Have you heard of Purple Crying?
Monday, November 7, 2011 
I remember my short maternity leave with my first born. I spent it primarily dealing with breastfeeding issues and trying to stop the crying. He didn't always cry hysterically, but sometimes he did -- like in this picture.
Some times of day were better than others and, unlike his sister, he did love the baby swing (and so we loved the baby swing too). But there were definitely times when he would just cry and cry and nothing would help. The worst time was from about 3pm to 6pm. By the time my partner got home from work, I was drained and exhausted and ready to hand off the baby.
As a new parent, I struggled. What am I doing wrong? Is he hurt? Is he hungry? Is he not getting enough sleep? Is something in my milk upsetting his tummy? Does his diaper need to be changed again? Is he teething ALREADY? Is he sick? Does he have a fever? Is he constipated? Is he hot? Is he cold? Is the tag on his shirt bothering him? Over and over again, I would ask myself these questions and try each and every thing I could think of to calm him down. Sometimes something would seem to work, but the next day it wouldn't be any help at all.
I had done a lot of reading to prepare for bringing my baby home and of course I'd heard of Shaken Baby Syndrome. I knew that it could be frustratingly difficult with babies sometimes and that shaking them was incredibly dangerous. I knew that when it got to be too much, it was better to put him down in a safe space and take a breather than to risk hurting him.
Most days, I was able to keep my composure despite the crying. When I couldn't, I was more likely to lay down and cry with him than to react violently. That's just who I am and how I react to that type of stress.
Purple Crying
I knew, at the time, that I needed to get through it. What I didn't know, was that it was completely normal. I called it the witching hour or the fussy time, but I always assumed there must be some underlying cause that I just wasn't seeing. I now know, that may not be the case. The Purple Crying campaign is trying to educate parents and caregivers about the period of Purple Crying.
The period of Purple Crying can start at around two weeks old and continue until about three to four months. According Marilyn Barr, the Founder and Executive Director of the National Shaken Baby Syndrome, babies going through this period can resist all attempts at soothing.
Nothing helps. Even though it helps when they are fussy or crying other times, it is different when they go through these inconsolable crying bouts. Nothing seems to sooth them.
During this phase of a baby’s life they can cry for hours and still be healthy and normal. Parents often think there must be something wrong with them or they would not be crying like this. However, even after a check-up from the doctor which shows the baby is healthy they still go home and cry for hours, night after night. “It was so discouraging,” said one dad. “Our baby giggles and seems fine during the day and almost like clock-work he starts crying about 6 pm. He is growing and healthy so why does he cry like that ?”
So what is purple crying all about? The letters of the word 'purple' spell out an acronym that describe some of the main characteristics that parents and caregivers should be aware of.
Coping with Purple Crying
The most important thing to do when dealing with purple crying is to try to stay calm. The website for the Period of Purple Crying has some information and tips on how to stay calm when you are frustrated and drained.
Personally, I found fresh air to be refreshing. I am lucky that we live out in the country, so it was easy to go outside and get a breather without having people stare at me and my crying baby.
I am a believer in crying in arms (versus leaving a baby to cry on their own). I think that if I was put in the situation again of having a baby who cried that much, I would have purchased some noise cancelling headphones to at least allow me to focus on my baby without getting a headache. I think it would have allowed me to stay calm longer and not be as distressed while dealing with his needs.
Although I don't like the idea of a baby crying alone, it is obviously better for a parent to leave the baby alone in a safe space briefly than to do something that will injure the baby. Ensure you have a safe space for the baby, go out of the room, take a breather and then go back in once you have collected yourself.
Cherishing the Moments of Calm
My second baby was a calm baby. I've often said I could have worked full-time for the first six months of her life if I hadn't had a toddler to take care of too. She basically slept and nursed all day and all night and was pretty much content as long as she was touching me. The saying "nine months in, nine months out" applies perfectly to her. The sling was her home.
My son, however, as I described above, was a very different baby. With him, the quiet calm moments came less frequently, but it made them all that much more special. The picture below is one we've had on our fridge for years. It is the way that I would like to remember his baby days.
Want to help raise awareness?
Every day babies are shaken and abused because the person caring for them became overwhelmed by their crying and didn't know what to do. In a lot of cases, the tragedies that come from those situations could have been prevented if the person knew that the crying was normal and was prepared to deal with it.
If you want to help raise awareness about the Period of Purple Crying, consider sharing this blog post or writing one of your own. Tell people your own story about your baby who wouldn't stop crying and what you did to cope. Or, if you know how to knit, you can take part in the Click for Babies campaign that is looking for people to knit anywhere from 5 to 50 purple coloured baby caps with baby friendly yarn and send them to the organizers in their province or state.
What was your experience like with your baby? If your baby did cry a lot, did you know about the period of purple crying?
