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Information She feeds, she cries – help!
Information She feeds, she cries – help! | She feeds, she cries – help! |
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| Written by Jane | ||||
| Tuesday, 29 May 2007 | ||||
Page 1 of 2 A crying baby can be the hardest thing to hear. Read on to find out more about the common causes of crying and some ways that you can understand and help.  There is nothing more distressing that having a baby that cries. It’s quite common for babies less than 3 months old to cry a dozen times a day. These times add up to 3 hours or more, in a 24 hour day, which is very wearing for parents. Your baby’s survival depends on you being aware of their needs and crying is their main means of communication. So you’ll find your little one will cry often, when hungry, tired, startled, perhaps with a dirty nappy and when they have an upset tummy. The question is how you tell what is wrong and what to do! Here’s a checklist of possible reasons and ways to pre-empt some of that crying. Feed oftenNewborn babies need to feed very frequently. A 4 hour feeding schedule is based on bottle feeding and an artificial routine. Given the understood importance of breast feeding in the first 2 years of life, it is becoming more usual to breast feed. Breast feeds might be needed every 2 hours at first. Over the next few weeks the time will gradually stretch between feeds. You will also need to change your baby each feed as first nappies are usually runny and tend to spread very easily.Keep her closeBeing close to mum or dad is the safest place for a baby. They can hardly see, can’t regulate their body temperature and need you desperately. Being warm and safe can ease many of your baby’s concerns and can ease tummy pains and help wind move through the immature digestive tract. Using a baby sling, such as a Baby Bjorn can reassure your baby, allowing them to stay warm and relax, sleep and recuperate. This allows you to move about the house, making sure that you eat and drink as all new mums need to do.Let her sleep on youLay her on a pillow on your lap, or drape her over your shoulder, arms and head over the other side. Give her 20 minutes or so after a feed to settle and then transfer her to the bassinet. For an easier transfer, try wrapping in a blanket or bunny rug first, or have one warming on you. The blanket can often be soothing around the head and face, but make sure she can breathe easily – cotton wraps are great for this.Let your baby set the routinePutting your baby into a routine can be more work that it is worth. Baby patterns vary so much that your best bet is to find out what your child wants to do and then work with that. As a rough guide, at first your child will just feed and sleep. Then they will start having awake periods of about 2 hours, needing sleeps of a similar duration. Over the first 6 months this will shift to a couple of longs sleeps of 2 hours, then a long and a short sleep, or 3 sleeps, of somewhere between 30 mins and 2 hours. Babies may not sleep through until they are 1 year old, although many will sleep for a 6-8 hour stretch after the first 6-12 weeks.MassageColic is a common complaint in babies with one in four being affected. The digestive tract may not have developed completely, causing stomach cramps, crying, wind, burping and sometimes reflux. A counter clockwise massage on the tummy can allow the wind to move a little more freely and soothe those tummy cramps. Almond oil is close to natural skin oils, and you can add 6 drops each of lavender and rosemary essential oils to the bottle to help soothe your baby. Massage for 10 minutes regularly when your child is calm. An all over body massage can work wonders on an irritable baby too. |
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