Yous bring your newborn home, and for weeks you marvel at your babe who does little more slumber, eat, pee and cry.

Then one day a few weeks afterward, he erupts in prolonged, ear-shattering wails, complete with clenched fists, flailing legs and an unhappy red face up.

No matter what you lot endeavor, you lot can't comfort your crying infant — and that'south non all: He repeats these heartbreaking, stressful episodes every nighttime at the same time for what seems similar forever. Welcome to the world of colic.

What is colic?

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

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

Colic is not a affliction or diagnosis but a combination of inexplainable behaviors. It'southward really just a grab-all term for excessive crying in otherwise salubrious babies — the problem being, in that location's no solution to it also the passing of time. And it's mutual, occurring in roughly 1 in 5 infants.

These fussy periods can go on for hours at a fourth dimension, sometimes late into the night. Worst of all, attempt every bit you might — and try you lot will — it's extremely difficult to calm a colicky baby, which just compounds your own frustration, worry and exhaustion.

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

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

How to soothe colic in babies

In addition to frustration and burnout, you may take feelings of inadequacy and guilt as you attempt in vain to soothe your fussy baby. So while staying calm is easier said than done, these strategies may help ease the strain until colic passes.

Simply give each a off-white shot earlier you switch to some other (and don't pull out too many tricks at one time, or you'll overload baby's circuits — and step up the crying y'all're trying to cease). Talk to your doctor for tips and possible causes of your baby'southward colic too.

If yous suspect overstimulation:

  • Respond. Crying is a baby'southward simply fashion of communicating his needs. Only it'south as well his simply way of wielding any control at all over a vast and bewildering new environment: He cries, yous come up running to his side — powerful stuff when yous're otherwise completely powerless. In fact, studies evidence that responding promptly to your infant'due south cries will reduce his crying in the long run.
  • Excise excitement. Limit visitors and avoid exposing your baby to new experiences in stimulating environments, specially in the late afternoon and early evening. Picket how your baby responds to sure stimuli — and steer clear of whatever that seem to offend.
  • Create at-home. Trying to brand your baby'due south environment 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 suspect gastrointestinal bug:

  • Apply pressure to baby's stomach. Some colicky babies find relief when force per unit area is placed on the abdomen — and the power of bear upon lone can be very soothing for both parent and child. So place your babe face-down on your lap or upright with his tum against your shoulder, or try the "colic carry," where your little ane lies face up-down with his abdomen resting on your arm. And then gently rub or pat his back as you hold him.
  • Try burping your baby.If your babe's inconsolable fussiness is due to gas, sometimes burping him will help relieve the hurting. Make sure you're burping your infant effectively.
  • Ask about antigas drops.Studies bear witness that reducing gas may reduce the discomfort (and crying). Then enquire your pediatrician about trying gas drops made with simethicone, which works past breaking up gas bubbles and can salve your babe'southward symptoms. Though research hasn't nonetheless shown that this treatment definitively helps with colic, your dr. 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, inquiry is very limited, but bank check with your pediatrician to see if you should give information technology a get.
  • Scout what yous eat. If you lot're breastfeeding, talk to your doc about whether you lot should attempt temporarily eliminating whatsoever foods from your diet that can cause tummy troubles for your baby, such as gas-causing cruciferous veggies (cabbage, cauliflower and others), acidic citrus fruits or allergenic foods (dairy, soy, wheat, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish).
  • Ask about switching formulas. For some formula-fed infants, swapping a standard variety for one designed for sensitive tummies or i that doesn't contain cow'southward milk can make a divergence. Studies take found that giving colicky babies hypoallergenic whey-hydrolyzed formula decreases colic symptoms in some babies. Just be certain to get your doctor's approval before making the switch. Also, steer articulate of casein-hydrolyzed formula or partially hydrolyzed formulas as therapies for colic — at that place just isn't enough bear witness that they piece of work.

Other calming remedies for colicky babies:

  • Get close.Non only does cuddling, wearing or carrying your baby give him the pleasure of security and physical closeness to yous (and after ix months of constant closeness, that may exist only what infant's crying for), merely it may help y'all tune in better to his needs. Worried that holding your baby too much volition make him spoiled or clingy? Fix those fears bated. You tin can't spoil a newborn — and then if holding him seems to soothe him, cuddle away.
  • Swaddle.Toss a coating in the dryer and while it's still warm, wrap it snugly around your piffling one. The combination of warmth and the feeling of security may assistance dry baby'due south tears.
  • Try white noise. The hum of the vacuum cleaner or dryer can exist comforting to babies (information technology reminds them of the womb). A white noise motorcar can also help.
  • Play soothing music.A crying baby might besides 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 picayune one can also help. Experiment to find something your baby seems to like.
  • Go in motility.Try swinging or rocking. Newborns find gentle movement comforting, since information technology feels similar 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. So if your kid seems ravenous often and adequate feedings don't seem to satisfy him, a pacifier might assist. Cheque in with your medico if you're not certain whether babe is getting plenty to eat at mealtimes, though.
  • Get out of the business firm.Sometimes just a change to an outdoor location volition magically change a baby's mood. Movement tin help too. Take your baby for a walk in the stroller or carrier, or strap him into the machine seat for a bulldoze (just plow around and head home if the crying continues in the car — otherwise it could distract you from the road).

Remember, you should never give your baby any medication, herbal or otherwise, without talking to your pediatrician first. And always talk to your dr. before making major changes in your nutrition or your infant'due south.

