Since babies do not articulate so their only means to express their hunger, pain or irritation is crying. But sometimes there is a situation when a baby cries for more than three hours a day without any obvious reason. The colic usually starts weeks after the birth of the baby and usually ends in the third month. This is often the most annoying time for the parents of the baby. The colic situation ends mysteriously as it begins.
Signs of Colic
Some of the signs and symptoms of a colic baby would be described here:
- Predictable Crying Episodes – the colic baby usually cries at about the same time each day which may be afternoon or evening. There is no specific time length of the crying, it could be from couple of minutes to 3 hours. Usually after the baby stops crying, he passes gas or has the bowel movement.
- Intense Crying – the baby who is colic would cry more intensely and his face would get red. And it gets really difficult to console the baby; he would keep on crying until the specific time period.
- Posture Changes – the colic baby will start to curl up changing his posture and tightening his fists. You may also find his abdominal muscles tensed.
Getting Rid of Colic
Colic is not a grave concern for the parents. It begins itself and ends after the baby is in third month. There are plenty of medications found in the market for colic baby but they are not found to be too helpful instead they are a lot of side effects. The colic problem cannot be resolved fully however there are some ways through which you can deal with your colic baby.
- Feed the Baby – feeding the baby can sometimes be of great help to stop crying the baby.
- Use a Pacifier – A pacifier can be of great help while he is in colic situation.
- Keep the Baby in Motion – Rocking the baby gently either in your arms or in the cradle will give him the calming effect.
- Massage – Massage the baby around the tummy.
- Hot Bath – You can give your baby a hot bath to relax him.
- Humming or Singing – This also calms down the baby.
Colic can be really frustrating at times especially when the baby starts crying in the middle of the night but you need to know that it is perfectly normal procedure and is just a temporary phase.