Reader Comments (63)
I appreciate good science as much as the next person but this article does not make much sense to me. As I said above, I cannot believe "organic disturbances" can be as rare as they say, considering I personally know many babies who have benefited from changes in the BF mother's diet or treatment of reflux or excessive wind.
Plus, the argument that because the baby is happy sometimes and crying other times means they aren't really unwell is silly. If the baby is responding to elements in the milk then this will happen at certain times. If the baby is responding to a buildup of wind like mine did at 6pm then that can still be organic. The analogy with sick adults is pointless. I can also say that when I eat something bad I get a sore tummy, and when I don't my tummy is fine. It still means that the bad food made my tummy sore when I ate it.
A major lack of commonsense in that article.
Sorry Tamara, I just realized you replied. What I meant is that it is a biological condition for which no amount of rocking or feeding or cuddling will cure. It's IN THE BODY. Qualifying colic as an undesirable behavior takes the seriousness out of it. Parents of babies who truly have colic live nightmares in which nothing truly works. Like I said, I've only encountered 1baby out of 100's who had colic. Little baby even frowned while in his (brief) sleep. Running out of ways to calm your baby because you've reached the end of your rope is NOT colic. It means you need a fresh start and some help. I often have parents who have been told their child has colic, but magically doesn't when the vacuum is running or calms ONLY when being held all the time. When it's colic, not even baby experts can help. :(
I do think it is a good idea to keep looking for causes of excessive crying. At the same time though, I do think that campaigns like Purple Crying could be used to give parents the tools they need to cope when they are dealing with crying.
This week, a mom beat her 13 month old to death because he wouldn't stop crying and go to sleep. I know this horrible incident is outside of the normal age range that the Purple campaign is targeting. However, I can't help but wonder whether things could have turned out differently if this mom had better coping skills.
I wrote about the story here: http://www.care2.com/causes/toddler-beaten-to-death-because-he-wouldnt-stop-crying.html
I understand the intent of the campaign and goodness knows we need more money/effort/research/ education put into infant behavior. But, I can't help but feel this campaign normalizes excessive crying. This definitely takes the burden off the parent who feels hopeless and fed up, but at the expense of learning more about babies and the care of babies, beyond just diapering, bathing and feeding. There's a lot more to it- it's a science. Parents deserve to learn the same things that experts know. My best friend, after weeks of her baby crying basically until she tired herself out, was introduced to the Happiest Baby on the Block by me. The difference was night and day for her and her family. She said, "I don't understand why this isn't given out as you exit the hospital with your baby. This information is way too important to be made available by word of mouth." In my opinion. it's educational information like what Dr. Karp provides that will empower parents, which is a much better outcome for both parents and their babies than simply having their crisis normalized. What I say to parents is: "This happens a lot! It's the witching hour." [normalization, validation] And then, "These things are going on with your baby, so let's try remedies related. Many parents feel overwhelmed by their crying baby, but there is help, something that can help you solve the problem."
Am I the only one who didn't find "The Happiest Baby" book (by Karp) to be all that informative or helpful? His techniques are not universal (no approach to child development is).
Happiest baby didn't work for my DD that I referenced above. All of my babies had colic, and all of them have food allergies. Two of them had silent reflux. I would second what was said about finding out if there is a medical reason for the baby's discomfort instead of writing it off as colic, which my pediatricians usually did, and then lo and behold, at 12 months or sooner, we figured out that our babies had food allergies. With my dd it was milk, with my ds it was gluten (figured out at 10 months), and with my ds #2 it was chocolate (since I was already off of gluten and dairy)- figured that one out very soon, at around 4 months. It annoys me that I had to do my own research about food sensitivities. If the baby is truly in pain, there is a reason.
Part of the issue is cultural, yes mom needs someone to hand the baby off to. My dd would allow her dad and our other friends to try to comfort her, but nothing worked. Both of my ds's did not allow anyone else to comfort them through their evening fussing. Not even dad. He tried, poor thing!
I think the other side of the issue is the sorry states our baby's guts are in when they are born. I really wish the NIH would put more money into researching what happens biochemically in a baby's gut when he has colic, rather than spending money to say that broccoli is the new superfood. The increasing prevalence of problems like EE (eosinophilic esophagitis) and other autoimmune gut issues in infants deserves further study.
I agree with you, Tamara. Really concerned that potential causes might be overlooked because the parents have been taught that this is "normal" and they should essentially ignore it. YES, it's better to do so "in arms", and YES, it's better than a shaken baby, but good god, at least attempt to address possible issues!
