Baby Crying – What is Colic?

Posted on 10. Apr, 2009 by TheCuteKid Photo Contest in Health Tips, Parenting, Toddlers

Colic Questions & Answers,

Why does my baby cry so much?

By Mary Fetzer

When our first daughter, Susan, was born, she was a little fussy. By the time she was a month old, though, she was way beyond fussy. Every afternoon at 5 o’clock, Susan cried – actually she screamed inconsolably – for more than two hours. This went on for weeks. Susan had colic.

What is Colic?

If your baby cries about the same time each day, and nothing you do seems to comfort him, he may have colic.

Colic is an extreme type of crying in a baby between three weeks and three months of age. The baby will cry for hours at a time, no matter what you do to try to soothe him. Colic is normal, but here’s the best news – it’s temporary.

Many doctors diagnose colic when a healthy, well-fed baby cries harder than expected in what is referred to as a “three pattern” – about three hours a day, at least three days a week, for about three weeks in a row. Colic usually peaks at six to eight weeks old. It rarely lasts beyond the baby’s third month, and eventually goes away on its own.

What Causes Colic?
“No one really knows what causes colic,” say experts at the Mayo Clinic (www.MayoClinic.com). “Researchers have explored a number of possibilities, including allergies, lactose intolerance, an immature digestive system, maternal anxiety, and differences in the way a baby is fed or comforted. Yet it’s still unclear why some babies have colic and others don’t.”

Colic is not related to health conditions, nor is it caused by pain or illness. Colic is not typically accompanied by vomiting or a fever. If a baby has physical symptoms (diarrhea, blood in the stool, fever) beyond inconsolable crying, he or she needs to be checked by a doctor.

Digestive problems do not cause colic, though many babies will pass gas or have a bowel movement toward the end of a crying episode. Girls and boys – regardless of their birth order or whether they are breast- or formula-fed, experience colic in similar numbers.

Most important to realize is that colic is no one’s fault. It has nothing to do with your parenting style, and it doesn’t mean your baby is unhealthy.

How To Deal

Doctors and child experts offer various tips for comforting colicky babies, although there are times when nothing will seem to work. Here are a few to try:

• Try holding your baby more before the crying begins.
• During the expected fussy time, limit visitors – unless they’re willing to help! – and keep the household as calm as possible.
• Some colicky babies are comforted by rocking, some by the outdoors.
• Others are soothed by riding in a car or listening to “quiet noise” like a fan or a clothes dryer.

Beyond comforting your child, be sure that you enlist in lots of help as this can be an especially difficult time for parents to deal with. When you need to, it’s OK to put the baby down and let her cry for a few minutes while you compose yourself.

We could do nothing to console Susan. We took turns holding her – and crying with her. One day, in the middle of an episode, my husband turned on the vacuum cleaner, and Susan stopped crying. We tried it the next evening, too. After a few days of wearing out the vacuum cleaner, we taped the noise onto an audio tape and played it for Susan, but it didn’t work. Susan needed the “soothing vibration” of the real thing. So we resolved to vacuum our carpet every day for two hours. The result: a calmer baby – and very clean carpets.

What soothing techniques have helped you quiet your baby’s cries?

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Tags: baby crying from colic, baby sickness, child development, Parenting, what is colic?