Dealing with colicky babies can be quite maddening. Poor babies with upset tummies who won’t sleep, cry inconsolably for hours, cannot sit in a car seat without crying constantly even on the smallest of trips. It is enough to drive any mama crazy! I have dealt with this with my past five babies. Getting to the root cause of the tummy issues is ultimately the key to helping the baby overcome this issue naturally. As with any issue, in order to heal completely and naturally, one must get to the source of the symptoms and resolve it in order for the body to repair and function as it was designed by our Creator. We have an amazing body that was created to heal itself when given the right tools and nutrients, clean out any hindrances, and heal any damage. Each baby is different and each situation warrants a slightly different approach, but here are some underlying root causes to consider and their natural solutions:

First, address the baby’s diet: if baby is nursing, this would be the mama’s diet. If the baby is drinking formula – the easiest to digest and assimilate with no digestive complaints is a goat milk based one. See the Weston A. Price video on how to make your own. For mama’s diet, here is a list of common offending ingredients that would upset baby and should be cut out of mother’s diet:

• conventional or otherwise any kind of cow dairy (including milk, cheese, cream, ice cream, etc.)
• wheat products of any kind (try sprouted flour or authentic sourdough instead)
• corn products of any kind (look at your ingredients! A derivative of corn is pretty much all conventionally processed foods and restaurants)
• spices (the orange, yellow and red spices)
• soy products of any kind
• citrus (lemons, grapefruit…)

I would highly recommend sticking to a Weston A Price lifestyle and diet as closely as possible while nursing. Your baby’s health is too important to leave to the Standard American Diet. It takes about 18-24 hours to get from mom’s digestive system to the milk, so if you think back to what you had for dinner last night (if baby is upset every evening) that might help.

A visit to the chiropractor regularly for a little while, or visiting a cranial-sacral chiro would be ideal as well. Many times the baby’s neck was misaligned in the womb or after with improper seating in car seats (or prolonged sitting time – babies do better being held than in chairs all day). This misalignment in the upper neck or even in the cranial will directly affect the digestive system and its ability to produce the enzymes and digest the food given. We had to visit a cranial-sacral chiro for our 6th baby and immediately after getting adjusted, he slept in the car on the way home for the first time ever and did not cry at all! He was 4 months old at the time. We had been to a regular chiro without those kind of results. Getting it back into alignment should make a dramatic difference if coupled with the dietary changes.

If you find that you’ve done all the above, and baby is still miserable, the following could be considered:

1. parasites in baby’s digestive system (and other systems like the central nervous system)- very common to have gotten from the mother in utero or in a hospital setting;
2. food allergies caused by nutritional deficiencies (most allergies need a nutritional counterpart to be able to be dealt with – make sure baby’s diet is rich in amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, and probiotics via mama’s milk or otherwise);
3. major toxins stuck in baby’s liver and digestive systems (and other systems) from a conventional diet from mother, frequent eating out on mother’s part, toxic medications given at the birth or during pregnancy, or vaccinations.

Recommended approached for each of the above issues:

1. If baby has parasites, chances are mom has them too! The best approach is to find a natural health consultant who can use MRT (muscle response testing or applied kinesiology) to find out exactly what kind of parasites you’re dealing with and the correct herbal or eo combinations to kill them out – different kinds of parasites need different combinations and there is no “one size fits all” supplement for this. Precision Herbs is one company I have used for these type of issues with great success. Also, baby has to be old enough to use the eo’s or herbal combinations to kill them out. If baby is nursing, the mother can take the herbs for baby and pre-digest them for baby so to speak. But again, it is best to find a trusted natural health professional to aid in this process. (See contact page if assistance needed or Precision Herbs.)
2. Food allergies can be addressed by detoxing out gently any allergens stored in baby’s system (either given through the umbilical cord or developed from parasites). There are herbal combinations that can be used – again see a natural health professional to aid in the selection. Also, filling any nutritional voids for baby is essential. Read up on the Nourishing Our Children website or Weston A Price for the most nutrient dense diet.
3. For toxic overload, if baby is nursing, the mother can take a gentle herbal detox or detoxifying tea. This should be done carefully and only when baby is old enough for it (every child is different and ages range from 4-8 months). Seeing a natural health professional to get the right formula for mom and infant would be best to take out any guesswork.

For our children, they all had a parasite we had obtained from a highly polluted lake in Iowa. Many agricultural states have devastated eco-systems with lakes and land over-run with harmful pathogens because all the good ones have been killed off with harsh pesticides, herbicides, pharma drugs, and insecticides. The parasite had been everywhere, including in the reproductive system, which was why each of my following children (after we moved away from there) were affected. We have since killed out, detoxed and done much in the way of healing the damage caused from this seriously harmful pathogen. It has been a very long road, but I am grateful God led me to the answers to get to the root of the problem instead of just addressing the symptoms. Through our cleanses, herbal combinations, and eo’s, we have healed from IBD symptoms, bi-polar tendencies, major skin issues (like eczema, severe acne), hypothyroidism, low milk supply, major behavioral issues. low immune function, and much more. To God be the glory for giving us the solutions to all our needs before we could even ask. He loves to help His children who honestly seek Him for guidance and wisdom. May He bless your family with the direction and the right people who can aid in the healing process.