For any parent whose baby has suffered or is suffering from colic can you tell, it is one of the most painful experiences that they have ever had to deal with in their lives? Nothing can be worse than seeing your own baby in pain and not being able to relieve it for them or even take the pain away. So finding a relief for colic has become a top priority for these parents. Today you will find that there are many types of colic remedy available that may come to your baby’s rescue. However each baby is unique and you may find that yours responds to some or a combination of colic remedies that are available. But us poor parents the only way of finding the right one for ours is by the trial and error method, which will hopefully provide the right amount of relief for them. But one thing is for sure that the days of waiting for it to pass have long gone, especially for those looking for the answer. No longer does your baby have to suffer needlessly and neither do you, but if you find that using the tried and tested techniques of proper feeding and burping are not working, then try some of the more effective remedies which are now readily available instead.

Firstly there is music and sound. Not only traditional lullabies, but both classical music which has been composed specifically for infants and the heartbeat/womb sound CDs are now becoming extremely popular as external remedies for helping to relax the baby suffering from colic. There are a number of websites around which can offer these types of CDs for you. Also other parents have found that by placing their baby in its car seat on top of a running dishwasher, washing machine, clothes dryer or close to a vacuum cleaner which is turned on seems to work. The other tried and tested method used by many parents is a gentle shhhhhing sound in the baby’s ear as well as soft whispers and humming or singing can also calm them.

The next thing to look at is the baby’s diet. Many baby’s who are bottle fed show an improvement when the formula being used is changed for a different one, say one may with soya. Also mothers who are breastfeeding should pay close attention to what they actually eat to ensure that their baby does not have a negative reaction to certain foods in their diets. By trying to eliminate items which seem to be common culprits of causing colic one at a time for week and see if there is any improvement in the colic to your baby. Such products you should consider eliminating from your diet are dairy, caffeine, chocolate and gas producing foods (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, onions, peppers, melons, tomatoes, citrus fruits (oranges, grapefruit etc), beans and peanuts).

You could then look at using gripe water, but check the ingredients contained in it before buying it. There are many that are on the market which claim to be natural but do include artificial ingredients and preservatives. Certainly many infants who have colic find that their digestive systems would rather not have these potential irritants placed in them. So it always better to read the label as not all gripe waters can help you, but there are many effective and safe ones that can, just carryout a search of the internet and you should find some that are suitable for your needs.

If you really want to do something different then give your baby and warm aromatherapy bath or massage. Just add a few drops of lavender oil to some warm bath water and then follow this up with a massage. It is best if you focus the massage on the stomach area to help relieve the trapped gas which is causing the pain. There are many books available that can help you learn these baby massage techniques as well as on the internet. You can also purchase specially oils made with lavender, chamomile and fennel which are specifically designed for using for massaging your baby and these can also be found on the internet. If you want you can also purchase a very popular baby massage tool called a Snukkles on the web as well.

Now we will look at swaddling. Many parents have found that there upset or distraught baby will become soothed when swaddled or held close to their mother or father’s chest as the sound of their heartbeats is reminiscent to the baby of the comfort and safety that they felt in their mother’s womb. Many mothers have found that their babies when attending nursery become soothed if upset by being swaddled. The methods of folding soft stretchy blankets are easy for you to learn and you will find both instructions and diagrams online as well as being able to get books and magazines on the subject. There is product already on the market called SwaddleMe which is ideal for this purpose and can be easily found on the internet.

The final method we are going to look at is motion. This involves the parent either walking, rocking or some other form of gentle movement which most infants/baby’s find very comforting. Some parents swear that a good old fashioned rocking chair is all you need to accomplish this. Whilst other parents have found that pushing the child around in their pram or out for a drive in the car also works. Another thing to try is putting your baby in a chest carrier or sling and just wandering around the house carrying out chores as it is all hands free. You could also walk with your baby facing down across your arm and with your hand under their abdomen and just apply gentle pressure, this is often known as the colic hold position and seems to be quite effective in some cases. However as many babies like to be outside and all enjoy being put in a swing, maybe using a combination of this with other things may be what bests suits your baby.