After centuries of myths and confusion,
I am convinced that the true
basis of colic is simply that fussy babies need the sensations of the womb
to help stay calm.
You might ask, “If all babies get evicted early and need a fourth
trimester, why don’t they all get colic?”
The reason is simple: Most babies can
handle being born too soon
because they have mild temperaments and good self-calming abilities.
Thus, despite being exposed to waves of overstimulation and
understimulation, they can soothe themselves.
Colicky babies, on the other hand, have big trouble with self-calming.
They live through the same experiences as calm babies, but rather than
taking
them in stride, they overreact dramatically. These infants
desperately need the sensations of the womb to help them turn on their
calming reflex.
The Colic Elephant: A Blend of the Fourth Trimester and
Other Colic Theories
As we’ve discussed, experts have blamed colic on tummy troubles,
anxiety, immaturity, and temperament. But,
like the blind men and the
elephant, these experts perceived only parts of the problem and
overlooked the all-important common link—the missing fourth trimester.
The missing fourth trimester makes babies vulnerable to the unstable
qualities of their individual natures (brain immaturity and challenging
temperament) and to small daily upsets.
This is how I believe all the colic theories relate to one another:
1. Brain Immaturity—This inborn characteristic can greatly increase a
baby’s need for a fourth trimester. Fussy infants have such poor state
control and self-calming ability that even small amounts of over-or
understimulation can set off a chain reaction
of escalating flailing and
loud cries.
2. Temperament—A baby whose nature is extremely sensitive and/or
intense often overreacts to small disturbances and needs a great deal of
help turning on the calming reflex.
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