Colic is when an otherwise healthy baby cries for more than three hours a day, more than three days a week, for more than three weeks, usually in the evening. It starts at two to three weeks of age, peaks around six weeks and passes at three to four months. Nobody knows for certain why, nothing cures it, but carrying, movement, monotonous sound and taking turns make it bearable. Fever, vomiting or poor weight gain are not colic: call 1177 (the national healthcare helpline).
It is quarter past seven in the evening in a flat in Farsta. The baby is five weeks old, fed, dry and warm, and has been screaming for an hour and twenty minutes. The mother has walked lap after lap of the hallway. The father has tried the car. The neighbour has knocked. Nobody has done anything wrong. This is colic, and it passes. But that is six weeks away, and nobody tells you how long those weeks are.
What colic is, and what it is not
Colic is not an illness but a description: a healthy baby who cries far more than others for a period. The rule of threes is the usual rule of thumb. Why some babies get it, nobody knows for certain. The theories involve an immature nervous system, the gut, gut bacteria, overstimulation. Most likely it is different things in different babies. What is certain is that it has nothing to do with what you are like as parents, that the baby is not harmed by the crying, and that it passes.
| Points to colic | Points to something else, call 1177 |
|---|---|
| The baby feeds well and is gaining weight | Does not want to feed, is not gaining weight |
| The crying comes at the same time, often in the evening | Cries just as much around the clock, or suddenly differently |
| No fever | Fever of 38 degrees or more, always seek care under three months |
| The baby is alert and content between the bouts | Listless, hard to make contact with, whimpers weakly |
| Brings up a little milk after feeds, like all babies | Projectile vomiting, green or bloody |
| Normal stools | Blood in the stools, a hard tummy, a swollen belly |
| Started at two to three weeks | Started suddenly in a baby who had been calm, or after a fall |
What helps, for some babies
Nothing works for everyone. You find what works for your baby by trying one thing at a time, and what worked on Tuesday may not work on Thursday. That is not you doing anything wrong.
- Carrying. Close to your body, in a sling or in your arms, with the baby's tummy against you. Many babies calm down lying tummy-down along your forearm, head in the crook of your elbow, the so-called colic hold.
- Movement. Walk. Rock. Sway. The car works for some, the pram for others. Rhythmic, monotonous movement.
- Sound. White noise, the extractor fan, the vacuum cleaner, shushing close to the ear. Louder than you think, the baby had it noisy in the womb.
- Fewer impressions. For other babies it is the opposite: dark, quiet, swaddled in a blanket, in your arms with nobody talking.
- Warmth and pressure on the tummy. A warm hand on the tummy, the baby face down across your knee, gentle massage clockwise around the navel.
- Calm feeds. Many babies with colic swallow air. Calmer feeding, winding during and after, held upright for a while afterwards.
- A bath. Warm water calms some babies completely, for a short while.
What does not help, or is not proven
- Elimination diets for the mother on your own initiative. Rarely achieve anything and exhaust you further. If you suspect cow's milk, talk to BVC (the child health clinic every family is enrolled in) first.
- Drops, teas and remedies. Nothing has proven effect. Give nothing to a baby under six months without asking BVC or the pharmacy.
- Switching formula every week. Gives the tummy no chance. Switch only in consultation with BVC.
- Letting the baby scream so it learns. A five-week-old baby learns nothing from that. On the other hand, it is perfectly fine to put the baby down safely in the cot and step out for a moment when you cannot cope. That is something else.
- Trying everything the same evening. The baby gets more stimulated, not less. One thing at a time, for ten minutes.
How you cope, and why this is the most important section
Colic is not dangerous for the baby. It is dangerous for the parents, and sometimes, through them, for the baby. The worst thing that can happen is that an exhausted parent shakes the baby. That causes life-threatening brain injuries and almost always happens in exactly this situation: evening, hours of screaming, no help. So: take turns, in one-hour shifts. Whoever does not have the baby goes into another room with the door closed. Put the baby in the cot, on their back, and leave the room when you feel yourself boiling over, even if the baby is screaming. Five minutes. Call someone. Call BVC during the day and tell them how it is, they have heard it before and can help. Call 1177 at night if you are desperate, that counts as a reason. And accept help: whoever offers to take an evening should be allowed to take an evening. More about evening fussiness and why it peaks around six weeks is in Evening fussiness in babies.
When it passes
For most babies at three to four months, sometimes earlier, sometimes later. It rarely passes gradually. There is a better week, then a worse one, then two better ones, and then one evening you realise it was quiet at eight o'clock and you were sitting eating dinner together. Save that evening. If the baby is five months old and the crying is unchanged, or if something changes in how it sounds, raise it with BVC again. And if you suspect reflux, the baby brings up a lot of milk and seems to be in pain around feeds, read Reflux in babies and talk to BVC.
How we do it with our families
We rarely look after babies with colic in the evening, because that is the time parents usually want to themselves, however hard it is. What we do is different. Last spring Sanna had a family in Hässelby with a seven-week-old baby and a three-year-old. She came three afternoons a week at two and took the three-year-old out, to the playground or the library, for three hours. Meanwhile the mother slept with the baby beside her, because she knew the evening would be long. When Sanna came back at five the three-year-old had had a snack, the mother had slept for two hours and the evening was still hard, but it was bearable. On the note she wrote what the three-year-old had done and, every time, that the mother could call if she wanted another afternoon that week. It passed at fourteen weeks. Sanna is still with them, now with the baby too.
This text is general information and does not replace advice from BVC (the child health clinic), your vårdcentral (local health centre) or 1177 (the national healthcare helpline). If you are worried about your child, call 1177. In an emergency, call 112.
Would you like a nanny who knows your child, knows how they usually are and notices when something is different? Book a free first meeting with the nanny in your home.
Read more: Newborn · Evening fussiness in babies · Reflux in babies · A nanny for your baby
Frequently asked questions
How do we know it is colic and not something else?
The rule of thumb is crying for more than three hours a day, more than three days a week, for more than three weeks, in a baby who otherwise feeds, grows and is well. Colic starts around two to three weeks and passes at three to four months. Fever, vomiting, poor weight gain or crying that sounds different are not colic. Then you call 1177 (the national healthcare helpline).
Is colic caused by what the mother eats?
Usually not. For most babies with colic there is no link to the mother's diet. In a small proportion, cow's milk protein may play a part. Do not try elimination diets on your own, it exhausts you and rarely achieves anything. Talk to BVC (the child health clinic) if you suspect food plays a part, and they can help you test it in a structured way.
Do drops, teas or massage help?
Nothing is proven to help with colic, and plenty is claimed to. What does no harm you can try: tummy massage, carrying, warmth, white noise. Be careful with remedies and teas for a baby under six months, and ask BVC or the pharmacy before giving anything. What helps most is time.
How do we cope?
By taking turns and by putting the baby down when you cannot cope. A baby lying safely in their cot crying for five minutes while you breathe in another room comes to no harm. A parent who shakes a baby in despair causes life-threatening injuries. Ask for help, from each other, from relatives, from BVC. Colic is temporary.
When does it pass?
For most at three to four months of age, often quite suddenly. One evening it is simply gone. Some babies are done at ten weeks, others carry on until five months. It usually does not pass gradually but in clear steps: a better week, a worse one, then better again.