youwinsomeyoulosesomehaha
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