Looking back to 3 years ago when I was pregnant with Erin, I feel like I probably should have done more reading. Not in a read for pleasure sense but more of pregnancy and parenting books. I know that some people think that these kinds of books put the fear of God into you and can be like Googling something when you’re ill but I think they would have prepared me so much more. You see, as a first time parent especially, there are so many things I didn’t know and hadn’t even heard of. One of these things is Colic. I am the 1 in 3 British mums who was unaware of Infant Colic.
What is Colic?
Put simply, Colic is excessive and frequent crying in a baby who may seem ordinarily healthy. There are certain signs and symptoms that you can look out for and these include:
- Intense crying bouts
- Crying in the late afternoon or evening that lasts several hours
- The baby’s face is red and flushed when they cry
- The baby clenches their fists, draws their knees up or arches their back while crying
Infant Colic can affect 1 in 5 newborn babies which really, is quite a high number!
How can it be helped?
There are plenty of ways to help soothe your baby if you think they have Colic.
Infacol’s easy to use drops, suitable straight from birth help to relieve wind, infant colic and griping pain. Infacol comes in a natural orange flavour but is sugar, alcohol and colourant free and should be given over the space of a few days for best results!
When Erin was a baby and wouldn’t sleep both John and I would try singing or humming to her to help calm her down. We’re not alone as 95% of other parents have tried similar things! Only 67% of parents tried the radio or the TV but we found having the lights and soft sounds from the TV really helped Erin in the middle of the night, especially if we had all of the other lights off in the room.
Something I wish we could have tried was going for a drive. Erin falls asleep really well in a car now but as we don’t drive, it’s not something we could ever try. However, 88% of the nation’s parents have admitted to taking their baby for a drive to help get them to calm down and go to sleep. I don’t blame them really either! I think I would have probably got myself a McDonald’s while I was out at the same time!
Let’s get educated
To help people understand more, and become more aware of Colic, Infacol and Cry-sis have launched Colic Awareness Month (each September). The aim is to educate and support parents to ensure they are able to make the most of every second of being a parent, rather than worry about sleepless nights thinking about why their child is crying so much.
If, like me, you hadn’t heard of Cry-sis before then here’s a bit more about them:
Cry-sis is a national charity that provides help and support to families with excessively crying, sleepless and demanding babies. Cry-sis runs a national telephone helpline that is available to callers every day of the year between 9am and 10pm. Callers are referred to a trained volunteer member of Cry-sis who has personal experience of crying or sleep problems within their own family.
If you think your baby has colic then please don’t go it alone. Talk to your friends and family, or make an appointment to see your GP and remember, the team at Cry-sis could help to give you some tips and advice for how to deal with Colic.
Want to win a 0-6m sleeping bag from The White Company?
Infacol and Cry-sis have teamed up with the White Company to make people more aware of Infant Colic and to spread the word about Colic Awareness Month. We have a beautiful White Company sleeping bag to give away which is suitable for babies aged 0-6 months and worth £32. For your chance to win, please enter below:
This giveaway is open to UK residents and ends on 16th November at 23:49. Please see Gleam widget for full T&Cs.
Win A White Company Sleeping Bag (0-6m)
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Disclaimer: This is a collaborative post. All opinions are our own.