You bring your newborn home, and for weeks you marvel at your baby who does little more than sleep, eat, pee and cry.

So one mean solar day a few weeks later, he erupts in prolonged, ear-shattering wails, consummate with clenched fists, flailing legs and an unhappy reddish confront.

No thing what you try, you tin't comfort your crying babe — and that's not all: He repeats these heartbreaking, stressful episodes every night at the same fourth dimension for what seems like forever. Welcome to the globe 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 equally parents, we're biologically programmed to reply so those needs get met.

But in babies with colic, the crying starts suddenly for no apparent reason … and has no credible cure.

Colic is non a affliction or diagnosis but a combination of inexplainable behaviors. It's really just a catch-all term for excessive crying in otherwise good for you babies — the trouble beingness, there's no solution to it as well the passing of time. And it's common, occurring in roughly one in 5 infants.

These fussy periods can go on for hours at a time, sometimes tardily into the night. Worst of all, effort as yous might — and try you will — it's extremely difficult to calm a colicky baby, which simply compounds your ain frustration, worry and burnout.

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

  • Totals at least three hours a twenty-four hours
  • Occurs at least three days a week
  • Persists for at least three weeks in a row

How to soothe colic in babies

In improver to frustration and burnout, yous may accept feelings of inadequacy and guilt as you try in vain to soothe your fussy baby. 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 you switch to another (and don't pull out likewise many tricks at ane time, or y'all'll overload baby'southward circuits — and step upwardly the crying yous're trying to stop). Talk to your md for tips and possible causes of your baby's colic as well.

If yous suspect overstimulation:

  • Respond. Crying is a baby's simply mode of communicating his needs. But it'southward as well his only way of wielding any control at all over a vast and bewildering new environs: He cries, you come running to his side — powerful stuff when you're otherwise completely powerless. In fact, studies show that responding promptly to your baby's cries will reduce his crying in the long run.
  • Excise excitement. Limit visitors and avoid exposing your babe to new experiences in stimulating environments, particularly in the late afternoon and early evening. Watch how your infant responds to certain stimuli — and steer clear of any that seem to offend.
  • Create calm. Trying to make your baby's environs peaceful might help him relax. Dim the lights, speak or sing in soothing tones (or don't speak at all) and continue other noise and distractions to a minimum.

If you doubtable gastrointestinal issues:

  • Apply pressure to baby's stomach. Some colicky babies find relief when pressure level is placed on the belly — and the power of touch alone can be very soothing for both parent and kid. And so identify your babe face-downward on your lap or upright with his breadbasket confronting your shoulder, or endeavour the "colic carry," where your little i lies face-down with his belly resting on your arm. Then gently rub or pat his back every bit you agree him.
  • Try burping your babe.If your baby's comfortless fussiness is due to gas, sometimes burping him will help relieve the hurting. Brand sure you're burping your baby finer.
  • Ask almost antigas drops.Studies show that reducing gas may reduce the discomfort (and crying). And then ask your pediatrician about trying gas drops fabricated with simethicone, which works by breaking up gas bubbles and tin can relieve your babe'due south symptoms. Though research hasn't all the same shown that this treatment definitively helps with colic, your doctor may call back it's worth a try.
  • Consider probiotics. Probiotic drops may potentially adjourn the crying in some colicky babies, probably because they ease stomach troubles (probiotic bacteria abound naturally in the digestive tract and help promote intestinal health). Again, research is very limited, but check with your pediatrician to see if you should requite information technology a get.
  • Sentry what you consume. If you're breastfeeding, talk to your doctor nearly whether you should effort temporarily eliminating any foods from your diet that can crusade tummy troubles for your baby, such equally gas-causing cruciferous veggies (cabbage, cauliflower and others), acidic citrus fruits or allergenic foods (dairy, soy, wheat, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish).
  • Enquire well-nigh switching formulas. For some formula-fed infants, swapping a standard variety for ane designed for sensitive tummies or one that doesn't contain cow's milk can make a departure. Studies have institute that giving colicky babies hypoallergenic whey-hydrolyzed formula decreases colic symptoms in some babies. But be sure to become your doctor's blessing before making the switch. Also, steer clear of casein-hydrolyzed formula or partially hydrolyzed formulas equally therapies for colic — in that location simply isn't enough evidence that they work.

