Crying is the only way a baby can communicate with their parents and parents can usually understand why their baby is crying. Baby will cry when baby is hungry or uncomfortable or wants to be cuddled or wants to be talked to. The baby may cry after passing urine and stool.
However, some babies between the age of 1 month and 4 months cry too much, especially in the evening. Usually, at a certain time of the day, the baby will start crying, non-stop, and will refuse to bottle feed or suck on the breast. In this chapter, I will be talking about this problem.
The cause of this sort of crying is not known. It is called colic because most people think that it is due to too much of gas in the abdomen and the failure of the baby to pass this gas, but this may not be the reason. There could be other reasons like overfeeding, or allergy but in most cases one does not know the cause of this problem.
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Certain facts about evening crying in babies:
- It is as common with breast fed babies as with bottle fed babies
- In breast-fed babies there is no relation with this sort of crying and the mother’s diet
- In bottle-fed babies, changing of milk does not usually help. However, there are some anti colic formulae milk available in the market and you can try these according to your doctor’s advice
- It is not due to any disease and all the babies after the age of 4 months or 5 months grow out of this problem and so will your baby
- Medications do not help very much. However medications to help passage of gas are usually prescribed and given to the baby and at times, they just may help.
What should be done when a baby cries like this?
- Cuddle the baby and keep on rocking her
- Talk softly to the baby; do not talk loudly
- Do not get tensed and anxious; remain calm. Your baby will soon stop crying
- Try using a dummy (pacifier); if the dummy is kept clean, it is not harmful
- Sometimes taking the baby out for a drive helps. No one really knows why. It may be distraction or it may be that the baby likes the movement of the car. As babies cry in the evening, keep your evening free for cuddling. Excessive cuddling or keeping babies in your lap does not spoil the baby
- Talk with other parents and share your problems with them
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Child Care