Cry Busters Products that may help calm your baby 
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What's A Mother To Do?
First, be assured that you are a good mother, you have a normal baby, and almost
all babies with colic are going to be better by the time they are three months
old. If colic is suspected, your pediatrician will work with you to try to
isolate a cause and pursue a remedy. Possible feeding issues include:
- A food sensitivity in a bottle-fed baby A change in formula may help. Speak with your pediatrician, who can help you to develop a methodical approach to testing new formulas over time. Randomly trying different formulas over a few days' time is not a useful tactic.
- Food sensitivity to breast milk Your baby is not allergic to your breast milk, but he may be sensitive to dairy products or vegetables in the cabbage family. Remove possible offending foods from your diet (one at a time, for at least a week) to find out if that helps.
- Maternal depression or disruption in the household Get therapeutic support and recognize the importance of caring for yourself even as you learn to care for your new baby.
Dr. Klein recommends that parents make a list of all the things they might do to help soothe their baby. "When a baby under six months of age cries, you should attend to that baby. That doesn't mean you should rush to the crib every time you hear a little squeak or the beginning of a little cry. But when you are faced with a baby who is really wailing, especially if you are a new parent, it can be overwhelming. It helps to have some sort of action plan." He suggests the following options:
- Carry the baby in your arms. Babies who are carried cry less.
- Turn on the radio or the vacuum cleaner. The sound seems to distract and engage some babies.
- Place the baby in a bouncy seat. Some have wind-up mechanisms to gently rock the baby.
- Go for a car ride. A product called the SleepTight, a sound and vibration device, attaches to a crib and simulates the noise and motion of a moving car (see "Cry Busters" on page 34).
- Give the baby a pacifier before he's really worked up, and hold it for him. You may have to try several brands before you find one that your baby accepts. If you find one that works, buy half a dozen of them and keep them on hand throughout the house.
Alecia Arnay, a mother of four in Princeton, New Jersey, says her first three
children were like dress rehearsals for her baby, Andrew. "I don't really know
how I'd have coped if he was my first and not my fourth. I nursed all my kids and
they each had some kind of sensitivity. For one I took dairy out of my diet, and
for another I stopped eating dairy and wheat. But none of that seemed to help
Andrew, who had reflux. Even though we treated the reflux, he cried for the first
few months of his life."
When asked what advice she'd give a new mother with a fussy or colicky baby,
Arnay was unequivocal: "First, find the right pediatrician for your family. You
may be inexperienced as a parent, but you know what approach feels right to you.
Are you comfortable with the way the office is run? Do you have access to the
doctor without going through hoops? And don't listen to anyone who says you
should let your baby Ôcry it out.' Forget that! Go to your baby and start trying
to figure out what will help. For us, our best results were with the bouncy
chair. Being in a seated position really relieved him. It may seem as though
you're holding and bouncing your baby for four months straight, but it is going
to get better and you're all going to survive."
At this age, babies want their mama...so you take care of the baby, and your
partner can take care of you.
Jill Alison Ganon is a writer and mother in Pasadena,
California. She has co-authored three books on infant and child care for
HarperCollins Publishers. A revised edition of her book Twins! Pregnancy, Birth
and the First Year of Life is due out this September.
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