Whether you are a brand new parent or a seasoned veteran when it comes to dealing with babies, sometimes it can be difficult to figure out why your baby is crying. This is the second part of a two part post listing ten common reasons for infant tears to help you when you feel like you have run out of ideas why your baby won’t stop crying.

The Rest of the Top 10 Reasons Babies Cry:

1. Teething. The pain of teeth breaking through gums is tough for babies to handle, especially because they do not understand what is happening. If you run your finger across your baby’s gums, you will be able to feel new teeth pushing against the gums during teething, and you will know that this is probably why your little one is crying right now.
2. Temperature. If a baby feels to hot or too cold, he or she cannot take off their clothes or blankets to adjust their temperature, so they do what they do best – start crying so that you can fix it for them.
3. Dirty diaper. While some babies can sit in a dirty diaper for a long time without making a sound, others are immediately irritated by the feeling of a messy diaper.
4. Needs to burp. If your baby seems to get fussy after each feeding, you may want to try burping the baby to relieve some of the pressure of gas that might be bothering him or her.
5. Illness. If none of the other suggestions seem to fix what is bothering your infant, he or she might be coming down with something. Check for a fever and contact your baby’s doctor to see if this is the problem.

It can be hard for all parents, both new and experienced, to ascertain the cause of their baby’s tears sometimes. This is challenging because without knowing why your infant is crying, it is hard to calm them.

Here is the first half of a list of ten common reasons why a baby might cry to help you soothe your little one.

Top 5 Reasons Babies Cry:

1. Hunger. Babies need to eat often to get the nutrients they need during this important period of development, so your little one might be hungry more often than you think.
2. Tiredness. An infant also needs a lot of sleep, but sometimes they can be too stimulated to sleep. Putting them in a quieter, calmer, or darker environment might help them get the rest they need.
3. Hold me. Your baby loves to be snuggled and held, so he or she might be crying to tell you that they want to be picked back up.
4. Pain. Without words, your baby has trouble telling you that something hurts. It might be a tag in their new outfit or a hair wrapped around their toe – look for something that could be causing them irritation.
5. Colic. Not sure if those tears mean that your baby has colic? Keep track of how often he or she cries. If the tears last for more than three hours a day, more than three days each week, and more than three weeks in a row, your little one might have colic. Speak to your medical professional for more guidance about this condition.

The weather is heating up, and in many places, this is a great reason to get outside! As adults, we love the warmer weather, so it seems natural to want to share this with our infants.

3 “Can’t Miss” ideas for having a great time this summer with your baby:

• Blowing bubbles. Babies love bubbles, and since soapy bubbles can get sticky, this is an activity that is easier to enjoy when it can be done outside. Depending on the age of your little one, he or she might not be able to master blowing the bubbles on their own, but you will be able to bring big smile to their faces by blowing them gently and letting the baby touch and pop them.
• Get wet. Nothing feels as good as the water on a summer day, but this is something best done carefully with a baby. Babies don’t enjoy being splashed in the face, though, so be gentle when playing with a sprinkler or splashing in a pool. Drowning is also a major danger for little ones, so be very careful!
• Take a hike. Not literally, of course – a long hike could be more than a new parent and infant can handle. Taking a walk to run errands or just for fun is a great way to get outside and expose the little one to new sights. As the infant gets a little older, you can also work on developing a larger vocabulary as you identify new animals, objects, and places together.

Don’t forget a healthy dose of common sense

Everyone loves getting out and going during the summer. However, as babies are more sensitive to heat and sun exposure, make sure to temper outdoor activities with lots of shade and rest.

Use your parental instincts and make sure not to “over do” when it comes to being outdoors, especially with young infants.

Colic – not just for infants

When most parents hear the word “colic,” they immediately think of the infant colic that some babies develop – the crying that is inconsolable, occurs for no apparent reason, and is still a pretty big mystery to the medical community.

However, this is not the only type of colic that exists, despite what the parent of a child with colic might try to tell you!

That’s right – adults can get colic too, and unfortunately a swaddle blanket may not be able to help you get through it!

So what is biliary colic?

Biliary colic is a condition in which the patient feels sharp pain in his or her upper abdomen, either in the center or on the right side. This pain is the most common symptom experienced by people with gallstones, the hardened masses that form in the gallbladder.

These masses form when there is an abundance of certain elements, usually cholesterol, and they move from the gallbladder into the liver and intestines. Along the way, they can bump into sensitive areas or become lodged in certain openings or connections, causing blockages.

In either case, they cause the patient extreme pain and will continue to cause pain until they are removed. The pain usually comes and goes if the gallstones are mobile but will continue to occur until the gallstones are removed.

So who gets it?

