This blog post about soothing a crying baby with colic has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions and advice are mine alone. #MyLittleRemedies #CollectiveBias

I have two adorable lovely children. They are my sun and moon. (Thank you Daenerys Targaryen) There is nothing better in this world than knowing that they are happy and healthy.

But as great as they can be, there is nothing worse than hearing them cry, and knowing that there is very little that I can do to stop it.  In fact, it’s terrible.  Nope, it’s torture.  I wouldn’t be surprised if they had the sounds of babies crying playing on a constant loop at Guantanamo during it’s heyday – that’s how awful it is.

Here’s the rub though – when your kid has colic, there really is NOTHING you can do to fix it.  Your kid will cry, and cry, and cry, and CRY for hours on end.  You will be sleepless.  You will be tired. You might even fall into depression.  Your only option is to just wait and let it sort itself out. Only time fixes colic. But there are things you can do to help ease the crying, and at least soothe your colicky baby.  My new go-to solution is to use the brand new Little Remedies® Colic Relief and Gas Relief drops from Target.  But more on that in a bit….

My newborn baby girl is an extremely easy going baby. She smiles a lot, is healthy, breastfeeds well, and has plenty of poopy diapers. Tall Dad often says that our little lass is “the greatest baby that’s ever been created.”


Which, to be honest, we deserve.  Because our son Rhys was freakin’ awful. (More on this in a minute)

But even though she is “greatest baby that’s ever been created,” our little lass’ easy going personality can be overcome by a few fussy nights here or there.

When these nights occur, I whip out 10 of my tried and true remedies I learned with Rhys! 

You see, Rhys had colic. Excruciating, noisy, baffling colic. He cried from the moment he was born until he was about nine months old. His colic was so bad that we had to see colic specialists at a colic clinics! (By the way, yes – there is such a thing.)  You can hear all about my experience with his colic in this podcast episode of ParentCast (the companion podcast to this blog.)
In fact, Rhys’ colic was one of the major reasons my doctors thought I ended up suffering from severe postpartum depression. In other words, a lack of sleep, and listening to an infant scream for hours on end pushed me over the edge. One therapist of mine likened it to being tortured – no sleep and having to listen to uncomfortably loud and annoying sounds 24/7…and that literally they do tactics like these to torture people during war. Like I said, Guantanamo. 
But instead of being a prisoner of war, I was a new mom. A tired new mom, holding a precious newborn baby boy who wouldn’t stop crying. Ugh.
So if you or anyone you know has a new baby, and if that baby cries for 3 or more hours a day (which is the basic definition of colic) then please share these tips. Some may work, and some may not, but hopefully they will help ease the crying!
How to Soothe a Baby With Colic


1. Get doctors involved:

I am not a doctor. I do not have my PHD, nor have I gone to any type of medical school. So in addition to reading blog posts like mine, you really need to get professionals involved if you are worried that your baby may have colic. And get them involved sooner rather than later. Ask your pediatrician for help, and if you have to wait too long until your next appointment, call the office and as it speak to a nurse. 
Also, when a baby is fussy, it can also upset the parents – like it did for me. Keep your own physician, OBGyn, midwife, doula and/or therapist in the loop with how you are feeling. 

Are you crying frequently? Are you super anxious? Are you not finding joy in things that you used to? If you answered yes to any of these questions then you need to call your doc ASAP. I wish I had called mine much sooner. Getting help for not just my baby but also myself was very important. 

Remember, you can’t help your baby very well if you aren’t taking care of yourself. 
2. Try some medicine:


Now, there isn’t a magic pill out there that can CURE colic, but there are some medicines that can help soothe your baby or lessen his crying. 

I was perusing the baby aisle in Target last week, and came across a NEW product by Little Remedies® called Little Remedies® Advanced Colic Relief which has no artificial flavors, colors, dyes or alcohol.  I picked some up, because even though my new baby doesn’t seem to have colic, I’d like to be safe and have this colic relief on hand just in case!


Little Remedies® also has Gripe Water and Gas Relief Drops – which are fast acting, safe, and have no artificial flavors, no dyes, no parabens.  We have already used the gas relief drops several times with my baby girl, and the results have been quick! I like this brand a lot, and did a bit of research about their products:
  • Little Remedies®  Advanced Colic Relief (dietary supplement)
    • Chamomile herbal blend shown to reduce crying by 60%*ᵻ
    • No Artificial flavors, colors, dyes or alcohol
  • Little Remedies®  Gripe Water (dietary supplement)
    • Safe, Gentle relief of stomach discomfort and gas from Colic and Hiccups*
    • Fast Acting
    • No artificial flavors, no dyes, no parabens
  • Gas Drops (drug product)
    • Safe, Gentle Relief from stomach discomfort
    • Works in minutes
    • No artificial flavors, no dyes, no alcohol
 * This statement has not been evaluated by the food and drug administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease

So medicines like these are, in my opinion, totally worth a shot if your baby is fussy! (Read the bottom of this blog post for some ways to get free samples of these products and also some money saving tips!)



