fed babies should not be allowed to sleep longer than five hours at night
before offering a feeding.
- My baby is fussy between 9:00 P.M. and 11.00 P.M. What’s wrong?
Probably nothing. Every baby has a personal fussy time. For most,
fussing occurs in either late afternoon or early evening. This is true for
both bottle- and breast-fed infants. If you experience this, you have an
abundance of company. Literally millions of mothers and fathers are
going through the same thing at just about the same time each day.
If a child is not comforted by the baby swing, an infant seat, sibling,
grandma, or you, consider the crib. At least there he may fall asleep. If
you have a baby who becomes exceptionally and continuously fussy,
consider the possibility he is hungry. How is your milk supply? Are you
eating right? Go back to chapter 4 and look at the factors influencing your
milk production.
Also, review what you’re eating. Hot, spicy foods or a large intake of
dairy products or caffeine may contribute to baby’s fussiness. This can
happen at any time of the day. The presence of wrong foods in your diet
can amplify your baby’s normal fussy time and create nightmares for
young parents. So, turn a cold shoulder to the ice cream. Forgo the nachos
and make a list of all the foods you’ll soon enjoy when baby no longer
needs your milk.
Remember Chelsea and Marisa? Marisa never had the advantage of
routine. She is far more likely to be fussy than her cousin Chelsea.
Immediately integrated into the PDF plan, Chelsea still may have that
fussy time but overall will not be characterized as a fussy baby.
Don’t misinterpret your baby’s fussy time as colic. Defining colic has
met with much disagreement. In Dr. Bucknam’s medical practice and
hundreds of testimonies from former demand-feeding mothers, bouts of
colic-like symptoms are substantially reduced with PDF. In a typical
scenario, baby cries and mother offers the breast. Yet, the last thing you
should put into an upset stomach is food. When this is mom’s first
response, baby nurses purely out of reflex.
True colic appears as early as the second week and usually disappears