Cures for Excessive Crying in Babies

If your baby is Excessive Crying and he or she is less than three months old, then he or she has colic. Colic is a term that is used to describe infants who cry excessively for no apparent reason during the first three months. The most common cause for the crying of your baby is hungry. Your baby will stop crying at the onset of feeding and by the end of the feeding, your baby will be happy. Also, babies can cry because they need sleep. You need to put your baby in a comfortable position, such as at the back or swaddled. Then, your baby will have a fuss and fall asleep. [1,2]

Also, if your baby has a bloated stomach from overfeeding, then he or she can cry. If you are giving too much milk to your baby, then this can cause discomfort that lasts a short time. You need to limit your intake of caffeine because this can cause trouble sleeping and excessive crying, so if you are breastfeeding your child, avoid too much caffeine.

If your baby has too tight clothes, then this can lead to excessive crying. Also, if it is too hot or too cold in your room, this can cause excessive crying in your baby [3]. If you have not cleaned the diaper of your baby, then this can cause pain and burn in your baby, so he or she will cry a lot.

What you should know about crying:

Normal crying:

All babies, no matter their age, cry when they are hungry. Also, it is normal for a baby to have one to two hours of unexplained crying each day. The crying is scattered throughout the day. As long your baby is happy and content when they are not crying, then this is normal.

Colic:

Some babies are very hard to comfort and some babies cry a lot, which is usually happening over three hours per day. If your baby is growing normally and has a normal medical exam, then this crying is known as colic. You should remind yourself that excessive crying is due to your baby’s temperament. It has nothing with any medical diseases or with your parenting.

Cures for excessive baby crying:

When your baby has colic or excessive crying, then this condition should go away by the time your baby is four months old. You should talk with your pediatrician about which remedy will work the best for your baby, without causing side effects to him or her.

Is it breast milk or formula:

Some parents worry if breastfeeding can upset the baby or what they feed their baby? Usually, this is not a cause for excessive crying in babies, but it can cause irritation. If you think that feeding is a cause for excessive crying, then you need to talk with the pediatrician. For babies that are fed with formulas, they should be feed if more than two hours have passed since the last feeding.

For the breastfeeding babies, they should be feed if more than one and a half hours have passed since the last feeding. You should be careful not to feed your baby every time he or she cries. Some babies are crying due to the bloated stomach caused by overfeeding. You should let your baby decide when he or she had enough milk. For example, when your baby turns its head away, then this could be a sign that he or she has eaten enough. You should not encourage your baby to finish what is in the bottle. [4]

Limit caffeine:

If you are breastfeeding, then you need to decrease your caffeine intake [5]. You should limit your tea, coffee, and energy drinks to two servings per day. This is two cups of 480 mL (16 ounces).

Using infant cereal to thicken milk:

The infant rice cereal can be added to the breast milk or formula as a thickening agent. Some doctors are recommending this as another way to try to help reduce the acid reflux episodes in babies with GERD. You should add one tablespoon of rice cereal to one ounce of formula or pumped breast milk. You may need to make the nipple hole in your baby’s bottle a tiny bit larger for thicker liquid. But, you should talk with a pediatrician, before you try this treatment because there are several risks associated with this practice and most pediatricians no longer recommend it.

Infant massage:

This type of massage has been recommended to parents of infants with colic [6], but there are not enough scientific studies to prove the benefit of this treatment.

Hold and comfort for crying:

You should hold and try to calm your baby whenever he or she cries without a reason. You should hold your baby flat to help them relax and go to sleep. You can rock your baby in a rocking chair, in a cradle, or while standing. Many babies calm down when their parents are making tiny movements, like vibrations. You can put your baby in a vibrating chair or a windup swing. You can take your baby for a stroller ride, indoors or outdoors. You should do anything else that you may be comforting. Some examples are including a warm bath, massage, or pacifier.

Never shake a baby:

If you shake your baby, then this can cause bleeding on the brain. Severe brain damage can happen in a few seconds. You should never leave your baby with someone who has a bad temper or someone who is immature. If you are frustrated, then you should put your baby down in a safe place. You should call your relatives or friends for help. You need to take a break until you calm down.

