Feed A Little Longer On Each Breast
Ensure that your baby feeds longer on each breast rather than alternating between each breast. The hindmilk that comes out after the baby has sucked on a breast for a while is more nutritious than the foremilk that comes out at the beginning. Hindmilk contains more fat, which promotes digestion and soothes the stomach. Too much foremilk can cause digestive distress.
Best Probiotics For Newborns
Did you know that your gut microbiota are essential to your health from the day you are born? While we often hear about the importance of a healthy gut for adults, newborns are especially vulnerable to an imbalance in their bacteria. But if you are going to give a newborn probiotics, you want to ensure you are making the smartest and safest choice.
What are the best probiotics for newborns? How do I know which strains to choose, or how to give my baby the probiotics? Well cover everything you need to know about the best probiotics for newborns.
Graco Sense2soothe Baby Swing
The Sense2Soothe Baby Swing with Cry Detection Technology is the perfect swing for keeping your baby calm and content. The swing has two swinging motions and six different speeds, so you can find the perfect setting for your baby.
The swing also features cry detection technology, which will automatically pause the swing when it detects that your baby is crying. This feature prevents over-swing and helps to soothe your baby quickly.
The swing comes with a built-in mobile that plays four different melodies and has three spinning toys to keep your baby entertained. Plus, it has a five-point harness system to keep your child safe.
This top-of-the-line swing comes with Cry Detection Technology, which uses sensors to sense your babys cries and provide soothing swinging motions in response. Plus, it has 10 different speeds and 8 different songs to keep your little one entertained.
o further than the Graco Sense2Soothe Baby Swing with Cry Detection Technology. This innovative swing has been designed to detect when your child is crying and responds by automatically speeding up or slowing down to create the perfect swinging motion. Plus, it features a padded seat with three-point harness and built-in music player to keep your child entertained.PROS:-Detects when child is crying and responds accordingly-Padded seat for extra comfort-Built in music player-May be too fast or slow for some children
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Colic Always Goes Away
Your baby will most likely outgrow colic by 3 to 4 months of age. There are usually no complications from colic.
Parents can get really stressed when a baby cries a lot. Know when you have reached your limit and ask family members or friends to help. If you feel like you may shake or hurt your baby, get help right away.
How Is Colic Treated
There’s no treatment to make colic go away. But there are ways you can help:
- Make sure your baby isn’t hungry.
- Make sure your baby has a clean diaper.
- Try burping your baby more often during feedings.
- If you bottle-feed, try other bottles to see if they help your baby swallow less air.
- Ask your doctor if changing formula could help.
- Some nursing moms find that cutting caffeine, dairy, soy, egg, or wheat from their diet helps. Talk to your doctor before doing this and stop only one thing at a time.
- Rock or walk with the baby.
- Sing or talk to your baby.
- Offer the baby a pacifier.
- Take the baby for a ride in a stroller.
- Hold your baby close against your body and take calm, slow breaths.
- Give the baby a warm bath.
- Pat or rub the baby’s back.
- Place your baby across your lap on his or her belly and rub your baby’s back.
- Put your baby in a swing or vibrating seat. The motion may be soothing.
- Put your baby in an infant car seat in the back of the car and go for a ride. Often, the movement of the car is calming.
- Play music some babies calm down with sound as well as movement.
Some babies need less stimulation. Babies 2 months and younger may do well swaddled, lying on their back in the crib with the lights very dim or dark. Make sure the swaddle isn’t too tight. Stop swaddling when the baby is starting to be able to roll over.
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How Do I Know If It’s Colic Or Normal Crying
Colic is a special pattern of crying. Babies with colic are healthy, and eating and growing well but cry in spells. The spells happen at the same time of day. Most often, the crying starts in the early evening.
During a colic spell, a baby:
- has high-pitched crying or screaming
- is very hard to soothe
- can have a red face or pale skin around the mouth
- may pull in the legs, stiffen the arms, arch the back, or clench fists
How Can I Ease Colic
Colic is a difficult thing to deal with, but there are some things that might help. Some babies find relief from being held or swaddled. You could try different positions for holding your baby and see if that makes a difference. If your baby is formula-fed, you might try a different formula. If your baby is breastfed, you could try expressing milk and giving it to your baby in a bottle. If nothing seems to be working, talk to your doctor about whether or not you should give your baby medicine for colic.
Colic usually eases around the age of four months. However, there are some things you can do to help ease your babys discomfort in the meantime.
Some babies respond well to being held and rocked, while others find noise and motion comforting. Experiment a bit to see what soothes your baby. You can also try feeding them more often or changing their diet if you think they may be colicky because of gas or constipation. If nothing seems to help, dont hesitate to talk to your pediatrician about other possible solutions.
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How Do You Deal With Colic
Lets be real: coping with colicky babies is hard work.
All new parents want their children to be happy and well. When their baby cries, they can feel scared, guilty, and powerless to do anything.
If its all getting too much for you, make an appointment with your pediatrician, or ask your doctor for support and help to find ways to cope.
Its important to rule out any health conditions, and to make sure your baby is feeding properly, gaining weight, and meeting developmental milestones.
An International Board Certified Lactation Consultant can help you work through any breastfeeding concerns that you think could be causing colic.
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Signs And Symptoms Of Colic
Signs and symptoms that your baby has colic include:
- periods of crying where they are harder to console than usual – over 3 hours a day for more than 3 days a week and over a period of 3 weeks or more
- restlessness
- drawing their legs up, arching their back or clenching their fists
- going red in the face
- seeming to settle and then having another spell of crying
Crying is more common in the evening time. Sometimes a baby with colic can cry for many hours during the day or night.
