Sister Lilian’s Babycare Companion: Complimentary and traditional care. Lilian Paramor
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up milk it is often forcefully and his stools explode into his nappy.
Try these tips:
•If Baby hiccups in the womb, supplement with the tissue salt Mag phos – dissolve two tablets 3 times daily on your tongue.
•Crush and dissolve one Mag phos tablet and give to Baby before each feed.
•Wind Baby in the position shown in the sketch on: sit Baby on your leg, balance chin in the angle between your right index finger and thumb, slightly extending the neck, raise his left arm with your right middle finger, tilt him a bit forward but keep his back straight, and rub up against his back from bottom to top.
•Take Baby for a walk at that regular, difficult time of day – better still, send someone else!
BABY IN NEED OF TOUCH
Baby has been cradled securely in your womb for his entire existence so far. The sudden withdrawal of this warmth and security, coupled with the belief of many parents that too much touching or will lead to spoiling, is a rude shock for some babies. Touch is a basic human need and extremely therapeutic. Research shows that regular massage strengthens the immune system, improves health, and lowers stress levels, and promotes faster growth in premature babies. What seems to be colic but might just be a cry from the heart (is this what is meant by ‘gut feelings’?). The solution too might be simple: have skin-to-skin contact with your small baby.
On the other hand, too much touching by strangers is not a good idea. Remember that babies who are passed from one interested visitor to the next often become very restless when this attention is withdrawn and you are quite literally left holding the niggly baby. Discourage too much handling accompanied by all the strange voices in the early weeks, well-intentioned as this is. Baby already has enough to adjust to in this strange new world.
Try these tips:
•Massage Baby with firm but gentle strokes all over before bathtime every day – just how you do it is not that important, just evolve your own style and do it regularly.
•Before Baby goes to sleep, massage her temples with gentle, circular movements, using your index fingers.
•When Baby seems uncomfortable, massage his abdomen in a clockwise direction using a little almond or grapeseed oil.
•If Baby has pain when passing a stool, hold upright and massage the lower back.
•Use a baby pouch frequently.
•Consider having Baby in bed with you or in a camp cot adjusted to the level of your mattress – this is a quite natural, human thing to do.
Winding Techniques for Small Babies
Different babies respond to different ways of winding, but the following are popular and successful:
•Hold Baby upright over your shoulder and pat her back.
•Walk with Baby and gently jiggle to free trapped air bubbles.
•Sit Baby on your lap with his jawline resting in the angle between your index finger and thumb while lifting his left arm with the other fingers and rub or pat his back with the other hand.
Lie Baby over your lap with her head higher than her buttocks and pat her
back.
•Hold Baby’s back against your tummy with your arm around his tummy, exercising slight pressure.
•Massage Baby’s tummy in a clockwise direction.
•Massage the middle third of the underside of Baby’s feet (the insteps) with your thumbs.
Positing and Milk Regurgitation in Babies
Positing or regurgitation of milk after feeds does not necessarily mean Baby has a serious condition or will not be having sufficient milk. Babies who are on mixed feeding (breast and formula) or formula milk only are more prone to positing. Usually the amount seems more than it really is – if Baby is not losing weight and is thriving, there is generally no need for concern. If milk is expelled forcefully (called projectile vomiting) after a few feeds, your doctor should be consulted, as Baby may have a condition called pyloric stenosis, in which the muscular valve between stomach and intestine contracts tightly and digested milk cannot pass through to the intestines. Depending on the severity, this Baby may need an operation to release the spasm of this muscular ring.
For babies who bring up milk curds regularly after feeds (also called gastric reflux), but not very forcefully, take these perspectives and tips into account:
•Feed Baby small amounts more frequently.
•Keep Baby upright after a feed for about 30 minutes.
•Wind Baby carefully for about ten minutes after a feed.
•Give the homeopathic remedy NausiCare. Dissolve 1 tablet in 5 ml cooled boiled water and give before each feed to help prevent the retching reflex and the tendency to posit forcefully as the result of a minor spasm in the valve between tummy and intestines.
•Raise the head of Baby’s crib or mattress – use a pillow under the mattress rather than under Baby’s head.
•Consider a special reflux formula if the problem persists and Baby is no longer breastfed. One can also add a formula milk thickening agent.
•Reduce dairy and grain products substantially in your diet if breastfeeding.
•Generally these babies will always have a so-called ‘sensitive’ tummy, but mostly the problem settles substantially around one year.
•Giving solids earlier than the advised six months may lessen the problem, but that does not mean that one should introduce these too early, as for some it might even make the problem worse or trigger other problems like allergies.
Colic Questionnaire
To help you choose homeopathic remedies to relieve Baby’s colic symptoms more easily, complete this simple, effective questionnaire. Score each question on a scale of one to three, and add up the score for each section, then use the interpretation key to choose a remedy suitable for your baby.
•Give one point if not at all applicable to your baby, or applicable only in a slight degree or very seldom.
•Give two points if this symptom is present about half the time Baby is uncomfortable or only to a moderate degree.
•Give three points if this symptom is strongly present in your baby.
| A. ANGRY, INTENSE COLIC | |
| •Does your baby seem frustrated and scrunch his face up into a frown?•Does your baby’s face turn a deep red and does he ball his fists tightly, seemingly in anger?•Does your baby cry loudly and purposefully?•Does your baby burp a lot and pass wind frequently?•Does your baby burp up milk after feeds?•Does your baby have episodes of colic, remaining fine between attacks?•Does it seem as if your baby has severe | Interpretation of responsesA score of 1–7: This baby needs no remedies, simply use the tips in the previous sections.A score of 8–14: This baby has a touch of ‘angry intense’ colic. Give 1 tablet ColicCare 3 times a day, crushed to a powder.A score of 15–21: This baby definitely has ‘angry intense’ colic. Give 1 ColicCare tablet before each feed, diluted in 5 ml cooled, boiled water. If this does not |