Children & Infants
Infant Colic
Repeated, unexplained crying spells in an otherwise healthy baby — soothed by warmth, gentle movement, and attention to the nursing mother's diet.
Also known as: Baby colic, Colic newborn, Colicky baby, Baby crying inconsolably, Baby stomach pain
📝 At a glance
Likely root causes: Gas and gut cramping as the digestive system matures; An overstimulated or still-developing nervous system; Compounds from the nursing mother's diet passing through breast milk.
First thing to try: CAUTION -- colic is common and self-limiting, but because a young baby cannot tell you what is wrong, any illness in an infant deserves a doctor's check to rule out other causes. Seek prompt care if the baby has a fever, vomiting, blood in the stool, poor feeding, breathing trouble, or a cry that sounds different or unusually high-pitched, or if the crying is paired with limpness or a swollen tummy. The warmth and soothing measures below are comfort care only and are not a treatment.
See a doctor if: Crying with fever, vomiting, or blood in the stool
🔎 Start with the cause
Lasting relief rarely comes from covering a symptom. First find what is feeding the problem, change what you can, and then help the body do what it was designed to do — heal.
Likely root causes
- Gas and gut cramping as the digestive system matures
- An overstimulated or still-developing nervous system
- Compounds from the nursing mother's diet passing through breast milk
- Sometimes a sensitivity to cow's milk protein in formula or breast milk
- Possibly an immature gut microbiome
Change what you can
- CAUTION -- colic is common and self-limiting, but because a young baby cannot tell you what is wrong, any illness in an infant deserves a doctor's check to rule out other causes. Seek prompt care if the baby has a fever, vomiting, blood in the stool, poor feeding, breathing trouble, or a cry that sounds different or unusually high-pitched, or if the crying is paired with limpness or a swollen tummy. The warmth and soothing measures below are comfort care only and are not a treatment.
- Warmth: try a warm bath, or lay baby tummy-down on your lap over a warm (not hot) folded towel and gently rub the back.
- Gentle movement: rocking, walking, swinging, or a car ride — rhythmic motion helps most colicky babies settle.
- Swaddle snugly and dim the lights in the evening to lower stimulation.
- If breastfeeding, try removing cow's milk, cabbage, broccoli, onions, and caffeine from your diet one at a time, a few days each, to spot triggers.
- Burp the baby thoroughly during as well as after each feed to release trapped air.
- A small amount of warm chamomile or catnip tea by spoon (check with your pediatrician for babies over 2 months) may ease cramping gently.
- Take turns with a partner or helper — colic is exhausting; caregivers need breaks to stay calm and patient.
🌿 Then assist nature: remedies & protocols
With the cause being addressed, these are the actual things people do for this — ranked by the community. Vote ▲ on what helped you and ▼ on what didn't, and open How to do it for the steps. Each shows two quick signals: Evidence (how much science backs it) and Gentleness (how safe and in keeping with whole, natural health).
Steady motion is the most reliable soother.
How to do it ▾
Why it works: Gentle, rhythmic movement mimics the womb and soothes an overstimulated nervous system.
- Rock, walk, or gently sway the baby.
- Try a baby swing or a calm ride in the car or stroller.
- Keep the motion smooth and steady.
- Hold the baby close and snug.
As needed · During crying spells
Caution: Always support the head and neck; follow safe baby-handling.
Source: Natural Remedies Encyclopedia 7th ed
Comments & experiences ▾
Cuts down the trapped air that worsens colic.
How to do it ▾
Why it works: Swallowed air bloats and cramps the belly; releasing it during as well as after feeding eases the discomfort.
- Burp the baby partway through each feed, not only at the end.
- Hold upright against your shoulder and gently pat or rub the back.
- Try a few positions to bring up the air.
- Keep the baby fairly upright for a little while after feeding.
A few minutes per feed · Every feed
Source: Natural Remedies Encyclopedia 7th ed
Comments & experiences ▾
Especially helpful for evening 'witching hour' colic.
How to do it ▾
Why it works: Reducing light, noise and movement lowers the over-stimulation that fuels evening colic.
- Swaddle the baby snugly but safely, hips able to move.
- Dim the lights in the evening.
- Lower noise and activity around the baby.
- Keep the environment calm and predictable.
As needed · Evenings / crying spells
Caution: Swaddle for sleep on the back only, and stop swaddling once the baby can roll.
Source: Natural Remedies Encyclopedia 7th ed
Comments & experiences ▾
Warmth plus a back rub settles many colicky spells.
How to do it ▾
Why it works: Warmth relaxes a tense, cramping belly and comforts an unsettled baby.
- Try a warm bath to relax the baby.
- Or lay the baby tummy-down across your lap over a warm, folded towel.
- Gently rub the back.
- Check the towel is warm, never hot, against your own wrist first.
10-15 minutes · During crying spells
Caution: Always test warmth on your own skin first to avoid burns. Never leave the baby unattended on your lap.
Source: Natural Remedies Encyclopedia 7th ed
Comments & experiences ▾
Patient detective work; change one food at a time.
How to do it ▾
Why it works: Compounds from the mother's diet pass into breast milk; finding and removing a trigger can calm a sensitive baby's gut.
- If breastfeeding, remove one likely trigger at a time — cow's milk, cabbage, broccoli, onions, or caffeine.
- Keep it out for a few days and watch for improvement.
- Reintroduce and observe to confirm a trigger.
- Keep a simple diary to track patterns.
Few days per food · As a trial
Caution: Keep your own nutrition balanced while eliminating foods.
