What Parents Should Know About A Colicky Baby

When my eldest daughter was a baby, she was very demanding. She could not sleep by herself so I had to carry her and rock her to sleep. Even though she had already slept, she would wake up and cry whenever I put her to bed. Putting her to sleep was especially very hard at night. She would cry a lot and it was very difficult to pacify her. I had such a hard time with her. Luckily all these problems were over by the time she was 3 months old. I guess what my mom told me was correct. She told me that normally a baby will settle down after 100 days.

Until now nobody knows what causes a baby to have colic. There are several factors that people say might be the cause of colic which are an immature digestive system, immature nervous system, swallowing air while feeding or crying, allergic to the milk or over stimulation.

Pediatricians often use the "Rule of Three" to diagnose colic, which is: A baby that cries for three or more hours per day, at least three times per week, within a three month period.

I am not sure whether there is a fool proof medicine for a colicky baby, although my pediatrician suggested me to put the baby on top of a running washing machine (put the baby inside the basket, off course), taking a quick car ride, or give the baby a tea table spoon of gripe water (above 1 month old) might alleviate the problem. I must say that the gripe water was the remedy that worked on my baby.

If you have a colicky baby at this moment, just remember that it will pass over after 3 months.