I have noticed that people use "colic" to describe a wide variety of problems with babies. I was always under the impression that colic was characterized as inconsolable crying for long periods of time (3hrs a day or more) in babies 3 months and younger. It seems like a lot of people consider a "colicy baby" to be a gassy or fussy baby.
What is your definition of colic?
Ethel
Favorite Answer
Colic is defined by the rule of threes, three or more hours of crying 3 or more times a week for three weeks. Most people think that it's due to gas (they are completely wrong and has more to do with the child's temperament).
Allison D
Baby colic (also known as infant colic, three-month colic, infantile colic and colic) is a condition in which an otherwise healthy baby cries or screams frequently and for extended periods without any discernible reason.
The condition typically appears three weeks after birth and almost invariably disappears, often very suddenly, before the baby is three to four months old.[1] It is more common in bottle-fed babies, but also occurs in breast-fed infants. The crying frequently occurs during a specific period of the day, often in the early evening.
Since the cause is not conclusively established (see below) and the amount of crying differs between babies, there is no general consensus on the definition of "colic". Having ruled out other causes of crying, a common rule of thumb is to consider a baby "colicky" if he or she cries intensely more than three days a week, for more than three hours, for more than three weeks in a month.
Smurfy Keeps Going and Going
"Baby colic (also known as infant colic, three-month colic, infantile colic and colic) is a condition in which an otherwise healthy baby cries or screams frequently and for extended periods without any discernible reason."
This is basically the definition I go by. If it has another name (gas, reflux, GERD, etc), then it's not colic. Colic is the term used when there's no clear medical cause for the crying.
Niagara
Well, I assumed it meant gassy. My second and third son definitely had gas. My first had colic as well but I am not sure if that was gas. He did not seem gassy. Generally colic is associated with babies having pain in the gut: http://www.askdrsears.com/html/5/T051300.asp
Marty
My def is when you tried everything and your baby is still crying.
Everything means, tried to:
Burp
help pass gas
feed
change
change clothing to warmer or cooler
rocking
car ride
walking
singing
swaying
When you feel like pulling your own hair out of your head cause you just don't know why your baby is crying... that's colic.