Fussy baby 4 weeks: 4 Week Old Baby – Newborn Baby Tracker

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The ‘Witching Hour’

Another topic I bring up at the four week check is the phenomenon of the witching hour. This is when your 4-6 week old baby may experience extra crying and fussiness in the late afternoon or early evening. This is a common and normal behavior for most babies and will resolve on its own over the course of a few weeks. The fussiness comes at the time of day when babies and parents are overly tired. It is helpful for parents to know the potential for the witching hour so that they can anticipate these rough times.

Physical Causes of Fussiness

A small number of fussy babies will have signs and symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux (GERD) and/or milk protein intolerance. For these babies, a detailed history, physical exam and several office visits are often needed to make a diagnosis. We sometimes will implement treatment for GERD (smaller, more frequent feeds, good burping, keeping babies upright after feeds and if necessary an antacid).

For babies with signs of milk protein intolerance (bloody stools, stools with mucus or persistent green/slimy stools) we will often try eliminating milk protein from a baby’s diet. This might include taking a nursing mom off of dairy or putting a formula fed baby on a hypoallergenic formula. A pediatric allergist and/or gastroenterologist can sometimes be a help for the pediatrician and family.

Sudden Onset Fussiness

For babies with sudden onset of fussiness or inconsolability, a more immediate visit with the pediatrician or emergency room doctor may be needed to evaluate for infection or intra-abdominal disease. Other reasons to call the doctor include fussiness with fever, difficulty breathing, color changes, pain, inconsolability, blood found in spit up or stool or for any other parental concern.

How to Calm the Fussy Baby

For those babies who are growing well, but do not calm easily, do not have reflux or milk protein allergy, I usually recommend other comforting measures such as tummy massage, using a sling or front pack, a bouncy chair, vibrating chair, swing, going for a walk, car ride or using white noise. I often recommend Dr. Harvey Karp’s Happiest Baby on the Block for additional soothing techniques.

For most babies, fussiness and gassiness is a temporary issue and for others it may last for months. In general, babies who are in a calm and non-stressful environment tend to be calmer babies. Babies surrounded by stress often times pick up on tension and can respond by being fussy and clingy. When possible try turning down the lights, putting on calming music and if all else fails, call a friend or relative to come over and hold your baby to allow you to the time to take a shower, lay down for a nap or go outside for some fresh air.

Dan Brennan MD, CLC, FAAP is a board certified pediatrician and certified lactation counselor at the Sansum Clinic and is a member of the medical staff at the Cottage Children’s Hospital in Santa Barbara, California. In addition to being a general pediatrician, Dr. Brennan is also a health care columnist and proud father of two boys.

Do you have a baby who cries all day?

Whims and tantrums of children 4-5 years of age

Whims (translated from French whim, whim) – the desire of children to achieve something forbidden, unattainable and impossible at the moment.

Usually whims are unreasonable, almost always accompanied by crying, screaming, stamping feet, scattering things.
It is necessary to note the most important thing: the whims of children of 4-5 years of age are age-related negativism. The child begins to do everything in defiance. His parents lead him one way, and he goes the other. Just now he demanded an apple, but having received it, he refuses to eat it.

The explanation for everything that happens is the following:

• All this is called the affirmation of one’s own “I”.
• The child is not yet able to positively assert his personality and proceeds from the opposite: “You are like this, but I am the other way around!”.
• The child wants to prove that he also has his own opinion, which differs from the opinion of adults.

Of course, this period is difficult for both children and parents.
But it is necessary to remember:
*this period will soon pass;
* it is necessary to treat this period with patience and understanding (We do not get angry with the child when he is capricious at a high temperature. Consider that your child has a temporarily increased degree of stubbornness).

However, parents need to know how to behave properly with their children during this period.
We bring to the attention of parents the situation of the behavior of children 4-5 years old and together formulate the rules “How to treat children’s whims?”

RULES:

1. First situation

The mother of 4-year-old Sasha, walking with him in the park, met a friend whom she had not seen for a long time. They started talking. Almost immediately Sasha began to act up, pulling his mother by the hand saying: “Well, mother, let’s go!”…. .

What should mother do in this situation?

2. The second situation

Marina was a long-awaited child. Therefore, her parents cherished her, doted on her soul, indulged all her whims. Even at the age of 5, they dressed and undressed her themselves, constantly took care of the child. But at a certain moment, both parents and teachers noticed: the child became very capricious, constant tantrums, tears, disobedience.

Why is this happening to the girl?

3. The third situation

Artem is 4 years 3 months old.
Artem has become a capricious and stubborn child. Moreover, stubbornness flared up sharply and suddenly: daily tears, tantrums.
Recently a girl was born in the family. Mom devotes considerable time to the newborn Polina, because the girl was born prematurely. And then there are the causeless whims of Artyom, which “knock mom out of the rut.”

In your opinion, Artyom’s whims are connected with this and how to help the child?

4. The fourth situation

The mother of 4-year-old Alyosha every day, returning home from work, picks up her child from kindergarten and goes to the store with him. And every day Alyosha throws tantrums in the store: he asks to buy one thing, then another, falls to the floor, screams, squeals and cries. Mom has no choice but to buy the child everything that he asks for.

