All babies cry to communicate. However, when your baby is healthy, well-fed and lying in a peaceful environment yet it cries, there’s something unusual. All babies cry, but when a baby cries in a systematic pattern over a period of time with no apparent issue, it’s time to check for colic in babies.
Generally, from birth till the fourth month, all babies suffer from colic. It is hard to understand for new parents, and the worst is that there is no particular treatment for colic. It is something you would never like your child to face. However, we have seen a lot of first time parents asking that how do I know if my baby has colic.
So, if you are a first-time parent having a colicky baby, first you need to learn that how to treat colic in babies? For this, the article will assist you a lot. Here, we will introduce you to the basics of colic in babies, some of the major symptoms and the treatment for a colicky baby.
Follow this draft religiously to find your solution.
What is colic in babies?
Colic is termed as excessive frequent crying in a baby who is otherwise well. In 1 of 5 babies, colic is common. Mostly, colic starts at 2 months of age and resolves naturally around 3 to 4 months of age.
If your baby cries three hours a day, three times a week, and it continues for at least three weeks, they are suffering from colic. We understand the cause and treatment of colic are unknown, but there are some tips and tricks that you can use to calm your colicky baby.
Possible reasons for your baby being colicky.
You must be asking what causes colic in babies after all? There are a lot of reasons for colic in babies. There are certain types of food that causes colic in babies. Also, the uneven feeding process and carrying of your baby can also result in colic. Below, we’ve listed some of the most common and usually occurring reasons for colic in babies.
1. Incorrect feeding practice
What to do for colic is unknown. But, we can tell you what you should never do. One of the major reasons for colic in babies is incorrect feeding practice. In most cases, an infant tries to intake milk rapidly, which leads to gulping of air along with milk. The air then causes loading in the intestine, halting the baby to pass gas.
Intestine loading causes pain, leading your baby to cry. The more your baby cries, the more it develops gas into the stomach, eventually making your baby colicky.
2. Acid reflux: An unknown colic cause
We all know that the only cure for colic is time and patience. But, sometimes colic is not as mysterious as it looks. There are many cases when overfeeding of a baby was reported as the major cause of colic.
Most first time parents do not know how and when to feed their babies. We appreciate the love of a mother, but it’s not always ok to relate your baby cry with hunger.
When we overfeed our babies, and they are unable to digest it well, it causes acid reflux. You know well how painful acid reflux is even if you are an adult. So, when you feed your baby excessively, it puts a lot of pressure on the Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES), resulting in the spitting of stomach milk into the oesophagus.
It causes much pain and discomfort, leading your baby to cry. It is possible to treat acid reflux in babies, but the amount of gas developed due to abnormal crying leads to colic.
3. Development of gas in babies
Though colic is not the reason for gas development in your baby. However, when babies cry, they swallow air, and due to excessive crying of babies, gas is developed, leading them to cry more and more due to pain and irritation.
Eventually, gas in babies becomes one of the major reasons for colic in your babies. It is certainly derived from other factors, but it is also one of the most common and mostly occurring factors.
4. Childhood abdominal migraine: A less talked about colic symptom
We only connect migraine with the headache. However, in newborn babies, childhood abdominal migraine is one of the most prevalent diseases. It is caused by the lack of sleep and an uneven sleep pattern. A childhood abdominal migraine is one of the most painful things that may happen to your kid.
It causes pain and discomfort in the entire stomach, letting your baby cry out loud. In some cases, due to excessive crying, the childhood abdominal migraine leads a baby to colic.
What are the symptoms of a colicky baby?
There are many signs of colic in newborn babies. However, how to know if my baby has colic. There are two of the major symptoms of a colicky baby include extreme crying and systematic and cyclic crying for no apparent reason. Other than it, you can also look for other minor symptoms of colic in babies including:
- Extreme fussiness after crying
- Turing into bright red during and after crying
- Displaying pain while crying
- Bodily tension including clenching of fists and stiffened legs
Remedies for treating colic: How to treat colic in babies
If your baby is also suffering from colic, there are two options that you can choose. First, have patience and let the colic go away itself. Second, you can go through the below-given tips and tricks to protect your baby from colic. We are sure that you’ll choose the latter option. Won’t you? How to relieve colic in babies has no particular option, but we assure that these methods will help a lot.
Feed them well
We have read above that overfeeding causes colic in newborns. However, this by no way means that you will be feeding your baby less. People are always worried about how to treat colic, but they forget that this must not affect their baby’s diet and health.
So, if you want to avoid your baby falling victim to colic, ensure a balanced diet. Mostly the first time parents either over or underfeed their babies, and this somehow leads to colic. Therefore, if you want to avoid your baby being colicky, serve them a balanced diet. It will allow you to reduce colic risks.
