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.
All babies cry, but your baby may have colic if they cry more than 3 hours a day, 3 days a week for at least 1 week but are otherwise healthy. They may cry more often in the afternoon and evening.
Babies have been known to fuss and cry, especially during the first three months of life. The range for what's considered typical crying is difficult to pin down. In general, colic is defined as crying for three or more hours a day, three or more days a week, for three or more weeks.
Colic usually starts when a baby is a few weeks old and stops when they're around 4 to 6 months of age. If your otherwise healthy baby cries inconsolably for 3 or more hours a day, at least 3 days per week (and it's been happening for 3 weeks or more), it could be caused by colic.
Colic is a relatively common condition that affects up to 1 in 4 newborn babies. It typically starts within the first 6 weeks and goes away within 4 months, although it may last up to 6 months.
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.
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)!
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 symptoms
Crying often occurs at around the same time every day (usually in the late afternoon or early evening, but it can vary).
Colic will go away. Most babies outgrow it by the time they are 3 to 4 months old. Just because your baby has colic doesn't mean they're unhealthy.
At 6 months of age, infants with a history of colic are described as fussier, they sleep on average less and with more night awakenings, and they are more difficult to put to bed compared to infants without a history of colic.
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.
You do not need to stop nursing. 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.
Skin-to-skin contact is best. But wearing baby in a safe infant carrier for several hours a day also cuts crying and provides constant sound, temperature, and motion that signal comfort. Use a pacifier, even if the baby has just eaten. Some colicky babies will spit a pacifier right out, but others may calm down a bit.
Now, all babies, colic or not, start to have more crying around 3 weeks and its peaks between 6-8 weeks old. Helping your baby getting more sleep can help decrease the crying, however.
Shift Positions
Parents tend to cradle a colicky baby face-up, but that may not help. Instead, hold their face down -- with your hand under their belly and their head on your forearm. The pressure on their tummy can help relieve uncomfortable gas.
However, to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), the best sleeping position for a gassy baby—and every baby—is on their back.
Also, babies with colic may burp frequently or pass a significant amount of gas, but this is thought to be due to swallowing air while crying, and is not a cause of colic. The face may be flushed. The abdomen may be tense with legs drawn toward it.
The intense crying of a colicky baby is dramatically different than a fussy baby. If your baby is colicky and things do not seem to be improving, there may be a medical issue to blame, such as food allergies or intolerances, reflux, or other issues.
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.
Two trials measured the difference between the bowel movements of colicky and non-colicky infants: one reported that infants with symptoms of colic during the first two months had less frequent bowel movements [11], the other that there was no difference[12].
If the crying does not stop, but intensifies and lasts throughout the day or night, it may be caused by colic. About one-fifth of all babies develop colic, usually between the second and fourth weeks. Colicky babies cry inconsolably, often screaming, extending or pulling up their legs, and passing gas.
Finally, several studies have also examined mental development in infants with colic and likewise have demonstrated no effect of colic. In one study, although differences on the Bayley MDI were revealed at six months, both groups were within the normal range, and no differences were found at 12 months of age.