Colic in Babies: Symptoms, Causes, and What Helps

Colic in babies is one of the most common reasons new parents lose sleep in the first few months, and it goes away on its own. This blog explains what baby colic is, how to spot colic symptoms, what may be behind it, which soothing methods have some support and which ones are mostly myths, and when it makes sense to call your pediatrician.

Quick Answers

• What is colic? Colic is when a healthy baby cries a lot, again and again, and nothing you try seems to calm the crying for long. Doctors often use the Rule of 3 to describe it, which means crying for about 3 hours a day, on at least 3 days a week, for 3 weeks or more, even though the baby is fed, has a clean diaper and has no fever or illness.
  
  
• When does colic start and stop? Colic usually begins at 2 to 3 weeks of age, peaks around 6 weeks, and fades by 3 to 4 months.
  
  
• What causes colic? The exact cause is unknown. An immature nervous system, a gut that is still learning to digest, swallowed air and, in a small group of babies, milk protein sensitivity may all play a part.
  
  
• What helps? Holding and gentle motion, white noise, a safe swaddle, burping and paced feeding, a tummy massage, and a proper break for you. No single method works for every baby.
  
  
• When to worry? Fever, green or forceful vomiting, blood in the stool, poor weight gain, fewer wet diapers, or a baby who looks unwell between cries needs a doctor’s attention.

What Is Colic? Understanding Baby Colic

Colic is the name given to long, repeated spells of crying in a baby who is otherwise healthy, well fed and growing normally. The colic definition doctors use is the Rule of 3, which means crying for around 3 hours or more a day, on 3 or more days a week, for at least 3 weeks. Infant colic is a pattern of behaviour and not a disease, and it is usually diagnosed only after a doctor has checked that nothing else is causing the crying (which is why it is called a “diagnosis of exclusion”).

Colic is common. It affects boys and girls equally, firstborns and later babies, and breastfed and formula-fed babies alike. Colic is not a sign of poor parenting, a weak milk supply or a mistake in how you hold your baby.

The Rule of 3

The Rule of 3 colic definition comes from a pediatrician named Morris Wessel, who described it in 1954. It has three parts:

• Crying for about 3 hours or more in a day.
• On at least 3 days in a week.
• Continuing for 3 weeks or longer.

Colic Symptoms & How to Identify it in Your Baby

The main colic symptoms are intense crying spells that are hard to soothe, usually in the evening, in a baby who is otherwise healthy, along with a tense body, tightly closed fists, an arched back and a red face. The spells start and end suddenly, and nothing obvious such as hunger, wet diaper or fever explains them.

What Colic Crying Sounds Like

Colic crying is very different from normal crying. It sounds sharp and loud, almost like screaming, and it does not stop even after feeding the baby, rocking the baby or changing the diaper. These inconsolable crying spells usually come at the same time every day, mostly anywhere from late afternoon to midnight, and a single spell can go on for 20 minutes or even a few hours. The confusing part is that the baby often looks perfectly happy once the crying is over, and may even be awake and smiling.

How Baby’s Body Looks While Crying

When a baby is in the middle of a colic spell, you can often see it in the whole body. Your baby may go stiff, arch the back, curl the hands into tight fists and pull the legs up towards the tummy, and the face may turn red while the belly feels hard to the touch. Any baby who cries very hard tends to tighten up and pull the legs in, so these signs alone cannot tell you for sure that it is colic.

How Colic Spells End

Many parents get surprised by how quickly a colic spell can stop. One minute your baby is screaming, and the next minute the crying is over, as if someone switched it off. Some babies then feed hungrily, some fall asleep because they get so tired, and some just lie there looking around calmly. This sudden stop is a common sign of colic.

Colic Symptoms in Newborns & Breastfed Babies

The symptoms of colic in newborns are the same whether your baby drinks breast milk or formula. Still, mothers who breastfeed often notice a few extra things like a baby may start the feed happily and then suddenly pull away and cry, take milk in short, restless bursts in the evening, or seem tight and gassy after feeding. The good news is that these babies usually still wet plenty of diapers, keep gaining weight on the growth chart, and stay calm at other times of the day. If your baby is crying a lot and is not gaining weight well, it may not be simple colic.

How Long Does Colic Last?

Colic usually starts at around 2 to 3 weeks of age, peaks at about 6 weeks, and settles by 3 to 4 months. A few babies carry on until 5 or 6 months, but that is less common.

