Tummy Trouble with Babies
What causes Colic?
‘Colic’ is so often said with such certainty but can often be a bit of a mystery
Colic is pain from trapped wind as your baby’s digestive system starts to develop and work. A crying baby is often put down to being ‘colicky’. If the baby is griping and bringing his/her knees up to the tummy then that can indicate digestive discomfort.
Prevention Tips
> Diet & Breast-Feeding
Breast-feeding tips
♠ If a mother is breast-feeding then her baby then a bland diet can really help to prevent or ease colic.
♠ The Brassica (cabbage & mustard) family of vegetables are notorious for causing colic when a mother is nursing a baby. Brassica vegetables are: cabbage, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, turnip, swede, kholrabi, brussel sprouts, mustard.
Infant Feeding Tips
♠ Colic tends to be less common in an older baby but can still happen.
♠ Follow the recommended stages of weaning and introducing foods to your child e.g. gluten later etc.
♠ Milks: goat’s milk is easier to digest than cow’s milk so if your infant is having a hard time digesting things, do consider trying a goat’s-based infant formula instead. They are called ‘nanny goats’ for good reason!
Winding & Burping
♠ Quite often wind is trapped because we haven’t burped the baby for long enough.
♠ I recommend burping your baby for a minimum of 15 mins. It can help to watch the clock so that you know how long you’ve been doing it for. Time when you are a tired mummy with a wee baby takes on a very weird form and can be very hard to judge otherwise!