Characteristics that make some individuals more likely to experience biliary colic include:

• Being overweight
• Eating foods that are high in fat
• Over twenty years of age

While biliary colic may not be a central concern to new parents, it is something to be aware of, particularly if you have any of the characteristics listed above. If you believe you may have biliary colic, contact your medical professional immediately.

Summer is definitely here and most of us are taking every opportunity to get outside and take enjoy the sunshine and warm weather. For those with young children and infants, this is a great time to do new activities together as a family.

However, there are some safety concerns unique to summer, so it is a good idea to review these to make sure that you are keeping your little ones safe.

Sun safety

Babies are much more sensitive to sun exposure than adults or even children, so babies under six months should not be in the sunlight if possible. Putting sunscreen on a child this young is also not advised on a regular basis but can be done if there is no other option.

Hydration

As the temperatures go up, it is easier to get dehydrated. You will want to drink more water, but babies under six months should not be given water. They will probably want to feed more often to compensate for the loss of fluids, so you may want to speak to your doctor about how to adjust accordingly. After six months, small amounts of water along with juicy fruit are a great way to keep him or her hydrated!

Water safety

This is the biggest safety concern for infants and toddlers. There is no substitute for parental supervision near the water, but here are some other things to keep in mind:

• Buy a hard-sided splashy pool rather than an inflatable one
• A flotation device is not the same as a safety one. Use Coast Guard approved devices only.
• Do not allow a child in a kiddie pool if he or she is under 1 year of age.

With these tips, you are on your way to a great summer with your baby!

Food & Colic – A Tricky Combination

If colic can be understood as a condition that results from digestive issues or immaturity in an infant, then it makes sense that changing what you eat could solve some of the digestive problems. For mothers who breastfeed, what is consumed by the mother is then given to the baby through the mother’s milk.

A baby who has colic may have an easier time digesting their mother’s milk if the mother avoids certain foods that can be irritating, cause gas, or trigger an allergic reaction.

Some problem foods may include the following:

*  Dairy products. Lactose intolerance is a major issue in the adult population, and many infants are also unable to digest products that contain the proteins from cows’ milk. Cut out eggs, milk, and cheese to see if lactose intolerance is making your infant’s colic more severe.

*  Caffeine. This stimulant can be found in coffee, soft drinks, tea, and even chocolate.

*   Beans, broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage are all likely to cause gas in adults, so they may do the same in infants.

*  Soy, shellfish, nuts, and wheat can be allergens for adults and may be causing an allergic reaction in your colicky infants too.

If you decide to change your diet in the hopes of alleviating your baby’s colic, it is important to give yourself and your infant two weeks to get the food entirely out of your system. If the baby’s colic has not improved by that point, then that food group is not likely to be related to the crying.

> Learn more about what is colic by visiting our website

For the parent of a baby with colic, there are only a few questions that truly matter. First, how can colic be treated or cured. After they find out that there is no certain cure for the crying that comes with colic, there is only one question that remains: How long will the colic last?

When it comes to this question, there is some good news and some bad news.

The good news:

The good news is that colic is temporary. There will be a time when your child stops crying for no reason and his or her cries become less anguished. In most cases, children first show signs of colic around three weeks after they are born. The symptoms are the worst around weeks six through eight, and by week twelve, the symptoms have abated.

The bad news:

For some babies, colic symptoms persist until the baby is six months old. There is no way to tell if your child is one of the children who will outgrow it by the age of three months or if your little one will keep crying for another three months.

Regardless of whether your child outgrows their colic by three months or not until they are six months old, it is important to remember that it will end. If you feel overwhelmed or exhausted by your infant’s colic, ask for help from friends and family. Keeping yourself balanced is an important part to helping your child get through the challenges of colic.

Colic is a condition that occurs among infants fairly frequently. About one out of five babies can develop colic, although the severity of each case can vary.

The main way to tell if a child has colic is by the frequency and duration of his or her crying. Babies with colic are healthy, well-fed infants with no reason to cry; yet they cry loudly and seem to be in pain because they clench their fists, arch their backs, and flex their abdominal muscles. One way to tell if an infant has colic as opposed to just being fussy is by the rule of threes – A child that cries for three or more hours a day on three or more days per week for at least three consecutive weeks probably has colic.

If you suspect that your little one may have colic, it is important to discuss this with your medical professional to get a definitive diagnosis and ensure that it is not a more serious condition.

Colic – normal and usually temporary

It is important for parents of infants to remember that colic is a normal and temporary condition. Colic does not reflect any health problems or illnesses in an infant, and although the crying fits are painful to watch, the infant will not suffer in either development or growth.

Additionally, colic is temporary. Children generally outgrow colic around three months of age, although some continue to exhibit symptoms until six months. As the cause of colic is not fully understood, it is hard to explain why the condition passes on its own, but fortunately for parents who are raising a colicky infant, it does!