Why is the child restless? Causes of anxiety in a one-month-old baby
Now a small, gentle “lump” has appeared in the family, which squeaks from time to time, showing dissatisfaction. Inexperienced mothers begin to get nervous at the slightest cry, wondering why a restless baby at 1 month is behaving this way, and how to help him.
Causes of anxiety in a one-month-old baby
The baby has just come into this world and is trying to adapt to it. The nervous and digestive systems have not yet been established - so far the only sense organs through which the newborn communicates with the outside world.
The question is, how is such labeling useful and what kinds of requests does it serve to encourage or discourage? Some of us remember things more accurately if we see them rather than hear them; some of us learn better when abstract ideas are represented spatially. Likewise, some children learn better and jump less if they receive personal attention or develop their own challenges. Barkley offered the heretical proposal that "hyperactive behavior may be the result, rather than the cause, of a child's academic difficulties."
A restless one-month-old baby's crying causes inconvenience to parents at night. Although at this age the physiological periods of wakefulness are reduced to 15 minutes, the rest of the time the baby usually sleeps. For him, there are still no distinctions between daily phases, and there is no perception of time.
The only one affordable way to establish contact with the outside world is a sound signal. But a restless child of 1 month can only cry - this is a natural state that allows him to attract attention.
This possibility raises the question of why these children fail—whether it has anything to do with how they are taught. A year later, teacher ratings remained virtually unchanged for the first group, but rates of hyperactivity among people in the open classroom dropped sharply. A second study, which compared hyperactive children with a control group, found that the differences between them—assessed by experimenters rather than teachers—remained significant in a formal classroom but virtually disappeared in an open classroom.
While the research is by no means conclusive, virtually no one has bothered to investigate the matter further. If a teacher finds few hyperactive children in her class, it may be because she is designing appropriate tasks for students who may otherwise squirm, or because she is less rigid in her demands than other teachers and is more tolerant of what educators call “off” tasks. "Hyperactivity," says one researcher, "usually comes to professional attention when a child fails to conform to classroom rules."
Why does a month old baby cry:
- the first thought that arises in the mother is that the baby is hungry;
- due to the imperfection of the digestive system, the newborn is bothered by colic;
- a common cause is discomfort - the baby is wet and cold, or, conversely, he is overheated;
- Sometimes clothing or incorrectly worn diapers cause inconvenience.
The newborn lies in an uncomfortable position and is not yet able to roll over on his own; - the illness becomes the cause of continuous (almost hysterical) crying.
This raises questions about how reasonable the rules are. But psychiatrists who design studies, form diagnostic categories and prescribe drugs rarely examine how children are taught, and even then the issue is typically treated as an afterthought.
The dynamics of family dynamics. In addition to the fact that symptoms associated with hyperactivity may arise from unsuitable classroom performance or academic failure, a number of studies have shown that distorted family patterns often accompany hyperactivity.
Particular styles of discipline and interaction may, of course, be a consequence of a parent's frustration with a child who is already hyperactive for other reasons. This is the opinion of Russell Barkley, who previously headed the American Psychological Association's section on clinical child psychology. His own research shows that parents "rely on commands and punishments are significantly reduced when their hyperactive children are treated." The main problem is the influence of the child's behavior on the parents, and not vice versa, he says.
A restless 1.5 month old child, endowed with a sensitive nervous system, cries due to unpleasant tactile sensations. Even a soft pillow can be irritating. Some children feel uncomfortable in a large crib, as if “gut” feeling their insecurity.
What to do if your one-month-old baby’s sleep is restless?
In the first month of life, the baby shows anxiety unconsciously, sometimes tossing and turning and crying out in his sleep for no reason. Therefore, it is not necessary to rush to the baby at the first call, but if the baby’s crying is too persistent and lasts more than 10 minutes, they will react to it.
But that might be a leap too far. "Knowing that behavior changes when a child is on Ritalin doesn't tell you how the behavior started in the first place," says Susan Campbell, who adds that no one knows why some children are more fussy or impulsive than others.
Alan Sroufe, a professor of child psychology at the University of Minnesota, says early parenting dynamics may play a key role. Instead of responding to the child's needs, such a caregiver might, for example, push a bottle into the child's mouth even though he was trying to move his head away. However, some parents may overstimulate their children just when the children are already out of control.
- First, check whether the little one is dry and comfortable. If a cause is discovered, it is eliminated;
- if the baby is hungry, then an additional feeding session will calm him down, because at this stage a clear regimen has not yet been developed;
- when the cause lies in colic (and this is quite natural for a one-month-old baby), the mother will try to alleviate the suffering.
Sometimes it’s enough just to give your baby a pacifier or a few sips of warm water (soothing tea), or turn him over to the other side so that he can continue to sleep peacefully. A very restless 1-month-old baby quickly calms down in his mother's arms if she rocks him a little.
No other researcher has ever attempted to predict hyperactivity from observations of early care, and none of them helped over-incentivize parents to change their behavior to see their children have fewer problems. While they were studying interactions between parents and children, Sroufe and Jacobwitz looked back to infancy for differences that might exist between hyperactive children and other children, if that mattered more. They came almost empty-handed.
