As
some of you may have heard, my wife and I have just been blessed with the birth of
our beautiful daughter, Iniobong Gbubemi. And in honour of her I have decided
that every Tuesday I will put up a post just for babies. Her birth has thought
us a lot; babies can be adorable but they can also be a handful.
Starting
from this Tuesday, I will be posting articles as relating to babies. If there
is any topic you would want me to talk about or help you out with, please feel
free to write me a mail or leave a comment and I would address it to the best
of my ability God helping me. And with my friends over at BabyCare, am sure you
will be satisfied with our response. God bless.
I
would be starting with 7 Reasons Babies Cry and How To Soothe Them. It’s quite
long so I have decided to divide it into parts. Enjoy. And yes that's Iniobong in the pics above, Isn't she adorable? Yes she is. Daddy loves you honey.
Why
do babies cry?
Your
baby can't do anything for herself and relies on you to provide her with the
food, warmth and comfort that she needs. Crying is your baby's way of
communicating any or all of those needs and ensuring a response from you.
It's
sometimes hard to work out what your baby is telling you. But in time you will
learn to recognise what your baby needs. And as your baby grows she'll learn
other ways of communicating with you. She'll get better at eye contact, making
noises and smiling, all of which reduce her need to cry for attention.
In
the meantime, if your baby is difficult to soothe, she may be trying to say:
I'm hungry
Hunger
is one of the most common reasons that your newborn baby will cry. The younger
your baby is, the more likely it is that she's hungry.
Your
baby's small stomach can't hold very much, so if she cries, try offering her
some milk. She may be hungry, even if her last feed doesn't seem very long ago.
It's likely that you will be feeding often and regularly in the first day or so
to help your breastmilk to come in anyway. If you are formula feeding your baby
she may not be hungry if she has been fed within the last two hours.
She
may not stop crying immediately, but let her keep feeding if she wants to.
I just feel like crying
If
your baby is younger than about five months old, she may cry in the late
afternoon and evenings. This is normal, and doesn't mean there's anything wrong
with your baby.
The
unhappiness can range from short periods of inconsolable crying to several
hours at a stretch. While she's crying, your baby may become flushed and
frustrated, and refuse your efforts to comfort her. Your baby may clench her
fists, draw up her knees, or arch her back.
It's
upsetting when it seems you can't do anything to ease your baby's distress.
However hard it is at the time, rest assured that your baby will grow out of
this trying phase.
Persistent
and inconsolable crying in an otherwise healthy baby is traditionally called
colic. Some people also associate colic with wind and tummy or digestive
problems. These may be due to an allergy or intolerance to certain substances
in breastmilk or formula milk.
These
days, though, we have a greater understanding of how normal this pattern of
baby crying is and that it isn't necessarily linked to tummy troubles.
Ronald
Barr, an expert on baby crying, has proposed a new term for this phase of
crying. Barr calls it the "period of PURPLE crying®", where the
letters PURPLE stand for common characteristics of the crying. (It doesn't mean
your baby turns purple from crying so hard!).
The
emphasis is on the word "period", as you can be assured that your
baby's persistent crying will not last forever.
The
letters in PURPLE stand for:
P for peak of crying: your baby may cry
more each week, the most at two months of age, then less at between three
months and five months.
U for unexpected: crying can come and
go and you don't know why.
R for resists soothing: your baby may
not stop crying, no matter what you try.
P for pain-like face: a crying baby may
look as if she is in pain, even when she is not.
L for long-lasting: crying can last for
several hours a day.
E for evening: your baby may cry more
in the late afternoon and evening.
Living
with a baby who regularly cries inconsolably can be very stressful, but there
are things you can do to help you to cope with the crying. See our section
below: "My baby's still crying. What can I do?"
I need to be held
Your
baby will need lots of cuddling, physical contact and reassurance to comfort
her.
So
it may be that she just wants to be held. Try a baby sling to keep her close to
you, perhaps swaying and singing to her while you hold her.
Part 2 Next week Tuesday.
CREDIT:BabyCentre.co.uk
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