Why does my baby cry for hours on end every night?
In general, this is nothing new - all babies cry, and a lot. But when it’s your child who is crying for hours, you start to worry: what if something is wrong with him? Sometimes this behavior of infants brings mothers to a state close to a nervous breakdown. It gradually seems to them that they are somehow taking care of their children incorrectly.
In fact, the period between 4 and 7 am is a natural time when many children wake up feeling some discomfort. They usually start crying around this time in the first two months, between the fifth and eighth weeks of life. Most of them stop doing this closer to the fourth month. Yes, this behavior of babies makes parents worry, but it is completely normal.
Do not let your child get overexcited during the day, try to walk with him in the fresh air more often, check if the baby has colic. Remember that pretty soon the baby will stop crying like that in the morning - just be patient, usually this behavior ends as suddenly as it begins.
Causes of sleep disturbances
Why does the schedule of a 3-5 month old baby change? What is the main cause of regression? Everything is very simple: the baby grows and develops. From three months, many babies already know how to roll over, hold their head up well, and therefore look at the situation, parents, and other people. They begin to understand that they can not only observe the world around them, but also interact with it. There are so many new, interesting, and incomprehensible things around. During the day you need to have time to touch everything, look around, play with mom.
In a word, things cannot be changed. Do not forget that the baby’s nervous and mental system is also not yet strong enough for long games and walks. Receiving such a huge amount of new information, emotions and impressions, the little one can get tired or overexcited. An attempt by parents to put their child to sleep and interrupt the entertaining process of learning about the world can cause a violent protest. This is the main reason for sleep regression in a child at 3-6 months! This is a normal physiological stage in the development of sleep, which no one can avoid.
The common belief of most parents that going to bed later contributes to sound sleep and also to waking up late in the morning is wrong! The biorhythms laid down by nature cannot be changed!
What volume of regurgitation is considered normal?
The word "burp" usually refers to the small amount of fluid that the baby releases back from the mouth. Almost all parents are scared when they see a real fountain that erupts on them and on the floor. Typically, babies begin to spit up immediately after birth and reach a peak closer to three months of age.
It is not the number of spits that is important - and you certainly should not worry about this if the baby is cheerful and calm and continues to gain weight well. A baby can indeed burp so much that the entire floor is covered, but in fact, if you measure the amount of liquid, it will not be very much of what he just ate - and it will be an extra part.
You should consult a doctor in the following cases:
- if it seems to you that the child feels pain during regurgitation - as well as before or after it;
- if weight gain occurs too slowly or not at all;
- if the baby has obvious respiratory problems.
In all other cases, you just need to wait until the child reaches six months of age so that the saga of spitting up stops worrying you.
How can you tell if your baby is constipated?
In the first weeks of a baby's life, everything can be very different, it seems that he just endlessly soils diapers and diapers, and you change them. Sometimes babies go into a bowel movement routine once a week - and it doesn't seem to bother them at all. But it makes mom very nervous.
This is hard to believe, but irregular bowel movements in infants are considered one of the normal variants. However, most of them do not have any health problems when defecating at least once a week. The only thing parents should pay attention to is the consistency of the desired “product.” It should be soft and uniform, and the child should not have the urge to push.
If your baby is clearly experiencing discomfort or pain when he tries to poop, you should discuss this issue with your pediatrician. Perhaps you are making mistakes in choosing complementary foods, or your child needs additional stimulation of the gastrointestinal tract in the form of a gentle massage of the tummy or the area around the anus to relax the muscles. In some cases, suppositories with glycerin are recommended as a lubricant, but these measures must be agreed with the doctor; it is definitely not necessary to perform such manipulations “just in case” so that the child evacuates the intestines in the mode that seems more correct to you.
Rate of weight gain
According to child development standards developed by WHO based on statistical data, the growth of infants in the first year of life undergoes significant changes. Until the age of six months, this figure should increase by an average of 2.5 cm every month. After six months, the growth rate slows down slightly: the baby will grow by 1.5 cm per month.
By the end of the first year, the child’s growth should increase by 50% relative to the readings recorded by neonatologists in the maternity hospital.
The peculiarity of the development and growth of children under one year is that they do not grow smoothly and evenly, but in spurts. Moreover, on average, such “jerks” occur during the same periods and are associated with certain emotional difficulties.
How to teach a child to eat complementary foods?
The introduction of complementary foods after breast milk or formula is considered a turning point in the rapid development of the child. But sometimes things don’t go so smoothly: the baby may simply refuse to eat anything other than food from a bottle. There is nothing strange about this - children grow at different speeds, some will happily eat everything that is offered to them, while other little picky children have a very selective taste.
