WHEN YOUR BABY CRIES
How do you feel
when you hear baby crying? When they cry hard, all babies draw up their legs, get red
faces, hard tummies, and wave their arms. Every muscle in their bodies tightens
as they cry or scream. Crying is the only way the baby can tell you when he's
uncomfortable or hungry. Yes, it is a very stressful sight.
However, soon you'll learn to distinguish the hunger cry, which simply means that it's
getting toward dinnertime; the fretting of a tired, sleepy baby who needs to be
left alone so he can go to sleep; the cry of pain or discomfort.
It's always best to investigate thoroughly and be sure he's as comfortable as
you can make him. Maybe he has a bubble in his tummy that's making him
uncomfortable. Try bubbling him. Or if it's been an hour and a half or two hours
since his last feeding, he might be hungry again. Try nursing him or giving him
his bottle.
If he wakes regularly, crying from hunger, make a 24-hour check of the amount of
milk he's getting from you. If he's formula fed, ask your doctor about
increasing the amount of formula the baby usually receives.
Maybe he has a wet or soiled diaper and is uncomfortable. Investigate and change
him if necessary. Once you've done everything you can to make him comfortable,
he's better off by himself. if he's still crying hard after ten or fifteen
minutes, he may just want to be held for a few minutes and comforted. But then
put him right back down and leave him there. Constant holding, jostling, walking
the floor, and bouncing may turn him into a demanding little fellow who has to
be held to be happy.
BABY CRYING PERIOD
Practically every baby has a regular crying period at
about the same time each day. The severity and duration of the crying is usually
directly proportional to the tension, confusion, and turmoil that exists in the
home.
Many people refer to this distress period as colic. What causes it? There are
many possible explanations.
Some physicians feel that colic is due to cramping of the intestines, but why
would the intestines start cramping during just that one period each day?
Something is wrong with the formula? No--because then he would cry all day.
Possibly, the baby is sick? This is unlikely, because a sick baby cries
continuously, not at a specific time each day.
If an easily excited, nervous mother has a colicky baby, they're involved in a
vicious circle. The more the baby cries, the more nervous the mother gets, and
the more nervous she gets, the more the baby cries.
A calm atmosphere and a composed mother ease the situation, but it might be
necessary for the mother to receive the sedative rather than the baby.
Fortunately, especially for the parents, this colicky period usually disappears
after the third to the fourth month.
It is certainly important to have your physician give the baby a thorough
examination if he seems happy and content, then suddenly begins to cry
continuously rather than at a specific time each day. Probably the most common
cause of a previously happy baby who all of a sudden begins crying and becomes
ravenously hungry is an ear infection. By carefully examining the baby's ears,
the doctor can quickly determine if this is the cause.
Another cause of prolonged crying is an inguinal hernia. If you should notice
the presence of a hernia, consult the doctor immediately. He'll examine the
groin to see if it is bulging. The swelling, or bulging, may also travel into
the baby boy's scrotum.
An overly-concentrated formula will cause irritability, fussiness, so a formula
change may help. Allergy or food incompatibility is recognized as an occasional
cause of fussiness. Changing to one of the hypoallergenic milks (a soybean milk
or meat base milk) will quickly tell you if this is the cause of the baby's
crying.
Urinary tract obstruction is another important cause of continual crying which
is frequently overlooked. Constant crying is seldom without a cause, although
the cause may be difficult to determine.
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