You bring your newborn dwelling, and for weeks y'all marvel at your baby who does little more than sleep, swallow, pee and cry.

Then one 24-hour interval a few weeks later, he erupts in prolonged, ear-shattering wails, complete with clenched fists, flailing legs and an unhappy blood-red confront.

No matter what you lot try, you can't comfort your crying baby — and that's non all: He repeats these heartbreaking, stressful episodes every night at the aforementioned fourth dimension for what seems similar forever. Welcome to the world of colic.

What is colic?

The reality is, all babies cry. It's the best (and only) way for them to communicate their needs at this tender age. And as parents, we're biologically programmed to respond so those needs get met.

Merely in babies with colic, the crying starts of a sudden for no apparent reason … and has no apparent cure.

Colic is not a illness or diagnosis but a combination of inexplainable behaviors. It'southward really simply a take hold of-all term for excessive crying in otherwise good for you babies — the problem being, in that location's no solution to it likewise the passing of time. And it'south common, occurring in roughly 1 in 5 infants.

These fussy periods can continue for hours at a time, sometimes late into the night. Worst of all, attempt every bit you might — and endeavour you will — it'due south extremely hard to calm a colicky baby, which only compounds your own frustration, worry and exhaustion.

Doctors usually diagnose infant colic based on the "rules of three." Your infant's crying:

  • Totals at to the lowest degree iii hours a day
  • Occurs at least three days a week
  • Persists for at least three weeks in a row

How to soothe colic in babies

In addition to frustration and exhaustion, yous may have feelings of inadequacy and guilt as yous attempt in vain to soothe your fussy baby. And so while staying at-home is easier said than done, these strategies may help ease the strain until colic passes.

Just give each a fair shot before y'all switch to some other (and don't pull out too many tricks at 1 time, or you'll overload baby's circuits — and pace upwardly the crying yous're trying to stop). Talk to your medico for tips and possible causes of your babe's colic likewise.

If you lot suspect overstimulation:

  • Respond. Crying is a baby'southward only fashion of communicating his needs. Simply it's besides his only way of wielding any control at all over a vast and bewildering new environment: He cries, you come running to his side — powerful stuff when yous're otherwise completely powerless. In fact, studies prove that responding promptly to your baby's cries will reduce his crying in the long run.
  • Excise excitement. Limit visitors and avoid exposing your baby to new experiences in stimulating environments, particularly in the belatedly afternoon and early evening. Spotter how your baby responds to certain stimuli — and steer clear of whatsoever that seem to offend.
  • Create at-home. Trying to brand your baby's surround peaceful might help him relax. Dim the lights, speak or sing in soothing tones (or don't speak at all) and go on other racket and distractions to a minimum.

If you lot suspect gastrointestinal issues:

  • Employ force per unit area to baby'due south stomach. Some colicky babies find relief when force per unit area is placed on the belly — and the power of touch on alone can be very soothing for both parent and kid. So identify your baby confront-down on your lap or upright with his tum against your shoulder, or attempt the "colic acquit," where your little one lies face-downward with his belly resting on your arm. So gently rub or pat his back as you hold him.
  • Endeavor burping your baby.If your baby'southward inconsolable fussiness is due to gas, sometimes burping him will help salve the pain. Make sure you lot're burping your baby effectively.
  • Ask about antigas drops.Studies show that reducing gas may reduce the discomfort (and crying). And so ask your pediatrician about trying gas drops made with simethicone, which works past breaking up gas bubbles and tin can salvage your baby's symptoms. Though research hasn't notwithstanding shown that this treatment definitively helps with colic, your doctor may think it's worth a endeavor.
  • Consider probiotics. Probiotic drops may potentially curb the crying in some colicky babies, probably because they ease tummy troubles (probiotic bacteria grow naturally in the digestive tract and help promote intestinal health). Again, research is very express, just cheque with your pediatrician to see if you should give information technology a get.
  • Watch what y'all consume. If you're breastfeeding, talk to your doctor most whether y'all should try temporarily eliminating any foods from your diet that can crusade tummy troubles for your babe, such as gas-causing cruciferous veggies (cabbage, cauliflower and others), acidic citrus fruits or allergenic foods (dairy, soy, wheat, eggs, peanuts, tree basics, fish).
  • Ask about switching formulas. For some formula-fed infants, swapping a standard diversity for ane designed for sensitive tummies or one that doesn't contain moo-cow's milk can make a difference. Studies have found that giving colicky babies hypoallergenic whey-hydrolyzed formula decreases colic symptoms in some babies. Merely be sure to become your doctor's approval before making the switch. Too, steer clear of casein-hydrolyzed formula or partially hydrolyzed formulas as therapies for colic — at that place merely isn't enough evidence that they piece of work.

