As the father of a newborn baby, Daddy Brad is dealing with a common parenting issue, colic. In this episode of The Lab, Daddy Clay attempts to help him alleviate the problem by seeking the advice of a few experts. Pediatrician and "Baby 411" author Dr. Ari Brown and Carrie Contey, PhD., discuss what causes colic in newborns, treatments for crying babies, and give some tips to parents on how to deal with the stress and tired feeling that it causes. Clay also reveals his own fatherhood experiences with his infants. An informative video for any mom or dad of a new baby. DadLabs Ep. 554 The Lab is brought to you by BabyBjorn. Distributed by Tubemogul.

Ep. 554 Dealing with Colic

 

Daddy Clay: Welcome back to the Lab, I’m Daddy Clay.

 

Daddy Brad: And I’m Daddy Brad, today’s episode is brought to you by BabyBjorn...

 

Daddy Clay: Hey, Brad, you know, actually it might be better if I did the sponsor shout-out today.

 

Daddy Brad: Why’s that?

 

Daddy Clay: It’s just you look...you know, I got this. I think I can actually do the whole intro. You could

just...Have a nap? Chill. I got this.

 

Daddy Brad: Fine. Here’s what I want to know. What is colic? Why does my kid have it? Why is it eating my brain and how can I get rid of it? I’m out. Brad walks off the set.

 

Daddy Clay: He has a new baby. Today’s episode on colic is brought to you by BabyBjorn. Though it’s no cure for colic, some studies have shown that baby wearing can reduce crying times. BabyBjorn. Let’s see if some of our experts have answers for Daddy Brad.

 

Ari Brown: Nobody really knows what causes Colic. It’s that to be intestinal immaturity or neurological immaturity. But for whatever the reason some babies are really afflicted by Colic for a short period of time.

Carrie Contey: The whole point of crying is to evoke alarm, it’s sounding the alarm. For a baby the alarm might be saying I’m hungry or I’m over stimulated. That’s a common one for babies. I’ve take in so much in the day and now I just have to cry to get back to balance.

Ari Brown: People have been trying to treat Colic for eternity. There are lot of things that parents try. You can try gas drops or gripe water. There is a new probiotic out there called lactobacillus, and that actually has some scientific merit. Motion seems to work a little. Sometimes parents will go on a car ride or a nightly walk around the neighborhood. All those things work out a little bit but the key to treatment is time.

Carrie Contey: For parents, I think what happens is that they feel so much empathy for the child. And their own alarms are going off. Is this ok? What’s wrong with our baby? We need to make it stop because it seems hard for the baby and hard for us to be around. And that just raises the stress levels.

Ari Brown: The best remedy is to stay calm and be patient. Two know the baby is ok and nothing is medically wrong. Three is to get some help and that means getting out of the house if you cant take it anymore.

Carrie Contey: And that energy that you bring to the baby is going to communicate to the baby, wow I see your having a tough time but we are ok. We’re not in danger, we’re safe. If you do that its going to help the baby, even in the baby keeps crying because its going to help the baby calm down sooner. They’re not just having to deal with what’s in their body and your stress, they just have to deal with their own stress.

Daddy Clay: It is hard to overstate how tough Colic is on families, mom and dads a like. How is impacting you right now?

Daddy Brad: Dude, I’m tired.

Daddy Clay: I got that. Your whole persona just oozes tired. Do you notice that you do things differently because of your fatigue.

Daddy Brad: Posted notes, I got to post posted notes like in the car. For example, get the dog out of the back seat.

Daddy Clay: Yeah we almost had tragedy here at the dadlabs world head quarters because of the Colic. I survived it. All three of my kids were colicy. I realized that I had become insane when I sat the child down and had a conversation with the newborn about their irrational behavior. Why are you crying, you’re well fed, you’re loved, you’re clothed. Well the actual conversation went like this, why are you crying!? What’s the matter with you?! Why are you so irrational!? You’re fine! And it is hard on your marriage.

Daddy Brad: Just shut up.

Daddy Clay: There is nothing to talk about. Table all issues and wait for the Colic to clear up. Don’t tackle any significant marital issues, don’t even talk about breakfast. You might not even want to say a word from eleven at night till ten in the morning.

Daddy Brad: You know the old English? You know what they say? Put cotton in thou ears and gin in thou stomach.

Daddy Clay: We would like to thank our sponsors BabyBjorn. Studies show that when babies are carried they cry less. And a great way to do that is of course with the Baby Carrier Air from BabyBjorn. If you’re a Colic survivor like me and want to talk about strategies that you used in your home join the conversation there at dadlabs.com. Go on Daddy Brads profile and drop him a note on how great he looks.

Daddy Brad: You know some cultures Colic free.

Daddy Clay: There’s no Colic free culture.

Daddy Brad: There is!