Why is My Baby Crying Non-Stop? How to Tell the Difference Between Gas, Colic, and Hunger
Your baby is crying. It is three in the morning, the whole house is quiet, and you are tired. You are pacing up and down the hallway, rocking them from side to side, over and over again. Your heart is beating fast. You feel so tired and helpless. There is not a single parent who has not been in this exact same place. You look down at your lovely baby and check off a few items in your head: Why baby crying non stop ? Are they hungry? Do they need a new diaper? Are they suffering from gas?
Babies can not use words to tell you what is hurting. Instead, they can only use their cries, movements of their body, and time at which they are fussy to tell you about their problems. It is hard to decipher these messages when you have slept only two hours. Coming up with the right remedy quickly is absolutely essential for you and your baby’s well-being. Sometimes all that they need is to have a quick snack. Sometimes what they need is a massage or some kind of help from baby colic drops.
This is the reason why we prepared this guide for you.
The Quick Parent Check: Gas vs. Colic vs. Hunger
If you have a crying baby in your arms right now and you want a quick solution, then you should take a look at this straightforward chart. It was created specifically for you to understand what the baby needs without any difficulties.
What is Wrong? | How the Cry Sounds | What Their Body Does | Gentle Ways to Help |
Hunger | Rhythmic and low-pitched. It starts as a whimper and gets louder over time. | Rooting around, smacking lips, sucking on their tiny hands or fingers. | Offer breast milk or formula right away. |
Trapped Gas | Sharp, sudden, and very loud. It sounds like they are surprised by the discomfort. | Pulling knees up to their chest, stiffening their legs, arching their back. | Try bicycle legs, extra burping, or supportive baby colic drops. |
Colic | High-pitched, non-stop crying that nothing seems to fix. Usually happens in the evening. | Clenched fists, a red face, and a very tight or firm belly. | Dim the lights, use a white noise machine, and offer gentle tummy support. |
Decoding the Tears: Is It Just Hunger?
The first and foremost thing that makes babies cry is hunger. A baby’s tummy is very small when it is born. In their first week, a baby’s tummy is the size of a marble. By the end of the month, it grows as big as an egg. Due to the small size, a baby digests milk really quickly. That is why a baby needs food very often.
How to Spot a Hunger Cry
The hunger cry does not begin as an outright and high-pitched scream. Normally, it will begin as a low and restless whine. However, over time, the cry develops into a rhythmical cry. The pitch of the cry is normally low. There are always breaks within the cry that are normally very short. It seems as though the infant pauses momentarily to check whether the mother is coming with the milk.
Look for the Clues Before They Cry
But your infant will actually tell you that they are hungry way before they start crying. It is their last resort for sure. If you observe them carefully, soon after waking up, then here are some of the obvious signals:
- The Rooting Reflex: Your baby will move their head side-to-side. They will open their mouths, looking for a breast/bottle when they feel any object touching their cheek gently.
- Hands in the Mouth: They will put their fists/fingers in their mouth and start sucking them.
- Lip-Smacking: They will make smacking sounds by moving their tongue and lips inside their mouth even without having anything to eat.
And if you don’t notice these signs, crying starts. However, parents can confuse a gas bubble with hunger. And feeding your infant with a bottle of milk, while having trapped gas, might quieten them momentarily. But wait for twenty minutes. The additional quantity of milk in a belly that is already full is definitely going to worsen the crying spell.
The Gas Cry: Understanding Your Baby's Tummy
The newborn’s gastrointestinal tract is entirely new. The small muscles of the stomach have not yet learned how to work in order to push milk along the intestines. If there is any air trapped inside the bends of the sensitive digestive system, this causes pressure. It is extremely uncomfortable for a little baby.
Signs Your Baby Has Trapped Wind
There are major differences between a gas cry and a gradual hunger cry. A gas cry occurs unexpectedly and spontaneously, meaning that your baby may be perfectly calm at one moment and crying out suddenly after a few seconds.
To notice a gas cry, all you have to do is observe the movements of your baby’s legs and their body posture. Since the problem area is their stomach, they will try to pull their stomach muscles. You can easily see how they pull their legs close to their bodies. Sometimes, they stretch their legs outward in an inflexible manner. Additionally, they tend to arch their backs and squirm away from you. When you apply gentle pressure on their stomach, it will be hard.
Why Do Babies Get So Gassy?
Infants swallow air all the time. This is a perfectly natural phenomenon. Babies ingest air in excess quantities during breastfeeding in case they feed too rapidly, in case their grip on the breast/bottle feeding is not very good, or in case they cry hard.
There are some additional reasons why babies get gassy apart from those described above. In case the diet of a nursing mother contains plenty of varied foods, sometimes this may slightly impact the sensitive digestion of the baby. However, most often this happens because of the body of the baby getting used to the digestion process for the first time.
Gentle Ways to Help
If your baby exhibits these symptoms, you can assist your baby in expelling the air that is trapped by means of certain physical actions.
- Bicycle Legs: Place your baby on her/his back on a comfortable mat. Move your baby’s legs rhythmically in the bicycle fashion, thereby physically moving the air out from her/his body.
- The Football Hold: Carry your baby facing away from you, placing her/him across your arm, resting her/his tummy against your forearm. Pat the back of your baby gently. The pressure applied to your baby’s belly will expel gas.
