Colic is a term that is used to describe the situation where you have a perfectly healthy baby who cries uncontrollably for extended periods of time.
This could be for several hours at a time or where there are regular periods throughout the week where there are extended periods of crying.
It can be a very stressful time for parents of colicky babies and although it won’t cause your baby any long term health problems it can also be a very distressing time for your baby too.
It is usually in the first two to three weeks that a baby will get colic and while it is common for babies to cry when there is something unsettling them such as hunger or wet nappies babies with colic will cry excessively and often at the same time each day or evening.
The fact that they are unable to be consoled makes it difficult for parents to handle.
Fortunately colic tends to start getting better from a month to a month and a half.
Within a couple of months the crying periods will tend to decrease and most babies are past that stage in their life before 6 months.
While this is quite a long time for most parents to endure at least you can get some comfort knowing that every day you are one day closer to it stopping.
You should always get your doctor to give your child a thorough checkup to see that it is actually colic and nothing else that needs attention.
It is times like these that you need to get a little time out, where possible, to maintain your sanity and accepting any offers of assistance is a wise move.
Also; getting short naps during the day will help you to cope better with your baby.
The best you can do is offer your baby all the comforting that you can give and hope that you will have a child that gets over these episodes sooner rather than later.