Colic symptoms

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

  • Information technology bears repeating, simply colic generally follows a "rules of three" pattern: The crying lasts a total of at least three hours a day, at to the lowest degree three days a week and for at least 3 consecutive weeks.
  • Crying oftentimes occurs at around the same time every 24-hour interval (normally in the tardily afternoon or early on evening, but it can vary).
  • Your baby seems to be crying for no reason (not because he has a dirty diaper or is hungry or tired).
  • Baby may pull up his legs, clench his fists and generally move his legs and artillery more.
  • Your baby will ofttimes will shut his eyes or open them very wide, furrow his brow and fifty-fifty concur his breath briefly.
  • Bowel activity may increment, and he may laissez passer gas or spit up.
  • Eating and sleeping are disrupted by the crying — baby frantically seeks a nipple only to reject information technology in one case sucking has begun, or dozes for a few moments only to wake upward screaming.

What'south the difference between colic and normal crying?

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

But doctors typically hold 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 solar day than babies without colic. (It may very well feel like effectually the clock, much to tired and fraught parents' dismay, but in reality it could corporeality to a few hours total.)

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

How to At-home a Crying Newborn

When does colic get-go and end?

The skillful news is that baby colic doesn't last forever. Most bouts start when babe is nearly 2 to iii weeks old (later in premature infants), pinnacle at around 6 weeks and then typically begin to taper off past 10 to 12 weeks.

By three months (though usually a piddling later on in preterm babies), most colicky infants seem to exist miraculously cured. The colic may cease suddenly — or end gradually, with some good days and some bad days until almost of them are practiced and it's clear the stage has passed.

In the meantime, a footling knowledge and a lot of patience will assistance you survive until the storm subsides.

What causes colic in babies?

While the exact cause of colic is a mystery, experts do know that it's not the issue of genetics or anything that happened during pregnancy or childbirth. Nor is it whatsoever reflection on parenting skills. And it'due south besides non anyone's fault.

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 environment. Near the stop of the start calendar month, however, this mechanism disappears — leaving babies more sensitive to the stimuli in their surroundings. With and so many new sensations coming at them, some infants become overwhelmed, often at the end of the day. To release that stress, they cry (and cry and weep). Colic ends, the theory goes, when babe learns how to filter out some environmental stimuli and, in doing so, avoids a sensory overload.
  • An immature digestive system. Digesting food is a large job for a infant's brand new gastrointestinal arrangement. As a result, nutrient may pass through also quickly and not break downwards completely, resulting in pain from gas in the intestines.
  • Babe acid reflux. Research has plant that infant GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) can trigger episodes in colicky babies, though it doesn't crusade colic. Infant GERD is often the issue of an underdeveloped lower esophageal sphincter, the muscle that keeps tum acid from flowing support into the throat and oral fissure, which tin can irritate the esophagus. Symptoms include frequent spitting up, poor eating and irritability during and after feedings. The practiced news is, most babies outgrow GERD by age ane (and colic commonly goes away long before then).
  • Food allergies or sensitivity. Some experts believe that colic is the outcome of an allergy to cow'southward milk proteins (or lactose intolerance) in formula-fed babies. Less often, colic may exist a reaction to specific foods in Mom's diet in breastfed babies. Either mode, these allergies or sensitivity can crusade tummy pain that may set off colicky behavior.
  • Tobacco exposure. Several studies show that moms who smoke during or after 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 exist related to colic. The lesser line for many more meaning health reasons: Don't fume or permit anyone else smoke around your baby.

Gripe water and colic

In the category of "little evidence, lots of anecdotes" is gripe h2o, touted as an herbal remedy for everything from baby gas to colic.

Some parents swear by gripe water as a way to at-home a colicky infant, simply 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 also be a wild card in terms of what'south actually in it and in what quantities. Ever check with your pediatrician before giving your baby gripe water or any other handling marketed equally 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 baby, it certainly does leave its mark on parents. Listening to a babe's screams can be heartbreaking, upsetting and anxiety-provoking and can take a concrete and emotional toll.

To cope with colicky crying that but won't quit, try the following:

  • Suspension it up. A fresh set up of arms sometimes induces calm in a crying infant. If at that place are 2 parents at abode during baby'due south witching hours, make certain colic duty is divided up as between the two of yous (an 60 minutes on, an hour off, a nighttime on, a night off, or whatever system works best).
  • Take a interruption. It's of import to respond to crying, which is an infant's merely way to communicate. But every once in a while, taking a x- to fifteen- minute break during a particularly trying crying marathon won't hurt — and it might help both of yous become through this challenging phase of childhood.
  • Tune out a trivial. Use earplugs, noise-canceling headphones or mind to music to lessen the effect of your baby's wails. Don't melody out your baby and then much that you tin't hear him at all or for long periods of time, only at least the bouts of wailing won't be equally loud for a little while.
  • Talk nigh it. Do a trivial crying yourself — on a willing shoulder: your spouse's, the pediatrician'due south, a family member'southward, a friend'south. Just knowing you're not alone in the world of inconsolable babies can make a world of deviation.
  • Get help. If you lot're at the end of your rope, don't hesitate enquire for help — whether from your partner, mother, friend or babysitter. And if you observe that you're consistently feeling overwhelmed or are having trouble coping, talk to your doctor or a mental health professional. You'll not only experience improve — parental counseling has actualy been shown to reduce baby crying.

When to call the medico about colic in babies

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

The doctor tin examine your infant to rule out any other potential causes of excessive crying. And if they recall y'all're definitely dealing with colic? Information technology'southward proficient to get some reassurance and perchance a few extra soothing strategies.

Describing the crying (its duration, intensity, pattern, whatsoever variation from the norm and any accompanying symptoms) will also help the doctor rule out whatsoever underlying medical condition (similar 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 tin can't take another night of it, the crying will let upwardly — and then it's gone forever.

As wiped-out equally you may be, requite yourself a well-earned pat on the dorsum. You've but survived your get-go major challenge of parenthood.