Well, as we all know, it is the quintessential part of being a baby when they suck their thumb. This looks cute on them. But, if they suck their whole hand or other fingers, do you think it is normal or not? The answer is straight, yes! And if we go with the details all and all the answer would remain yes! But there is some additional information that you should know and how to control the prevalence if you find it too frequent.

Well, whatever a baby do it is a way of communication and basically, he is trying to tell something. So if you see your kid eating his hands all the time or at some specific time, he must be telling you something. But you need to learn how to figure out what is he trying to say.

Common Reasons Babies Sucking their Hands

You need to be a little investigator when it comes to understanding why your newborn suck his hands. The reasons vary on their age and the development phases. Here are some common reasons that help you out.

Teething

The most common reason babies suck their hands is teething. Infants start teething between 4 and 7 months, so if your baby is doing so, it could be the reason. Usually, babies feel discomfort in their gums, and rubbing something on the sore spots like their hands, fingers, or fists makes them feel good.

If you observe your baby wake up during nights, having too many discomforts, acting out irritable, and drooling you can blame teething as a cause.

Hunger

Babies are too sharp to grab all of the attention and when they are putting their hands in their mouth they are telling their moms that they are hungry. Sucking is the natural instinct, as you see when they get they suck on their bottles they get food, similarly, when they are sucking their hands they are giving you the clue that it is the feeding time.

Boredom

When babies are born their life is so fussy in their errands like sleeping, eating, pooping, and crying. However, when your little ones wake up during day times other than their sleep/wake cycle, they experience a new feeling, which is boredom.

Well, it is good for your kid to enjoy the time outside your arms, like in their crib, walker, and bouncy seat or among the toys. But they very soon get tired of spending time away from you. In this scenario when a baby sucks their hands they are soothing themselves as they want to change.

Self-soothing

When you know you have fed your baby, and his stomach is full, but instead, he is sucking his hands, this is the indication of self-soothing. Most of the babies sleep while they are breastfeeding or feeding on the bottle, this makes them encounter sucking reflex. The beginning phases of sleep and hand sucking, make them feel relaxed and dwindle.

Hand sucking creates a calming sensation that makes them feel good and relaxed. The babies between 7 to 8 months put their hands in the mouth for a similar reason.

Almost all parents complain about the sleeping routine of their babies. They are always looking for quick ways to fix this problem as soon as they could. But parents are warned against drugs to improve sleep. There are medications that parents pick and give their children. The common medicine is Phenergan Elixir, which is an antihistamine used for children after the age of two. It is used by parents to make their kids sleepy when it’s bedtime.

But some side effects are harmful when it is not used rightly, some of them are fatal as well. Mothers are always asking about the ways to use those medicines. However, doctors recommend never to use it for babies. Parents asking about using pharmacist-only medicines from experts that help their children sleep better. Well, it has been considered as something not suitable for kids if it is used for sedation only.

According to the health professionals, sedation is harmful to children, if there were any causal problem. It could only be used during traveling or as an anti-histamine, in these two conditions it is said to be safe. But, it is reluctant to use just for sedation. Usually, in those conditions, doctors recommend Phenergan, after being satisfied by the dosage and use.

Usually, doctors warn that those medicines or specifically Phenergan can lead to deadly breathing issues in children under two when they are sleeping. Moreover, the unnecessary dosage could also cause convulsion, hyperactivity, and sudden death in children.

In this era of social media, there are a lot of forums that have highlighted parents are making wrong decisions to make their children sleep better. The online parenting forums have exposed that most of the parents are using the drug for sedation and happily recommending them to other parents also. As per the health care providers, sedation is only acceptable on some of the rare occasions, such as if a toddler is having sleep anxiety or the toddler is going to have a long flight.

For a better sleep cycle, most parents are recommended to do sleep training in babies, which takes two to three hectic days and would give long-term results. Parents also give the sleep hormone melatonin to their children, which are said to disrupt the brain from producing the natural sleep hormones. The marketers of Phenergan said that this drug is a highly restricted medicine that is not recommended to children under the age of two.

