This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Colief®. The opinions and text are all mine.
After waiting for my son for over six years and going through a very rough delivery (8 weeks early!), I thought once I got him home from the NICU, everything would be sunshine and roses. I was naïve, or perhaps delusional from sleep deprivation! I thought we’d get through the rough patch of waiting for Jacob to grow into preemie clothes, lose the apnea monitor and dealing with my post-op complications. Then it would all be wonderful, just like in the movies! I never, ever in my wildest dreams expected to deal with colic.
If you’ve never dealt with colic, it’s hard to explain the effect it has on you as a mother and a human being. First, you have this terrible guilt that you can’t figure out why your baby is crying. Then you have even more guilt because the sound of that crying becomes so overwhelming, you want to hide in a sound-proof room and never come out. Colic can drive you mad. If you think I’m exaggerating, imagine being locked in a room with a baby who screams at the top of his lungs for 8 hours straight, every single day for a good 3-6 weeks.
5 Essential Tips for Surviving Colic
Surviving colic takes more than just an incredible amount of patience, it really takes a village… and an arsenal filled with tools to soothe not just your baby, but yourself. Here’s what you’ll need:
Time: The number one thing you need to get through colic is time. Time for your baby to outgrow the colic stage, time to yourself to relieve the tension, and time from others to give you that break.
Friends and family. I cannot stress enough how important it is to have someone to help you. Whether it’s your spouse, your mom or even a trusted baby sitter, you NEED someone to take over, even if it’s just a few hours here and there. I lived in an apartment in my mom’s house when I had my son. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I’d go up and hand him over.
Earplugs. If you can’t escape the crying, then damper it with ear plugs. It doesn’t make you a bad mom if you try to turn down the volume on your baby. It keeps you sane while still allowing you to comfort your little one.
Acceptance. You need to accept that you did not cause your baby’s colic. You also need to accept that it’s okay to need a break from your screaming baby. Guilt will eat you alive. Trust me, I actually went to therapy because I felt so guilty over the things I thought when my son was crying. Things like “maybe I could just give him back to the hospital!” Get over the idea that everything should be sunshine and roses.
Colief Infant Drops. Sadly, this wasn’t available when my son had colic. I would have sold my soul for it if it was!
Colief Infant Drops Let You Get to Those Happy Times!
Colief Infant Drops contain lactase, an enzyme that aids in digestion. No one knows what actually causes colic, but many researchers believe that it has something to do with difficulty digesting breast milk and formula. Colief is the only brand of infant drops that is added directly to the milk. You can also give it to your baby several times a day. Just be sure to read all the directions and use only as directed.
Once you have colic under control, it’s important to move on and let it go. During the colic stage, you will get a few hours of blissful silence each day to actually bond with your baby. Make sure you make the most of those time!
Take pictures, snuggle together, read to your baby…anything to create happy memories that you can look back on. Gather those happy memories- like I did on the French memory board- and hang it someplace where you can always see it. When you’re feeling down about what you went through with the colic, look at it and remember happy times instead!
Colief Infant Drops can be found at Duane Reade, HEB, Walgreens, and online at http://us.colief.com for a suggested retail price of $14.99. Check out the ABC’s of Colic: Answers to Baby Colic and Digestion from Colief video to learn more about colic!
Colief Pack ‘n Go Giveaway
Enter the Colief Pack ‘n Go Giveaway on Facebook for a chance to win a Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag in the color of your choice and a $25 Walgreens gift card and $4 in Colief savings! Giveaway is open until 12pm EST on August 28th. One winner will be chosen and announced each week until then on Facebook.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Colief®. The opinions and text are all mine.
