Newborns are the trickiest little critters! They are so cute and smell so good…so why do they scare their parents so easily with every little movement and noise? Because…they are delicate, and their odd behaviors are a complete mystery to parents around the globe.
Extreme Hiccups:
A hiccup is a spasm of the diaphragm, which is the muscle that separates the chest from the abdomen. No one really knows why babies hiccup so often, but the spasms seem to occur more frequently after a feeding or a burping. Some mothers seem to think that giving the infant a bit more to drink is helpful to stop the spasm, but this is not foolproof.
Melissa Tola, an Overland Park mother of two, says, “The weeks right after my first child was born, he would move his head back and forth and make no noise. I had no experience with babies, so I thought he was having seizures. Then he started making the hiccup noise with those same movements. My mom said not to worry about it, and it only lasted for 3 to 6 months.”
Excessive Sneezing:
Hiccups and sneezing are quite common in newborns and are not indicators the child has a digestive problem or allergies. The Mayo Clinic says sneezing is “a baby’s way of clearing mucus from the nose – especially important because babies breathe primarily through their noses.” The sneeze is essentially Mother Nature’s baby bulb aspirator—but not as tidy!
Spitting Up:
Dr. Aundria Speropoulos, a pediatrician at Leawood Pediatrics, says, “It is normal for a newborn to spit up for the first 6 months of life. The muscle around the sphincter of the esophagus is not tight, so breast milk or formula tends to come back up.”
She also says, “Unless the spitting up causes pain, or there is poor weight gain, or the infant is refusing feedings, it is not considered a problem.” If forceful vomiting replaces the spitting up, a call to the pediatrician is warranted.
Quivering:
Heidi Prentice, an Overland Park mother of two girls, says, “I thought it was something terrible because my other daughter didn’t have the quivering. I was afraid that she was having seizures. So I asked the pediatrician and she said not to worry. The brand new baby’s nervous system is still growing and forming and it is shuddering – and she will eventually grow out of it.”
Prentice’s pediatrician gave her the signs and symptoms of seizures to watch out for, but thankfully, “My baby only had the shuddering for a couple weeks,” said Prentice.
The Mayo Clinic states that occasionally “jitteriness can be a sign that the baby’s blood sugar or calcium level is low.” If this persists, let your baby’s care provider know so they can check these blood levels.
Jumpy or Startles Easily:
According to Nemours Foundation, healthy newborns should have a “Moro reflex or a startle response.” This is when you purposefully startle the baby with a loud noise or bright light and the infant should throw open his arms out to the sides and quickly draw them back in. This reflex will “gradually disappear as the baby matures.”
Margaret Thompson, a Shawnee mother, says her son startled easily. “I would be holding my son and he would hear the ice cube machine and would hold on tighter to my arm.” She also said her son would startle from the sound of the garage door opener. “He would hold on tight like something was coming to get him.”
Inconsolable Crying/Colic:
Dr. Speropoulos recommends swaddling the crying infant snuggly and going outside, especially when the weather is nice. Being calm and quiet in the dark also seems to help her patients. “It’s good for parents to hear that colic is frustrating. They need to know they aren’t alone in this,” she says. “However, if the baby is fussy all day and has a fever, a doctor needs to be contacted.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics defines colic
- Excessive crying once or twice per day
- Usually consolable when held and comforted
- Acts normal (happy, contented) between bouts of crying
- The baby is getting enough to eat and is not hungry
- The baby is not sick
- Onset usually before 2 weeks of age
- Resolves by 3-4 months of age
Stacey Hatton is a pediatric nurse, a freelance writer and a post-colic mom and survivor twice removed.