Parenting

It’s really hard to have a baby that is crying from colic. It can make a mom feel quite helpless, frustrated and overwhelmed, especially when you are tired. The colicky phase does end but while you are in it it can seem to go on forever. In the meantime, here are some great tips to try from the Colic Survival Guide:

Play Ride A Bicycle – yes, you heard me right. Lie your baby on her back and cycle her legs as if she is riding a tiny pretend bicycle. The movement can help gas pass through her system more quickly. Gently massaging your baby’s tummy, around the navel area, can also help relieve gas pains. Lying her across your legs, face down so one thigh gently presses on her tummy and at the same time rub her back soothingly can also be a big help in moving those air bubbles through.

Sit Her Up In A Semi-Upright Position – by holding a baby in a semi-upright position while you feed her reduces the amount of air she swallows and this allows the milk to move through the digestive system more smoothly, with less air bubbles.

Feed More Frequently – don’t wait until she is really hungry as when babies are hungry they eat really quickly and swallow lots of air.

Lastly, look after yourself emotionally. It’s distressing when you can’t seem to soothe your baby. Sometimes when you have tried everything and nothing works try holding her and jiggling around while you’re listening to and singing along to your favorite music. Really, it helps! So does asking for help and passing her to someone else to try for a bit while you give yourself permission to take a little break.

If you want to read more about maternal mental health download the FREE Guide To Pregnancy & Postpartum Stress, Anxiety & Depression. It is full of information about symptoms, different types of maternal mood disorders and advice about what to do to start feeling like yourself again.

Dr. Sarah Allen has 20+ years experience as a psychologist helping women transition to being the mom they want to be. She is also the Director of the Postpartum Depression Alliance of IL, a non-profit offering info and support to pregnant and postpartum moms and their families.

In her Northbrook office, in the North Suburbs of Chicago, or via telephone or online counseling she offers the most convenient way for you to access support and help.

If you have questions after reading this article or the Guide To Pregnancy & Postpartum Stress, Anxiety & Depression or have any questions about how counseling can be useful to your particular circumstances please contact me at 847 791-7722 or on the form below.

One concern that frequently comes up when I am seeing parents of toddlers is When Will My Child Start Playing (Nicely!) With Other Children?

At the moment you are probably your child’s preferred playmate but you meet up with other moms at the park or playgroup and your kids probably either ignore each other or (what brings the most concern) shove or steal one an other’s toys. Rest assured this is typical toddler behavior but what can you do to help your child to learn to be sociable, especially when your 3 year old is about to start pre-school.

Encourage sharing when you and your child are playing together by asking him to give you a turn with his toy. Play with it for a few seconds, then hand it back, saying: “Thank you, now it’s your turn.” Very slowly, over weeks, build up the time you play with it before giving it back and he’ll start to get the idea: I am supposed to share. At first he’ll probably just play alongside others when you get together with other families, not so much with them. That’s called parallel play. But as he approaches age three, he’ll start to enjoy group play more. He might even be willing to share a toy or take a turn occasionally with your smile and praise to guide him that he is doing the right thing.

Even if your little one is the shover or thrower of sand, give her lots of opportunities to interact with other kids. If your child is not at the same stage of sharing as her friends, talk to the other moms and explain you are working on it rather than being embarrassed by your child’s behavior and not going along to the play dates. All that togetherness — combined with a toddler’s poor impulse control and limited social skills — will inevitably lead to squabbling, hitting, and pushing. I know these are just the behaviors you’re trying to avoid but learning to share and not push takes plenty of practice.

So how do you minimize spats?

• Be sure there are lots of toys to go round

• Don’t make her share her most special toys. When you are hosting, put special toys away and don’t take them when you visit someone else.

• Show young children how to play games that encourage teamwork rather than just leaving them to play by themselves for all of the play date. Games such as rolling the ball to each other or everyone having a crayon and drawing together on a huge sheet of paper work well. There will be lots of books at your local library that can give you ideas for similar activities.

Despite all this preparation it is inevitable that disagreements will break out. Stay close to quickly intervene and your best bet to quickly dispel disagreements is distraction. Separate the combatants and redirect them to a new toy, show them something much more interesting or maybe it’s time for a snack.

Don’t worry, one day you will be able to sit back and chat to your friends and watch all you kids play nicely…for a while at least!