What Is Colic—And What Can I Do To Help My Baby?

Your mother, next-door neighbour and hairdresser probably know someone whose baby’s colic was cured by rice cereal, a rocking chair or voodoo. Many fixes help for a short time, and everything seems to work at three or four months, when colic usually disappears. Still, there are some things parents can try that offer a genuine chance of relieving their baby’s symptoms.

What's more likely to work: Baby carrying and wearing

• Evidence level: High
• Best time to try: Proactively, before the evening witching hour or PURPLE crying begins.
• Safety: Highly safe, provided you follow the "TICKS" rules for babywearing (Tight, In view at all times, Close enough to kiss, Keep chin off the chest, Supported back) to ensure a clear airway.

Carrying your baby as much as possible has been shown to reduce crying. In The Baby Book, paediatrician William Sears writes that parents should carry babies around or start a comforting routine before the colic kicks in. Once your baby is all wound up, she’ll be harder and harder to soothe. He suggests using a baby sling or carrier. Other traditional colic remedies include a warm hot water bottle on the baby’s tummy, music, slow rhythmic rocking and running a vacuum cleaner or hair dryer for calming “white noise.”

White noise and swaddling

• Evidence level: Moderate to high
• Best time to try: When the baby shows early signs of neurological overstimulation.
• Safety: Safe if guidelines are strictly followed. Swaddling must be stopped the moment a baby shows signs of attempting to roll over. White noise machines should be kept at least seven feet away from the crib and under 50 decibels to protect developing hearing.

Some infants respond well to being snugly swaddled in a cuddly blanket. Parents spend scads of cash on swings, crib vibrators and other gadgets that claim to calm babies, but there are no guarantees these will work. As Friedman points out, some babies respond to less stimulation, not more. If nothing else seems to work, you might want to try putting your baby down in a dark room and listening to see if his crying slows after a few minutes.

You may find it helpful to keep a diary of crying times and the different tactics you use, suggests Friedman. Not only will this help you ascertain what works and what doesn’t, it might give you some hope. “Sometimes parents don’t realize that the crying is decreasing until they start keeping track.”

Here’s a look at some of the other treatments used for colic.