10 Expert Tips for Treating Colic

What the bestsellers say about facing the cry-sis of colic

By Katie Mills Giorgio

It�s an elusive condition which plagues one in five infants and often drives parents to the brink of insanity. Typically defined by the rule of threes�inconsolable crying for more than three hours a day, more than three days a week, and lasting more than three weeks�colic turns bundles of joy into creatures of chaos. The kicker? No one really knows the cause, making it that much harder to cure. Here, leading baby experts sound off on ideas to beat colic.

When Your Baby Won't Stop Crying: A Parent's Guide to Colic

Tonja H. Krautter

Try, try again: "Learning how to calm the infant who is unable to self-soothe and finding ways to teach him these self-soothing techniques is imperative to finding some relief ... The two biggest mistakes that caregivers make in their attempts to calm their colicky infant are: (1) giving up too quickly, and (2) only utilizing one method at a time."

The cry cure: You know what they always say: If at first you don't succeed ... try, try again. Krautter wholeheartedly agrees. Use multiple tactics simultaneously to soothe colic, she says. (Like those found on the following slides!) And stick with it to find the magic combination of interventions that calm your crying baby.

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