Colicky infants and their symptoms can be confusing. Try and pick the situation that sounds most familiar from the four classic choices below, which illustrate the behaviour of typical colic babies. Remember that a baby’s natural state is one of bliss and contentment. Apart from basic needs, they should not be uncomfortable.  It is NOT normal for a baby to be unhappy for more than a few days.

Scene 1

My baby has been fretful and uncomfortable from birth.
They moan, groan, arch and contract from time to time.
There is no particular pattern to their bad spells.

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My baby was content and happy until they were 2-3 weeks old.
They then started to show signs of discomfort, such as moaning, pushing, cramping and perhaps even some short crying spells (5-15 minutes).
These are fairly random in nature.
This is the current situation.

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My baby was content and happy until they were 2-3 weeks old.
They then started to show signs of discomfort as described above.
They have now progressed to long periods of discomfort and crying (an hour or more).
This could be early evenings (classic), during the night or any other time but a pattern is now being established.

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My baby’s worst colic symptom is reflux or throwing up their milk. This may be small or large amounts but occurs frequently.
They often hiccup more than usual.
They may or may not show signs of pain and discomfort.

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My baby does not really fit into any of these categories.

What it could mean:

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Babies that are uncomfortable from birth (or in the first few days) often have a muscular spasm or even a ‘kink’ in the spine. Any baby could have this but those born via ceasarian section or assisted delivery (forceps or ventouse) have a greater likelihood of being in this category (we call it muscular colic).

TreatColic Solution: Concentrate on those techniques we teach for ‘musculoskeletal’ colic. If they don’t work, a chiropractor who specialises in babies might be a good bet.

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This is classically how colic starts. In true colic babies, gas is probably starting to build up in their intestinal tract and causing discomfort.

TreatColic Solution: This is the easiest and best time to intervene with our exercises for ‘gassy’ colic. The success rate is very high and you will almost certainly prevent the onset of full blown colic.

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Your baby now has full blown colic. You will have tried various medicines or remedies (Gripe water, Telament drops, etc) but these are treating the symptoms and not the cause. It is now up to you to help fix this underlying condition – almost certainly an excessive amount of gas in the abdominal area.

TreatColic Solution: Do all of our exercise and techniques and be disciplined about doing them regularly. You have a 70% chance of complete success within 10 days. Almost all babies will at least be significantly better, usually showing improvement within 48 hours.

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Your baby has reflux which is commonly caused by abdominal bloating or a tense diaphragm. This could be due to spinal tension (irritable nerve) or more commonly is a result of a gassy pocket stuck just below the diaphragm in the upper abdominal cavity. You may already be using medicines to control these symptoms (Gaviscon or Losec, etc) but they are not fixing the cause.

TreatColic Solution: Concentrate on the exercise we teach called ‘Diaphragm Release Technique” as well as those that relax the spine. If done correctly, the majority of cases will be improving from day three.

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If your situation doesn’t sound like one of the four above, perhaps your baby has something else going on. An unhappy baby doesn’t necessarily have colic, reflux or anything wrong with their musculoskeletal system. Sometimes they are simply overstimulated.

TreatColic Solution: We approach this by process of elimination:

1. Avoid other people (outside direct family), television and other loud noises for a week. If they improve, then overstimulation was the problem.

2. Learn and apply our exercises and release techniques. They are soothing and relaxing and if baby improves, you know that they had something ‘stuck’ although you may never know what it was.

3. Visit a baby specialist and explain the symptoms and what you’ve already tried.

Paid customers: please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions with regard to infant colic or colic symptoms in general.