One night when my baby Clarisse was 3 weeks old, she cried out hysterically loud and seemingly inconsolable. Her face went red, hands clenched and legs lifted up screaming on top of her lungs. Gasping for air in between outbursts. My mother and I were guessing it could be stomach pain. We massaged some oil on Clarisse’s tummy and tried to soothe her by walking around the room cradling her in our arms. We thought nothing of it. It might just be a bad dream or stomach ache.

3 weeks later, I recognise the same sort of cry again when Clarisse was around 6 weeks old. She started to cry hysterically around midnight and however I tried to soothe her, she just won’t stop crying. I was beginning to worry and contemplated taking her to the hospital thinking she might be in some sort of pain. I called my mom and told her about Clarisse’s crying. She suggested I rub some oil on Clarisse’s tummy and wrapped her with a towel. Then hold her in my arms in an upright position. That managed to stop her crying. And after several bouts walking around the room holding her tightly in my arms, wrapped warmly in a towel, her head leaning on my shoulder, Clarisse fell asleep. I was absolutely exhausted after her crying spell.

Sensing there’s clearly something wrong with Clarisse, I took her to see a paediatrician the very next day. She told me Clarisse is suffering from colic. The formula milk that Clarisse was drinking at that time might be aggravating it. Coincidentally, Clarisse started to refuse drinking formula milk a few days ago which is good that she made the right choice now that she has colic.

According to my paediatrician, symptoms of colicky babies usually start to show around three weeks of age and it gets worse at around six weeks of age. It disappears around four months or at most six months of age. Clarisse was prescribed Dentinox, to be taken 4 hourly apart, to relieve stomach discomfort. It is to help reduce the amount of wind trapped in her gut and relieve abdominal pain. I was also adviced to watch my diet eliminating dairy and other foods such as cabbage, cauliflower, spicy food, caffeine, onions or others gas producing food.Everyone was telling me that breastfed babies are usually not prone to colic. I was wondering the same thing as well and did some searching for answers. There are three known situations in the breastfed baby that may cause fussiness or colic and this website in particular, offers a very informative read about it.

It’s not easy to cope with Clarisse when she has colic attacks. During her colic period, I tried to feed Clarisse every 2 hours and to avoid overfeeding, I stopped breastfeeding her when she empties one breast. Overfeeding makes colic worst. Here are some of the ways I tried to calm down my baby throughout her colic period, not too scientific, but it worked.

• I applied oil (Franch Oil or Yue Yi Oil) on Clarisse ’s tummy when colic attacks. The way I do it is to rub some oil on the palm of my hands until a warm sensation is felt. Then put one hand on her tummy and the other hand on her back. Sometimes, Clarisse would let out a burp of wind which makes her feel more comfortable.
• Having just applied oil on her tummy and back, I’d use a towel to wrap her up before carrying her in an upright position with your hand stroking her back. Walking slowly all around my room.
• When Clarisse cries during the day, I would put Clarisse in an infant seat in the back of the car and go for a ride to take her mind off her tummy discomfort. It usually calms her down.
• Most colicky babies are soothed by the pressure applied to their abdomen when they are carried upside down on our arm. Such position is known as “colic carry”. Althought much touted to work wonders for colicky babies, it didn’t work very well on Clarisse unfortunately.
• Sometimes I’d put Clarisse near a continuous noise or vibration from household appliances like the dishwasher, vacuum cleaner or hair-dryer. Surprisingly those sounds could calm her down sometimes.

People say having a colicky baby can be very stressful, frustrating and challenging for any parent. A much harrowing experience for first time parents. It feels like being thrown into a crash course on how to deal with a colicky baby. A colic baby cry is akin to being inflicted with excruciating pain and the on and off crying could lasts up to two to four hours. However, in spite of their extreme crying, there isn’t much to be worried about as colic babies would grow out it perfectly healthy and fine.

No matter how stressful or tense you are when your baby is crying, try not to exhibit your anxiety around them. Babies may pick up on anxiety around them, and this could make colic worse. Therefore make sure you calm yourself down when your baby is having a colic attack. I recall when Clarisse cried due to a colic for the first time, my husband and I were so worried and frustrated. Clarisse must’ve sensed it as she was crying ever more.

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