Fussiness at certain ages can also pile on top of colic. Developmental leaps and fussiness often go together, since babies go through growth spurts and fast brain changes at around 2 to 3 weeks, 6 weeks and 3 months, and may want more feeds and more cuddles for a few days.

If intense crying starts for the first time after the third or fourth month, or if it continues past 5 to 6 months, ask your pediatrician to examine your baby so that other causes can be ruled out.

What Causes Colic?

Nobody knows the exact cause of colic and the best current answer is a mix of factors that differ from baby to baby. There are few main colic causes that researchers have looked at.

1. Immature Nervous System and Sensory Overload

For nine months, the baby stayed inside a dark, warm and quiet space all day long. After birth, everything is suddenly bright and loud and a tiny brain (the nervous system, meaning the brain and nerves that carry signals around the body) cannot sort out all this noise and light yet. By evening, it has taken in too much, and this sensory overload newborns go through in the evening can come out as long, hard crying, which may be why colic spells mostly happen at that time. Studies have also found that colic is more common in babies whose mothers get migraines (very bad headaches), which suggests that a more sensitive nervous system may play a part.

2. Gut Immaturity, Gas and the Gut Microbiome

A newborn’s tummy is still learning how to digest milk. Sometimes a little of the milk sugar is not fully absorbed and moves down to the large intestine (the lower part of the gut), where the bacteria break it down and make gas. This is part of the gastrointestinal discomfort infants go through in the first few months (gastrointestinal means related to the stomach and intestines). Doctors are also looking at the infant gut microbiome and colic (microbiome means all the tiny bacteria that live inside the gut), because studies found that colicky babies have a different mix of gut bacteria from other babies.

3. Feeding Dynamics

Babies swallow air during feeds, and more so when milk flows too fast, when the latch (the way the baby’s mouth attaches to the breast or bottle nipple) is shallow, or when a baby is already screaming and gulping air between cries. Overfeeding, feeding a very hungry baby too quickly and skipping burps can all add to the problem. The air then sits in the tummy and adds to the discomfort, which can make the crying worse and the swallowing of air worse in turn, and this loop is why small feeding changes sometimes make a real difference.

4. Milk Protein & Lactose Sensitivity

In a smaller group of babies, colic-like crying is linked to a reaction to cow’s milk protein, either in formula or passed through the mother’s milk after she has had dairy. Cow’s milk protein allergy usually comes with other signs such as eczema or a rash, loose stools with mucus or blood, vomiting, refusing feeds or poor weight gain. A milder lactose sensitivity in newborns sometimes can also happen, because the enzyme that digests lactose (the natural sugar in milk) is still maturing, while true lactose intolerance in newborns is rare.

Words on Reflux Column

Reflux (GER, or gastro-oesophageal reflux) means milk comes back up from the stomach, and many healthy babies do this and are called “happy spitters” because they are comfortable and gaining weight. It becomes GERD (gastro-oesophageal reflux disease) when the baby is in real discomfort, refuses feeds or does not gain weight well. Some babies with reflux also have aero-digestive symptoms (symptoms that involve the breathing passages and the food pipe together, such as coughing, wheezing or noisy breathing during feeds). If you see these, talk to your doctor and do not try to manage it at home.

Gas and colic can exist together, which is why a baby may seem to improve after a good burp and yet still have a long evening spell. If your baby settles quickly after burping or passing gas, gas is the likelier culprit, and if the crying keeps going in long, intense spells regardless, colic is more likely.

How to Soothe a Colicky Baby

There is no single trick that works for every baby, and the aim is to calm your baby and get through the spell, because colic itself runs its course. Try one method at a time for a few minutes each so you can see what helps, instead of switching everything every thirty seconds in panic.

Before you decide it is colic during a given spell, run a quick check. Is your baby hungry, is the diaper wet, is the room too hot or the clothing too tight, and is a hair or thread wrapped around a finger or toe?

Movement and Motion Techniques

Gentle rocking, swaying, walking around the room or holding your baby against your chest skin to skin calms many babies. An ergonomic baby carrier (one that supports the baby’s back and keeps the hips in a natural seated position) frees your hands while giving that steady movement. While wearing your baby, keep the face visible and uncovered, the chin off the chest, and the baby high enough that you could kiss the top of the head, and avoid cooking at the stove or carrying hot drinks. A vibrating bouncer or swing can also work.

