Twenty percent of infants suffer from colic. If your baby is one of them, this action plan is for you.
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It's 5 o'clock in the evening, the witching hour. Right on cue, little Zachary
transforms from a sweet-faced angel to a screaming red demon.
Every night as the
day winds down, the 4-month-old winds up, and the crying begins. It's enough to
break your heart. And enough to break your spirit. Even the mellowest parents
have been reduced to tears and desperation by the wails of their wee ones. Twenty
percent of infants suffer from colic (crying at least three hours per day, three
days per week, three weeks in a row), according to the American Academy of
Pediatrics. A set of symptoms rather than a disease, it has been the subject of
many years of research, yet experts still can't identify its cause. Many people
will tell you that there is nothing you can do for it, but they are wrong. Help
is on the way.
Learn Your Child's Signals
Our approach is "What can we do to help the infant?" says Barry Lester, Ph.D., director of the Infant Develop-ment Center at Women & Infants' Hospital of Rhode Island in Providence. Co-founded in 1996 by Lester, the Infant Development Center (IDC) conducts ongoing research on all aspects of neonatal development, including sleeping and crying. In response to the demands for advice from many parents, the IDC formed The Infant Behavior, Cry & Sleep Program (IBCS Program), the only one of its kind, to help parents of colicky infants.
Contrary to what your mother and perhaps even your pediatrician may believe, Lester knows that there are definite steps you can take to help alleviate your child's colic (see "Tips for Treating Colic," page 42). Zack Boukydis, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown Medical School and co-founder of the IBCS Program, stresses learning to watch your child's cues, read his signals and respond accordingly. Parents in the program keep a 24-hour diary of their child's sleeping, crying and eating habits. Treatments vary for each family, and multiple facets are addressed, including feeding, sleeping, crying and family support.
Conditions That May Play a Part
Factors that may contribute to colic include overstimulation, bad sleep routines and gastroesophageal reflux, a digestive problem common in infants due to undeveloped muscles in the esophagus. Because babies can't tell us that their stomachs are upset, one of the first tactics in the IBCS Program is to assess, using a standardized survey, whether the infant may be in gastric distress.
If the child is found to be a good candidate for gastroesophageal reflux treatment, parents are encouraged to work with their baby's pediatrician to try a medical approach to ease the reflux, such as treatment with antigas products. The medicinal treatment is combined with practical remedies, such as thickening the baby's formula and feeding the baby in a more upright position. If the diaries show diminished crying, the parents continue these practices until the esophageal muscles fully develop, generally at around 9 months of age.
Perhaps the biggest mistake you can make is to use tricks to get your baby to sleep. You know them, the time-honored ploys of beleaguered parents: rocking, feeding, walking and singing the baby to sleep. Most parents will do anything to make their baby fall asleep. But here's the rub: The only one who can make a baby sleep is the baby himself. "Babies need to self-soothe," says Boukydis. "It's important that they learn to settle down, snuggle into bed and put themselves to sleep. If you don't give them the chance to develop these skills, you will be battling sleep problems throughout their early childhood." The mantra at the IDC is "down drowsy but awake."
The most important thing you can do is to watch your baby carefully. Your baby may not be able to talk, but he will let you know how he feels. By the second time your baby yawns or rubs his eyes, he is well on his way to being overtired. Boukydis works with parents, teaching them to step back and recognize the sleepiness signs. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater, though. Experts agree that you cannot "spoil" a baby. You should still hug and cuddle your baby, just be certain to put him down before he is fully asleep. This way he will learn to listen to his internal sleepy cues and trust his surroundings.
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