Other calming remedies for colicky babies:

  • Get close.Not merely does cuddling, wearing or carrying your baby give him the pleasure of security and physical closeness to y'all (and subsequently 9 months of constant closeness, that may exist just what baby'due south crying for), but it may assist you tune in better to his needs. Worried that holding your baby too much will brand him spoiled or clingy? Set those fears bated. You can't spoil a newborn — so if holding him seems to soothe him, cuddle abroad.
  • Swaddle.Toss a blanket in the dryer and while it's even so warm, wrap it snugly around your fiddling one. The combination of warmth and the feeling of security may help dry baby's tears.
  • Try white racket. The hum of the vacuum cleaner or dryer can exist comforting to babies (information technology reminds them of the womb). A white noise machine tin can also help.
  • Play soothing music.A crying babe might also respond to the quiet singing of a lullaby or softly playing classical music. Other infants enjoy the sounds of nature or the whir of a fan. Repeating "shh" or "ahh" to your little one tin can also help. Experiment to observe something your babe seems to like.
  • Arrive motion.Attempt swinging or rocking. Newborns find gentle move comforting, since it feels like what they experienced in the womb.
  • Offer a pacifier. Some colicky babies seem to want to eat all the time — and that might be considering sucking is soothing, not because they're hungry. And so if your child seems ravenous oftentimes and adequate feedings don't seem to satisfy him, a pacifier might help. Check in with your doc if you're not sure whether baby is getting plenty to eat at mealtimes, though.
  • Exit of the house.Sometimes just a change to an outdoor location will magically change a infant'southward mood. Movement can help as well. Take your baby for a walk in the stroller or carrier, or strap him into the motorcar seat for a bulldoze (simply turn effectually and head home if the crying continues in the car — otherwise it could distract y'all from the road).

Remember, you lot should never give your baby any medication, herbal or otherwise, without talking to your pediatrician commencement. And always talk to your doctor before making major changes in your diet or your baby's.

Colic symptoms

How do you know for sure if your infant's colicky? Here are some signs of colic to look out for:

  • It bears repeating, but colic generally follows a "rules of three" pattern: The crying lasts a total of at least iii hours a day, at least 3 days a week and for at least iii sequent weeks.
  • Crying often occurs at around the same fourth dimension every twenty-four hours (usually in the belatedly afternoon or early evening, but it can vary).
  • Your infant seems to be crying for no reason (not because he has a dirty diaper or is hungry or tired).
  • Babe may pull up his legs, clench his fists and generally movement his legs and arms more.
  • Your baby will ofttimes will close his eyes or open up them very wide, furrow his forehead and fifty-fifty concur his jiff briefly.
  • Bowel activity may increase, and he may pass gas or spit up.
  • Eating and sleeping are disrupted by the crying — babe frantically seeks a nipple only to refuse information technology once sucking has begun, or dozes for a few moments but to wake upward screaming.

What's the departure between colic and normal crying?

There isn't a clear definition of exactly what colic is or how (and if) information technology differs from other types of crying.

Merely doctors typically agree that colic crying is louder, more intense and higher-pitched than normal crying — sometimes near like screaming.

Colicky babies also seem inconsolable, and tend to cry more than throughout the day than babies without colic. (Information technology may very well experience like around the clock, much to tired and fraught parents' dismay, simply in reality information technology could amount to a few hours total.)

Most often, colicky periods recur daily, though some babies take an occasional night off.

How to Calm a Crying Newborn

When does colic get-go and end?

The good news is that baby colic doesn't last forever. Most bouts start when baby is nearly 2 to 3 weeks one-time (later in premature infants), summit at effectually 6 weeks and so typically brainstorm to taper off by 10 to 12 weeks.

By 3 months (though unremarkably a niggling afterwards in preterm babies), nigh colicky infants seem to be miraculously cured. The colic may stop all of a sudden — or end gradually, with some skillful days and some bad days until nigh of them are good and it's clear the stage has passed.

In the meantime, a piffling knowledge and a lot of patience will help you survive until the tempest subsides.

What causes colic in babies?

While the verbal cause of colic is a mystery, experts practise know that it's non the result of genetics or anything that happened during pregnancy or childbirth. Nor is it any reflection on parenting skills. And information technology's as well not anyone'south mistake.

