I was never sure what colic was.
The twins did not have it and I thought until now that Alexander didn't either.
However, I now believe our little boy did indeed have colic.
Colic is when your otherwise thriving healthy baby cries excessively and cannot be soothed.
Things to look for that might point to colic:- Frequent and intense bouts of crying.
- Cries in the evening and late afternoons. (Yep typical that this happens just when you need everyone to go to bed!)
- When the baby cries he/she pulls legs to their tummy or arches their head back like they are in pain.
Alexander was always upset and he never settled.
As parents, you want to help your baby who is obviously upset.
Nothing helped, nothing settled him and it was so hard helping him when he threw himself backwards and would arch his back and just scream the house down.
When he was crying and screaming it was super loud and all done in my ears. During these events, my ears would take hours to recover and I found it hard to hear afterwards. It was traumatic for mummy and baby.
I feel bad that I never thought that our little boy had colic.
I've recently learnt that one of the causes of colic may be not having enough good bacteria in the digestive system.
Research shows that colicky babies have less good bacteria in the gut. New BioGaia Probiotic Drops with Lactobacillus reuteri help improve the good bacteria in baby's digestive system, reducing excessive crying time in colicky babies.
It is the only colic product available with the probiotic strain Lactobacillus reuteri.
Itmakes sense that adding good bacteria would help settle little bellies. Alexander was very little when he had colic or as I thought was just an unsettled baby.
Alexander's stomach was getting bigger and he was growing. He was getting used to drinking breast milk and being in the world, for a little person this is a huge adjustment.
Gut health is important for the rest of the family too, not just colicky babies. Your gut has strong links to your immune system, so to stay healthy you need to take care of your gut.
Some things that can help your gut health and make you feel better:
- Eat more - High fibre foods, nuts, seeds, yoghurt with live cultures, plant based foods, and fruits.
- Eat Less - Red meat & Animal Products
- Less or no processed foods
- Less or no sugar (this one is hard to do)
- Increase prebiotics
- Add fermented foods to your diet. This includes yoghurt, kombucha, sauerkraut, miso, kefir (drinkable yoghurt drink), kimchi and more.
- Avoid unnecessary antibiotic use
- Manage stress (I sometimes find this hard. Although meditation is helping)
- Get dirty - Experts say that you need to be careful what you clean your home with. Some cleaners are like antibiotics and remove good bacteria as well. More natural cleaners are the way to go.
- Exercise - It is good to get an aerobic workout. Bacteria and our gut health is happier when we are active. There was a study on rats that were active and it showed that the active rats had a significant increase in the Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium and B. coccoides-E. Rectalefrom the group that didn't exercise. So, get moving now to improve your gut and overall health.
- Get more sleep and make sure it is consistent for each night. Try for eight hours a night. (I know this might be tough if you are a mum and getting up for kids at all hours). It is thought that the more sleep you have on a regular basis the better your gut health is and can help with health issues, especially inflammatory diseases.
I make sure all the family have yoghurt with live cultures and we eat a balanced diet of all different foods. Throughout the week we have days that we don't have meat and just have dishes of tasty fish with rice, or vegetable pasta.
Does your little one suffer from colic?
Have you found the BioGaia Probiotic Drops helpful?
Disclaimer: I was approached by Nestlé the distributors of BioGaia Probiotic Drops to write about colic and help create awareness of the new BioGaia Probiotic Drops. As you know my little boy was super fussy and in hindsight had colic. I wish I could have used these drops when he needed them. I hope this helps mums and dads out there to give this a go.
Always read the label. Use only as directed. If symptoms persist, please see your healthcare professional.
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