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From: pc@hplabsb.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.kids
Subject: Re: Colic
Message-ID: <3002@hplabsb.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 17-Jul-85 14:54:05 EDT
Article-I.D.: hplabsb.3002
Posted: Wed Jul 17 14:54:05 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 19-Jul-85 03:01:16 EDT
References: <1306@cbosgd.UUCP>
Organization: Hewlett Packard Labs, Palo Alto CA
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	More info on colic:
	As Mark mentioned, pediatricians won't commit on the cause(s).
It seems that the earlier it starts, the longer it lasts (this seems to
dismiss the "immature digestive tract" theory).  It is indeed almost
always gone by the end of the 3rd month.
	Mothers who are nursing should avoid all beans & broccoli family
veggies. In lots of kids, colic peaks late afternoon to early evening and
people have all manner of rationalizations for this (I'll spare you all).
A warning about early cereal feeding: according to every pediatrician I
know (about 10), cereal is not at all good for little tummies.  It is
convenient for parents who don't want to have to nurse often during the
night because it lays in the stomach & keeps the kid from getting that
hungry feeling.  However, the bowel doesn't have the enzymes (& IgA or IgG--
I forget which) to properly digest the cereal, so it irritates the bowel.
This can lead to later problems & even food allergies.
	Frequent "burpings"-- as often as every 2 minutes, while nursing
can minimize the amount of gas which gets trapped.  I had to do that with
our Adam to avoid voluminous spitup.
	Interestingly, I've heard prescribed that the mother have a little
wine late afternoon & again before the evening feeding.  The idea is to
provide a slightly more relaxed mom to the nursing baby.  Our tensions seem
to pass as chemicals into the milk.  (This technique also undoubtedly passes
a little alcohol on to the newborn who may mellow out under the influence.
It would be interesting to see if meditation before nursing had the same
effect on the child.)
	Finally, a pediatric allergist recently lectured on the subject of
early childhood food allergies at our day care center parents meeting.  She
said that they now know that if a nursing mom eats food that the child cannot
tolerate, the nursing child can definitely react to the traces of the food
in the mom's milk.  Prime candidates are red meat, eggs, wheat and dairy
products.
	It seems that by the time you scientifically unearth what the problem
is, your Adam will be passed the colic stage.  Best wishes for patience and
a short 3 months!

							Patricia Collins


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