Colic: 'I just felt so helpless'

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Sarah Cassidy tells us her story of how she coped with Emily's colic and how the crying just never seemed to stop

Emily was around 6 weeks old when she first started getting colic, although we didn't know it was colic at that point.

Those first few weeks after you come home from hospital are a bit of a whirlwind. I was just getting used to things when Jimmy, my husband, went back to work. Just being on my own was a shock, but not long after that Emily just started crying for no reason, it seemed.

The first time it happened I ran through all the things you're meant to if your baby cries: Was she tired? Was she hungry? Did she need burping? Need a clean nappy?

It was none of them. It was my mum who suggested it was probably colic and then when I saw the health visitor for a check-up, she agreed. The problem was that the crying just went on for hours. I managed to get her to stop for a while, but not long enough.

From about 4-8pm every day, Emily would just wail and I just felt so helpless. It started at almost exactly the same time every day like clockwork.

As soon as Jimmy came home, I'd give Emily to him almost immediately, because I'd be tearing my hair out by then. Emily's crying meant that we didn't eat dinner together for weeks, because one of us always had to try and calm her down.

I discovered that colic doesn't really have any cause and is also difficult to treat. Over the next 6 weeks, I got more used to Emily's crying and found that some things worked better at easing the colic.

Walking around with her, singing and jiggling her worked well, but as soon as I stopped she'd start again. Massaging her tummy helped a little as well.

And obviously, she couldn't cry if she was feeding, but doing that constantly for 4-5 hours isn't really possible.

Then suddenly one day when Emily was about 13 weeks old, she just didn't cry one afternoon. I couldn't believe it. It was as if someone had flicked a switch.

Now when I talk to a new mum and she tells me her baby has colic, I really feel for her. It's just so tough, but the good news is that it doesn't last forever.
Sarah Cassidy, 33, mum to Emily 4