How to avoid this situation?

Conclusion: the family plays a decisive role in the development of the child, has a decisive influence on the emotional well-being of the child.

Growth spurts in children: what is important to know

02/06/2020

Growing up a child

In the first 1.5 years of life, children experience rapid growth and rapid development: physical, mental and emotional. This process takes place in waves and is characterized by the emergence of new skills in the child.

Each new skill overlaps the previous skill. For example, the baby learns to roll over first, then crawl and sit, pull up and stand at the support, and finally walk. A growth spurt is also a leap in the development of the nervous system and brain. Rapid changes, the emergence of new abilities sometimes scare the child. During such periods, he needs special attention and help from his parents.

It is possible to distinguish the same patterns and the order of their development in all children, despite the fact that each child is unique. In total, there are 10 periods of growth spurts in children under 2 years of age: 8 of them occur before 12 months, the last 2 – before 18 months.

Growth spurts

Signs

Sometimes a growth crisis goes unnoticed, but sometimes it lasts longer and quite clearly.

What signs will help you identify a growth spurt:

1. Changes in nutrition

It is more difficult to feed the baby, sometimes it is not clear to the mother whether he is really hungry – the baby may refuse breast and bottle, but show signs of hunger. The child wants to eat more often, but eats less during feeding. This behavior is typical when he tries to calm down at the expense of food.

2. Behavior

The child becomes more restless and capricious. You will see that he does not want to leave your arms and cries when you try to put him in the crib. Or you may notice that the baby is crying and not calming down when he is usually calm and relaxed. This behavior is associated with the accumulation of overwork, since the baby spends a lot of energy during growth crises. Also, if the baby is irritated or naughty, he may be on the way to mastering a new skill.

3. Sleep

Before and during the growth spurt, children are more sleepy. Night awakenings become more frequent, and daytime sleeps become shorter. If you had a regimen before, it may deteriorate. It will seem to you that it is no longer suitable for the child and you need to change the schedule of sleep and wakefulness. But by the end of the growth spurt, you will notice that the old regimen has returned to normal.

Please note that growth spurts are sometimes confused with other problems. So, the baby is sleepy and moody due to the fact that he gets sick. And hunger is a sign of a mother’s lack of milk.

4. The child learns one of the skills:

• learns new sensations and gets to know his body
• starts to roll over
• masters the position on all fours and begins to crawl
• learns to sit down and stand up from a sitting position
• tries to stand holding onto a support and take the first steps
• starts walking
• is actively learning speech

5. Changing the size of the legs and arms

After the growth spurt, you will notice how your toddler has grown.

Calendar of developmental leaps

The first leap begins at the end of the first month of a baby’s life, the peak falls on the 5th week. The baby begins to study the phenomena that occur around him. The sense organs develop, and the child perceives the world much more clearly than before.

The second growth crisis is a continuation of the first. His surge falls on the 8th week. The kid opens the world of patterns. He understands, for example, that he has two arms and two legs. And spends hours practicing the new skill of controlling their particular position. He is fascinated by the shadows from the falling light. You may notice how the child listens to himself by making various sounds. He also begins to show joy with his first smile.

The third growth spurt appears at 3 months. If before this the baby’s movements were clumsy, now he has much better control over his body. There is also a further development of the senses. Now he notices the differences: he listens to the voices, watches how the light is replaced by darkness, how everything moves around. The world is becoming more organized.

The fourth developmental leap of occurs around the 19th week. The child understands that each event has a certain sequence of actions. He begins to notice smooth transitions in sounds, movements, light, smells and textures.

Fifth developmental leap around 26 weeks. You will see how the baby tries to do many new things for him. The child improves coordination, he begins to understand the connection of things around. The main discovery at this age is the space around: there is a certain distance between people and objects. The world for the baby becomes huge.

The sixth crisis of will clearly manifest itself at 37 weeks. During this period, you will notice that the baby is learning new activities, constantly experimenting. The baby is able to recognize certain objects, sensations, groups people and animals into categories. For example, he understands that a banana is different from an apple in shape, color and taste, but it is still food. Understanding the world of categories greatly affects your child’s senses.

By the 46th week there will be a 7 leap in development . The baby will open the world of sequences. He will understand that in order to achieve his goal, it is necessary to act in a certain way. The child will learn how and in what sequence to put things together so that it is correct: a pyramid, cubes, etc.

The eighth leap of development will take place around the year at week 55. The kid will have a breakthrough in mental development and he will be ready to explore the world of programs. If before that the baby understood the sequence of events that follow one after another, now he understands that this does not always happen. And he also realizes that the result of an action sometimes depends on what happened now.

The ninth leap is the first growth crisis after a year, which peaks at 14-15 months. The child has grown up and now he is able to change the programs that he has mastered before. He will experiment with them:

• Meet other children at the playground
• imitate others
• Explore your emotions
• Think ahead
• Become aggressive to get what you want
• Throw the first tantrums
• Understand the difference between “mine” and “yours”
• Learning to do things together
• Experiment with “yes” and “no”

The last tenth leap of development will take about 17 months.