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The Difference Between Colic and Normal Crying

Your beautiful new baby starts to cry every afternoon or early in the evening and doesn’t stop for hours on end! You try the infant swing, rocking her, swaddling her in blankets, the football hold… anything to stop the incessant crying… and nothing works. What could be wrong with her?

All newborns cry – after all, it’s their only way to communicate with those around them. But when an infant cries for more than three hours a day, more than three days a week, for more than three weeks, the usual diagnosis is colic.

An estimated 25% of infants suffer from colic, and in many cases, it is gone by the time the infant is eight weeks old. However, in more than 50% of all cases, infants suffer from colic beyond three months of age, some up to 12 months!

The causes of colic have long been a subject of debate. If the baby is breastfed, some will insist that it is something in the mother’s diet that causes it (they usually cite garlic, broccoli, fresh fruits, and caffeine as the worst offenders). If the baby is bottle-fed – the infant formula is blamed. Others say it is the infant’s immature nervous system and an inability to cope with external stimuli.

So what’s a mother to do to save her sanity before she joins her infant in the crying game?

Don’t try to force your child to eat, especially if she does not appear to be hungry.
Play some soothing music – after all “music soothes the savage beast” so why not try it on your little one?
Lay your infant across your lap on her belly and rub her back.
Place the infant in her car seat and take a nice ride – even if it is to the market. She might get some sleep and you might actually accomplish something.
Try chiropractic care! The birth process can cause misalignment in the neck and back, especially if the labor was long or vacuum extraction was used during the delivery process. Chiropractic adjustments can help to correct these misalignments and restore natural functioning.

It’s important to keep in mind, “This too shall pass.” Your baby won’t cry forever and neither will you. Be patient, hold your baby as much as possible and soon, the tears will be replaced with lots of ear-to-ear grins and cooing sounds!