The Happiest Baby on the Block and The Happiest Toddler on the Block 2-Book Bundle pdfdrive com

A Poop Advisory: Sometimes Constipation Signals a More
Serious Problem
Healthy babies may skip a day or two between poops. However, less
frequent BM’s may signal a more worrisome problem. If your baby
goes more than two or three days without a stool, you should touch
base with your doctor. He may consider evaluating her for three
rare, but curable, diseases that can masquerade as constipation:
1. Hypothyroidism—This easily treated condition is caused by an
underactive thyroid gland and may slow mental development if
allowed to continue untreated.
2. Hirschsprung’s disease—This rare intestinal blockage happens
when the rectal muscles can’t relax to let the poop out. Surgery
can correct it.
3. Infantile botulism—This very rare disease temporarily paralyzes
babies. It’s brought on by botulism spores that live in the ground

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and in liquidy sweets like honey or corn syrup (which should
never be given to babies).
Feeding Problems—Babies Who Cry from Too Much (or
Too Little) of a Good Thing
Fortunately, 99.9 percent of the time, your baby and your milk are
perfect together. However, getting too little or too much milk may
trigger severe crying.
“Got Milk?”—Babies Who Cry Because They Don’t Get
Enough Milk
It’s usually easy to tell if a bottle-fed baby is getting her fair share of
milk: Count the number of ounces she eats. With breast-feeders,
however, it’s trickier. If you are nursing, the following questions may
help you to figure out if your baby is crying because she’s not getting
enough milk:
Are your breasts making enough milk? If your breasts feel heavy when
you wake up, if they occasionally leak, and if you can hear your baby
gulping when she’s feeding, it’s likely that your breasts are making
plenty of milk.
Does your baby become serene after a feeding? Well-fed babies are
usually blissful, calm, and relaxed after a feeding.
Is your baby peeing enough? During the first few days of life, infants
don’t urinate very often, but once your milk comes in, your baby should
pee five to eight times a day.
Is your baby gaining weight normally? Many moms and grandmoms are
always worried that theirs is the only skinny baby in town while all the
other infants are little sumo wrestlers! To know if your baby is gaining
enough weight, you need to put her on a scale. For the most accurate
weighing, check her on the scale at your doctor’s office. Remember,
babies lose eight to twelve ounces over the first few days of life, but
thereafter they gain four to seven ounces per week.

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Does your fussy baby become soothed and content by sucking on your
finger or pacifier? Just because your fussy baby wants to suck doesn’t
mean she’s hungry. Offer her your finger to suck on. If she sucks happily
for a few minutes, she probably wants recreation, not nutrition.
If you answered no to any of these questions, you should call your
doctor to discuss whether or not your tiny one’s cries might be a sign of
hunger.