It can be disheartening for parents to offer their child porridge or other complementary foods over and over again if the child cheerfully spits food at the parents or on the floor every time. But there is some probability that in one of the attempts he will stop doing this and eat with pleasure.
On the other hand, until about a year old, a child can completely safely eat only breast milk or formula - with the exception of rare cases of congenital anemia or increased stomach acidity, when additional nutrition is required.
If a child openly protests against complementary feeding, the wisest thing to do is simply leave him alone for a while, and then try to offer him food again. Perhaps this time he will stop accepting your attempts to feed him an exciting game. It’s worth trying to offer food at different times of the day: perhaps something that was rejected at breakfast or lunch will go “with a bang” at dinner.
Ways to influence sleep disturbances at 6-12 months
How to cope with another sleep regression in children under one year old? In fact, there is no need to invent anything new. All methods that were used in three to five months will be able to mitigate the signs of regression. All that remains is to give some advice to exhausted parents:
- Control yourself and never get angry with the child, because he himself does not realize what is happening.
- Remember, sleep regression at 8 months is temporary and will subside after six weeks.
- Devote more time to walks, games, and learning. Keep your baby in a stroller or chair less, let him move and learn new skills. The more tired he is during the day, the more soundly he will sleep at night - a statement proven by generations.
The child must be given the opportunity to move and play during the day
- Be loyal: don't insist on scheduled naps. Put your child to bed when tired, but try to do it at about the same time every day.
- Gradually move away from the same sleep habits that you used at four months: sleeping with a pacifier, next to your mother, rocking, in a stroller. If your baby is not yet ready for change, postpone your intentions until later.
Regression of healthy sleep in children 3-5, 8-9 months is not the only crisis moment in the development of a child. There will be plenty of them ahead. Only by being patient, understanding all the reasons for the changes taking place, and applying the necessary behavioral tactics, will you be able to survive this time without loss for yourself and your child.
Why does the child wake up at night again?
With a newborn, almost no parent can avoid sleep deprivation. But some of them are in for a rather unpleasant repeat surprise closer to the baby's year - they may again start waking up at night and crying after months of restful sleep.
Often, children switch to more or less regular nighttime sleep at about two months of age - and parents think that they will remain in this comfortable rhythm for a long time. But the routine gets disrupted again as soon as the baby starts teething, eating behavior changes, you go on vacation by plane or train, or the whole family gets the flu. Any change can lead to the fact that the child begins to wake up again at night - and sometimes cries.
In this case, you should always try to calm the child down, but not be too zealous - for example, you should not take him to bed with you if you were not initially a supporter of the idea of co-sleeping.
A common reason for waking up at night around the age of 9 months is the beginning of awareness of oneself in the world. Children become interested in whether things and people remain in their places when they are not visible? Another point is that babies learn to control their voice consciously, in order to attract the attention of adults - it’s so great to know that your beloved mother will certainly come to the crib if you start screaming.
Parents should respond to the cry - approach, but not try to entertain the child, otherwise you risk getting games and fun for half the night, and the baby will develop a stable psychological pattern of how to quickly get mother's attention.
What temperature requires calling a doctor for a child?
Unfortunately, all children have a fever. The number on the thermometer can sometimes give parents very unpleasant experiences when they see 38, 39, or even 40 degrees. It is normal if a child is sick - and all children without exception are sick. There’s definitely no need to panic, at least because it won’t help anyone.
Fever is an indicator that the body is fighting an infection or virus, as is vomiting. Children tolerate even very high temperatures quite well, much better than adults. You should call a doctor if the fever lasts longer than a day, is accompanied by other symptoms, or if your intuition tells you that the situation is out of control.
It is worth paying special attention to high fever if you have a baby under two months old - with newborns it is more difficult to understand the cause of the fever.
We list the main cases in which you need to see a doctor as soon as possible if your child gets sick.
Upper respiratory tract diseases
Monitor your child closely if he or she coughs. A temperature that lasts longer than three days, the absence of periods of improvement, clear signs of dehydration - these symptoms may indicate a secondary bacterial infection, which can cause complications.
Otitis
Fever, trouble sleeping, obvious discomfort in the ear or pain that lasts one to three days - consult a doctor if these symptoms occur, especially if your child is under six months old. You may not be able to do without antibiotics.
Stomach diseases
Fever, diarrhea, and vomiting for more than two days can cause severe dehydration. If your child refuses to drink, his urine is dark in color, or he has not urinated for more than six hours, contact your doctor immediately.
Source: parents.com
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