Other calming remedies for colicky babies:

  • Get close.Not only does cuddling, wearing or carrying your babe give him the pleasure of security and concrete closeness to yous (and after ix months of abiding closeness, that may be simply what baby's crying for), simply it may assistance you tune in better to his needs. Worried that holding your baby likewise much will make him spoiled or clingy? Gear up those fears aside. Yous tin't spoil a newborn — and then if holding him seems to soothe him, cuddle away.
  • Swaddle.Toss a blanket in the dryer and while it's still warm, wrap it snugly effectually your fiddling 1. The combination of warmth and the feeling of security may help dry babe'southward tears.
  • Endeavor white dissonance. The hum of the vacuum cleaner or dryer can exist comforting to babies (information technology reminds them of the womb). A white noise car can also aid.
  • Play soothing music.A crying baby might likewise respond to the quiet singing of a lullaby or softly playing classical music. Other infants relish the sounds of nature or the whir of a fan. Repeating "shh" or "ahh" to your little one can also help. Experiment to observe something your baby seems to like.
  • Get in motion.Try swinging or rocking. Newborns find gentle movement comforting, since information technology 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 because sucking is soothing, not because they're hungry. And so if your child seems ravenous often and adequate feedings don't seem to satisfy him, a pacifier might assistance. Check in with your physician if y'all're not sure whether babe is getting enough to eat at mealtimes, though.
  • Get out of the firm.Sometimes only a change to an outdoor location will magically modify a infant's mood. Move can help also. Accept your baby for a walk in the stroller or carrier, or strap him into the car seat for a drive (only plough around and head home if the crying continues in the motorcar — otherwise it could distract you from the road).

Recall, you should never requite your baby whatsoever medication, herbal or otherwise, without talking to your pediatrician first. And e'er talk to your doctor before making major changes in your nutrition or your baby'due south.

Colic symptoms

How do you know for sure if your baby'due south colicky? Hither are some signs of colic to look out for:

  • It bears repeating, but colic generally follows a "rules of three" blueprint: The crying lasts a total of at least 3 hours a day, at to the lowest degree iii days a week and for at to the lowest degree 3 consecutive weeks.
  • Crying often occurs at effectually the same time every twenty-four hour period (usually in the late afternoon or early evening, but it can vary).
  • Your baby seems to exist crying for no reason (non considering he has a dirty diaper or is hungry or tired).
  • Infant may pull up his legs, clench his fists and generally move his legs and arms more.
  • Your baby volition often will shut his optics or open them very wide, furrow his brow and even hold his breath briefly.
  • Bowel activity may increase, and he may pass gas or spit upward.
  • Eating and sleeping are disrupted by the crying — baby frantically seeks a nipple only to pass up it in one case sucking has begun, or dozes for a few moments but to wake up screaming.

What'southward the divergence between colic and normal crying?

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

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

Colicky babies also seem inconsolable, and tend to cry more throughout the solar day than babies without colic. (It may very well feel like effectually the clock, much to tired and fraught parents' dismay, simply in reality it could amount to a few hours full.)

Near often, colicky periods recur daily, though some babies accept an occasional dark off.

How to Calm a Crying Newborn

When does colic start and end?

The good news is that baby colic doesn't last forever. Near bouts start when infant is most two to 3 weeks one-time (later in premature infants), peak at around 6 weeks and then typically begin to taper off by 10 to 12 weeks.

By 3 months (though usually a little later in preterm babies), near colicky infants seem to be miraculously cured. The colic may end suddenly — or end gradually, with some good days and some bad days until well-nigh of them are practiced and it's clear the phase has passed.

In the concurrently, a little knowledge and a lot of patience will help you survive until the storm subsides.

What causes colic in babies?

While the exact crusade of colic is a mystery, experts do know that it'southward non the event of genetics or anything that happened during pregnancy or childbirth. Nor is information technology whatever reflection on parenting skills. And it'due south also not anyone'southward error.

