by the end of the twelfth week. Spells of colic are typical in the early
evening, at night, and right after feeding. Baby may draw up his or her
legs and clench the fists tightly as if in pain. While baby may act hungry,
he or she begins crying partway through the feeding. If these symptoms
occur, contact your pediatrician. A child who cries for hours without
apparent cause can be emotionally draining on you as a parent. You need
loving support. If your baby does suffer from colic, the best thing you can
do is keep the child on a routine. This will allow his or her stomach to
rest between feedings.
Avoid overstimulating your baby. Excessive rocking and bouncing
might contribute to this. Also, avoid holding your baby while watching
television. While baby may appear fascinated by your local anchors’
account of daily events, most likely his brain will go into overload. The
rapid changing of light patterns from scene to scene along with the
change in volume can heighten baby’s tension. He neurologically cannot
handle such rapid light and sound changes.
- My two-week-old daughter nurses on one side, then falls asleep.
One hour later, she wants to eat again. What should I do?
If she is hungry, feed her, but work on keeping your baby awake to
take a full feeding from both breasts. Here are some ideas: Change her
diaper between sides; undress her; rub her head or feet with a cool, damp
washcloth. Do what you must to keep her awake. Then, finish the task at
hand. Baby must eat. If you allow baby to snack, she won’t argue with
that. Babies learn very quickly to become snackers if you let them. If
your baby increasingly becomes characterized by snacking, you must
work on stretching the times between feedings to make the 2½-hour
minimum. - My three-week-old baby starts to cry one hour after his last feeding
and appears hungry. I’ve tried to stretch his time but can’t get him to go
longer. What’s the problem?
If baby is hungry, feed him. Then, spend some time investigating the
probable cause of his uncooperative stance. Most often, a baby fails to