How Can You Tell If Your Baby Has Colic?
When a baby is brought to me because of a concern of colic I ask an extensive list of questions about the parent’s family history and the baby’s birth, feeding habits and general behavior. Next, I examine the baby to make sure she’s healthy and thriving. Once I’m sure that the baby looks completely well I consider if his crying pattern fits the “Rule of 3’s”.
The “Rule of 3’s”, the formal medical definition of colic, states that a baby has colic if she cries at least:
3 hours a day. 3 days a week. 3 weeks in a row.
Some doctors believe, however, that this definition is overly strict. There are many infants who don’t cry for 3 hours but who still seem to have colic because they scream uncontrollably for no obvious reason.
Tags: Colic
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3 used to be my lucky number – then around the 3 week mark of my daughters life I realized something was wrong and I learned about the Rule of 3s from the Happiest Baby book. Amazing how right on it is. And even more amazing how you can actually do something about it.
My husband and I actually made a colic calendar. We charted our babys crying down to the week, the day, the hour, and we found out it was just as we expected. Like clockwork the rule of 3s worked.
i dont agree that the definition is strict. the rule of 3 seems like it always proves true. my father and brother and both pediatricians and they stick to that rule no matter what and swear by it. they also swear by dr karp…..
Ellen – we did the same thing with a calendar. It was like a little science experiment in our home to test out the crying and colic theory. We didnt make it all the way to the 3rd week though and realized it wasnt colic, she was just fussy. However, we still use all the stuff recommended in the Happiest Baby book and it changed out lives.