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

  • Overstimulated senses.One explanation: Newborns have a built-in mechanism for tuning out sights and sounds around them, which allows them to sleep and eat without being disturbed by their surround. Nearly the end of the first month, however, this mechanism disappears — leaving babies more sensitive to the stimuli in their surroundings. With then many new sensations coming at them, some infants get overwhelmed, ofttimes at the end of the day. To release that stress, they cry (and weep and cry). Colic ends, the theory goes, when babe learns how to filter out some environmental stimuli and, in doing so, avoids a sensory overload.
  • An young digestive system. Digesting nutrient is a big task for a baby's brand new gastrointestinal arrangement. As a result, food may pass through as well quickly and non break downwardly completely, resulting in pain from gas in the intestines.
  • Infant acid reflux. Enquiry has found that infant GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) can trigger episodes in colicky babies, though it doesn't crusade colic. Infant GERD is oftentimes the result of an underdeveloped lower esophageal sphincter, the muscle that keeps stomach acrid from flowing support into the throat and oral cavity, which can irritate the esophagus. Symptoms include frequent spitting up, poor eating and irritability during and after feedings. The skilful news is, virtually babies outgrow GERD by age 1 (and colic usually goes abroad long before then).
  • Nutrient allergies or sensitivity. Some experts believe that colic is the result of an allergy to cow's milk proteins (or lactose intolerance) in formula-fed babies. Less frequently, colic may be a reaction to specific foods in Mom's nutrition in breastfed babies. Either mode, these allergies or sensitivity tin cause tum pain that may set off colicky beliefs.
  • Tobacco exposure. Several studies show that moms who fume during or after pregnancy are more than likely to have babies with colic, and secondhand fume may also be a culprit. Though the link exists, it's unclear how cigarette fume might be related to colic. The lesser line for many more significant health reasons: Don't fume or let anyone else smoke effectually your baby.

Gripe h2o and colic

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

Some parents swear past gripe water every bit a style to calm a colicky infant, but no reliable studies have shown its effectiveness in relieving colic symptoms. And because it's non regulated by the Nutrient and Drug Administration (FDA), gripe h2o tin as well exist a wild card in terms of what's actually in information technology and in what quantities. Always check with your pediatrician before giving your babe gripe h2o or any other treatment marketed as baby colic drops.

Tips for parents on coping with colic

Though it can safely be said that even hours and hours of daily crying doesn't seem to hurt a infant, it certainly does go out its marker on parents. Listening to a baby's screams can be heartbreaking, upsetting and anxiety-provoking and can take a physical and emotional price.

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

  • Break information technology upwardly. A fresh set of arms sometimes induces calm in a crying baby. If at that place are two parents at habitation during baby's witching hours, make sure colic duty is divided up every bit between the two of yous (an hour on, an hour off, a night on, a nighttime off, or whatever arrangement works best).
  • Take a suspension. Information technology's important to respond to crying, which is an babe's only way to communicate. But every once in a while, taking a 10- to 15- minute break during a specially trying crying marathon won't hurt — and it might assistance both of you go through this challenging phase of babyhood.
  • Tune out a lilliputian. Apply earplugs, noise-canceling headphones or listen to music to lessen the effect of your babe'southward wails. Don't tune out your baby and then much that you tin can't hear him at all or for long periods of fourth dimension, but at least the bouts of wailing won't exist as loud for a little while.
  • Talk almost information technology. Practise a petty crying yourself — on a willing shoulder: your spouse's, the pediatrician'southward, a family member'southward, a friend'due south. But knowing you lot're non alone in the world of comfortless babies tin make a world of deviation.
  • Get help. If you're at the end of your rope, don't hesitate ask for assist — whether from your partner, mother, friend or babysitter. And if you lot find that you're consistently feeling overwhelmed or are having trouble coping, talk to your doctor or a mental health professional person. Y'all'll non but experience better — parental counseling has actualy been shown to reduce babe crying.

When to call the physician nearly colic in babies

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

The doctor can examine your baby to rule out whatsoever other potential causes of excessive crying. And if they remember you're definitely dealing with colic? It'southward adept to get some reassurance and mayhap a few actress soothing strategies.

Describing the crying (its duration, intensity, pattern, any variation from the norm and whatsoever accompanying symptoms) will besides help the doctor rule out any underlying medical condition (similar reflux, an infection or a milk allergy) that could exist triggering the crying.

Keep in listen, too, that this shall pass: Simply when yous think you can't take another night of information technology, the crying will let up — and then it's gone forever.

As wiped-out every bit you lot may be, give yourself a well-earned pat on the back. You lot've just survived your first major claiming of parenthood.