Swaddling can help relieve colic in babies
Swaddling is one of the anciently used ways to keep the baby calm and relaxed. So, if you feel your baby is colicky, swaddling may help you. It helps to provide your baby with a womb-like feel, and this keeps her calm.
For this, you need to take a large and smooth cloth and wrap it around your baby, ensuring that her arms do not move. However, you need to ensure that the legs of your baby are relaxed and finely moveable. It will let the baby pass the gas quite easily.
Provide them with a soother/pacifier
The sucking instinct of babies is greater than any other creature on this earth. So, it is suggested that for relieving your baby from colic, provide them with a pacifier.
Due to their high sucking instinct, a pacifier will help them stay relaxed. Also, it should not go without mentioning that sucking a pacifier releases endorphins- the chemical produced by the body for relieving stress and pain. Try this effective way, and we are sure that it will work perfectly for your baby.
Take your baby on a car ride
Imagine yourself being kept in a small room when you are unwell. Certainly, it sounds weird. Then why on earth are you keeping your baby at home all day during the colic days? So, if you have tried all the other ways and your baby seems not to be relaxing, take them for a ride.
If you have witnessed, you will acknowledge that infants love exploring things. Sometimes they get so busy in the outside world that they even forget their pain and hunger. So, taking your baby for a car ride may not cure her colic issue, but it will certainly let her relax for some time.
Run some white noise around your colicky baby
White noise machines are some of the best tools to help your colicky baby relief. When you have tried all the ways to soothe your baby, and nothing worked, try a white noise machine. White noise machines create a womb-like sound letting your baby feel at home.
In the market, there’re a lot of white noise machines available. So, go on and pick some amazing white noise machine for your colicky baby.
Lay your baby on their tummy and pat their back
We understand how hard it is to soothe a colicky baby. But, if you are fade-up of all the tips and tricks and want to do something unorthodox that works, try some of the old home remedies for colic.
Lay your colicky baby onto your lap with her tummy facing the ground. After it, softly pat onto the back of your baby and wait for them to burp. This is one of the commonly used methods to soothe your baby suffering from colic. When a baby burps, it releases some gas, eventually leading her to relax.
Final word
To conclude, we are fine to say that this article is a treasure for those looking to find answers about colic and its treatments. Above, we have enriched you with the basics of colic, its causes, symptoms and some remedial measures.
However, we state that all of the information mentioned above is put together by our research team and would like you to concern a doctor even if you have got all of your answers from this article.
Parents Also Ask
Above, we have covered almost everything that you needed to know about colic in babies and its treatment. However, to help you more that when does colic start and when does colic end, and how do you know if your baby has colic or not, we have brought some of the most asked questions from parents having a colicky baby.
What is colic pain?
Colic pain is defined as severe abdominal pain occurred due to intestinal blockage of your intestine. It usually happens with the newborn when air loads into the intestine, blocking gas to pass. However, adults also have colic pain for the same reason as children.
Is colic curable?
Certainly, colic is curable, but there is no particular treatment for colic. In infants, it occurs during the third week of birth and can last as much as three weeks. However, in severe cases, colic lasts six months.
Ironically, there is no cure available for colic as there is no certain cause of colic. Colic in infants is usually treated by various remedies, tips and tricks, but as for now, there are no treatments available for colic.
What causes colic in breastfeeding babies?
There are certain causes for colic in breastfed babies. First, when a baby tries to quickly have the milk, it pushes air into the stomach, resulting in colic. Second, many doctors suggest that there must not be any gap between a mother’s breast and a baby’s lips. But, if there is a gap left, it causes gap build-up, eventually causing colic.
These are two of the most common factors that cause colic in breastfed babies.
What are colic symptoms in breastfed babies?
In breastfed babies, the symptoms of colic do not vary much. The major symptoms of colic account, extreme crying, crying at the same hour, turning pale or red while crying, stiffening legs, and fussing.
Can we use colic drops for babies regularly?
What to give a baby with colic is still a mystery. But, can we use baby drops regularly? Well, this is something that you must ask your physician. Colic drops for babies are usually for releasing gas, but even then, you first need to consult a child specialist and then use colic drops for babies. This is the best way to help your kid stay healthy and calm.
When does colic start?
In most cases, colic starts when a baby is aged between 2 to 5 weeks. This is the time when a baby is getting used to the environment, and any allergy or abnormal thing may cause colic in a newborn. The colic usually lasts when a baby is 4 months young, but in some rare cases, it may stay for as long as 6 months.
