- Age
- 0–6 months
- Duration
- 30–45 minutes
- Focus
- Teaching the parent, not just massaging
Colic and the rule of three
Colic is usually defined by the rule of three: crying for more than 3 hours a day, more than 3 days a week, for more than 3 weeks, in a baby who is feeding well and otherwise healthy. The definition is deliberately plain, because colic is not a disease — it is a pattern of excessive crying in a baby in whom no illness is found.
For a family, those numbers are far heavier than they sound. Three hours of crying a day for weeks drains you, wrecks the whole household's sleep, and often leaves you feeling you have failed. We treat that exhaustion as part of the problem to be addressed, not as background.
The good news: colic almost always settles on its own, generally at around three to six months of age. This is not something you will be living with forever.
How far massage genuinely helps
Here we choose to be blunt, even though this is a service we offer. Clinical reviews of colic management conclude that infant massage has not shown a meaningful improvement in symptoms, and that the available evidence is limited and conflicting. Anyone promising that massage "cures" colic is promising something the data does not support.
So why does the session exist? Because the useful part is not the massage alone. One session gives you three things: an examination to be sure no red flag has been missed, carrying and feeding positions that reduce swallowed air, and a settling routine you can run yourself at three in the morning without taking the baby anywhere.
For some babies, rhythmic touch does help them calm. We call that comfort. We simply do not call it treatment.
What we teach you to do at home
The sequence we teach is simple and always done while the baby is calm, not at the peak of a crying spell: circular clockwise strokes on the tummy following the path of the bowel, rhythmic knees-to-tummy movements, then a short time prone on your chest. All with light pressure — a baby's abdomen is not an adult's back muscle.
Timing matters: wait 30–45 minutes after a feed. Massaging a full stomach usually just brings the milk back up and leaves the baby more uncomfortable.
We also cover the things that do not look like "therapy" but often matter most: latch position while feeding, how to burp the baby, the bottle's flow rate if you are bottle feeding, and how to share night duty so one person is not carrying all of it.
Frequently asked questions
Does colic mean something is wrong with my milk or the formula?
Usually not. Most colicky babies grow well and have no digestive problem that can be found. Before switching formula — and especially before switching repeatedly — talk to your pediatrician. Changing formula on your own rarely solves it and makes the cause harder to trace.
Can I just do the massage at home without a clinic session?
Yes, and we would be glad if you could. The value of one session is ruling out red flags and correcting your pressure and direction — two things a video cannot give you. After that the work really is yours at home, and we do not encourage repeat visits for something you can do yourself.
What if I cannot cope with the crying any more?
That feeling is extremely common and does not make you a bad parent. Put the baby somewhere safe such as their cot, step out of the room, and breathe for a few minutes. A baby crying in a safe place is far better than a parent who has lost control. Ask your partner or family to take turns, and speak to a doctor if the feeling does not lift.
Sources
The figures and recommendations on this page come from the sources below. The links go to third-party sites.
- Johnson et al. — Infantile Colic: Recognition and Treatment, American Family Physician (2015)
- Approach to infantile colic in primary care — Canadian Family Physician
This page is educational and does not replace an examination by a doctor. If your child is unwell, or something does not feel right to you, have them seen first.