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| Colic & Your Baby - Colic Articles | ||||
Page 2 of 2 5-- Give them a quick fill up before you go to bed. Wake your baby up for a feeding just before you go to bed. If baby nurses to sleep at nine and you go to bed at 10:30, you may be woken up by the baby shortly after you have fallen to sleep. It is better to awaken baby and fill his tummy right before you go to sleep you can both get more sleep at the same time. 6-- Offer both breasts during the baby’s feedings. Since you're going to have to feed your baby in the middle of the night, you might as well try to do a better job to make sure that he is filled up. There are two very good techniques for switching sides when nursing the baby while you are lying down. One of them is the across the chest roll: this is when the baby finishes nursing on the first breast, cradle him against your chest as you roll to the other side. Then you have to get settled and then let the baby latch on to the other breast. If you don’t like this idea, instead turn your upper shoulder toward baby as you adjust the level of the upper breast so that your baby can latch on. It is very simple and good for both mother and baby. 7—Change your baby before a feeding. If baby's diaper is wet or dirty, change him before he eats because this will help to lull him to sleep after the feeding. This doesn't work for those babies who seem to have a bowel movement every time milk is going in their mouths. 8—You want to let go of the continuous sucker. Some babies love to sleep with a nipple in their mouth. After they have finished feeding, they will continue to suck for a few minutes or even longer. While some mothers can sleep with baby attached throughout the night or at naptime, most mothers can't relax with baby still connected. If you want to avoid waking your baby as you try to take the nipple out, gradually ease him off by inserting your index finger in the side of your baby's mouth to pry his jaws open gently. When his jaw begins to let go, you must slowly draw the nipple out of his mouth, protecting it with your finger in case baby clamps down on it. Some babies will be startled awake as soon as they notice the loss of pressure inside their mouth. If this happens, you will have to be ready to press with your index finger upward on his lower lip or chin as soon as your nipple is clear, and give the baby time to adjust to the change. From here you can slowly ease your finger pressure off. 9-- Burping when feeding the baby at night. Many breastfeeding babies nurse with less anxiety at night. They reason for this is because they swallow less air and don't need to be burped. Even if you do need to help your baby bring up a bubble after nursing while lying on the side, you need not get out of the bed. Prop your baby up with his head and tummy against your body and pat his back until he burps. 10-- Try to sit your baby at a 30 degree angle. While most babies can night nurse while they are sleeping flat and lying sideways, some babies suffer from gastroesophageal reflux (GER) and wake up with colicky abdominal pain during or right after the feeding. When you are feeding these babies, gravity is going to be your best friend. Instead of nursing sideways with baby lying flat, prop him up on a foam wedge between a 30 to 45 degree angle and him upright for at least thirty minutes after a feeding until gravity empties the stomach. |
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