Taking care of a newborn baby can be difficult and when he gets colicky it makes things a whole lot worse. One common question you may have is what the best colic formula for your baby is. Most commercial formulas you will find at the market are made from cow's milk and most babies do not seem to have a negative reaction to these. However, it is possible that your infant may be getting colicky due to a lack of tolerance for milk proteins or may even be allergic to dairy products. If this is the case you may want to try a soy based formula for colic.
One risk you take when switching your baby's colic formula is that it could actually make the problem worse, at least temporarily. The difficult thing about this condition is that it is so hard to pinpoint in the first place. Generally speaking, a baby that gets colicky will go through long bouts of crying, typically lasting up to 3 hours and occurring roughly 3 days a week. These crying episodes will usually occur later on in the day when babies get fussier anyway. Other than the crying they are usually healthy and will continue to grow and gain weight.
One of the leading reasons why doctors think that babies get this condition is due to complications while feeding. This is why finding a better formula for colic can be such an effective solution to this problem. Colicky babies will often have problems with gas this could be a result of an adverse reaction to formulas or it could be because they are gulping air as they cry. While switching formulas can help if this is actually the problem, it is difficult to tell for sure just what is causing these symptoms in your baby.
If you think your baby may be lactose intolerant or is showing signs of having difficulty properly digesting, then it may be a good idea to switch to a soy based colic formula. Once again, you run the risk of simply making the situation worse as babies will take some time to get used to new formulas. You can also try burping your baby more often, trying a smaller sized nipple, and giving them more breaks while feeding.
As with all problems in infants, it is a good idea to see your baby's pediatrician so you can better determine just what is causing your baby to be colicky. It is difficult to determine, but at least you will be able to make sure there is not something else wrong that could be causing these symptoms. Your pediatrician may also have some good suggestions that you can take advantage of to hopefully relieve the situation. Unfortunately, there is sometimes nothing you can do but wait out this stressful condition.