Sound and Environment Adjustments

Babies feel calm when they hear a steady, soft sound, because it reminds them of the whooshing noise they heard inside the womb. White noise for soothing colicky baby can come from a simple fan, a white noise machine or a phone app. Keep the volume low and place it across the room and not right next to the crib, because a loud sound close to your baby’s ears can harm their hearing. Also dim the lights, switch off the TV and take your baby to a quiet room, which helps when your baby is tired and overloaded by the end of the day.

Swaddling (wrapping your baby snugly in a cloth) can help too. Swaddling techniques for fussy babies work best when the cloth is snug around the chest and arms but loose around the hips, so your baby can bend the legs up and out freely, since tightly straightened legs can harm the hips as they grow.

Comfort and Tummy Relief

A warm bath for soothing a baby is a gentle option for many families. Keep the water comfortably warm and not hot (testing it with your elbow works well), keep the bath short, and never leave your baby alone.

Tummy massage for colicky baby relief is easy to do at home, and a tummy roll-on can make it even simpler. Pick one made with traditional and natural herbs such as hing (asafoetida), fennel, sowa and ginger in a light oil base. Roll it gently around the belly button in slow, light, clockwise circles, since clockwise follows the direction in which food moves through the large intestine.

Bicycle legs exercise for baby gas is just as simple. With your baby lying on the back, hold the legs gently and move them in a slow pedaling motion, then press the knees softly towards the tummy for a few seconds and release, which may help a stuck bubble of gas move along.

Skip hot water bags and heating pads on the tummy, since a baby’s skin burns very easily.

Home Remedies for Colic

The best home remedies for baby colic are the simple ones that cost nothing: skin-to-skin holding, snug swaddle, rhythmic rocking, white noise, warm bath, massage with tummy roll-on and a smoke-free home.

When to See a Pediatrician

Most crying in a healthy baby is not an emergency, but certain signs separate colic from something that needs treatment. Get medical help right away if your baby has:

• A fever of 38°C (100.4°F) or higher, especially under 3 months of age.
• Vomiting that is green or yellow-green, or forceful (projectile) vomiting again and again.
• Blood in the stool, or stool that looks black or like red jelly.
• Abdominal distension, baby’s belly looking swollen and staying hard even between cries.
• Trouble breathing, blue or very pale lips, or a limp, floppy body.
• Unusual sleepiness, difficulty waking or refusing several feeds in a row.
• A swelling in the groin or scrotum along with crying.
• A bulging soft spot on the head, or any fall or injury.
• Sudden, severe crying in waves with the legs pulled up, especially if the baby turns pale between waves.

Colic spells can last an hour or more, but how your baby looks, feeds and behaves between the spells tells you far more than the clock does. Colic is exhausting, and it is also temporary, and most babies who go through it grow into healthy, thriving children.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can a mother’s diet cause colic in a breastfed baby?

Sometimes, but only in a small number of babies. The food most often linked to colic-like symptoms is cow’s milk protein, and mothers are also often advised to look at caffeine and gas-forming cruciferous vegetables (the cabbage family, including cauliflower and broccoli).

2. Can breastfeeding cause colic?

No. Colic occurs just as often in formula-fed babies, and breast milk is not the cause. Breastfeeding can sometimes be linked to colic-like fussiness because of a shallow latch, very fast milk flow or milk protein sensitivity.

3. Do gripe water or simethicone drops cure colic?

No, neither one cures colic. Gripe water has not been properly studied for colic, and simethicone has not been shown to reduce colic crying in trials, although it may give some gas relief to certain babies and is considered low risk. Colic ends on its own when the baby’s gut and nervous system mature.

4. Does colic mean my baby will have a fussy temperament later in life?

Colic does not decide your child’s personality, and most babies who have colic grow up healthy with normal development.

5. Is colic harmful to a baby?

Colic itself does not harm a baby’s health, growth or development.

6. Can colic be prevented?

No proven method prevents colic. Good feeding habits, burping and a smoke-free home can reduce discomfort, but they do not guarantee a colic-free baby.

7. Will I spoil my baby by holding them too much?

No. A newborn cannot be spoiled by cuddling, and holding, carrying and responding to crying is part of how babies learn to feel safe and settle. Responding quickly to a colicky baby does not create a habit.