The "Cuddle" Cure

Our doctor informed us that Liam is colicky.  Sigh.  It apparently peaks around six weeks of age and then disappears after three or four months.  Well, he's six weeks old and there has been a noticeable increase in baby irritability.  We've been trying all of the things that the doctor suggested--taking him outside, jiggling his bottom, giving him a finger to suck on.  These things work...sometimes.

We've also tried the "Cuddle" Cure, espoused by Dr. Harvey Karp in his book The Happiest Baby on the Block (thanks Cathy!).  This involves the five "S"s--swaddling, stomach or side lying, shhing, swinging, and sucking.  Apparently, doing these things correctly activates the "calming" reflex and should calm the baby long enough to get him to sleep (because half the time he's so wound up, he doesn't sleep which makes him overtired and therefore more irritable!).

So as for the swaddling, it's supposed to be tight so that it keeps the baby's arms by his side and mostly immobile.

We've tried and tried...

...but Liam refuses to be contained.

So we'll keep trying.  Or at the very least, we'll learn to love the screams...