Does your baby cry a lot? If you baby cries more than three hours a day, more than three days a week, it might be colic. In this new video, Grace C. Averitt, DO, Pediatrics at ARC Georgetown discusses symptoms and treatment of colic in babies.
Watch Dr. Averitt's video below, or read what she has to say here:
How much crying is considered colic?
"There are lots of different reasons that a baby can be fussy. All babies cry and we want them to cry; it's their way of communicating with us. But if it becomes excessive then we want to check it out and make sure that nothing else is going on. One in ten babies have colic, which is this fussy behavior that we can't really figure out why. So, the definition of colic is when a baby
- cries more than three hours a day,
- more than three days a week,
- for more than three weeks at a time.
We don't exactly know what causes colic, but we do know that for whatever reason it seems to happen more so in the later afternoon or evenings.
The symptoms of colic are:
- extreme fussiness
- inconsolability
- lots of crying
- back arching
If you think your baby has colic the first thing you want to do is take her to the pediatrician to check it out. The second thing you can do is swaddle and sway that baby outside. The third thing you can do is make sure that you're getting enough sleep, rest, and have good support around you. It usually takes the baby three or four months before they outgrow colic, so we often provide lots of reassurance for parents that this is not your fault, you did not cause this, your baby is not trying to make you upset and the best thing we can do is support the family through this until they outgrow it."
Make an appointment today
To schedule a visit with Dr. Averitt, call ARC Georgetown at 512-819-0264 or book an appointment online.