Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding a colicky baby made easy
Finding the proper position in which to breastfeed is hugely important when dealing with a colicky baby. It is also essential to the mom’s well-being as the hours spent nursing can cause sore nipples, headaches, neck, shoulder, back, elbow, and wrist pain if the position used is not ergonomically correct.
Most breastfeeding pillows lie your baby flat which is the worst position for a colicky or reflux baby to feed in. Being flat can make it more difficult for your baby to swallow, thus adding to gas, colic, and reflux symptoms.
The traditional breastfeeding pillows are too low for most women. This means most women are hunching over so their nipple can reach their baby’s mouth. Not only does this lead to neck, shoulder, and/or back pain, it can also cause sore nipples. When your baby has colic and you are holding him or her frequently, you already are in enough physical discomfort or outright pain. If nursing makes you more miserable, you might feel overwhelmed and decide to quit. The big issue with stopping nursing is that formula often worsens colic and reflux symptoms. Before you get so frustrated and miserable that you call it quits with nursing, consider trying a nursing positioner for colic relief.
A nursing positioner is a wedge shaped foam pillow that sits on your lap and allows you to move your baby higher or lower on the pillow, depending on what level works best for your body. The best one that I have found is sold at Pollywogbaby.com and was created by a mom whose baby suffered from reflux. This pillow is one of the better colic remedies available.
Annette at Pollywog has really taken everything into account when she created this wedge. First, it is large enough to fit the entire body of your newborn baby on it. Your baby is fully supported with no bend at the level of their digestive system, which provides more colic relief. It puts your baby in a position that makes swallowing easier and helps the milk travel more quickly down the esophagus, into the stomach. She mentions on her site that it is believed that feeding a baby in this type of upright position encourages the milk to exit the stomach more quickly, even during the feed, leaving less in the stomach to cause gas, colic, or reflux later on.
Because of the graduated height of the pillow, you can slide your baby up or down so that she or he is settled at nipple height on the pillow. This prevents you from having to hunch over to meet your baby, thus creating all that back and neck strain. It also facilitates a correct latch, which prevents sore nipples.
This wedge was designed to fit most rockers and gliders. It has a removable, washable outer cover, and, best yet for babies who spit up, a water resistant inner cover.
Boppy has a new product on the market called the newborn booster. It is a small wedge that you put on top of a regular nursing pillow to raise your baby’s head. There are couple of reasons I do not think this product is as good as the Pollywog wedge. First, the booster is a long, thin foam rectangle that is thicker on the ends. When you fold it in half, it raises your baby’s head about 9.4 inches. If that is too high, your only alternative is to unfold it to the 4.7 inch height. If that is too low, well, you are out of options. Second, the booster is only 11.5 inches long. This means that if you need to fold it, it is then only 5.75 inches long. This will only support your baby’s head and upper back. Then the rest of your baby’s body will drop down onto the regular nursing pillow. To aid digestion, you really want your baby’s body to be along one plane instead of being bent in the middle. Third, it does not have a waterproof cover. This means, when your baby spits up all over it for the millionth time, it will be officially too disgusting to use.
Dealing with colic? Don’t give up! There is hope!
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As parents of an infant with colic, we found the book extremely helpful. The information helped us to determine the causes of our daughter's colic and how we could find the most effective relief for her.The advice we received gave us many strategies to comfort pain and prevent colic symptoms. We highly recommend this book in dealing with colic first hand.
Jessi P., Michigan
We were able to specifically determine which methods would help to ease our daughter’s colic by using the techniques in the book. From a definition of colic, to first steps of response, and finally to more detailed and extensive treatments. Research-based methods, statistics regarding colic remedies, and specific resources are provided to parents in need. This book will be a blessing for you and your baby as you use one of the many methods described to soothe your infant. Tim M., Michigan
"Colic Remedies Guidebook is great! And I wish it had been available when Keilor was born. His colic nearly made me crazy--literally This is GREAT work AND VERY HELPFUL!"
K. Zarley, R.N., Michigan
[...] first thing you should know is that almost everyone agrees that breastfeeding is the best thing for your baby. Colic is not often caused by breastfeeding, but it is not [...]