Colic is a word used to describe excessive chronic crying in a baby. The cause of colic is unknown. It is however known that a health issue or pain does not cause colic. While colic may be aggravated by gas, it is important to make the distinction that colic does not involve a baby in pain, simply a baby that cries a lot, for no apparent reason and has trouble stopping. Must doctors use the rule of three to diagnose colic. If a baby cries at least 3 hours, at least 3 days a week for at least 3 weeks, the baby is considered to have colic.

Colic can be extremely stressful for parents. The most important thing to remember is colic is not your fault. You did not do and are not doing something wrong to cause this. You are also not alone, 25% of babies develop colic. It is most common within the first 3 months of life and in 90% of cases is gone by the 9th month of life.

Some babies with colic will not be comforted by feeding, swaddling, changing, or soothing. There are no known medications that are proven to help babies with colic.

The only thing you can do is hang in there and make an effort to comfort your baby. Some things that may work:

• Walks in a stroller or car rides.
• A pacifier or something to suckle on.
• A feeding.
• Cuddling.
• Infant massage.
• Background noise such as a washing machine or even a lullaby.
• Swaddling.

You’ll have to experiment and find what makes your baby most comfortable. What works for one baby may aggravate another.

Above all if the crying gets to be too much find someone else to take him or her for a short while so you can have a break. If you can’t find anyone don’t feel bad if you need to just lay the baby in his or her crib for awhile alone. Over stressed parents dealing with crying babies is one of the leading reasons babies are shaken. A cry in his or her crib won’t kill your baby, shaking him or her out of frustration may. Remember, colic is almost always gone by the 3rd month of life and very rarely extends past the 9th month. This too will pass.