That said, here are some theories on possible causes of colicky crying:

  • Overstimulated senses.One explanation: Newborns have a built-in machinery for tuning out sights and sounds effectually them, which allows them to sleep and eat without being disturbed past their environment. Nearly the end of the first month, however, this mechanism disappears — leaving babies more than sensitive to the stimuli in their environs. With so many new sensations coming at them, some infants get overwhelmed, frequently at the end of the solar day. To release that stress, they weep (and weep and cry). Colic ends, the theory goes, when baby learns how to filter out some environmental stimuli and, in doing so, avoids a sensory overload.
  • An immature digestive system. Digesting food is a big chore for a infant's brand new gastrointestinal system. As a result, food may pass through as well quickly and not pause down completely, resulting in pain from gas in the intestines.
  • Baby acid reflux. Research has establish that babe GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) can trigger episodes in colicky babies, though it doesn't cause colic. Baby GERD is frequently the outcome of an underdeveloped lower esophageal sphincter, the muscle that keeps stomach acid from flowing support into the throat and mouth, which can irritate the esophagus. Symptoms include frequent spitting up, poor eating and irritability during and after feedings. The good news is, most babies outgrow GERD past age 1 (and colic usually goes away long before and then).
  • Food allergies or sensitivity. Some experts believe that colic is the event of an allergy to cow's milk proteins (or lactose intolerance) in formula-fed babies. Less oftentimes, colic may be a reaction to specific foods in Mom's diet in breastfed babies. Either way, these allergies or sensitivity tin cause breadbasket pain that may set off colicky behavior.
  • Tobacco exposure. Several studies testify that moms who smoke during or later pregnancy are more likely to have babies with colic, and secondhand smoke may also be a culprit. Though the link exists, it'south unclear how cigarette smoke might be related to colic. The bottom line for many more significant health reasons: Don't fume or let anyone else smoke around your baby.

Gripe water and colic

In the category of "piffling evidence, lots of anecdotes" is gripe water, touted every bit an herbal remedy for everything from baby gas to colic.

Some parents swear by gripe h2o equally a way to at-home a colicky babe, just no reliable studies have shown its effectiveness in relieving colic symptoms. And considering it's not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), gripe water can besides be a wild card in terms of what's really in it and in what quantities. Always bank check with your pediatrician before giving your baby gripe h2o or any other treatment marketed as baby colic drops.

Tips for parents on coping with colic

Though it tin can safely exist said that even hours and hours of daily crying doesn't seem to hurt a baby, information technology certainly does leave its mark on parents. Listening to a infant'southward screams can be heartbreaking, upsetting and anxiety-provoking and can have a physical and emotional price.

To cope with colicky crying that just won't quit, endeavor the following:

  • Interruption it upwardly. A fresh fix of arms sometimes induces calm in a crying babe. If in that location are two parents at home during infant's witching hours, make certain colic duty is divided up as between the 2 of you (an hr on, an hour off, a night on, a night off, or whatsoever organization works best).
  • Take a break. It'southward of import to respond to crying, which is an infant'south only way to communicate. Simply every one time in a while, taking a 10- to 15- infinitesimal break during a particularly trying crying marathon won't hurt — and it might help both of you become through this challenging phase of babyhood.
  • Tune out a little. Use earplugs, racket-canceling headphones or listen to music to lessen the outcome of your infant's wails. Don't tune out your baby and so much that you can't hear him at all or for long periods of time, but at least the bouts of wailing won't be as loud for a trivial while.
  • Talk most information technology. Do a footling crying yourself — on a willing shoulder: your spouse'southward, the pediatrician's, a family member'southward, a friend'due south. Only knowing you're not alone in the globe of inconsolable babies tin make a globe of difference.
  • Get help. If yous're at the end of your rope, don't hesitate ask for help — whether from your partner, mother, friend or babysitter. And if you discover that y'all're consistently feeling overwhelmed or are having trouble coping, talk to your md or a mental health professional. You'll non only experience better — parental counseling has actualy been shown to reduce infant crying.

When to phone call the doctor about colic in babies

While the odds are that your babe's daily screaming sessions are due to colic, if it seems similar your baby is crying excessively, start by seeing the pediatrician.

The doctor tin examine your baby to rule out any other potential causes of excessive crying. And if they call back you lot're definitely dealing with colic? It's good to get some reassurance and maybe a few extra soothing strategies.

Describing the crying (its elapsing, intensity, pattern, whatsoever variation from the norm and whatsoever accompanying symptoms) volition also help the doctor rule out any underlying medical condition (like reflux, an infection or a milk allergy) that could be triggering the crying.

Keep in mind, too, that this shall pass: Just when you think you can't accept another night of it, the crying will let up — and so it'south gone forever.

As wiped-out as you may exist, give yourself a well-earned pat on the dorsum. You've merely survived your get-go major claiming of parenthood.