What are newborn colic symptoms and how to deal with them?

Your baby suffers from constant tummy aches and cries all the time. Infant colic is a common worry for a lot of new parents. Read our advice on what might help.

What Is Infant Colic?

A common answer to a lot of baby wails: It must be infant colic! This is actually quite simplifying - considering the fact that a newborn’s only remedy to anything is crying. Colic might or might not be the reason. Read our article on Why babies cry to find out more.

The real infant colic is a common source of suffering for babies under 3 months and there’s definitely more to it than just a random cry out. A baby with an infant colic has at least one of these symptoms:

• They cry for an hour or even longer. Nothing comforts them.
• Constant nursing. A colic baby wants to feed constantly and in very short intervals. When you try to put them down, they cry immediately.
• It looks like your baby suffers from gas (burps a lot or needs to fart a lot).
• A colic baby goes red in the face as if they want to poop but can’t.
• A colic newborn lifts their knees to their chest, or tries to do so (depends on their level of motoric development).

Most often, an episode of infant colic starts in the afternoon or towards the evening when your baby’s tummy is full but they are also quite tired (and the same can be said about you). Which makes it all the more difficult for everybody. Infant colic episodes usually come back quite regularly - but they do get better as the baby grows (and their digestion develops). Infant colic gradually disappears around the 3 months mark.

Effective Remedies to Newborn Colic?

Natural Position

When your baby suffers from a colic attack, comfort them, nurse them and hold them in positions that help them relieve themselves. Try babywearing or hold your baby in a squatting position (it creates a natural - but still very gentle - pressure on the belly).

Imagine yourself having to go to No. 2 while lying on your back. You can probably guess it would be much harder than when sitting on a toilet, can’t you? Add underdeveloped stomach muscles to the mix and it’s obvious that the worst thing you can do with a colic baby is to lay them on their backs.

The elimination communication method is actually a great prevention against infant colic as it lets the baby relieve themselves in a more natural position. Read more about the elimination communication method here.

Slow Down the Milk Flow

In some cases, babies suffer from colic attacks because of too strong a milk flow - meaning it flows too much and too forcefully when you start nursing, your baby can’t keep up and swallows a lot of air while nursing. Laying an unfortunate base for flatulence. 

If your baby visibly struggles with the milk flow, coughs or chokes a lot, pulls or bites your nipple, spits a lot or suffers from explosive poop - your milk flow might be too strong. Effective remedies are:

• Nurse more often (before your boobs get too full).
• Nurse a sleepy baby - babies tend to suck more lightly when sleepy.
• Nurse your baby in as upright a position as possible (and let gravity help).
• Make sure your baby’s head is above the boob level (again, gravity helps).
• If your baby struggles visibly, put them away from your boobs and direct the strongest milk flow into a towel or use absorbing nursing pads. Let your baby latch again once the milk flow eases a little.

Your baby will learn to work around the milk flow in a couple of weeks.

Don’t get frustrated when nothing works. With some babies, you just have to brace yourself to get through the daily evening cries. The best thing you can do is get some rest during the day to make you prepared. Bear with your baby. It’s just a short episode that will pass.

Where Next?

Read about how to choose the best newborn diaper. Cloth diapers can actually help you understand your baby’s elimination processes better, thus better preventing tummy aches.