Like all medicines, this one should also be used as per the direction. In some rare cases, if parents have an urge to give this medicine to their children, they should check the details of the sale and must take the dosage guidance from doctors.

Well, before doing such a thing, parents should go for better and safe treatment options as suggested by the doctors rather than going for those medications. Do not follow someone else’s recommendation, parents should refer to a good doctor when they are having sleep-related issues in their children.

Babies are the center of attention, and their little acts are observed by everyone around them. The way they play, respond, and tries to interact grabs the attention and makes everyone laugh. But, mothers come with a question, why my baby take almost everything in his mouth? They are usually worried about if their baby eats something which they should not. So how to stop it?

Whether it is a stuffed toy, blanket, shoes, books, old cereals on the floor, or the fuzz on the carpet, everything that comes in the baby’s way is in the mouth. It is hard to stop babies from mouthing everything. Experts have found that it helps to build up the immune system; so there is nothing to get worried about if your baby is mouthing the repulsive stuff.

In old times people considered the mouthing habit of kids as part of their development, and it let the children learn about the world and how they perceive it. Mouthing the yuckiest things has been appraised by the experts as it is an important component to get healthier and they encourage mouthing.

When you give something in their hand like riddles or some rubber ducks it goes directly into their mouth. There could be two reasons for that, your baby is hungry, or something is happening to their gums. But, it happens in a few of the cases. This is something they naturally adapt and known as learning behavior.

Once babies start toddling they begin to pick things from the ground and take it into their mouth. Experts have focused that, when they stick those objects in their mouth, it gives a chance to the immunity to fight against the bacteria and virus which strengthen the immunity. Well, it doesn’t seem like you should let your kid pick anything they see, a few of the things are harmful to their health as well. It is always recommended to follow some precautions, but don’t become the over obsessive parents.

Safety Guidelines

There are some basics that parents should know when they see their kids started with mouthing. Here are some measures you should follow and double-check.

  • Keep medicines or poisonous stuff out of their range as they don’t know what is safe and what is not.
  • When you see your child playing with sand and end up mouthing it, make them sense that it is bad by saying the words yucky or anything so he would learn himself.
  • Check the rooms where your baby uses to go, eliminate the items that could cause choking. It is important to check the items that could easily fit into the mouth and throat.
  • The food that falls into the kitchen’s floor and goes into the mouth is okay, but the food that could spoil, like dog food, is not safe for the babies. Moreover, the bacteria multiplies into the food that falls in the watery area or mouth once and spitted out is considered to be harmful.

There are always some essential elements that develop in your children even when they are playing. When infants become 6 months they start recognizing their parents, siblings, and the people they see around them all the time. Infants at those early months begin to make noises and the way they mimic the cough to grab the attention of the people is the cutest thing.

When the kids began to play on their own, they develop listening skills, builds self-confidence, and help make solid muscle mass. You might get a little tired of playing with them when you don’t know what to play, but you never know about the benefits that are making them healthier.

Playing Improves Emotions

Playing is the first thing involves in communication, sense of being in the world, and interaction. You can interact with your kid by responding to their actions. When you stick your tongue out and show the silly side of yours, the way your kid smiles encourages his silly side too. Experts suggested that you can teach your kids about the basic words that help you express the feelings of sadness and happiness or anger as well. By expressing and reacting with emotions will teach your kid how different feelings are.

It Builds Physical Growth

Don’t make the habit of watching cartoons all the time from the beginning. So turn off the television, play the tunes and start to move and groove. Moreover, you can take out your baby’s favorite toys. Playing is good for the physical growth of your little one also for the mental health, as it builds hand-eye coordination, it maintains the upper and lower body strength. It doesn’t end here, pulling, crawling, pushing, climbing and other playing movements enhances dexterity and quickness.

