Parents' Guide to Soothing Your Crying Baby
Understanding Colic -- Treatment
What Are the Treatments for Colic?
There is no cure for colic, although many home remedies have proved helpful in soothing colicky babies.
It is important to remain calm. Communication of your own anxiety or frustration to a colicky child will probably result in more crying. Above all, never punish or shake a colicky baby. If you feel yourself near the breaking point, ask someone else to stay with your child while you rest or get away to compose yourself.
Baby Development: Your 3-month-old
Your 3-month-old is growing bigger and becoming more aware every day. By this age, your baby should be settling into a schedule, and giving you some much-needed rest! This portion of WebMD’s month-by-month guide describes a few of the baby milestones you can expect your child to reach at three months.
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If you suspect your child has colic, call your pediatrician or family doctor. After ruling out possible medical causes of prolonged crying, such as an ear infection or respiratory problems, most doctors recommend simple home-management techniques.
Some babies with colic seem to feel better if they sleep in a quiet room and get a lot of attention from their parents. Some encourage parents to talk with other parents for support. If you have gone through colic with an older child, you may decide to call the doctor only if you think your colicky infant is sick. Colic does sometimes run in families.
Many babies with colic are soothed by motion, especially vibration, and by "white noise" -- any steady background noise.
If your baby is soothed when driving in the car, this is virtually diagnostic of the "colic temperament" syndrome. Typical background noises that soothe colicky babies include dishwashers, washing machines, and vacuums. There are also commercially available products that can create white noise.
Though the cause of colic is unknown, experts think gas in babies may be one cause of colic-like symptoms. There are over-the-counter preparations containing the drug simethicone that can reduce gas cramps. The medication changes bubble surface tension, thus making big bubbles into small ones, though the overall amount of gas is still the same. Some babies also seem to cry less when given this benign and inexpensive medication.
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