Colic

Colic is a syndrome that causes crying and irritation in babies, usually in the afternoon, evening and nighttime. A colicky baby is typically crying more than 3 hours minimum 3 days a week (a non-colicky baby is typically crying 1-2 hours every day the first weeks). It is not unusual that the baby has drawn up legs and rigid abdomen when crying. 10-20 per cent of all babies have colicky symptoms and it last from 2-3 weeks of age to 2-4 months. The "worst period" is typically when the baby's age is 4-6 weeks old. Colic is a benign condition and the excessive crying is not harmful to the baby. Do not diagnose your baby colicky yourself; leave that to your pediatrician. There are many more reasons than colic that can cause your baby crying, many of these can involve serious illness.

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NEW: Click here to go read our article about chiropractic treatment related to colic

Causes of colic

Colic is actually a generic term (is not a medicine condition) and there are many factor that can cause the crying. No one actually knows what causes colic and the medicine experts' theories are many; the most common theories are stomach irritation and sensory overload. One impression is that colic is often "diagnosed" when medical personnel do not find the reason for babies crying. If you're not satisfied with the colic diagnosis given by your pediatrician or other health personnel then ask for a second opinion. There are lots of cases where colic has been wrongly diagnoses. As stated in the last section: there are many more reasons than colic that can cause your baby crying (this is so important that it's worth repeating).

Colict treatments

There are several strategies for colic treatment. Before you try any of them out you should be aware of the following:

 

• If your baby or infant has colic then you have to accept it. Do not give up if miracles don't occurred at once. In most cases it is possible to calm your child but you must be patience even if it is difficult.
• Do not switch methods to fast, it can confuse your child and cause more crying. When you're trying out a strategy then stick with it for a while to see if it's working. If soothing sounds not are working after 10 seconds then check the condition after 5 minutes (actually it is a miracle if it's working after 10 seconds). How long you should stick with a method depends on the method - use your common sense and do not switch methods in panic...

 

Book resources

There are several books that have been helping parents with colicky babies; you'll find a list of some of them on our colic books page. One of the most recommended is "The Happiest Baby on the Block: The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Baby Sleep Longer", this book has helped a lot of parents.

Avoid smoking cigarettes

It is claimed that smoking mothers runs a bigger risks for developing colicky babies than non-smoking mothers. We have not found any report or documentation that supports this claim, but it is a generally good advice for mothers (and fathers) to avoid cigarette smoking. If anyone knows about documentation that is linking tobacco to colic please mail us at editors@calm-your-screaming-baby.com.

Soothing sounds

White sounds, also referred to as white noise is a common way to sooth colicky babies and infants. The sounds actually does not treat the colic but they help the baby to calm down and the result is often that the baby stops crying and goes to sleep. Normal ways to produce white noise is to use a vacuum cleaner, hair dryer or running water. Before you burn your vacuum cleaner's motor: go to our free soothing sounds page and try the sounds presented there. A ride with a car has also often proved to be effective since a car ride combines white noise from the engine with rocking movements.

Try to cushion possible gas pains

Let your baby burp often. You should also consider gas relief drops or colic tablets which will ease the pain in most cases. You'll find a list of products on this page which also contains a receipt for a formula that you can make and try yourself. If you are bottle feeding then you should use so-called "bubble-free bottles".

Rocking movement

Rocking movement will often help your child. You can rock it in your arms, take it for ride in the car, rock it in a cradle or rocking crib or put it in a stroller. Many relatives and outsiders will probably advice you against rocking movements - they believe in the myth that it's impossible in the future to let the child sleep without rocking movements if it's been done once. Ignore those advices... You'll soon find products on our product pages for car seats, cribs and cradles and strollers.

Homeopathic formulas

Homeopathic formulas do usually help. The most successful formulas on the market are iBaba and Hyland's colic tablets. You'll find the products on this page.

Infant Formula and colic

If you're using infant formula, then you should choose the right one. You'll get more info about infant formulas and colic on this page

Baby Massage

Baby massage has often been proven to help colicky babies. You can read more about baby massage on our baby massage page.

Chiropractic treatment

Chiropractic treatment might help your colicky baby. Read more about the topic here.