Enhances Curiosity

It looks so good when you see your little one express excitement when they see the snapdragon in the garden and the colorful characters in the storybooks or poems they are showing curiosity. This depicts the interest of your infant in this world. The sounds they make and the way they react depict that how much they are excited to touch and play with them.

Maintains Emotional Security

When you cuddle your kid when you are doing your chores, singing the lullaby, you are reading, or make silly faces, this maintains the sense of safety and builds the parent-baby interaction in the newborn. This establishes the sense of identifying that the parents are the caregivers when they are interacting with them.

Engages the Senses of Infants

The budding sense in your baby helps them connect with parents and the people around them. If he is under one year, excite him with rhythm-based activities such as poems. The first sense developed in the kids is sound, thereby, parents are recommended to sing in poems or nursing rhymes in their voice. Moreover, sensory activities like creating different shapes with the playing dough help cosset the babies for more than one year.

Breastfeeding is the most favorite thing of babies, at times babies find it so hard to stop. When your infant is feeding happily it means your little one is healthy. But, most of the mommies have reported that their babies refuse to breastfeed and go on a nursing strike. What is it?

It is rare among the neonatal who refuse to breastfeed, but babies of any age group could refuse to breastfeed. Well, if all of a sudden your baby refuses to breastfeed even if he is set with the schedule, you need to consult with the doctor. There are various reasons for the elder kids to reject breastfeeding and go on the nursing strike. This could be worrisome for mothers, but luckily it is not a permanent habit. After some efforts, moms can get their babies back to breastfeeding.

What are Self-weaning and Nursing Strike?

Self-weaning happens when babies stop breastfeeding on their own. This is a normal thing, as when babies grow up and start to eat solid foods, they usually stop breastfeeding as they have now become more independent. Self-weaning occurs most probably after one year.

A nursing strike is a condition in which babies refuse to breastfeed all of a sudden without any reason. They deny to do it anymore. Nursing strikes confuse with self-weaning, and it is hard to decide whether the baby is on self-wean or nursing strike.

The difference between these both conditions is that self-weaning occurs with time slowly, and nursing strike happens suddenly. If you see your baby breastfeeding at night time and declines to do it in the morning or vice versa, it is the sign of a nursing strike.

Identifying Nursing Strike

According to the researchers being done on breastfeeding, babies used to breastfeed around eight to twelve times in 24 hours, and it drops as they grow up. Normally, newborns refuse to breastfeed one or times when they are of four months, but if they start refusing it four or five times in 24 hours, it is the indication of a nursing strike.

Another indication of the nursing strike is that, if you change the wet diapers number of times in a day, it means that they have got enough milk. If you are changing at least six or eight wet nappies in a day or five heavily wet nappies with pale and odorless urine, it implies that the baby is fully nourished and well-fed.

When you know the reasons for a nursing strike, you can easily find ways to work on it and get your baby back to the routinely breastfeeding schedule.

Reasons for Nursing Strike

When babies refuse to breastfeed in four months, there is some reason that makes them do so. It is not true that the reason could always be the same and accurate, you should keep asking the doctor about the nursing strike. The common reasons are;

Reasons from baby’s side: When babies are having congestion, constipation, gastroesophageal reflux disease, distraction, uncomfortable feelings, or they are teething, they usually refuse to breastfeed.

Reasons from the mother’s side: When babies sense the stress, the mother is smelling different, mothers panic when babies bite, and if there is a change in routine.

Milk-related problems: Change in breastmilk, which could occur due to hormonal changes, insufficient milk supply, and sometimes baby goes on nursing strike when there is a lot of milk supply, and it became hard for them to control the flow.

When babies are born they are the center of attention of almost every family member. The responses they give make parents, siblings, and all the family members excited. The most peculiar habits kids make are hard to understand, but they end up with lots of laughs. This fact is not just related to your baby, it happens with almost every kid. Indeed they are cute and quirky, but they know how to attract people towards them.

