Colic can present a significant challenge for many parents; it's not easy to know what to do for a child who is in pain but unable to say what's wrong and what's going to make things better. Colic is caused by trapped wind and varies a great deal from child to child in terms of intensity and frequency, but there is much that homeopathy and traditional wisdom can do to ease both your baby's and therefore your own suffering.
Below I'll detail the traditional wisdom and some general points to consider, and in my post next week we'll see the principal homeopathic remedies that you can prescribe for your colicky child.
- If you are a breastfeeding mother, please first consider your own diet, as there are a number of foods which are known to affect babies through the milk. The following are the usual suspects: dairy, brassica, alcohol, caffeine, chocolate, spicy food and citrus. As you can see, the very things that the exhaustion of nursing a colicky baby will lead you to reach for, can in fact compound the problem.
- Staying on the subject of diet, if you're weaning your child, ensure that you eliminate any suspect foods from your baby's diet.
- A major cause of colic is taking in air while feeding. This can be an issue in bottle-fed babies when the teat is not of an appropriate size. It can occur in breastfed babies if the flow of milk is too strong. This can be eased by ensuring regular feeding or trying different positions.
- Consider giving your child fennel seed tea. Simmer a teaspoonful of seeds in a pint of water for 5-7 minutes, strain the seeds and leave to cool. Give your baby the cooled tea in a bottle or on a teaspoon.
- Gentle abdominal massage in a clockwise direction can help your baby to poo, which may ease things.
- Cranial osteopathy can do wonders for colicky babies or unexplained crying in very young babies. Give cranial osteopathy especial consideration if your labour was long or traumatic.
- Last but absolutely not least, look after yourself and make sure you're having enough fluids and eating regularly, and take a break if that's an option. It's all too easy to lose sight of your own needs when managing the needs of a baby.
I hope that has been of help. We'll look next week at homeopathic remedies for colic but in the meantime, if you have any queries, be sure to get in touch. Thanks for reading.