If your baby has colic, they may appear to be in distress. But babies with colic are fine between periods of crying. Your baby should be feeding well and gaining weight even if they have colic.
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Change The Formula Milk Brand
If your baby is colicky all the time, changing the formula milk brand may help. Sometimes, the ingredients of a particular formula milk brand may be the cause of colic. If you have started giving formula milk to your baby along with breastfeeding or otherwise, and he suffers from colicky, try changing formula milk.
Cows Milk Protein Intolerance Or Allergy
Some small studies of both breastfed and formula-fed infants, done by the American Academy of Pediatrics, show colicky babies might have symptoms of cows milk protein intolerance .
Read more about CMPI in our article Cows Milk Protein Sensitivity In Babies- 8 Facts.
In other cases, breastfed babies might react to certain foods in their mothers diet, which can cause them discomfort.
Food allergies or intolerances are common. Using a food diary can help you pinpoint what might be triggering your babys symptoms.
Lactose overload can result in babies becoming unsettled and gassy. It can also cause them to have a green, explosive, and frothy bowel movement.
This doesnt mean your baby has lactose intolerance. Thats something completely different.
Read more about this condition in Lactose Intolerance- 4 Facts About Intolerance In Babies.
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Be Sure Baby Is Well Rested
Watch your babys signs closely and be sure she doesnt get overtired. Experiment with wakeful time periods to see what works best. Generally speaking, newborns need to be back to bed within 1-2 hours of waking. For some, its only 45 minutes! A good sign that you caught your baby in time is that she goes to bed without any struggle. If hes crying like crazy, you missed the window. Next time, try putting baby down 15 minutes earlier.
Is Colic Worse At Night
During pregnancy, when you were awake, walking, and talking, your baby was being rocked around all day and was most likely sleeping and settled.
At night, during pregnancy, when you lay down and stayed still and quiet, the baby often woke and spent more time wondering where the party went.
Its common for babies to have day and night mixed up after birth and takes them a while to sort that out.
Typically, most babies are more unsettled at night than at other times of the day. Usually, your baby will cry in the early evening and can continue well into the night.
As long as your pediatrician or doctor has ruled out illness and other health problems, this is normal. Knowing this can help families cope better as they care for a crying child.
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Soothe Your Baby With Sound And Motion
Walk or rock. Motion helps calm babies. Walk around with your baby in a baby carrier . The combined warmth and rhythm may lull them to sleep.
Hold and rock them or put them in a swing or stroller. The gentle movement may stop their tears.
If all else fails, secure them in their car seat and go for a ride. Just make sure youre not so tired its unsafe to drive.
Use sound to calm your baby. Many babies respond well to the gentle hum of a machine, such as a:
- Clothes dryer (But dont be tempted to put your baby on top of a dryer — not even in a carrier or car seat — because they could fall.
- Fan
- White-noise from a machine or an app
You could also try classical music or a “heartbeat soundtrack” next to the crib.
Is Coconut Oil Good For Colic
Some parents have found that using a small amount of coconut oil can help soothe their babys digestive system and relieve symptoms of colic. Coconut oil is a natural anti-inflammatory and analgesic, and it also contains beneficial fatty acids that can help improve gut health.
Its important to note that not all babies respond well to coconut oil, so if you decide to try it, be sure to monitor your baby for any adverse reactions. And always consult with your pediatrician before giving your child any new supplements or remedies. Thanks for asking!
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What Is Colic And How Does It Affect Babies
Colic is a condition that affects an estimated 20% of newborns. It is diagnosed when a baby cries for more than three hours per day, more than three days per week, and for more than three weeks in a row.
There is no one cause of colic, but it is thought to be the result of various factors including gastrointestinal issues, immature nervous systems, and emotional stressors on parents. Colic can be very difficult for both babies and parents to cope with, but fortunately it usually resolves itself by the time the baby is four months old. In the meantime, there are some things you can do to help ease your babys symptoms.
How Can You Help A Colicky Baby
Your mother, next-door neighbour and hairdresser probably know someone whose babys colic was cured by rice cereal, a rocking chair or voodoo. Many fixes help for a short time, and everything seems to work at three or four months, when colic usually disappears. Still, there are some things parents can try that offer a genuine chance of relieving their babys symptoms.
Carrying your baby as much as possible has been shown to reduce crying. In The Baby Book, paediatrician William Sears writes that parents should carry babies around or start a comforting routine before the colic kicks in. Once your baby is all wound up, shell be harder and harder to soothe. He suggests using a baby sling or carrier. Other traditional colic remedies include a warm hot water bottle on the babys tummy, music, slow rhythmic rocking and running a vacuum cleaner or hair dryer for calming white noise. Some parents have tried putting their babies in a car seat on top of a running, cool clothes dryer.
Some infants respond well to being snugly swaddled in a cuddly blanket. Parents spend scads of cash on swings, crib vibrators and other gadgets that claim to calm babies, but there are no guarantees these will work. As Friedman points out, some babies respond to less stimulation, not more. If nothing else seems to work, you might want to try putting your baby down in a dark room and listening to see if his crying slows after a few minutes.
Heres a look at some of the other treatments used for colic.
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Symptoms Of Colic In Babies
Do you have a baby under the age of about 3 months?
Does your baby have episodes with the following symptoms?
- Has crying spells, lasting several hours in a day
- Screams, sometimes inconsolably
- Brings his legs up to his chest
- Arches his back in distress.
Colicky crying tends to begin around the late afternoon or early evening and can last for a few hours a day or more. Among parents with young babies, this time of the day is often referred to as the arsenic hour.
Please dont worry, though. Your baby is probably perfectly healthy.
Read on to find out more.