You may not believe it, but doctors can’t even tell you what colic is. They can, however, tell you at least 20 percent of babies have it! Surviving colic can feel impossible. This quick guide will make those sleepless nights a little more tolerable.
What We Know About Colic
Colic is currently identified in babies by the amount of crying a baby does. It is when a baby cries for longer than 3 hours in a day, for more than 3 days a week and for a period of not less than 3 weeks.
Despite what you may have thought, the cause of the crying is not how babies are identified as having colic. Rather, it’s simply the number of hours and duration of time the babies are crying.
Treating The Symptoms
So with colic, because the cause is unknown, all you can do is treat the symptoms, and there are two main treatments given to do this: white noise is a good way to reduce the over-stimulation that may cause colic and change the position of the child while being held may also work.
This doesn’t help the parents, though, as periods of constant crying can be exhausting. The trick at these times is to seek help and accept it when offered. Sometimes, you just need a break. Hire a babysitter or ask a relative to step in.
Colic and parental depression have been closely linked and escaping the pressure every now and again may help avoid this.
There is some good news though. Children with colic are not prone to behavioral problems at a later date. In fact, they may be more responsive to parental advice!