How to Soothe Your Crying Baby

When baby cries, everything can seem to stand still for mom and dad. The detective work starts – is the baby hungry? Are they hurt? Have they wet themselves? Sometimes babies cry just because they enjoy hearing themselves.

How can we know when something is truly wrong with our baby? I hate to say it, but as parents sometimes we just know. Often, however, we don’t. However, there are a number of things we can do to try to determine the severity of our children’s condition without the need for outside help.

1. Change the Baby’s Diaper
Very often children complain of even the slightest wetness. We certainly don’t want to sit around in wet clothes and they don’t either. Some children love to urinate shortly after being changed – so even if the baby has just been put in a new diaper, check to make sure they are still dry.

2. Offer Food
Has time elapsed since the last feeding? It is very important to measure time intervals between feedings to ensure baby gets enough needed nutrients to grow.

Not yet feeding time? Children who are experiencing growth spurts came feed as frequently as every 1-2 hours. If this is the case the child will certainly get hungry and fussy.

3. Sooth the Baby
Most babies react well to a soothing womb-like environment. Take the baby in your arms and make ‘shh-shh’ noises. This could be enough to pacify them.

4. Bundle Up Baby
Much like elderly adults, babies require more layers in order to keep warm. Our rule of thumb is baby wears 1 more layer of clothing than mom and dad. The crying baby may be cold in an otherwise warm room.

5. Try Putting Baby to Sleep
Babies set their sleeping routine and can generally be trusted to sleep (or to not sleep) at specific times. If there have been a lot of car rides or other disruptions in routine, the baby may be feeling over-tired. 3-5 minutes in the crib or bassinet should determine this – a tired baby will usually soothe themselves to sleep in this amount of time. Be careful not to let them “cry it out” – if it takes longer than a few minutes the baby may not be tired enough to sleep, or they may have an entirely different problem.

6. Our Condolences for Parents of Colicky Babies
Some babies suffer from colic – a condition that results from excessive gas causing severe abdominal pain in otherwise healthy infants. About 20% of babies are reported to be colicky; this is torture for both parent and baby. There are many folk remedies such as peppermint, placing the baby in a swing, feeding only warm milk, etc; however, colicky babies eventually grow out of this phase, normally by the 20th week. Hang in there!

7. Check for Rashes or Skin Irritations
Sometimes the crying baby is having an allergic reaction to something in her environment. Check your baby for any tell-tale skin rashes or marks that could be indicative of a deeper problem.

8. Take the Baby for a Car Ride
The vibration in the back seat of the car can put the baby to sleep. The rising cost of gas gives some parents pause to try this – putting the baby in their car seat on top of a washing machine can have a similar effect, just make sure to keep a hand on the seat at all times to prevent the baby from falling to the floor.

9. Take a Break
A baby that won’t stop crying can be frustrating – but it is critically important that parents keep their cool and never shake their crying baby. If someone feels like they are being pushed to the breaking point by baby’s crying, have them put down the baby and go to another room or just outside for a few minutes. The baby may not stop crying, but the adult will be better able to handle the situation.

10. Let Them Cry
Sometimes there is nothing wrong and babies just want to cry. There are many reasons for this – for example the baby may be comforted by the sound of their voice. Especially in newborns, crying clears and exercises the lungs and is essential to normal development. Remember that the goal is not to stop the baby’s crying (although we might wish they did!), but rather to provide for the baby’s needs.

11. Ask for Help
If you are fortunate enough to have relatives nearby or public resources, ask them for suggestions. They may have more ideas that are not on the list, or someone may have encountered the same situation before and will know what to do. If totally unsure, seek medical advice – it doesn’t hurt to be too careful with baby’s health and safety.

Infant Constipation Tips #2

We tried using apple juice for a time, but did not feel very comfortable with this.  He isn’t even on pudding yet, I don’t want to risk messing up his stomach by giving it all that acid.

In our case, switching from powder to formula concentrate seems to have done the trick, in a very big and smelly way.  Today his bowel movements are regular and pain-free.

Don’t Give Hallowe’en Candy to Infants

This should be obvious but apparently it’s not – if you are the parent of an infant, do not give sugar icing or candy to your child.  Not only will the sugar make them very sick, but they could choke on the treat.

Infant Constipation Tips #1

So sorry for not updating recently – will be more proactive.

For now, a quick word on baby constipation.  Yes, only parents are interested in talking about kids’ poop.  What else can you do when the biggest event that is going to happen in your child’s day revolves around what they ate yesterday.

After much trial and error, our doctor finally recommended using an ounce of apple juice to upset the little one’s stomach.  It turns out that works like a laxative for us – boom (more aptly, SPLASH GURGLE).  Watch for thrush though – only give apple juice before the regular feeding so the milk will wash it all down.

The Death of Plastic Bottles

Since the Canadian government sparked consumer panic with its decision to ban the import of consumer goods made with Bisphenol A (BPA), plastic baby bottles have taken a major hit to their image – glass bottles now line baby department shelves as confused shoppers try to figure out what they should be using to safely feed their babies.

Bisphenal A’s Bad Rap

Bisphenal A, commonly called BPA, is a chemical used to give great strength to clear plastics including some baby bottles. BPA is also used to make CDs and household electronics, and has even had use as a fungicide. In the wild, BPA has been shown to interfere with the endocrine systems of animals and there have been suspicions since the 1930s that low-level exposure can have toxic effects to humans as well, with bottle-fed infants being particularly at risk.

According to Wikipedia:

Studies by the CDC found bisphenol A in the urine of 95% of adults sampled in 1988-1994 and in 93% of children and adults tested in 2003-04. Almost all exposure is through diet, and infants fed with liquid formula are among the most exposed.

Although Canada in 2008 and the United States by 2009 plan to eliminate infant bottles containing BPA, the health agencies of both countries assure us that the levels of BPA found in consumer products are far below what would be considered dangerous and in fact infant bottles made with BPA do not pose a health risk to our children.

Not All Plastic Bottles Are Harmful

PANIC! The message seemingly spread by mainstream media is that all plastic bottles are bad for your baby’s health. This stems from a general lack of understand on the problem and the laziness of outlets to properly report and inform.

The point the government was trying to make is that some plastics are shown to have harmful effects, and even though the levels in infant bottles are well below what would be considered unsafe, the government take is that any margin of danger is unacceptable for our young.

Self-Educate: Know How To Read the Ingredients of Your Food Containers

The world is buyer-beware. You must hold yourself accountable for what you choose to put into your body and into your children’s bodies, and so you need to be aware of how to tell whether your containers are considered safe or not.

Resin Codes

The resin codes – sometimes known as recycling symbols – printed on the bottoms of plastic bottles and cans are in fact standard identifiers for the materials used in the making of that container.  Bisphenal A is a component in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) which is identified by resin code #3.

Resin code #7 refers to “Other” types that aren’t included in the rest of the numbers.  “Other” may include safe organic biodegradable materials, but it may also contain materials made with BPA.  If you see #7 at the bottom of a bottle, you need to confirm with the manufacturer that the material does not contain BPA – if you are unsure do not purchase it.

Recommended BPA-Free Plastic Numbers

To summarize, “they” recommend we purchase products made with safer plastics and identified by resin code #1, #2, #4 and #5