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It is often exhausting and even frustrating caring for babies and young children.  Especially when you are sleep deprived and when the baby cries for hours on end, you may feel like you are at the end of your rope!  You may be feeling Angry and Frustrated that you can’t make it stop, that you can’t get a break. Check out http://www.purplecrying.info/loc/goingon.php?locpg=32& as a great resource to help parents and caregivers understand the period of nightly crying that many babies go through in the first few months. This will not make baby stop crying, but will help you know there is an end in sight to this ongoing crying.

Many babies have crying periods for hours every night starting around 2 or 3 weeks old and lasting until 3 or 4 months old.  It used to be known as colic, but now experts are calling it The Period of Purple Crying. According to Dr. Ronald Barr, the word PURPLE refers to the “6 characteristics of this crying behavior.” P stands for Peak of Crying. Dr. Barr states that the crying episodes, or length of time increases daily until it reaches its peak, then seems to decrease until one day it stops., U is for Unexpected. Once you have tried feeding and changing the baby and made sure that the baby is not stuck anyplace, nothing harmful is wrapped around the baby’s finger or leg or anywhere else and if the baby has recently been checked out by a health care provider, you will realize that this crying is just unexpected or unexplainable. R is for Resists Soothing.  Does it seem that no matter what you do the baby cannot be soothed? P is for a Pain Like Face, L is for Long Lasting. Dr. Barr states that these episodes can last from about 30 mins, up to a few hours.  E stands for Evening, as these episodes tend to be in the late afternoon or early evening.

Try to be patient with yourself and with the baby.  These long crying episodes do not have anything to do with your parenting or caregiving skills.  Do your best to offer love and comfort to the baby, even when it does not seem to help. Don’t be afraid to put the baby down in a safe place like the crib and step away for just a few minutes to catch your breath.  Call a parent or trustworthy friend and ask them for help.  Talk to your pediatrician or a local crisis hotline for support and resources on managing the stress of parenting, particularly a very fussy baby. Help is available!