While there is nothing abnormal about a new born crying for no apparent reason, the crying can sometimes get completely out of control and cause distress (not just to the parents but to the entire family!) The helpless, tearful and screaming infant is a heart-wrenching sight, especially when you cannot pinpoint the cause!

Baby colic, often called infant colic; is a very common phenomenon happening to nearly 25% of babies all round the world. While the exact cause of baby colic is still under research, there are some tell-tale signs which can tell a parent or the doctor that the baby is suffering from colic.

Here are some of the baby colic symptoms:

• The crying is vigorous and for extended periods of time. The baby can not be calmed despite all types of soothing measures.
• The crying episodes occur more or less at the same time of the day or night. They could appear just after a feed and may vanish as abruptly as it came.
• You feel that the baby is going through some sort of abdominal discomfort and gas formation.
• The stomach feels hard and distended. His knees are pulled close to his chest; his fists are clenched and his back is arched.
• The baby is sleepless often, restless and fidgety.

baby colic symptoms usually seem associated with pain, but since the baby is unable to express his situation, it is often very difficult for the parents to precisely diagnose the baby’s condition. Most experts believe that baby colic is manifested in terms of acute abdominal cramps which start when the baby is about couple of weeks old and disappears suddenly by the time the baby is about 3-4 months old.

But do all babies that have these baby colic symptoms actually have colic? Not necessarily. To correctly conclude that your baby has colic, pediatricians recommend the diagnosis process called ‘Rule of Three’, which states “A baby that cries for three or more hours per day, at least three times per week, within a three month period”. Wess, et al., “Paroxysmas fussing in infancy.” Pediatrics 1984:74:998. (Interestingly nearly 25% of babies round the world meet this Rule of Three formula to be diagnosed for colic.)

Now that you know baby colic symptoms and how to tell if your baby really has colic, you’re probably wondering what you should do with that information. There are some steps which you can take to make your baby feel better right now. Some ideas include changing the environment in which the baby is kept, changing the baby formula, swaddling, white noise, trying gripe waters and pacifiers. (Some medications are said to work as well, but like with all baby medications, it is recommended that you consult your pediatrician, before giving your baby any medication..)

Many psychological and physiological disorders can be cured through the use of ‘natural’ ingredients and simulating equally ‘natural’ environments. White noise is such a ‘natural’ sound which mimics a particular environment which is considered to soothe frayed nerves of adults and put many distressed and sleepless individuals including infants to sleep.

But what is white noise?

To understand white noise you have to know what white light is. White light is not a colorless light but a combination of all the colors of a spectrum. Similarly, white noise is also a combination of all the noises in the sound spectrum which is manifested in the form of a low-pitched, monotonous and humming sound.

To draw a parallel, imagine you are lying beside a rumbling brook or sitting in an airplane. Why do you tend to fall off to sleep? It is the same quality of repetition of a sound which soothes the nerves and puts us in a state of slumber.

White noise is considered to be of great help in correcting various sleep disorders in adults as well as infants, who might be suffering from some ailment including stomach upset, reflux diseases or simple gas problem and colic and have turned restless, fidgety and light-sleepers. Not only does white noise induce comfortable sleep, it can even shift us to a deeper sleep state.

When it comes to infants, you can expect the baby to be refreshed after a good few hours of sleep.

White noise can be created at home with simple home appliances like running washing machine or dish washer, running fan, open shower etc., and it can also be bought as CDs with pre-recorded white noise.

There are many ways white noise can be used for putting babies to sleep.

The two top ways are CDs or MP3s which often have the sound of running water or fans as the foreground. These CDs very accurately produce a radio-static like sound that shuts out unwanted noise.

Available in the market for some years now, white noise CDs are available which mimic uterine sounds which gives the baby the impression that he is still residing in the mother’s womb. White noise is now recommended by doctors to rectify sleeping disorders of grown up children also, especially those with diagnosed ADHD problems, etc.

Tracks of the white noise CD are so well blended that the CD player can be set on repeat through out the time the baby is expected to sleep.

Research shows that for babies younger than 4 months, who are in the typical colic phase, the crying decreased from an average of 3, 16 hours to 2.14 hours, which is a wonderful relief for mother of colicky babies.

You can also buy white noise machines which produce sounds that would be somewhat similar to a soothing waterfall, pitter patter of raindrops or even ocean waves. For as low as $50, you can purchase a white noise machine that can generate those sleep inducing sounds for you and your baby.