Colicky crying is louder, more high-pitched, and more urgent sounding than regular crying. Colicky babies can be very hard to calm down. Babies who have colic may show symptoms such as: Burping often or passing a lot of gas.
While colic sounds like a disease, it's simply the name for excessive crying during a baby's first few months.
Colic is often defined by the “rule of three”: crying for more than three hours per day, for more than three days per week, and for longer than three weeks in an infant who is well-fed and otherwise healthy.
Commonly, babies with colic cry inconsolably for more than 3 hours, more than 3 days of the week. Babies who need to pass wind can be unsettled, wakeful and behave as if they're in pain. Sometimes their tummy can look bloated and they pull their legs up and strain, as if they want to poo.
Colic most often starts when a baby is about 2–5 weeks old and gets better by the time the baby is 3–4 months old. Any baby can have colic.
A healthy baby may have colic if he or she cries or is fussy for several hours a day, for no obvious reason. Colicky babies often cry from 6 p.m. to midnight. Colicky crying is louder, more high-pitched, and more urgent sounding than regular crying.
Call NHS 111 or see a GP if:
your baby has colic and nothing seems to be working. you're finding it hard to cope. your baby is not growing or putting on weight as expected. your baby still has symptoms of colic after 4 months of age.
Colic usually starts when babies are about 3 weeks old. It gets worse when they are between 4 and 6 weeks old. Most of the time, colicky babies get better after they are 6 weeks old, and are completely fine by the time they are 12 weeks old.
Let your baby cry—for a little while. If walking, rocking, singing, massaging, and the like don't seem to make a difference, put the baby in the crib for 10 to 15 minutes and see if he or she quiets alone. Sometimes a baby needs a little time alone—and you may need it, too. Take a stress break.
These bouts of crying may last for three hours or more and occur mostly in the afternoons and evenings. The baby seems to be suffering from abdominal pain. Colic affects around one in three babies. Usually, cuddling or trying to soothe the baby's cries does not work.
With a baby that vomits or spits up a lot, it's relatively easy to understand that the baby may have reflux, where as a baby that might just have excessive bouts of crying but is rarely sick and still gains weight would often be deemed to just have 'colic'.
1 Breastfeeding is not a cause of colic, and babies who take infant formula get colic, too. Switching to formula may not help and may even make the situation worse.
Colic may also be caused by an overabundance of breastmilk. Your baby could be consuming too much foremilk if you have an abundance of milk. The thinner milk that flows from the breast at the start of a feeding is known as foremilk. It has a higher lactose, or milk sugar, content.
One reason colicky babies can fuss more at night, he explains, is that serotonin levels peak in the evening. This imbalance, the theory goes, naturally resolves when babies start making melatonin, which relaxes intestinal muscles.
Colic can stop gradually or suddenly, or flare up and down until it eventually disappears. Symptoms will usually pass within a few weeks (or months, in some cases)!
Colic usually starts when a baby is about 2 weeks old, peaks around 6 weeks, and ends by 4 months. Though colic is common, the constant, excessive crying is hard to cope with.
Colic. Colic is when your baby's healthy but cries often and excessively and it's hard to soothe them. One of the possible reasons is bubbles of trapped wind causing stomach pain.
Get out the gas
Excess gas is one theory for what causes colic. Hold your baby's legs up to their chest for a few minutes to get rid of it. Burping frequently during feedings may help too. You can also switch to a bottle that limits the air your baby takes in.
Side/Stomach Hold: Instead of the typical cradle position, hold your little one on their side, or face down. Swinging: Using your body to sway a baby with colic from side to side can work wonders. Sucking: Offer a pacifier or thumb to soothe your baby via oral stimulation.
Colicky crying is louder, more high-pitched, and more urgent sounding than regular crying. Colicky babies can be very hard to calm down. Babies who have colic may show symptoms such as: Burping often or passing a lot of gas.
Infacol is often used by parents with colicky babies and it is a 'go to' colic product and many families recommend that Infacol helps colic. It is an anti foaming agent called simethicone. With claims that it reduces the surface tension of bubbles of trapped gas, it makes it easier to pass.
An aggravation of reflux symptoms
This is perhaps explains why many families find that their reflux baby seems worse after using this remedy. It is for this reason why I recommend families to stop using Infacol, if their baby presents with reflux symptoms.