Colic in infants seems to be common for most babies. However, it doesn’t have to be your normal. If you’re a first-time mom, you’re probably bewildered about baby’s violent and ongoing crying episodes.
If you’re not a new mom, you probably know the difference between what’s normal every day crying and crying for some specific reason. But what new and experienced moms might not know is the strong connection between colic and certain foods. Whether you breast-feed or use formula, something baby is eating may not be sitting well.
Demystifying Colic
Colic isn’t a disease or even a disorder. It’s an expression of pain, a reaction baby is having that’s taking place in the gut. The term “colic” is a catch-all term used to label frequent painful-looking crying outbursts that go on and on, sometimes for hours at a time, day after day, week after week, and nothing seems to console your baby.
What differentiates every day crying from colic is that there’s heightened discomfort.
Baby has been checked out by a health practitioner and everything is fine. So why are they crying like this? They’re not crying just to get attention. What’s going on is not a form of expression … it’s a response to something bothering them. Baby is saying “I hurt.”
No need to over-complicate things and make colic into something that it’s not. Colic can often be remedied with a simple change in diet, if that is the culprit – your diet if you’re breastfeeding; your baby’s diet if they’re on formula.
Colic-Causing Foods
Colic-causing foods can enter your breast milk and upset your baby as early as two hours after you ingest them. You could say colic is a reaction to food, a kind of food sensitivity. It causes baby to be fussy, to cry, and overall, be very uncomfortable.
What are these food culprits that are making baby’s life miserable – and yours? They can be different for each baby, but there are some common denominators in what prompts colic.
Dairy. That would be milk, cheese, ice cream, creamer in coffee, etc. Dairy contains potentially allergenic proteins that can irritate baby’s gut.
Gassy vegetables. Cabbage, onions, green peppers, tomatoes, corn, and broccoli are a few vegetables that can cause gas … gas that can sometimes get trapped in baby’s system. Cooking the vegetables can cut down on the side effects.
Beans. Beans are notorious for causing gas, bloating, and stomach upset – often in adults too.
Certain meats and fish. It could be shellfish or common everyday chicken or beef, or the way you prepare it.
Fruits. Citrus fruits in particular.
Caffeine. Caffeine-containing foods like coffee, tea, soft drinks, cold remedies, and chocolate can be too acidic to tolerate.
Grains and nuts. These common allergens can do a number on babies, moms, and dads. The most allergenic are wheat, corn, peanuts, and soy. So many of our packaged foods are chock full of these.
Spices. Salad dressings, pizza, pepper, exotic spices found in Indian and Thai foods can cause gastric upset.
One Food at a Time
Obviously, stop eating known or suspected colicky foods. You can eliminate all of them at one time, or drop them out gradually. If you wean yourself off of them gradually, you may be able to pinpoint which foods are causing the colic, if you’re not sure.
Mothers should avoid the top allergen foods for at least two weeks, then reintroduce one food at a time every few days. This will help pinpoint which food is the potential trigger. This is no different than adults ridding themselves of food sensitivities and allergens. Once you eliminate all the offenders that you know of, it can take up to a couple of weeks before they’re out of baby’s system.
General Rules to Go By
Another way to avoid colic is to vary your diet, rotating in and out the foods you like so that you’re not overloading yourself with certain ones you eat regularly. Or, you may find that some offending foods are tolerated by baby if you eat them in small quantities.
Don’t feel the need to stop breastfeeding if you can’t eat certain foods. Do the best you can with moderation and variety. And keep in mind that switching to formula doesn’t necessarily solve the problem. Formula babies can be just as intolerant of what they’re consuming.
What Else Can Help?
If you have attempted altering your diet or baby’s and there’s still signs of colic, look beyond food.
● Sometimes the answer has to do with biomechanics, which is where pediatric-specific chiropractic can help.
● Another huge component is how much air baby is swallowing, causing an upset tummy.
● If baby is clicking, spilling milk out the sides of their mouth, gagging when swallowing, and/or has blistering along their upper or lower lip, this could be a strong indicator that their latch to the breast or bottle is not ideal. A faulty latch allows baby to swallow air while they’re eating and can cause a lot of discomfort.
● Over-stimulation can be another strong trigger. If you’re traveling, baby may have numerous visitors without much downtime, causing too much stimulation from people, sounds, lights, sounds, etc.
Which one is it? Teaming with our clinic can help us work with you as a team to figure out the root cause so everyone in your home can rest easy.
Who We Are
We are Doctors Michelle Parker and Darcy Goode. Our clinic has been certified in Webster Technique and providing care to pregnant women, dads, and children since 2010. Both of us have numerous post-graduate chiropractic training in working on the muscles and bones of expecting moms and newborns by integrating The Webster Technique, craniosacral therapy, myofascial release, and pregnancy-tailored chiropractic adjustments.
Dr. Parker is the only doctor in the State of Texas as a Pediatric Certified Diplomate by the Academy Council of Chiropractic Pediatrics and also an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant.
Located Near Fort Worth
The office of The Chiropractic Place for Mommy and Me is in Aledo, Texas, just 15 minutes west of downtown Fort Worth or 10 minutes east of Weatherford, Hudson Oaks, and Willow Park.
Feel free to visit our social media pages on Instagram @TheChiroPlaceforMommyandMe or Facebook @TheChiroPlace to get a feel for our atmosphere and how we work with entire families and pregnant moms, mothers, and children. We are proud to offer a family-friendly, kid-approved, and mother-oriented space to the community.
Give our office a call to see if we can help answer your questions and relieve baby’s colic by calling us at 682-214-0408.