3. Track your baby’s sleep/eating/and fussy periods:

Maybe you’ll find a trend – is your baby super fussy at a certain time or day? Or are you keeping your baby up too long and really she is just overtired? 

You won’t really know unless you write down what happens – either with pen and paper or an app. My favorite baby tracking app is called Baby Connect. It’s available on smartphones, tablets, the computer and even Apple Watch. 

And if you don’t know how long babies are supposed to be up for at a time, check out this nifty chart. 
How long should a baby be awake for? Plus, tips to help soothe a baby with colic

4. Ask for help from friends and family:
This is probably one of the hardest to do. It’s hard to ask for help, but if there is ever a time in your life – then it is now! You have a new baby! So when people say “do you need anything?” Say yes.

DO NOT be the proud mom who thinks she can handle everything.  This is nothing against you – but you can’t handle everything.

Your friends and family will actually be happy that they can help you. Trust me! 
5. Invest in noise protection:
Okay, so you’re getting baby checked out, you’re being taken care of, and your baby is still crying….

It’s time to whip out the big guns.

When you are with your baby, wear ear plugs. You’ll still hear him crying, but it won’t be excruciating. Or wear some headphones and play soft music. (Tall Dad used to love listening to The Leftovers Soundtrack because it was soft, but had just enough oomph to block out the cries.)
Just make sure you do this with your baby in sight – you don’t want to forget about them! You just want to dull the high pitch wails that never seem to end.

I know it sounds stupid.  But remember that scene with the whales and the space ship in Star Trek IV?  Sounds that are deadened are much easier to handle. Trust me, get that high pitched shrill out of your house.  It’ll help.

6. Go outside:
THIS IS HUGE! Don’t underestimate this!

The weather is finally getting cooler – so make the most of it. Go outside for a walk with your baby – especially during witching hours. Fresh air makes babies often fall asleep, or they are encamped by the sights and sounds outside. In other words, the sights, sounds, air freshness, smells, and everything that comes with being outside tends to overwhelm their brain circuits – and their little brain tells them to fall asleep so that it can categorize all the information it just took from being outside.

Plus, it gets YOU outside. You’re getting in a litter exercise, getting some happy endorphins, and the crying won’t sound as bad since there aren’t any walls to bounce the sound off of.
Sometimes parents of colicky babies don’t want to go for walks because they are afraid of disrupting their neighbors. Do it anyway. Your neighbor might hear you walk by for 30 seconds to a minute. They will survive. Plus, they probably won’t care and will be understanding since you have a freakin’ baby.
If they aren’t understanding then they are mean neighbors…and oh well… They need to deal! 

7. Make sure you are soothing your baby with the five S’s:
Do you know Dr. Harvey’s Karp, and his book “The Happiest Baby On The Block?” If not, rent it from the library or better yet rent the DVD. 
8. Get some space and sleep:
Take turns having a night off with your partner – or have a night doula. In fact, get out of the house for a night.  Your partner will be fine.  Your baby will be fine.  I remember that I would have to go to my best friends house, take two Tylenol PM, and then say goodbye to the world for 10-12 hours. You HAVE to do it.  You need sleep to function better for your baby, but also your partner.
9. Wear your baby:
People call the first three months of life the fourth trimester for a reason. Babies just want to be treated like they are back in the womb! Keep them close, and baby wear as often as you can.  

Keeping them upright also helps work out extra gas bubbles. Wearing them skin to skin also will help — but no matter what – wear your colicky baby!!

10. Know everything will work out and try to be positive:
Just have faith. They WILL outgrow their colic. I promise! You never hear about a five year old who has colic! It’s just a baby thing. Try to enjoy the non crying moments, and make sure to take pictures during those times.

In fact, WHENEVER the baby is not crying, take pictures and videos.  It’s easy to only remember how much they cried and how tired you were.  The good times are so few and far between that they are easily forgotten.  But, if you have these key pictures/ videos, you will look back on them, and this time, fondly.

I hope some of these tips will be helpful for you and your baby! Let me know if there’s anything that has been super helpful that I missed! 

Did you find any of these tips useful with your baby? Anything that you’d like to add?
Talk soon friends,


If you enjoyed this post, you may be interested in the following other Tall Mom tiny baby posts:
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Here are those deals I was telling you about — There’s a Target Cartwheel Offer where the new Little Remedies® Advanced Colic Relief Drops are 20% Off. The deal begins 9/13 and runs through 10/17, and the product is available in the BABY AISLE. There is also a Target Gift Card Offer – if you buy the Gripe Water and Gas Drops you will get a $5 Target Gift Card! These items are in the digestive aisle, and the deal runs 9/27 and runs through 10/17. If you head on over to the Little Remedies® website (here) you can get some free samples, and also a few moms will win an in person rescue from the Little Remedies® Rescue Team.