By Stacy DeBroff

Colic describes repeated crying by a healthy, well-fed baby under three months of age for which no medical explanation exists. The crying often happens every day at the same time. Feed your baby whenever he seems to want to nurse, instead of forcing a schedule, to determine if the crying is caused by hunger. Schedule a checkup with your pediatrician to rule out an ear infection or other medical condition before labeling your baby colicky. Your child will likely grow out of a colicky stage by three-and-a-half months.

Try the following repertoire of techniques to help calm your baby in the meantime:

Keep a diary of when your baby cries and for how long, what stopped it and for how long, what did not work, and what the circumstances were when the crying started. You may find an emergent pattern that you did not recognize at first.

If you bottlefeed:

Change your baby's feeding position to reduce air intake.

Experiment with bottles designed to let less air into your baby's stomach.

Burp your baby more frequently during feedings, as well as before feedings.

Change to a milk-product free formula or use a predigested formula for a week to see if the problem disappears, or switch to soy-based products (although soy can also be an allergen). Check with your pediatrician for guidance before making changes

If Your breastfeed:

Eliminate all milk products from your diet. Talk with your doctor about whether you should take a calcium supplement while doing so.

Eliminate allergens and gas-producing foods from your diet one at a time and note foods that intensify the problem:

Beans

Berries

Broccoli

Cabbage

Caffeine

Citrus fruits

Eggs

High fiber grains

Nicotine

Onions

Peanut butter

Prenatal vitamins

Raw vegetables and salad

Shellfish

Spicy foods

Tomatoes

Do not smoke, and do not let your child be around smokers. Mothers who smoke are shown to have more instances of colicky babies.

Speak to him with a soft, calm voice.

Eliminate excessive stimulation:

Loud music

Television

Bright lights.

Try the colic hold. With your elbow bent, cradle your baby face down on your arm, his body supported by your forearm and his arms and legs hanging down either side. Support his chin with your hand and then:

Pat his back rhythmically with your free hand.

Gently bounce him up and down.

Walk around the room with him.

Put warm, gentle pressure on your baby's abdomen. Put a warm hot water bottle or heating pad on a low setting on your bed, and lie next your baby while holding it next to his belly.

Take a warm bath together.

Take a shower together to see if the rhythmic beating of warm water on his back calms him.

Put your baby in an infant seat in the bathroom while you shower to see if the sound of running water soothes him.

Experiment with side-to-side or up-and-down motion while walking with your baby.

Take your baby for a drive in the car.

Lay your baby on his back and bicycle his legs, gently stretching his limbs out in the process, to relieve gas.

Let your baby suck on a pacifier or on one of your fingers. Before doing the latter, make sure you wash your hands with soap and hot water. Try every kind of pacifier on the market until you find one your baby likes.

A full body massage with a gentle lotion or body oil may relax and calm your baby.

White noise can be soothing:

Dishwasher

Sound of heartbeat

TV static

Vacuum cleaner

Keep a ticking clock in your baby's room, near the monitor. The ticking lulls your baby while reassuring you that the monitor is working and letting you know if you go out of range.

Place an aquarium in your baby's room to provide a calm atmosphere that can help him relax.

Try placing him, with hands on him at all times, in a car seat on a running clothes dryer for the soothing vibration and white noise.

The motion, as well as the noise, of a ceiling fan can be calming.

Carry your baby around the house, investing in a baby sling or front pack in order to tote him around with you. Talk with him as you go.

Swaddle your baby in a receiving blanket. Lay him down with his head in one corner of the blanket. Wrap one corner over the baby and tuck it under his side. Bring the bottom corner up and tuck it into the open side. Bring the final corner across the baby and tuck it into a fold. You may decide to leave the baby's hands inside or out, depending on which way he seems most comfortable and whether he likes to suck on them for comfort.

Sing and dance with him, experimenting with different music rhythms and types to see if he has a preference.

Rock him in a rocking chair, cradle, or baby swing.

Have your baby watch himself in the mirror as a distraction.

If your baby has a set time when he becomes cranky, put him down for a nap earlier.

Hold your baby securely close to your body, move him up and down by bending and straightening your knees.

Take a walk outdoors, in a stroller, backpack, or front pack for fresh air and soothing movement.

If your child continues to cry despite your best efforts, do not view yourself as having failed, but rather as having to endure a stage your baby will soon grow out of.

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