Encourage nighttime sleep:

You should try to keep your baby from sleeping too much during the daytime. If your baby has napped two hours or longer, then you should gently wake him up. You should play or feed your baby, depending on his needs. This can help to lessen the amount of time your baby is awake at night.

Practice repetitive motion:

You should keep your baby in motion, so it may be enough to soothe colic. You can put your baby in a baby swing or go for a drive.

You can help your baby swallow less air:

You should try a special bottle designed to reduce the gas or a nipple with a smaller hole. You should sit your baby while he or she eats, so he or she can swallow less air. You should remember to burp your baby during and after feedings.

Lay your baby on his tummy:

You should lay your baby on his tummy, across your lap or stomach. The change in the position can help to calm some colicky babies. Also, you can rub your baby’s back, which is soothing and it can help the gas to pass through. Also, tummy time will help your baby to build stronger neck and shoulder muscles. You should remember to only put your baby on his tummy while he is awake and under supervision.

Elimination diet:

If you are breastfeeding your baby, then you should consider eliminating some foods from your diet, including potential allergens, like dairy. The strict elimination diet can be unhealthy and has not been shown to help with most cases of colic, so talk with your doctor before you make significant changes in your diet. [5]

Soothe your baby with sound and motion:

It is a known fact that motions can help to calm your baby. You should walk around with your baby in a baby carrier (this is the thing which you wear over your chest). When this is combined with the warmth and rhythm may lull her to sleep. Also, you can hold and rock your baby or put him or her in a stroller or swing. The gentle movement can help to stop crying. If these things failed, then secure your baby in his car seat and go for a ride.

But, you should be sure that you are not tired because if you are tired, this is unsafe for your baby. Also, many babies respond well to the gentle hum of a machine, such as a white–noise machine, vacuum, fan, or clothes dryer (you should not be tempted to put your baby on top of a dryer, not even in a car seat or carrier, because he could fall). [7]

Gripe water:

Some people are recommending giving your child gripe water, which is a liquid remedy that has herbs, such as lavender or chamomile. As the gripe water is not regulated, there is no way to know exactly which ingredients are in the gripe water you bought, because there are many different formulations. Gripe water does not have any proven benefits, so there are some health risks associated with it. You should avoid giving it to your child unless your doctor has recommended it. [8]

Calm your baby’s senses:

When your baby cries a lot, then bright light and sounds can overwhelm him. Your baby may calm down if you:

• Soak him in a warm bath
• Lay him on his back in a dark and quiet room
• Have him suck on a pacifier
• Try infant massage
• Swaddle him snugly in a blanket
• Putting a warm water bottle on your baby’s belly
• You can lay him across your lap and gently rub his back

References:

[1] St. James-Roberts I, Harper JR.. What is distinct about infants’ “colic” cries? Archives of Disease in Childhood. 1999;80:56-62.

[2] Kheir AEM. Infantile colic, facts and fiction. Italian Journal of Pediatrics. 2012;38.

[3] Boscolo-Berto R, Dal Moro F, Abate A, et al. Do weather conditions influence the onset of renal colic? A novel approach to analysis. Urologia Internationalis. 2008;80:19–25.

[4] Zermiani APdRB, Soares ALPPdP, de Moura BLdSG, et al. Evidence of Lactobacillus reuteri to reduce colic in breastfed babies: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Complementary Therapies in Medicine. 2021;63.

[5] McCreedy A, Bird S, Brown LJ, et al. Effects of maternal caffeine consumption on the breastfed child: a systematic review. Swiss Medical Weekly. 2018;148:w14665.

[6] Sheidaei A, Abadi A, Zayeri F, et al. The effectiveness of massage therapy in the treatment of infantile colic symptoms: A randomized controlled trial. Medical Journal of The Islamic Republic of Iran. 2016;30:351.

[7] Lucassen PLBJ, Assendelft WJJ, Gubbels JW, et al. Effectiveness of treatments for infantile colic: systematic review. BMJ. 1998;316(7144):1563–9. doi:10.1136/bmj.316.7144.1563

[8] Jain K, Gunasekaran D, Venkatesh C, Soundararajan P. Gripe water administration in infants 1-6 months of age-a cross-sectional study. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research. 2015;9(11):SC06–SC08.