Infants are born with zero experience of life, no awareness of social life, an immature nervous system, and a brain that is already in the phase of development. But you have to face it all. Well, you cannot deny that they make things that sometimes or most of the time have no sense. In the first year of the infants, they tend to show some of the weirdo things that bring the joyful moments and make them less worried. So how you are dealing with head-stretches?

Is your Baby a Bird?

As you have already noticed that, children protect themselves from dropping, they automatically learn to develop a defensive strategy. This automatic behavior is usually known as the Moro reflex. Whenever your kid thinks he is about to fall wrongly or rightly, they began to fling their hands like they are just about to fly away! This is usually considered as the sign, which implies that your baby’s nervous system is developing properly.

Suddenly Shook Up!

So you see your baby lying in the crib calmly when you are collecting those bills and clearing the mess, but wait, what happened? You see your kid suddenly start quivering when you are doing those stuff, what to do now?

According to the experts, children are in the maturation process, they are not good at managing the movement at first, and you may observe jerkiness. It is always recommended to moms to check their hands and feet if they are cold or not. When you catch a cold you may feel a little shivering, but think, your little one shiver harder when he catches it. Always keep your kid swaddled with extra layers whenever it happens as they don’t know how to regulate the body temperature.

Always on a Touching Mood

So you are changing the diaper, and you take it off. But all of a sudden, you see their hands wander and stay there. Kids are noticed to play with the genitals, it is because of curiosity.  At this stage, they are eager learners and explorers. They think that whatever they are touching is fair game.

You usually think they are playing by their hands and feet, but you become attentive when you see them touching their genitals. It is a fact that children love to spend more time with their equipment rather than other places.

Develops a Coughing Habit

The coughing of babies make everyone laugh harder because it is not the real one, it is the habit they learned and adopted. You suddenly hear your baby coughing you rush to them to see what happens, and it surprises you when you see it’s nothing, he was just trying to be naughty. In the sixth month, when infants learn to mock coughing, they start to understand how the world works.

When newborns cry mothers get worried. A little uncertain change in the activities is even noticed by moms. Mothers report the low temperature in their infants, this condition could occur in both newborns and adults. There is a condition known as hyperthermia, which is observed as having a drop in the temperature below the normal. Well, the decrease in temperature in infants is a concern as they cannot maintain body temperature. If the problem isn’t diagnosed early, it could become a severe issue that could lead to mortality.

How to Identify Low Temperature in Babies?

At the time of delivery, the body temperature of babies doesn’t develop to regulate. It is recommended to give essential care at the time of delivery and the beginning days of childbirth. The average body temperature in infants varies between 35.5℃ to 37.5℃ when checked orally, temperature, when checked with the armpit, is 36.5℃ and 37.5℃, when checked rectally it is 36.6℃ and 38℃, and when checked through the ear it is 35.8℃ and 38℃

The condition is normally characterized by the following three stages;

  • Moderate hyperthermia — 32.0–35.9℃
  • Cold stress — 36.0–36.4℃
  • Severe hypothermia — 32℃

Signs of Low Temperature

It is important to keep checking the temperature and diagnose the problem early on. By detecting the signs of low temperature or hypothermia, it helps to identify the problems in the initial phases. Here are some common signs that are helpful to detect the problems early.

  • Sucking problem while breastfeeding.
  • Low or week cry.
  • Feet are observed to get before the body.
  • The reactivity to incitements becomes slow or sluggish.

Apart from this, children are at risk of having a severe cold injury that is categorized by slow, shallow, and lethargic perspiration, metabolic acidosis, low blood sugar, and slow heartbeat.

  • The other severe symptoms include;
  • Cyanosis
  • Toughness in the skin especially on the limbs and back.
  • Redness of extremities and face.

Causes of Low Temperature

In babies, the problem of low temperature or hypothermia is a complicated but preventable condition. If you want to prevent the problem in your babies it is important to know the major causes.

