According to a new review, based on fifteen different studies, most at home remedies for colic don’t work. The studies compared such folk remedies as fennel seed, sugar water, and massage. While some of these things worked for some babies, there was nothing that worked across the board.
If you’ve ever had a colicky baby, you know this to be true. In my own experience, what would work one night, would not necessarily work the next. And I had it easy. The worst experience I had with colic was with my middle child. She would cry from five o’clock in the evening, until about eleven. And this went on from about two and a half months until about four months. Many mothers have it much worse.
What seemed to work for me was Mylacon, an over the counter medication that gathers up the air and gas bubbles in the stomach and allows them to pass, as either burps or farts. I would carry her around in a football hold (belly down on my forearm, with her head in my hand) and walk her around for hours. This would stop her from screaming, but it I stopped, or tried to lay her down, a painful, screaming cry would ensue.
According to this review, I was not alone. Almost twenty percent of babies suffer from colic, to some extent or another. Many parents turn to remedies because colicky babies can wear you down. Although you love you child, no one wants to listen to a baby scream for hours at a time, especially when you try to soothe them and nothing works.
If you decide to try them anyway, keep in mind, the at home remedies are not FDA approved and many have side effects, including vomiting and constipation. Always talk to you pediatrician before giving you baby any type of medication.