Understanding Baby Warning Signs of Discomfort

Babies do not possess the ability to verbalize their feelings, hence, adults must always stay alert for warning signs of illness.

A change in behavior may be one of the first signs that your baby is uncomfortable, watch out for this. Although your baby's activity level, appetite, and cries will vary from day to day, even hour to hour, a distinct change in any of these areas may signal discomfort.

Some critical baby warning signs of discomfort are mentioned below.

1. Continuous Crying and Irritability:

It is a universal fact that all babies cry - this is their only way of communicating their needs/feelings to you. Notice that a baby will have different cries for different needs. A cry for hunger will be different from a cry coming out of lack of sleep/rest. On the other hand, a cry for the need of a diaper change, or in pain will be a more irritable one. At first, you may not know how to interpret your baby’s cries, but with time and experience, you will understand the exact need of the baby with his/her cry. To start with, while you are pretty new to this identify the need with the cry game, you can address any one of the above-mentioned problems (Hunger, sleep, change of a diaper or pain) and you should see your infant calming down. If your baby is continuously irritable and fussy, where they cry for more than half of the day which sounds unusual, it may be a sign of illness. 

If you notice any of these signs, we recommend you examine your baby carefully to make sure there isn’t a physical problem - such as clothing that irritates, or an open, pointy diaper pin. Hence a 0-6 months infant is suggested to wear soft cotton fabric clothes that are skin-friendly which do not discomfort them with a rash. Additionally, look for some hair strands tightly stuck around your baby’s finger or toe.

2. Sudden Lethargy:

You may find that your baby seems to have little or no energy, is drowsy or sluggish or is sleeping longer than usual. He or she may be hard to wake for feedings, and won’t be alert or attentive to sounds and visual stimulation. Sometimes this develops slowly, so you won’t notice the gradual change. Lethargy may be a sign of infection or other conditions such as low blood sugar. Talk with your pediatrician if your infant becomes lethargic or isn’t as active.

3. Poor Appetite:

After the first day or so, most newborns are ready to drink milk every three to four hours and show signs of hunger by sucking on fingers or a hand or even crying. If your baby turns down feeding and misses several feeding schedules, it may be a sign of caution. 

Sometimes you may realize the newborn is unable to suck well and hence rejects a feeding. If sucking inappropriately is the challenge, you’ll notice that your baby’s once strong sucking has become weaker, look for such signs to address this issue. If your infant has a weak suck, he or she may not pull strongly or have a good latch while breastfeeding. 

Additionally, you may have not heard that your baby can also swallow or gulp milk down during feedings. You need to constantly observe the sucking strides to understand if they are sucking too fast.  

Spitting up and dribbling milk with burps after feeding is fairly common in newborns. This is because the sphincter muscle between the stomach and the esophagus (the tube from the mouth to the stomach) is weak and immature. If your baby is fed on a time-to-time schedule then vomiting may occur after overfeeding. Maybe, reducing one feed in the schedule may help.

4. Irregular Stool and Urination:

Stool: If your baby is breast- or bottle-fed and has very hard or very dry stools, it may be a sign that he or she needs more fluids. This need for more fluids intake occurs often in summers. After your baby suddenly moves from milk to eating solid foods, hard stools may be caused by too many constipating foods, such as cereal or cow's milk, before your baby’s system can handle them.

Urination: As per research and various pediatricians your baby should wet at least four diapers a day. If he or she shows any signs of distress while urinating, it could be a sign of infection or some other problem in the urinary tract. No-color urine is ideal. However, A salmon-colored or pinkish stain on your baby’s diaper is typically a sign of highly concentrated urine and isn’t usually a cause for concern. 

Summing up With Some General Tips That May Help: 

To keep your baby as healthy as possible, we recommend breastfeeding your child as much as possible, which will provide him or her with antibodies and enzymes that help protect against illness. If breastfeeding isn’t an option, use acceptable commercial infant formula after asking your pediatrician. Don't allow bad habits like smoking around your baby’s environment. Ensure to adhere to your baby's vaccine schedule and regular checkups. 

Hygiene Steps for Baby’s good health:

a. If your baby seems distressed, hold and console him or her often.

b. Keep your infant away from children who are sick, especially those with infectious diseases such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), stomach “flu,” influenza and other respiratory infections, cold sores (HSV1) and other obvious infectious diseases.

c. Prevent family members who are sick from sharing food or drink with your baby, and from handling your baby and his or her toys.