  1. Environmental factors play a significant role in worsening hypothermia, as the body of newborns loses heat that leads to low temperature. Do not delay the wrapping and drying and bathing right after the birth of the baby, as it could give rise to hypothermia in tots.
  2. Hypothermia is a severe symptom of certain infections in infants. Those two common infections are neonatal sepsis and meningitis.
  3. The risk of hypothermia can lead to some severe deficiencies such as Aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase deficiency, Coenzyme Q10 deficiency, and Menkes disease. Other risk factors are; additional body area related to weight, Asphyxia, and a bigger head in the part of the body.
  4. There is a chance of having hypothermia in the babies who are born with a weight below 1,500g and premature birth in 28 weeks. It is important to take care of the babies who are premature and born with low weight.
  5. Babies with low blood sugar in the body are at risk of hypothermia. Hypoglycemia could be diagnosed in infants at the time of birth or after birth.

Having a baby in your arms is always a beautiful feeling for both parents. When you see your little one moving his/her hands and feet or smiling you start to guess his gestures. Parents are always guessing what their baby is trying to say as he is the center of attention of almost all family members. Once your baby is born the change in routine, fatigue, tiredness, and doubled chores keep you stressed but the smile of your baby takes away all of the stress.

There are some amazing facts that you must be trying to investigate but you are not coming up with it. Here are some cool and fun facts that will bring bundles of joy when you start observing them.

Baby’s Cuteness Controls Us!

Those small fingers and toes, cute voices, and the baby smell all attract us. It has been scientifically proven that these things attract all of our senses. It stimulates the caregiving sensibilities to another high level and it is said to be the survival skills to conquest.

Babies take three months to Adjust in the World

For babies, life inside the womb and in the world is different. You have already noticed that their finger and toes are always cold but their body is warm. This happens because their circulatory system is still in the development process. The blood regulates the body organs and system more often. However, the hands and feet are the last body part where the blood regulates.

Babies Contain a Vision like Superheroes

It has been studied that, babies from 3 to 4 months can see differences in the same images that adult or older kids cannot observe. When babies are in their early months after being born, they can see differences that later in life we all learn to ignore, thereby later we recognize those objects static from different situations. This capability in infants is known as perceptual constancy.

Babies understand you are Furious

As per the researches, babies understand and know that they saw an adult with a change in behavior or anger. Or they notice there is a change in behavior to neglect the anger of another person. Whenever you are yelling or scolding your husband or another child, remember the baby laying down on the bed is observing. You never know or can’t even wonder about its effects on the babies.

Babies Used to Sneeze

There is nothing to get worried about either your baby is having any type of cold when he sneezes. Usually, babies sneeze to clear the respiratory passages and nasal of the airborne and congestion particles. Through sneezing they are opening their nostrils that are temporarily closed.

Baby’s Memory Boost through Naptime

Studies have found that babies know how to take off their mittens, cap, or socks which take more likely a 30 minutes nap after a lesson. Same as in the older kids or adults, a short midday nap helps the babies to remember. However, parents can take benefit from pre-naptime learning.

No one can deny the fact that parenting is really hard. Since babies are born parents stay in a hurry and managing the errands that got doubled. As days go by, the newborns start to raise the levels of difficulty in all the tasks as they want one or two tasks to be done at the same time. Normally parents think there is an in-depth meaning of something that they are asking for. Children make the life of parents more difficult by resisting to sleep, not eating something, hates the car rides, want to play always, and can’t sleep on their own. This all brings anxiety especially in moms, they become frustrated and exhausted as most of the time it becomes hard to handle.

Here are some traits that figure out high needs baby, by knowing what it is, you can understand how to resolve the problems and how to concur with the sufferings.

The Common Traits of High Needs Baby

There is a difference in characteristics in all of the babies, some react differently than the others. This is due to the environment, temperament, and other reasons. But the traits commonly found in all of the babies are constantly crying, holding hands, irregular feeding and sleeping patterns, always need extra attention, hyperactive, get overstimulated by the voices, resilient to swaddling, and restlessness. If you see any of the symptoms in your baby, this implies he is a high needs baby or high maintenance.

