| Baby 101- Beginner Level | ||||
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Washington Pediatric Home Page What To Do When Your Baby Cries |
. Eventually, most babies become predictable, & predictably all babies do very similar things, but each baby is an individual & no two babies are identical nor do they always do the same things in a predictable manner. What "worked" for your first child may never work again for any others. Some babies are more active than others. Some babies are more regular than others, some babies cry more, & some babies sleep more than others at more regular & convenient times, but all babies do the following things:
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\ All babies sneeze, yawn, belch, have hiccoughs, & pass a great deal of gas, kick, squirm, and cry. Early in life, crying is the best way, if not the only way, the baby can actively communicate feelings such as "I'm hungry, I'm wet, I'm thirsty, pick me up" (and yes, "Put me down!!!"). Crying can be his way of saying, "Hellooooo, world! Here I am, hear me loud and clear!" When babies are not successful in communicating their needs it can be frustrating for both baby & parent.
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All babies sneeze. Sneezing is the only way a baby can clear his nose of mucous. It is not a sign of allergy in young infants. An occasional cough is a way of clearing his throat. Hiccoughs are common & probably not related to anything we do--after all, some infants get them within the womb. All babies spit up Almost all babies spit up to some extent & stomach acid may give the milk a curdled or clabbered appearance--this is a normal occurrence. Although an occasional spit or even a rare forceful vomit is sometimes seen. Progressively more frequent and forceful emesis is something that should prompt a call to your doctor. All babies dislike extremes Almost all babies dislike extremes of temperature--both too hot and too cold. Dress your infant appropriate to the room's temperature and consistent with how you are dressed. Many newborns initially dislike being naked and being bathed but in a few months will change to enjoy the things they so loudly protested as newborns All babies have gas All babies have gas. Within several minutes of life, long before they have any feeding, infants have gas throughout their bowel. That's because the most common cause of gas is swallowed air that is swallowed when crying. Adults know that gas is sometimes painful and it may cause discomfort in some infants. It is seldom the sole cause of abnormal crying. While feeding, burping techniques or the type of formula can contribute to gas, the most common cause is swallowed air. Even in infants who seem to have excessive gas and be irritable, it is hard to know how much of a problem the gas is and which came first--did the infant cry and swallow air leading to the appearance of gas or did excessive gas cause the infant to cry more? All babies cry
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