Colic Baby Bootcamp - Parent Survival Tips

Colic Baby Bootcamp - Parent Survival Tips

Surviving a baby with colic truly deserves an award of some
sort. The relentless screaming can really drive you to the edge.

Unfortunately for the parents of a colic baby, most of the focus
of surviving is usually geared towards how to relieve the
suffering for your baby. But, what about your suffering? 

Here are 10 tips on HOW to keep your sanity while enduring a fit
of colic.

1.Buy a baby monitor with lights that indicate the level of
noise coming from your baby. Take this monitor with you
everywhere, put it on mute and get as far away from the
screaming as possible. Physically check on your baby every now
and then to make sure everything is alright. When the levels on
the lights stop dancing, chances are your baby has calmed down.
2.Put on headphones. Listen to music. Keep the above monitor
with you to determine when baby has calmed down. 3.Take a
shower. The warm water will relax you, and the noise will drown
out the ear-piercing crying. 4.Go for a walk. Exercise is great
for alleviating tension and the motion might settle the baby
down. 5.If possible, find a sitter and leave. Go shopping, run
errands, go work out, go for a walk. Get some distance between
you and the baby. Don’t leave the baby unattended. Make sure you
have a sitter first! 6.Call friends or family on the telephone.
Don’t bottle up your frustration. Let it out. Complain to your
hearts content. Your friends and family will understand and you
will feel better. 7.Do something therapeutic with your hands.
Paint your fingernails, color in a coloring book, do some
housework. Anything that diverts your attention away from the
crying and towards something constructive. 8.Vacuum. The vacuum
cleaner will drown out the screams coming from the baby. Also,
the frequency of white noise output by a vacuum is particularly
effective in calming a colicky baby. 9.Surf the internet. Look
up ways to calm a colic baby! 10.Keep telling yourself the colic
will eventually go away. Take it day by day and know there IS a
light at the end of the tunnel. Colic does not last forever!

Remember, you are not an incompetent parent if you’ve done
everything possible to relieve your baby’s colic and you need to
step away from the situation for a while. This simply makes you
human.