This kind of crying can't possibly be "normal" as it is rare and often unheard of in cultures outside the industrialized western world. There is no way that it is adaptive. It is only seen in "modern" western cultures where we have made so many changes to how we live in such a short time, and these changes (such as dramatically altering our food supply, pregnancy and birth practices, and exposure to toxic chemicals) erode our health. I know many families who have babies suffer like this and it has always been related to gut health and food allergies. Very few physicians are aware of even the basics of gut health and these causes are usually missed by doctors. This is unfortunately an extension of the normalization of poor health that is so common now in western countries, and it just means that more and more babies will go on to develop chronic health problems because the clues weren't picked up on.
My first born was like this (could it be a higher incidence in first borns?) and at about 2 weeks started crying like crazy and NOTHING would get him to stop. However, I also have a suspicion that it was related to my diet because that is when my mother-in-law came and brought a large pan of bran muffins with her... that I ate at midnight as a nursing snack. I did that for a week and finally we realized that bran was a gas causer in babies. However, then it seemed he had learned to scream and we had to deal with it until he was about 3 months old. So I always thought it was the bran, but perhaps a combination of the two...
My daughter had unexplained crying for hours on end every night until she was over 9 months. I have never heard of PURPLE crying, but her symptoms were exactly these (however, while there may have been a "peak" I didn't recognize, it most surely did not end at 5 months and started within a few weeks of birth). We called it colic because her symptoms seemed to be related to gas problems, but she would cry endlessly in the evenings not just when passing gas. We tried EVERYTHING we could think of and any half-decent idea someone suggested to us, from changing aspects of my diet including swearing off many foods (she was exclusively breastfed to 6 months and still breastfeeds) to holding her in different positions to soothing talking to listening to music to light or darkness to dancing or swaying to rubbing her back or patting her bum to probiotic drops... And usually all of these things and more in the same night. Nothing worked, but I know she loved that someone held her throughout the crying spells. I do not believe that colic can be "diagnosed" by a doctor because our pediatrician did not for us and it is still widely recognized as an unexplainable condition (and we were not prescribe medication because she was able to pass her gas herself and her stools were completely normal and regular). I strongly believe in always responding to your child's cries, so I spent hours and hours every night awake holding and comforting her (and now that she is a toddler, I do not believe in "crying it out" either). I cannot imagine letting your child go through the experience of PURPLE crying or colic (call it what you will) ALONE. This is something that goes on for long, long periods. That's just cruel! Sure, it is one thing to take a break if you need something (bathroom break, drink of water, snack, moment of silence, etc.) or if you are feeling angry or frustrated (this never happened to me, but it must to some because shaken baby syndrome exists). It is quite another to let your baby cry for hours alone and scared, who would do this?
To add one thing, I find some of the comments very offensive. We sought out "experts," including many health care professionals, but there was NOT a magical solution. We held our daughter EVERY time and for as long as it took until she settled and slept and for as many times a night as she awoke. My partner and I were/are NOT inept parents who just couldn't sooth our child (when they happened to be with us during a crying spell, neither could her grandparents, aunts/uncles, friends of the family, many who were excellent parents and certainly all excellent caregivers). We were calm and loving throughout, every time. I find it condescending and incorrect to imply that others could have alleviated this problem, while we were incapable of it. So not true. I do agree with a campaign to educate parents about PURPLE crying or colic and this will not "normalize" infant crying. It will help parents and their babies going through this to know they are not alone (and hopefully will prevent parents from shaking their baby).
I had my daughter jan 10 2012 and exactly two weeks later one night she started screaming and crying and crying and screaming we did NOT know what to do. My boyfriend and I were both on maternity leave and I thought my life was over lol the crying and screaming contineued every single night. We had to go for car rides every night at 11 pm just so she would sleep for an hour. Having a colicky baby or a purple crier was the HARDEST thins I have ever had to do in my life. I thought my maternity leave would be enjoyable with my beautiful baby but it was a nightmare and headache but I loved every single waking miserable minute of it. I look back now and wonder how the hell did I ever get through that. But I did and I think any parent that had or has had a colicky baby deserves a medal and a medal of patience. I never knew I had that much patience and love inside me and it makes me adore my child even more. So to all you parents who have calm serene living QUIET babies. I hope actually I pray you get a chance to have a colicky baby :)
From any future mama's reading this, the purple cry, colic, & witching hour are all the same. They are different, but eveey baby is dodferent feom one another, everyone if different and reacts different than one another.
Both my daughter's had "colic", with my first I just believed that its just colic and nothing you can do about it (according to what I have read). I then had my 2nd daughter a year and a half later and the exact same thing happened to her.. I thought to myself that there can't possibly be absolutely no reason that this is happening, both my girls aren't just screaming for hours for no reason? So I started digging, I learned that it can be linked to a dairy & soy intolerance, so I switched my daigjt feom breastmilk to Nutramigen formula. After 2 weeks ( enough time for all dairy & soy to leave her system) all screaming stoped! At around 6 months I tried breastmilk again and all screaming started back up, switched her back to the formula & she was ok again. Mommas, your babies aren't crying for no reason, something is wrong with them!