Colic, while it can be frustrating for the other people in the household, is generally not considered to be harmful to your baby. Still, as a parent you naturally feel some concern when your baby seems to be so unhappy. Unfortunately, there is no known cure for colic. Part of the problem rests with the fact that we just don’t know what it is that causes colic. It may also be that different things may cause colic for different babies. Because there are no known medical remedies for colic, many parents have turned to alternative forms of treatment for colic. Among these include things like gripe water, white noise CDs, and swaddling blankets. There are even homeopathic remedies for colic that may help to reduce your baby’s crying, if not eliminate it altogether.

Homeopathic remedies for colic work on the assumption that colic is caused by a gastrointestinal problem of one sort or another. It could be that certain food has irritated your baby, or that he or she is feeding too quickly. It may even be that he or she is swallowing air during teething. Therefore, homeopathic remedies for colic tend to rely on ingredients that help with the gastrointestinal system.

One of the most common sorts of homeopathic remedies for colic is chamomilla, also known as chamomile. This homeopathic remedy provides pain relief, and also helps your baby to relax. Colycynthis, or Bitter Apple, is used to relieve intestinal cramping, which may be the cause of colic for some babies. Wild Yam, also known as Dioscorea, has properties that help prevent spasms in the gastrointestinal tract. There are even tablets that you can give to your baby that will contain these homeopathic remedies for colic.

There are other homeopathic remedies for colic, each of which may help with a different type of colic. These include Magnesium phosphorica, Dioscorea, and Magnesium muriatica. As with any supplement, it is recommended that you speak with your health care provider before giving homeopathic remedies for colic to your baby.

There are few things in life more stressful than watching your baby cry for hour after hour, day after day, for weeks at a time. Even though babies with colic usually fall into predictable patterns, adjusting to life with a colicky baby can be tough.

Roughly one in five infants spends three or more weeks as a colicky baby. Doctors define colic as unexplained crying or fussing by an otherwise healthy baby which lasts three hours or more for at least three days per week for at least three consecutive weeks. New moms and dads generally know whether their baby has colic long before the baby officially meets that description.

Colic doesn’t generally have long term negative effects on your baby. In fact, chances are the whole experience is a lot harder on your than it is on your little bundle of fussy joy. Colic bouts last at least three hours, and may last as long as twelve hours per day, leaving parents feeling like they’ve lived through a war by the end of the day.

If you’re living with a colicky baby, it’s important to do what it takes to remain calm and keep your own sanity. If that means laying baby down and walking away for a few minutes, do it. Your baby will be OK, and will be better off in the long run if you take care of yourself for a few minutes.

Here are some things you can do to maintain your sanity when your baby has colic:

• Have some grace with yourself. Many parents start wondering if their babies’ fussiness has something to do with their parenting skills: it doesn’t. If you’re doing what you can to take care of your colicky baby and she’s still fussy, give yourself a break. Colicky babies fuss. It’s what they do.
• Seek others who are in the trenches. Many new moms feel isolated, especially when they have a colicky baby. Seek out other moms who are going through (or have gone through) the same things. There are lots of moms who have gone through it and can identify. One or two may even be willing to help out and give you a breather from time to time.
• Make good use of the non-colicky hours. One of the saving graces of colic is that it tends to be predictable. If you know baby with colic is going to go on a five hour crying binge when the six o’clock news starts, take a nap at four. Get everything you’ll need to care for baby (and yourself) together ahead of time.

Colic is one of the most common ailments amongst babies, and one of the roughest ones for parents to deal with. Characterized by frequent, lengthy bouts of crying, colic affects one out of every four babies. Many parents have asked the questions, “How do I recognize colic? What makes it different from other reasons babies cry? Is it something I should be worried about?”

Colic is characterized by the following traits:

• Baby cries for three hours or more at a time, for three or more days per week with no other discernable cause. Technically, a baby is generally considered colicky if this continues for three or more weeks per month, but most parents should suspect colic if it has continued more than a week.
• If baby’s crying episodes become fairly predictable, it is likely baby has colic. Often, babies with colic will begin crying about the same time every day, often in the late afternoon or early evening.
• Baby is very difficult to comfort or console during long crying episodes.
• Baby may have posture changes, such as clenched fists, tight stomach muscles, or curling up his legs.

If your baby has colic, you will undoubtedly be concerned, and you should by all means consult with your baby’s health care provider to rule out other possible causes or reasons for your baby’s crying. However, colic is not in and of itself something to be greatly concerned about. Do what you can to give your baby comfort, and make sure to get plenty of rest yourself in between colicky episodes. In most cases, babies are done with colic by the time they are three to four months old. Occasionally, colic does last longer, but it is almost always finished by nine months. When it stops, it usually stops abruptly.

While nothing about colic can really be called “nice”, one of its redeeming qualities is that it is fairly predictable, so schedule your rest times around the times that baby is likely to have a bout of colic induced crying. You’ll need the rest, and baby will need you to be fresh when it comes time to try to soothe her through the colic.