Earplugs Are Not For Crying Babies.

Three weeks, four pediatrician visits, one terrifying midnight trip to the ER– complete with a set of chest X-rays, and countless sleepless hours of worry, our daughter was feebly diagnosed as a colicky baby. What a crock! We have all heard the stories of parents suffering months of sleeplessness and headaches because their baby was colicky. This was not going to happen to us. When we were told by more than one pediatrician, specialists, no doubt, there was nothing we could do to cease our baby’s uncontrollable crying and we should consider purchasing earplugs to help block out her shrills and inconsolable cries, we took our daughter’s medical care into our own hands. My wife, a nurse by training, knew the diagnosis was lackluster and began investigating what truly made a colicky baby, colicky.

After hours of research, questioning, and relentless investigation we purchased four items: Tiny Tummies (simethicone drops, which are commonly used to treat colic in Europe– the drops also go by the brand names Mylicon and Phazyme); a bottle-feeding Boppy pillow (a half-donut pillow shaped as a “c” available at Baby’s R Us, or half the price at Target) for our daughter to sleep inside of; Dr. Brown’s Natural Flow bottles; and, Earth’s Best organic, whole grain rice cereal to blend with her Similac Alimentum milk. (Alimentum, although expensive, is designed for sensitive digestive systems because the protein is extensively broken down and easily digestible.)

While our daughter’s crying proportionally lessened, it still persisted. We returned to the pediatrician; however, this time we were armed with the latest medical knowledge and our meager successes. We demanded our pediatrician re-diagnose Taylor. She did. Conclusion: Taylor was suffering from acid reflux, not colic, and was promptly prescribed liquid Zantac. Within one week’s time, Taylor’s colic “magically” disappeared.

Colic, for those unfamiliar with the term, is a miserable medical condition that is reported to affect one out of every five babies– although some believe these numbers are inflated for two reasons: doctors’ misdiagnoses and ignorant parents. (Ignorance, used in this context, means “lack of knowledge” and not the commonly assumed meaning: stupidity.) A Colicky baby differs from an ordinary crying baby: the cries are panicked, long, sometimes shrieking, and they are unable to be soothed.

There is no medicine known to completely treat all colicky babies, and all the medicines available have side effects. Yet, what medication does not have side effects! Some experts believe excessive gas to be the cause of infant colic, since many colicky infants do seem gassy. However, the same experts are unsure if the gas build up causes the colic or the colic causes infants to become gassy from their inconsolable crying.

Taylor’s little digestive system remains a concern for us, at times. Her finicky belly still cries out for a dose or two of the simethicone drops every couple of weeks, and she is easily constipated by too much iron-rich formula or too much solid food. But thank God her “colic” episodes, which were actually complications arising from persistent acid reflux, are well behind us. I just cannot imagine what hell we would be going through if my wife hadn’t questioned Taylor’s repeated misdiagnoses? Earplugs are not for crying babies, and when it comes to our daughter’s health the convenient diagnoses are unacceptable.