Here are five easy tips for calming a baby who cannot seem to stop the waterworks.
- Watch what you’re eating if your breastfeeding. Colic is believed to come from dietary allergies or irritants in a new babies diet, so by avoiding dairy, caffeine and chocolate that can often help. At the same note make sure your baby is breast feeding properly and getting enough to eat each time because an empty tummy can be worst then an upset one for crying babies.
- Warm bottles to body temp and feed frequently. For bottle-fed babies, making sure they are full and happy is important. Try cutting back the amount of each bottle and doing more frequent feedings.
- Make sure to burp! Remember colic is typically associated with babies having upset tummies. By making sure they’re getting gas out can help solve the most frantic of criers.
- Cuddle and swaddle. Newborns need attention, and skin to skin contact can calm even the fussiest of babies. Sweet talking them with soothing tones also helps. Babies also love to be warm and calm, so subdued lighting, calming sounds (try white noise or ocean or rain sounds) and a good snuggle - or swaddling them - can usually do the trick.
- Move it! When all else fails, a change of scenery can do the trick when dealing with a colicky baby. Going for a walk around the block, going for a drive or even walking into different rooms helps distract a fussy baby. Or hand the baby off to dad, a grandparent or even a helpful neighbor to give yourself a break
