Jen Lester - Survivors Guide to Colic: Solutions for Crying Babies from Someone Whos Been There

Text Green Jester Pty Ltd, 2013

Jen Lester asserts her moral rights as the author of this book.

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Cover and illustrations by Tamara Krstic, Design DT

Green Jester Pty Ltd

This electronic edition was published in 2013 by Green Jester Pty Ltd.

ISBN: 978-0-9924368-0-3

FIRST EDITION

Version 1

The information contained in this book is provided as general information only. Nothing in this book is intended to replace or supersede professional medical advice. The author is not a doctor or otherwise medically qualified. Readers must obtain their own professional medical advice before relying or making use of the information here.

The material in this book is provided 'as is' without any guarantees, conditions or warranties as to its accuracy or completeness. To the fullest extent permitted by law we expressly exclude all conditions, warranties and other terms which might otherwise be implied by law, and any liability for any direct, indirect or consequential loss or damage of any kind at all incurred by any reader in connection with information in the book, any error or omissions in the book, or in connection with the use, or inability to use, the results of the use of our site or the Products.

Neither the author nor the publisher may be held responsible for any action, claim or loss resulting from any action or decision by you in reliance on any information in this book.

This book includes references to third parties and/or products of third parties. This information is provided for your convenience only. It reflects the authors opinions only and the author is not a doctor or otherwise medically qualified. Such information does not imply or constitute endorsement of this book by those third parties, neither does it constitute or imply endorsement by the author or publisher of those third parties or their products, policies or practices. Your use of any third party products is entirely at your own risk and you should obtain your own independent professional medical advice before relying on or making use of any third party products.

Some names of parents who have provided anecdotes for this book have been changed to protect their privacy.

To those whose initiation to parenthood is rough,

and to the babies in distress,

with the hope that this book will help.

To my husband Sam,

my partner in all things parenting,

for never failing to be there when you were most needed,

and always making our family your first priority.

To my family, particularly my Mum,

for being there most days through the worst of the colic,

and for the thousand things you did that kept the house running.

To my village,

my dear friends and a couple of special neighbours

who showed up bearing dinner, coffee or cake

and most of all helped keep me sane.

To Angela Macpherson,

Melbournes own baby whisperer for her wisdom,

guidance and the amazing knowledge and skills

that she so generously shares.

My introduction to motherhood was ROUGH So Im really passionate about helping other parents whose babies have colic.

My story: My gorgeous little boy suffered terribly from colic. I was so desperate to find help for him that I began an exhaustive quest for answers. Fortunately, I'd been a medicine student at one time in my life, so I tapped into those skills to find and review the latest medical research. I talked to every baby expert I could find, chatted to other parents who mentioned theyd been through it too, read the baby books, the text books and scoured the internet.

In the process I discovered that there were solutions out there, but they werent always easy to find. And so I wanted to share that with other new parents lets face it, youre exhausted enough already, without having to do that kind of research!

In the Survivors Guide to Colic Ive pulled together the best techniques and solutions for colic, and as we go Ill tell you who thinks a particular solution/technique works (and why) and who disagrees (and why). I'll also tell you what I think. That way you are armed with all the information you need to help your baby (and the rest of your family) through this tough time.

The Boring Stuff: By profession I am a lawyer. My background is in intellectual property law, in areas such as the commercialization of scientific research, technology licensing and patent litigation. I have worked as a corporate lawyer for not-for-profit medical research organizations, universities and other corporations. Im also a professional company director/company secretary and at one point in my life I spent a year working as a trapeze artist and circus instructor (yep, really!). I have Bachelors Degrees in commerce and law (honours) and a Masters Degree in intellectual property law. I also have diplomas from the Australian School of Applied Management and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Kids are delightful and parenting can be really rewarding, but for those inevitable parenting challenges, Green Jester provides practical solutions.

The issues faced by parents today are often complex and stressful, and parents are regularly subjected to lots of conflicting advice.

At Green Jester our focus is on providing clear, solution-oriented, and balanced information that empowers parents to make informed choices. Our aim is to provide the solutions, so that parents can get back to enjoying their kids, rather than just surviving them.

Founded by husband and wife team in 2013, Green Jesters first product is the Survivors Guide to Colic.

Visit www.greenjester.com to read more about our books and other products.

There is a sound that is biologically designed to cause you stress. You are hardwired to want to make that sound stop. If it goes on for any length of time, youre pre-programmed to feel quite desperate.

Its the sound of your own baby crying.

Now as a survival mechanism that works brilliantly if your baby is crying because she is hungry, tired or needs a nappy change. However, if youve covered all those bases, and your little one is still regularly crying for prolonged periods, you are probably:

• Feeling genuinely distressed when a crying session lasts for hours and nothing you do seems to help;
• Worried about your baby and wanting to protect him/her;
• Confused by all the conflicting and unhelpful information and advice thats out there about colic;