Source: Natural Remedies Encyclopedia 7th ed
Comments & experiences ▾
How the numbers work: a weighted voting system — trusted published sources cast endorsement votes for each protocol, and your ▲/▼ adds to them. Not medical advice.
🩺 When to see a doctor
- Crying with fever, vomiting, or blood in the stool
- A baby who is not gaining weight or who feeds poorly
- Crying not following the colic pattern — or colic not improving by 4–5 months
- Any time a caregiver feels desperate, overwhelmed, or unsafe — reach out immediately
🌿 The seven pathways to health
Seven pathways for your infant colic — tap the circle to check one off (saved on your device), or ask Remy for help.
“Disease is an effort of nature to free the system from conditions that result from a violation of the laws of health... In case of sickness 1cause should be ascertained, 2go to work intelligently to remove the disease. 3Unhealthful conditions should be changed, 4wrong habits corrected. 5Then nature is to be assisted in her effort 6to expel impurities and 7to re-establish right conditions in the system.”
🌿 Overview
Colic is when a healthy, well-fed baby cries for more than three hours a day, more than three days a week — usually in the evenings. It peaks around six weeks and almost always resolves by three to four months. No one fully knows why, but gut discomfort, gas, and a nervous system still learning to settle all seem to play a role. Warmth, gentle motion, and a calm environment help most babies through it.
Colic is real and exhausting for parents, even though the baby is healthy and will outgrow it. The hallmark is intense, inconsolable crying that comes in waves and often peaks in the late afternoon or evening. The baby may pull up its legs, clench its fists, and pass gas — clues that gut discomfort is involved. The most helpful steps address the gut and the nervous system at once. Warmth eases cramping: a warm bath, laying baby tummy-down across a warm (not hot) towel on your lap with gentle back-rubbing, or a snug swaddle. Gentle motion — rocking, walking, or vibration — calms an overstimulated nervous system. Low lights and soft sounds help too. If breastfeeding, the mother's diet can matter: cow's milk products, cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage), onions, caffeine, and spicy food can all pass into breast milk and upset a colicky baby. Eliminating these one at a time for a few days may reveal a trigger. A little warm chamomile tea (by spoon, not bottle — and only for babies over 2 months, with pediatrician's approval) has long been used to ease gut cramps gently.
Common signs
- Intense crying in a healthy, well-fed baby
- Crying that comes in waves, often in the evening
- Clenched fists, an arched back, or drawn-up knees during crying
- Visible gas or a hard, tense abdomen
- Brief settling, then crying again
🍃 Supporting foods & habits
The gentle, everyday foods and supports that help in the background — secondary to the active remedies above. Vote on what helped you.
Calm, swaddling, and gentle motion help; set the baby down safely and take a break if you're overwhelmed.970
Lay a warm (not hot) cloth on the baby's tummy, or hold them tummy-down along your arm, to ease colicky discomfort.900
A feathery herb and its seeds, used in food or a weak tea, traditionally soothing for gas, colic, and an unsettled stomach.880
A teaspoon of cooled, weak chamomile tea is a traditional soother for a colicky baby (check with your pediatrician first).850
A gentle mint-family herb, brewed as a mild tea, traditionally used to calm nerves, settle the stomach, and soothe restless children.840
How the numbers work: this is a weighted voting system — every published book or article recommending a remedy counts as an endorsement vote, and your ▲/▼ counts too. Not medical advice. *Ties are broken by our editor score (sources, safety, simplicity, cost, lifestyle fit, eight-laws alignment).
🍽️ Eating to help
Food is one of the gentlest medicines — small, steady changes help most.
Favor these
- For nursing mothers: a varied, plant-based diet avoiding known gas-producers
- Ginger and fennel in the mother's cooking, which may soothe baby's gut
- Plenty of water for the nursing mother
Go easy on
- Cow's milk products in the nursing mother's diet (most common trigger)
- Cruciferous vegetables: cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts
- Caffeine and spicy or gassy foods in the nursing mother's diet
Try removing one suspected food for 3–5 days and notice if crying eases — most food compounds clear from breast milk within a couple of days of elimination.
⚖️ Good to know
- Colic is a diagnosis only after ruling out other causes of pain — a doctor should confirm the baby is otherwise healthy.
- Never shake a baby, even when the crying is overwhelming — take a break if you need one.
- Herb teas should be used very cautiously in young infants; check with a pediatrician before giving any tea to a baby under 6 months.
- Honey is never safe for a baby under 1 year.
- If crying comes with fever, vomiting, blood in stool, or the baby stops feeding, seek medical care right away.
⚕️ What a doctor may offerConventional treatments for this condition — for your information.Show ▾
RemedyRank's heart is natural healing — and honest information. Here is what conventional medical care commonly involves for this condition, listed to inform, never to promote. Decisions about treatment belong with you and your own physician.
Colic is harmless and self-limited; conventional care reassures parents and rules out other causes.
Commonly offered
- Soothing techniques (holding, motion, white noise, swaddling)–
- Checking feeding technique; a trial of changes for suspected cow's-milk sensitivity–
- Support for exhausted caregivers–
- Reassurance — it typically resolves by 3–4 months–
Worth knowing
- Fever, vomiting, poor feeding, or blood in stool is NOT colic — see a doctor.
- Never shake a baby — set the baby down safely and take a break if overwhelmed.
- Most colic resolves on its own with time.
👍/👎 shares whether a treatment helped you — community experience, not medical advice. For full professional details, see the sources under “Learn more” below.
📜 A note from history
Warm chamomile tea, tummy-warming cloths, and gentle rocking have been trusted colic comforts across generations of caregivers.
📚 Learn more
Sources for further reading. These open in a new tab.
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