Colic experts gave us some easy tips to give parents peace, and one of their biggest baby soothers is -- of all things -- rap music!
Does your baby cry and cry?
"She'd cry uncontrollably for three to four hours straight," Dr. Regina Bailey said.
If you have a colicky baby, you know what misery is.
"I felt like I was doing something wrong. I thought I'm being a bad parent, what am I doing wrong? What's wrong with her? I would start crying when she was crying," Bailey said.
Dr. Bailey is an emergency room doctor, yet even she was confounded by her baby Fiona's inconsolable crying. Then she learned some life-changing tips at UTHealth's Colic Clinic.
First, ditch the lullabies and turn on the rap music!
"When he told me, I started laughing. There's no way," Bailey said.
It worked. Fiona stopped crying.
Experts say it's not just rap music but heavy metal, too.
Dr. Christopher Greeley says babies respond to the beat.
"There's something to that rhythm and that noise," Greeley said.
Then try the baby burrito -- a variation of swaddling using a light blanket, mummy-like crossed arms and the baby's feet pulled up to their chest in a fetal position.
"Sort of like being back inside mom and that theory is that it's a position of comfort for many babies," Greeley said.
Another idea: bounce the baby on her tummy.
"We don't put babies on their tummies, but this would be a way where -- if her position of comfort were her tummy -- you could give her a little relief and give yourself a little relief, too," Greeley said.
Fiona's mother said it took only one to two weeks for these changes to dry Fiona's tears.
"I thought she needed medicine or some kind of intervention, but it was simple techniques that helped," Bailey said.
Need more help? Parents can take their baby to the UT Health Colic Clinic, or volunteer your baby for a national colic study they're conducting. Just call 832-525-2617 or 713-500-5651 for more information.
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