Most babies with colic improve with a combination of soothing techniques, dietary adjustments, and time. Colic typically peaks during the first six weeks of life and resolves on its own by three months in most cases, though it can last up to six months. The classic definition is crying for more than three hours a day, more than three days a week, for longer than three weeks. That’s a lot of crying, and while there’s no single cure, several strategies can meaningfully reduce it.
Soothing Techniques That Work
Physical comfort is one of the most consistently recommended approaches for colicky babies. Holding your baby in a way that puts gentle pressure on their belly, like face-down along your forearm, can ease discomfort. Swaddling creates the snug feeling of the womb and helps prevent the startle reflex from waking or agitating them further. Rhythmic motion, whether from rocking, a car ride, or a baby swing, tends to calm the nervous system in ways that simply holding a baby still does not.
White noise is another reliable tool. The constant sound mimics what babies heard in the womb and can interrupt a crying cycle. Pediatricians recommend keeping white noise machines below 50 decibels, roughly the volume of a quiet conversation, and placing them at least seven feet from your baby’s sleeping space to protect their hearing. A running shower, a fan, or a dedicated sound machine all work. The key is consistency: a steady, low hum rather than intermittent sounds.
Skin-to-skin contact also helps. Placing your baby chest-to-chest against you regulates their heart rate, breathing, and temperature. Some parents find that a warm bath together has a similar calming effect, especially during the late afternoon and evening hours when colic episodes tend to cluster.
Dietary Changes for Breastfed Babies
If you’re breastfeeding, what you eat can sometimes contribute to your baby’s discomfort. The most common culprits are cow’s milk products, soy, and eggs. An elimination diet, where you remove one or more of these foods, is worth trying if soothing techniques alone aren’t enough. The food clears from your milk within a few days, but your baby’s gut may take longer to settle. Give any dietary change two to four weeks before deciding whether it helped. If there’s no improvement after four weeks, the colic is likely not food-related, and you can resume eating normally.
Smaller, more frequent feedings can also help. Overfeeding or swallowing too much air during a feeding contributes to gas and belly pain. Keeping your baby more upright during and after feeds, and burping them thoroughly at natural pauses, reduces the amount of air trapped in their digestive system.
Formula Adjustments
For formula-fed babies, switching to an extensively hydrolyzed formula is one of the more effective interventions available. These formulas break milk proteins into much smaller pieces, making them easier to digest for babies who may be reacting to intact cow’s milk protein. In one study of infants with confirmed cow’s milk protein sensitivity, over 95% showed improvement or complete resolution of symptoms after four weeks on a hydrolyzed formula with added beneficial bacteria. That’s a specific population, not all colicky babies, but it suggests that a formula trial is reasonable if your baby’s symptoms are persistent. Your pediatrician can help you choose the right product and timeline.
What Doesn’t Work
Two of the most popular over-the-counter remedies for colic, gas drops containing simethicone and gripe water, have weak or nonexistent evidence behind them. A large systematic review published in BMJ Open found that simethicone showed no benefit over placebo across multiple studies. Some reviews even noted a worsening of symptoms. Clinical guidelines from several countries now recommend against using it for colic.
Gripe water has an even more concerning profile. It isn’t regulated by the FDA, and there’s no scientific evidence confirming it’s safe or effective. Modern formulations typically contain fennel, ginger, baking soda, and flavorings, but because herbal remedies don’t undergo the same quality controls as food or medicine, what’s on the label isn’t always what’s in the bottle. Multiple brands have been recalled over the years for serious safety problems, including contamination with a parasite that caused severe diarrhea in a six-week-old and bacterial contamination that caused septic shock in a nine-month-old. The original 1800s recipe contained sugar and alcohol. Today’s versions may be less obviously harmful, but the lack of oversight makes them a gamble with no proven payoff.
Probiotics: Mixed Results
You’ll find probiotics marketed specifically for colic, and the research picture is complicated. Some earlier studies in breastfed infants suggested that a specific strain of beneficial bacteria reduced daily crying time. But a well-designed randomized trial published in The Journal of Pediatrics found that the same probiotic strain, given daily for 42 days, did not significantly reduce crying time compared to a placebo. It also didn’t change markers of inflammation in the babies’ blood. The probiotic was safe, with no serious side effects, but it didn’t outperform a dummy treatment. If you want to try probiotics, they’re unlikely to cause harm, but set your expectations accordingly.
Taking Care of Yourself
Colic is one of the hardest things new parents face. Hours of inconsolable crying can trigger frustration, guilt, and exhaustion in even the most patient caregivers. It’s important to recognize that colic is not caused by anything you did wrong, and your baby is not in danger from the crying itself. When you feel overwhelmed, putting your baby down in a safe place like their crib and stepping away for five or ten minutes is not neglect. It’s a legitimate safety strategy that pediatricians recommend.
Trading off with a partner, family member, or friend gives your nervous system a chance to reset. Sleep deprivation compounds the emotional toll, so any arrangement that lets you get even a short stretch of uninterrupted rest is worth prioritizing.
Signs That It’s Not Colic
Colic is a diagnosis of exclusion, meaning it applies when nothing else is wrong. Certain symptoms signal that something more serious may be happening and should prompt an immediate call to your baby’s doctor: fever, forceful vomiting (especially if it’s green or contains blood), diarrhea, or blood in the stool. A baby who stops gaining weight or shows a sudden, dramatic change in behavior also needs evaluation. True colic involves intense crying in an otherwise healthy, well-fed baby who is growing normally. If that description doesn’t fit, the cause may be something treatable beyond the strategies listed here.