Colic is when your baby cries and can’t be consoled. They might spit up or pass gas. They might kick their legs or strain their arms and squeeze their fists, but they cry and they’re not interested in eating or sleeping. They might take from the bottle for a few seconds, but then they’ll turn their head away and cry or they might go off and then wake up and cry.
Colicky episodes last over three hours and typically start in the early evenings. Sometimes they last much longer than that, but colicky episodes tend to peak when the baby is six weeks old and by three months of age, most babies have stopped.
The important thing to know is the cause of colic is not known and there aren’t any medicines that have been found that can help, but there are some things that you can try. You can try swaddling your baby, gently rocking the baby, giving them a pacifier, gas drops or gripe water. Sometimes a formula change can help. Sometimes playing white noise in the background or playing a lullaby can help, or running a vacuum cleaner or turning on the hairdryer. Sometimes it can help to even put them in the car and drive them around the neighborhood; just a change of scenery and the movement can help some babies – it helped my daughter.
The most important thing to know about colic is that as hard as it is, you need to try and stay calm. If you get more upset, then your baby will get more upset. If you think your baby has colic, please call the office for support and we’ll give you some management strategies that can help.
If you are concerned about your baby’s colic, call our office for an appointment so we can discuss additional strategies that can help.