- Supportive Approach: If physical techniques fail, many parents opt for supportive nutritional supplements. Use quality colic drops to provide supportive aid to your baby’s developing digestion system.
The Colic Cry: The Inconsolable Evening
If you have tried everything to comfort your baby, including ensuring that she is well fed, burped appropriately, is wearing a clean diaper, and yet she still keeps crying without any relief, then chances are high that she is suffering from colic.
First of all, it is extremely vital to understand that colic is not a disease; it does not mean that your baby is ill, and it definitely does not mean that you are not performing your parental role well.
The Rule of Threes
Physicians from all over the world recognize true colic based on a very basic rule known as the “Rule of 3s”:
- It occurs more than three hours each day.
- It takes place more than three days in a week.
- It goes on for more than three weeks.
The “Witching Hour”
Colic is known to occur in very specific timing throughout the day. Intense periods of crying tend to occur either in the late afternoon or early evening. Parents who are extremely tired call this period of the day as “witching hour“.
In the case of colic, your baby’s cry will seem extremely high-pitched, frantic, and distressed. Their face will appear red and their hands clenched into tight fists while their whole body will become rigid. While your baby is suffering from colic, usual measures that help you soothe your baby like singing, jiggling, and rocking may no longer be effective.
It is believed that colic occurs because babies’ nervous systems cannot handle the stimulation of the surrounding environment. This is happening when the baby’s underdeveloped digestion tract undergoes mild spasms due to a whole day’s intake of milk.
Your Step-by-Step Plan to Comfort Your Baby
Of course it’s natural that you should feel stressed yourself when your baby won’t stop crying, but try to take a deep breath – you’re doing just fine! Here’s an easy-to-use step-by-step guide to help you decide how to move forward from here:
Step 1: Check Their Basic Needs
First, see whether there is any sign of physical discomfort in them. See whether their diaper needs changing. Ensure that their clothes do not pinch them. Carefully examine their little fingers and toes to ensure that no loose thread from their socks is wrapped around them, which could cause them discomfort all of a sudden.
Step 2: Try a Calm Feeding
After an hour and a half since their last meal, give them some milk and watch their reactions. If they have a sip or two and pull away while arching their backs and cry again, it is clear that they are not hungry. Now go to the next step.
Step 3: Create a Calm Space
Reduce the sensory stimuli surrounding the baby. Switch off the glaring light fixtures above them. Use a noisy machine that makes white noise or shout “Shhhh” near the ears of the baby, as it is similar to the soothing sound of the womb. Wrap them in a soft blanket to prevent the movement of their hands.
Step 4: Gentle Tummy Support
If they continue to struggle and pull their legs upward, then they need some tummy support. Hold them in an upright position and give them pats on their back. In case they need some assistance, it is the best time to take advantage of the use of a dietary supplement made for babies. It is best to incorporate some baby colic drops to their regimen.
How Natural Baby Colic Drops Provide Gentle Support
Due to a baby’s tiny and very sensitive system, it will always be necessary to give your child only the safest treatment methods. After all, one should not use harsh medication where it is possible, but should give supportive care to their body which would not hurt them.
If you are searching for an efficient product which will provide your baby with support during these difficult evening hours, KIDOGEST Drops will definitely become the most suitable one for your nursery.
These special drops were developed as a gentle dietary supplement for your infant, and they offer your baby botanical support for developing tummies. Unlike many other products which have to use strong medicine, KIDOGEST Drops are made of traditional herbal extracts which help your baby to feel comfortable.
In case when your baby is experiencing the discomfort caused by trapped wind, a couple of drops will calm his digestive tract, help him to feel comfortable and finally fall asleep. In such a way, your baby will easily go from crying and fussing to a quiet and happy state again.
When to Call Your Pediatrician
In most cases, excessive crying will be triggered by regular infant gassiness, a growth spurt or colic. It is a stage that will pass. But it is always advisable for parents to use their common sense and know when crying means that there is need to visit a doctor.
The following are some of the signs that need immediate medical intervention:
- Your baby throws up immediately after all the feeds.
- There is a sudden rise in body temperature (you should measure the temperature with a thermometer).
- He/she appears extremely weak and limp or lacks strength to wake up for feeding.
- His/her diapers are not being changed regularly.
It is always advisable to seek medical intervention whenever you see such signs or when you feel that all is not well.
FAQs
Can what I eat affect my baby's gas?
If you are nursing, there may be instances where the foods you eat can make a difference in your breast milk. Some foods such as dairy and highly spiced foods may create some gas in a very sensitive baby. Yet before excluding an entire food group, it is always wise to consult your physician.
How can I tell if the problem is just gas or true colic?
Look at your watch. Normally, the gas bubble is expelled when the infant passes the bubble out of its system or is administered baby colic drops to help support the process. However, colic continues for long periods, happens every single night, and there is no end to the crying despite anything you do.
Are baby colic drops safe for daily support?
The high-quality dietary supplements such as KIDOGEST are made keeping in mind that they should not cause any harm to the baby’s body. With proper adherence to the directions for use according to the age group, they help ensure that your baby gets digestive comfort every day.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not substitute professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your pediatrician with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
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