Newborn colic remedies are an essential thing to know for your early days with a new baby!
As I sit here writing this it is 10.45pm, and our poor bub was the most upset I have seen her in her whole 2 months of life today… till about a half an hour ago.
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Colic… something I had heard of. Something I had experience with in the horse world but not something I expected to break my heart so much when watching my daughter scream in agony.
Tonight I was feeding my bub like any other night, she started fussing, within 10 minutes she was in full blow scream mode. Nothing we did could console her, she had a huge projectile vomit she was hungry but feeding was hurting. As she screamed and writher round in pain I am not going to like I felt like a failure.
About 2 days ago I had onions… without even thinking in a burger and my poor baby suffered because of it.
My mum reminded me this though ‘if you were helping someone else would you be so tough on them…’.
If I had known it would cause two hours of awful suffering for her, I wouldn’t have eaten it.
The answer is no I wouldn’t… so go easy on you and here are some of the best newborn colic rememdies!
Newborn Colic Remedies #1!
Holy moly is gripe water a god send or what…
Now with gripe water they can’t have it until they are 4 weeks+ so read on for our other alternatives if your baby is under 4 weeks…
After that, almost instant soothing can be provided by gripe water. It is an over the counter liquid that contains natural herbs and sodium bicarbonate.
It works by getting things moving to be blunt!
Gas or a good bowel motion it can help with either.
Grip water has helped our girl through some of the roughest sore tummies and we totally swear by it to for trapped gas and sore tummies! It also came in handy after her 6 week shots with the rotavirus vaccine.
Another New Zealand option is Rhuger…
Rhuger is a great option to continue to support the tummy all the time!
#2
A good tummy massage!
Honestly I can’t stress enough how good a tummy massage can be for your baby when they are fighting their tummy acheing.
With 2 fingers go in a clockwise direction with however much pressure they are comfortable with. It will either make a difference or it won’t.
Sometimes that pressure/rubbing can be a total game changer for your bub. It can help get there tummy moving and even offer a bit of relief from the pain.
Placing your hand against their tum with just a little bit of pressure may also do the same thing.
As always listen to your bub, they will tell you if it is helping or not.
#3
Motorcycle Michael…
Okay it sounds sort of silly but seriously this is something to try!
Lay your newborn on their back and gently lift and pedal their legs as if they are riding a bike.
This movement can help their tummy and get things moving, this is a great move for it they are constipated!
This is a surprisingly useful thing to know off our list of newborn colic remedies.
As always your baby will tell you if it is helping and they will tell you if it is not!
#4
A Backrub…
Another great way to get things moving and help a bub with stomach pains is to lay them on their tummy on their arm and rub their backs.
Alternately with this point in our newborn colic remedies list, you could lay them onto their tummies on a mat, your bed etc.,
Just be prepared this could make them a whole lot more upset. Be prepared to turn them over.
Rubbing their back is a soothing touch, just like it is for you and me and may even help them calm down in these situations.
Newborn Colic Remedies #5
A really good burp…
Sometimes babies especially young ones can have really, really stubborn wind that is super painful!
I know during my pregnancy with my daughter I used to get horrific gas pains that were so crippling I could barely walk.
As a fully grown adult these were bad enough let alone how overwhelming it must be to be mere week old and have gas pain.
Sometimes sitting and winding/burping your baby for a decent amount of time (watch tv during it or listen to a podcast) will allow any extra gas hiding away to come out and avoid gut pain.
This can be so so important and is always worth a go.
#6
A warm shower or bath…
Sometimes the best thing for us as adults is a wheat bag on our tummies when it is sore!
With a baby a lovely warm bath can provide great relief and a distraction from the pain.
This is a great one on our list of newborn colic remedies.
Another option is to have a shower with baby, our daughter actually seems to prefer the shower to a bath so that so what we do most nights.
We have a shower stool that is fantastic for just sitting and washing her and even giving her a feed some nights.
Make sure to grab our nesting list for everything you need to do before baby arrives!
Newborn Colic Remedies #7
Rocking…
You would be surprised at the impact rocking a baby does…
Our favorite tool that has helped me to get some things done in the early days is our Fisher Price swing…
These baby swings are beyond amazing at soothing your baby and keeping them quiet for a little while.
They are even great for refluxy babies and can help them and you get some sleep.
But putting your baby in a sling or front pack and wandering around will do similar!
As well simply holding your baby in your arms and rocking them there is a multitude of ways movement can soothe your baby.
#8
As said in the last post a swing…
The swing has totally saved some of our sanity by meaning we actually get to eat dinner together most nights.
As silly as that may sound it is like a little bit of relationship selfcare!
Evenings can be the toughest for babies with achy tummies. So being able to pop her in the swing whilst we eat dinner is truly a blessing.
Not only do we get to eat in preparation for our bedtime routine but it soothes her tummy and winds her down…
Check our our newborn essentials posts for other ideas to make life easier…
#9
Feed them!
If your baby isn’t too wound up then feeding them can be a great soother. Offering them a feed especially from my experience with breastfed babies seems to be a great way to encourage a bowel motion!
I can’t speak for formula babies but let me know in the comment below is it the same for your formula/bottle babies?
Sucking motion can calm and sooth babies this is why certain babies thrive with dummies.
Offering your baby a feed can really help soothe them and help move things through them…
So if they will take it, it can be a great option.
#10
Keep your baby upright or feed them upright…
This may sound a little odd, but, feeding your baby in an upright position has so many possible benefits!
You may find that your baby is more likely to spill or get upset when you lay them down.
This is because there is a wee valve that doesn’t shut in your babies throat until they are a bit older meaning they don’t keep stuff from their tummies down as easily.
Holding your baby sitting upright may be very comfortable for them and this can be why.
To finish newborn colic remedies…
If you ever have real concerns about your baby, if they are in intense pain for a long amount of time and nothing helps always see a medical professional.
With bubs sometimes it is so important to be patient and understand that the only way they can communicate is through crying.
Go easy on yourself to, sometimes her being upset with colic or reflux can make me cry to.
Newborn colic remedies aims to give you some ideas to try when you have a distraught baby!
Let us know in the comments what works for your babies with tummy aches?
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