Q: Gah, my baby is fine during the day but once the sun starts to set my baby turns into a completely different person. Is this what they call “the witching hour”?Why does may baby do this? What can I do?
Signed,
When the Sun Goes Down
A: Colic or the “Sunset Blues” is a catchall term for a condition in which a baby is fussy, uncomfortable, or downright distressed, despite being dry, warm, well fed, and comforted. It is usually a form of indigestion or abdominal cramping that occurs mainly in babies and young children. It is caused by a spasm of the muscles in the intestines, due to difficulty in digesting milk or food.
According to American Family Physician colic follows the “rule of threes” – crying for more than three hours per day, for more than three days per week, and for longer than three weeks in an infant who is well-fed and otherwise healthy.
Colic is a difficult experience not only for the baby but also for the parents, who find it worrisome and exhausting to have an inconsolable baby. Most babies outgrow colic by four months.
How to Help with Colic
There is no foolproof method for preventing colic, but the following suggestions often help:
- Call for help from friends and family members so that you can have a break to relax, recharge, and nourish yourself.
- If your baby has a normal fussy time (like at sunset), give yourself some nourishment (a relaxing bath, a walk outside) beforehand so that you are ready and refreshed for the long evening.
- Avoid eating members of the cabbage family (broccoli, cabbage, kale, collards), turnips, garlic, onions, and spicy foods. Fried foods, peanuts, caffeine, dairy foods, eggs, beans, and wheat may also be aggravating.
- Drink a calming, nourishing herbal tea to help with sleeplessness, and fussiness including: lemon balm leaves, fennel seed, chamomile, catnip and lavender. Steep for 20 minutes in a quart mason jar and strain. This may be given directly to your baby.
- Massage the baby’s abdomen with a bit of oil, using circular motions in a clockwise direction. Do this for 15 minutes slowly and gently, talking or singing to your baby as you rub. Another massage technique is to rub gently in a downward motion from beneath the ribs to the lower abdomen, using the pinkie-finger side of your hands. Alternate your hands continually so it looks like you are making a water-wheel motion on your baby’s belly.
- A warm bath or shower is always helpful in calming a fussy babe.
- Exercise the baby’s legs by bicycling them, together and alternately up to the baby’s abdomen. Press the legs up to the belly (both, then individually), then extend them back out and down. Do each motion five times slowly and smoothly.
- Hold you baby closely and firmly when you nurse. Make sure the head and neck are in a straight line with the rest of the body and the body is fully faced towards your body. Nurse in quiet surroundings whenever possible.
- Rest and eat well so you have the reserves you need to care for your baby without becoming exhausted and frazzled.
- Bach Rescue Remedy, a flower essence combination, is a well-used item in the fussy-child repertoire. Give two drops to the baby and four drops each to mother and father.
- Put your baby in a baby sling and go for a walk. The closeness your baby will feel with you, combined with the rocking motions of your body can help calm your baby.
- Homeopathic remedies can work wonders: chamomilla, nux vomica, carbo veg, lycopodium. Read in a homeopathic book for best matching remedy.
- If you feel your patience running short and anger rising, it is perfectly okay to put your baby down in a safe place for a few minutes and walk away to recollect your wits! Your baby will be fine and you will return more centered to deal with the situation.
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