PFP Blog
My baby is 3 weeks old and he cries all the time. I am breastfeeding. Am I doing something wrong? I try to feed him but nothing seems to help. He cries at least 5 hours a day usually from about 7:00PM until about 1:00 AM.
by Salena Dixon on 09/23/10
First, you want to make sure that he is gaining weight sufficiently so I would recommend a trip to the pediatrician’s office for a physical exam. If you are certain that he is gaining weight well, does not have an infection, and is not having any trouble stooling then it is likely that your infant is experiencing colic. Colic is very common among infants between 1 month and 4 months of age, it occurs in 2 out of 10 infants. We don’t know what causes colic. Many infants with colic, during a crying episode, will demonstrate certain behaviors. Some of these behaviors include clenching their fists, resisting being comforted, arching their backs, making facial grimaces and crying more in the late evening hours than early in the day. Colic peaks at about 6 weeks of age and usually improves by four months. Colic can be very stressful for parents because you feel that you cannot calm your baby. Early on in the crying episode you may want to see if you can identify the cause for crying. Maybe your baby needs a diaper change, he may be too hot or too cold, he may be hungry, or he may be tired. Many techniques are recommended for soothing a crying baby. You may try using a carrier that wraps around the infant and yourself that cradles the crying baby. You may try walking around with the baby or rocking and singing to him. Take him for a car ride or set him buckled in his carrier on the top of a running clothes dryer. Because you are breastfeeding you may want to try eliminating cow’s milk from your diet for a few days and see if this improves the crying episodes. There is no scientific evidence to support eliminating any food from your diet to improve colic symptoms in your infant. Anecdotally, some mothers claim that stopping gas producing foods has helped their infant’s colic symptoms. If the gas drops do not seem to be helping it is better not to use them. Some parents have found that "gripe water" which you can find at your local pharmacy may improve symptoms. I recommend trying it for one week, if no improvement than stop using it. If you are formula feeding your baby and you think she may have colic try changing the formula to a lactose free formula for one week. Most recently probiotics have been used in the treatment of colic. Lactobacillus reuteri was found to reduce crying time in breastfed infants. There are many over the counter probiotics that have dosages for infants. This is a safe method to try to reduce the amount of crying time. Please let your pediatrician or family doctor know anytime you start your child on any over the counter therapy. If you have a colicky baby rest assured that this is a phase and it too shall pass. If you feel stressed and are having trouble dealing with the crying infant please seek help from family members during the crying episodes. To be able to give the best care to your infant you must be able to rest, drink plenty of water and eat regular meals. If your infant’s crying is so severe that you are unable to care for yourself, go visit your pediatrician or family doctor.
My daughter is 18 months and she holds her diaper and says pee pee is she ready to toilet train?
by Salena Dixon on 09/23/10Toddlers mature with toilet training at different times. Signs of readiness for toilet training include staying dry for long periods of time, having an interest in the toilet, being able to dress themselves. A toddler that holds her diaper and says pee pee is recognizing the feeling of going to the bathroom, but may not yet have control over that function. Most toddlers do better if you do not force toilet training on them. Begin with taking them to the bathroom with you so they can see where number 1 and number 2 go. Let her sit on the potty chair if she wants to and don't get frustrated if nothing happens. Practice putting her pants on and taking them off. Once she is staying dry all night, have her sit on the potty when she gets up, this will be a successful time. Celebrate successes with toilet training don't worry or stress about accidents.
