Feeding Tips to reduce Colic in your Baby
Baby Colic is a benign condition and usually improves on its own at around three to four months of age. Meanwhile, even if there are not many proven medications for Colic, there are a lot of tips you may find useful to reduce Colic and cramps in your baby, especially during feeding.
- When to feed? Is feeding time correlated with Colic? Is it better to feed at a scheduled time or just when the baby is hungry?
Studies seem to promote both approaches that have different benefits and disadvantages. Babies fed at scheduled times usually cry more over a 24-hour period but sleep better during the night. On the other hand, babies who are fed “on demand” generally cry less but wake more often in the night.
- How much breast feeding is recommended?
Should you feel your baby getting unco m fortable during feeding, this could be due to the fact that he is overfed or underfed. If these are the cases, remember that the quality of your breast milk changes during feeding: the foremilk, the milk released at the beginning of a feed, is watery, low in fat and high in carbohydrates. The hindmilk, which is released as the feed progresses, is creamier, richer in fats and and sometimes more soothing.
Therefore, sometimes you can reduce Colic by avoiding the frequent switching between one breast to another and allowing your kid to finish the first breast before offering the second. Or, you may feed your baby every 2-3 hour s offering him only the same breast, so he can have more hindmilk than foremilk.
- Which is the best diet for a breast-feeding mom?
Part of the food ingested by the mom passes into the breast milk and may be a cause of irritations or allergic reactions in the baby. Hence, breast-feeding moms may see if there are certain foods that can often lead to Colic and crying, and avoid them. Generally, caffeine, dairy products, citrus fruits, soy products, and spicy foods are to be avoided.
- What's the best feeding position to help babies suck easily?
Prevent your baby from swallowing air by sitting him as upright as possible during feeding. Remember also to let your baby burp often, sitting him upright or holding his shoulder, making sure that you support his neck and head. Gently rub his back and tummy until he burps. It is normal if he vomit s a small amount of milk.
With bottle feeding, one of the more common causes of Colic is that your baby eats too quicky. If a bottle feeding takes less than 20 minutes, the hole in the bottle teat may be too large. On the other hand, holes in bottle teats that are too small may cause babies to swallow air along with their feed. So, check the teat, try different options and find the best one.
Sometimes, irritation may be due to the infant formula type. Under medical help, you may try to switch to a different infant formula. In particular, if your baby is allergic to cow's milk, your health care provider can recommend a hypoallergenic formula that is not based on cow's milk.
As for breastfed babies, let your feeding baby remain in a sitting position, helping him to get rid of gas bubbles with a massage on his back and letting him burping often, after every ounce of formula.
Do not offer your baby solid foods before the age of 6 months! Before this time, your baby 's gastrointestinal tract is developing and is not able to digest complex foods.
Source: Medline Plus Medical Encyclopedia, UK National Library of Health