Help for Colic

There are times when Rowan has a difficult time settling down or cries in a colicky way. It can be very difficult for Wes or myself when this happens because there seems to be nothing that can be done to settle her crying. Sometimes, she will bring her legs in as if her stomach is spasm’in in pain. Poor girl! When this happens, we first go through the basics: Is she hungry? Does she need a diaper changed? Does she need to burp? If it’s none of these, then we try to soothe her using the 5 s’. The 5 s’ are Harvey Karp’s theory of turning on an infant’s soothing reflex: Swaddle, Side/Stomach, Swing, Shush and Suck.

We watched his video in our prenatal class and immediately used the 5 s’ when Rowan was born. But in the beginning, Rowan didn’t really need them. Then when she was 3 weeks old, we used them. Then again at 5 weeks. At this point, I ordered Karp’s book ‘The Happiest Baby on the Block’ so that I could go over his s’ and see if there was anything more we could do. It was great to go over his theory in detail. He argues that some babies need help to activate their soothing reflex and that babies should be treated as if they are in the fourth trimester for their first three months. His five s’ are suppose to mimic the womb feeling that babies have been used to for 9 months. Since reading his book and going over in detail his theory, I have been continuing with the 5 s’ to relieve Rowan’s crying. What is working better now is that I’m doing it all with more ‘vigor’ (as Karp puts it!) Actually I can’t say that I always do it all, since Rowan refuses the soother, but at times she will soothe herself at the breast when the other 4 s’ won’t do anything.

So it doesn’t work EVERY time, but it does seem to help most of the time. I think the real key is the vigor. This means swaddling Rowan tightly with her arms at her sides, putting her on her side, swinging her vigorously (or Karp suggests that this could be any kind of motion as long as it is done vigorously) or Rowan often soothes to a shuffle or two step dancing. This also means shushing as loud as Rowan is crying and then easing off as she settles down. It seems odd to do all of this with so much vigor but it actually works. Karp says that when baby was in the womb she experienced all of this as mom did her daily job, chores, workouts and whatever else! Of course, doing the 5 s’ with vigor is very different from shaking a baby which can result in shaken baby syndrome.

Other things that we have tried with success to settle Rowan are:

Giving her a warm bath! She loves bath time and everyone knows how good it feels to have a bath. So relaxing! Sometimes I will add a couple of drops of lavender oil to help deepen Rowan’s relaxation. Not sure if the oil helps, but it doesn’t hurt and it’s also good for mom and dad!

Massage! I was really excited to try infant massage on Rowan since day 1 as I have read about the numerous benefits that it provides. Rowan wasn’t into getting a massage until she was about 6 weeks old. One night after her bath as I was quickly rubbing cream on her body before she would start fussing, her body language showed pure enjoyment. I continued to massage her and she continued to show enjoyment. For Rowan, it started with just enjoying her legs and feet massaged. Slowly over time, I have added more time to her massage and also more body parts. Now, Rowan has really shown us how much it helps her relax. She never wants her massage to end. I massage her legs to start because she loves it, then I massage her stomach using a clockwise circular pattern which helps digestion. Next I massage her arms and back. I end the massage by going back to the stomach and then the legs/feet. Rowan usually receives her massages after a bath in the evening, but I have given her massages at other times of the day to settle down crying or fussing.

After a bath, (or once a hot spring!) Rowan sleeps wonderfully! I think it helps her sleep. I can't say for sure if swaddling helps her sleep longer, although Karp suggests that it does. And although massage should also help longer sleeps, I'm not sure if it does yet. However, I am happy to have a happier baby through s', bathing and massage.