What Qualifies High Needs baby?

It is important to clear out that the term High Needs Baby isn’t a medical diagnosis. It is the term just used to specify the high needs of kids that are because of their high expectations and how they react and behave towards certain things. Moreover, there is no specific connection between temperament and intelligence in babies with high needs. Even, there is no clear evidence that shows kids with high needs would grow up with anxiety in the future.

What causes a baby to be on high needs or high maintenance?

Some of the children are overly sensitive since they are born. They need more attention and comfort as they can easily get overstimulated by the environmental factors, and in this case, they will need more comfort and soothing.

How to Handle High Needs Baby

Well, only parents can handle the high needs baby to make them happy, thrive, and calm. Moreover, there is a great impact on the environment as well. The best way is to seek medical help if you found it difficult to handle your baby.

Parents need to stay calm, positive, and show patience to babies. First, parents should keep themselves stressed out by taking proper sleep, exercise, and good care. Never scold your baby with anger. Well, most of the parents think that they are spoiling their child by holding and paying attention all of the time. However, there is nothing wrong with it. Seek proper help here with the health care provider to avoid future problems.

Does baby cry a lot at night? Don’t know the reason? Have you checked the diaper, the sensitive areas? Well, sometimes seeing the red spots on the skin while changing the diaper panic mommies. Diaper rashes are one of the main reason infant cries and remain uncomfortable whenever they pee or poop.

Diaper rashes are also known as diaper dermatitis, which is the inflammation over the skin that occurs due to the covering of diapers all the time in infants. It has been commonly considered as the reason for infection, which occurs due to a fungus known as candida, and commonly it is called yeast. Hence, diaper rashes are usually known as yeast diaper rash. The rashes in infants are very common, the candida fungus is the most common and found in 80% of newborns.

The Easy Home Remedies for Candida Diaper Rashes

Rather than medical treatments, the home treatments are found easy and best for neonates, these remedies can easily give firmness and relief from rashes. Well, mothers are recommended to try the home remedies that are proven by the pediatricians.

Oregano Oil

To prohibit the growth of candida fungus, oregano oil is proven by the laboratories as an effective treatment. Before packing the diaper, apply a small amount of oregano oil on the infected areas. This remedy is proven by many humans as well.

Gentian Violet

To treat oral candidiasis in infants, the compound of gentian violet is considered an effective cure. However, the use of gentian violet is said to be very effective for candida fungus. It is best to deal with diaper rash problems.

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil contains anti-bacterial and anti-fungal compounds and an effective way to treat the diaper rash problem. Wash the effective area with warm water, clean it with a towel, and then apply half a tablespoon of coconut oil on rashes. It is effective for candida fungus as well.

Aloe Vera

If the rashes become more irritable and causing inflammation, then using aloe vera will be effective. The bottle versioned or fresh aloe vera both can be applied. They will give effective results after using just a few times.

Baking Soda

Baking soda has the properties of balancing the pH levels, it is best to get your baby rid of the fungus and bacteria. In warm water mix two tablespoons of baking soda and apply the solution on the affected areas regularly, it works wonders on the rashes.

Breast Milk

Breast milk is a wonderful remedy to treat rashes. Apply a few drops of breast milk on the fungal areas. Make sure you put on a fresh diaper after applying breast milk.

Prevention from Rashes

Here are some practices that you need to continue to prevent rashes.

  • Check the quality of the diaper.
  • Do not tie it too tight.
  • Keep your children diaper-free sometime.
  • Apply petroleum jelly or zinc oxide whenever putting on a diaper.
  • Use breathable diapers.
  • Wash your baby whenever they poop.
  • Use a soft cloth to wipe the area.
  • Avoid chemical wipes.
  • Keep your hands clean and wash them before putting on a diaper.