Baby Tips – Causes of Sleeplessness Related To Illness
As a parent, you are bound to feel anxious about the health and well-being of your baby. It is also likely that you will experience, on at least one occasion, being woken in the night by your baby crying because he is feeling ill.
As your baby gets older you will naturally start to recognise his different cries and what they mean. He will have a cry for when he is hungry, for when he needs comfort and nearness from you, or when he wants to tell you that something is wrong.
However, if there is ever an occasion when your baby cries during the night, or during the day for that matter, and you either recognise: that cry as a cry of pain or you are at all concerned about your baby, never hesitate to seek advice from your doctor or health visitor. This advice also applies if nothing at all seems; to settle your baby, or he will only settle for a few moments before the crying starts up again. You must also be very wary that something is wrong if your baby seems unusually listless and drowsy, and appears to have difficulty feeding.
Infant Colic
- Younger babies may suffer from colic, a kind of stomach cramp. In diagnosing infant colic, there are some typical signs of infant colic to look out for, although some babies may not show any of these signs. Your baby might draw his legs up to his stomach and clench his fists, together with a crying session, which can turn to screaming, that can be quite prolonged. Colic can be triggered by lots of different things: Excess wind, a tummy ache due to something in mum’s milk or the bottle formula, or just the fact that the baby’s digestive system is maturing.
There is no definite explanation for cause.
- The fact that there is no explanation for the cause of colic also means that it has no cure other than by just comforting and rocking your baby. Parents can take heart in the fact that any colicky attacks will normally stop by the time the baby is three months old. This will be a very distressing time for the baby; and for the carers, so keep your sanity by sharing the baby’s care with your partner and remembering that it is only a phase in your baby’s development – it will pass.
Something more serious
Always contact your doctor if you think that your baby is ill, even if you’re not sure what is wrong. Trust your instincts. Even if it turns out that your baby isn’t ill, that’s fine. Don’t be! afraid of asking for medical help. If your baby displays any, or a combination, of the following signs, seek help straight away.
- A loss of consciousness.
- A convulsion (fit), or blueness of lips or face.
- A very high temperature. The normal body temperature for a child is between 36 and 37 degrees centigrade (97 to 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit). To take your baby’s temperature, first rinse the thermometer in cold water and then shake it with a flick of your wrist. Make sure it has a low reading, then place the mercury bulb end under your baby’s armpit and hold it in place for two minutes.
- A temperature, but his hands and feet feel cold and clammy.
- Breathing difficulties, breathing fast or noisy breathing, which may be combined with a hoarse cough.
- Unusually drowsy and hard to wake.
- A baby rash characterised by red or purple spots that look like bleeding under the skin. This is an especial symptom of meningitis, together with unusual drowsiness, crying in an unusual way and refusing to feed. Test to see if the rash fades or loses colour by pressing the side of a glass firmly against your baby’s skin. If the rash doesn’t fade, contact your doctor immediately. When meningitis is diagnosed and treated early, the majority of babies and children make ail full recovery.
- Persistent vomiting and diarrhoea.
- Crying in an unusual way or for an unusually long time, and seeming to be in a lot of pain.
- Refusing feeds.
Make a note here of the contact numbers for your doctor and health visitor, and keep this book in a safe place so that the numbers are quickly accessible when you need them.
Thankfully, more often than not, the problems of night crying and a wakeful baby can easily be solved. However, it’s important that as parents you know how to recognize the warning signs that something is wrong, so that you can quickly act to ensure the health and safety of your baby.
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