Hyperactivity does not appear to be associated with delivery complications or prematurity, with infant reflexes or distractibility, or with any of dozens of other measures. Indeed, Michael Rutter reported in the American Journal of Psychiatry: "There is no evidence of any biochemical feature characteristic of hyperkinetic syndrome."
When none of the remedies work and the baby does not calm down, The best decision- call a doctor. Perhaps the reason lies in the onset of the disease.
Without knowing the exact diagnosis, self-medication is not recommended.
Sometimes restless sleep in a child can last up to 11 months. This indicates either the baby’s hypersensitivity or the developed habit of attracting the mother’s attention in this way. In the first case, you will need to consult a doctor and use sedatives. The second situation requires behavioral correction (and here you will have to be patient).
Theoretically, the behavior of some tiny subsets of these children, called hyperactive ones, could be traced to neurotransmitters, brain chemical messengers or genes or neurological damage. However, to date there is no generally accepted evidence for an organic or biological cause for the hyperactivity found.
It wasn't for lack of trying. Medical journals are littered with remnants of discarded theories that purport to explain anxiety in children as a symptom of illness. For example, for some time it was believed that stimulant drugs had a "paradoxical effect" on hyperactive children; the very idea that hyperacts - and only hyperacts - were calmed by such a drug is said to prove that their problems were biochemical. Later studies showed that similar effects were observed in normal adults and in children with completely different problems.
Restless sleep in a newborn is a standard situation in the first month of life, but it should not be ignored. Indeed, against the background of ordinary reasons, it is not always possible to notice the emergence of a serious problem.
Hello! In fact, there can be many reasons why your seven-month-old baby often cries and sleeps poorly.
For some time, clinicians thought that hyperactors' nervous systems were overstimulated. They were then believed to be underdeveloped. However, none of these theories have been proven. What is remarkable here is not the series of failures to find a biological cause, but the tenacity with which this line of research continues to be pursued. For every study examining families of hyperactive children, hundreds of people look for neurological abnormalities. This is the kind of research that gets funded - not just in hyperactivity, but in mental health in general - perhaps because that's how researchers are trained.
Often the reasons for children's crying and restless sleep remain a mystery. The baby may simply react to the changing weather (all babies are weather dependent), or worry during the full moon.
He may be bothered by gas in the stomach, or inflamed gums before teething.
Also, very often a baby can pick up on his mother’s anxiety. If the mother is worried about some troubles in the family, or anything else, the child reacts very sensitively to this. And if in your case, such a state of yours exists, then try, first of all, to calm down yourself. Try to look at your troubles from the outside, as if it were not you who were experiencing all this, but your unfamiliar neighbor. Try to learn to turn off unnecessary and unnecessary emotions, not to intensify passions to the limit, and learn to perceive life more positively.
Humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow once observed that if people are given only hammers, they will treat everything they encounter as a nail. People who don't have a high tolerance for ambiguity won't look at family factors, says Susan Campbell. “In the biological realm, man appears to be on more solid ground.” In any case, most doctors continue to assume that hyperactivity is biologically based, and when researchers are asked whether any evidence supports this assumption, the typical answer is “not yet.”
The child reacts very vividly to the environment around him. A nervous mother, unsure of her abilities, is simply doomed to failure. Relax, no matter the cost, or at least imagine yourself calm and knowing how to help your baby. Your baby will feel that everything is fine and will definitely change his behavior. If you have even the slightest fear that your child’s crying is caused by an illness, do not delay contacting a doctor. Even if you have doubts and, most likely, the worries will be unjustified, it is not worth risking the health of your little one. No mother, even an overly excited one, can surprise a pediatrician or a visiting nurse. They have to deal with such women all the time, and they know how to help them. Just don't self-medicate! When the tummy hurts Most babies cry from colic. Gases that bloat the tummy cause babies extreme pain and make them make the most terrible screams. As a rule, colic plagues children from the first month of life (in some cases, almost from birth) until 3-6 months. It is believed that most often sufferers of this disease, caused by intestinal immaturity, are representatives of the stronger sex. If your child restlessly kicks his legs, screams inconsolably at about the same time (usually in the evenings, but not necessarily), has difficulty falling asleep, or sleeps poorly, most likely he has colic. In this case, simple gymnastics will help. The most famous exercise is called the frog. Any pediatric massage therapist or neonatologist will show it to you. The sufferer's feet are joined together, the legs are bent at the knees. With this funny situation, the intestines are freed from gases, and stool may be discharged. A special massage is also useful. Gently massage the baby's tummy, around the navel, clockwise, increasing the diameter of the circle - this is how the intestines are located. After this, you can “ride a bicycle”: the legs make circular movements from the tummy to the hips. Some mothers admit that laying them on their tummy before feeding and applying a warm diaper to the bothersome area helps relieve colic pain. A nursing mother must strictly adhere to her diet, excluding causing gas formation products. A child’s crying may stop even after drinking special fennel drinks. You can also try children's chamomile tea. In some cases, doctors prescribe special medications. It is difficult to predict in advance what will suit your baby. However, it is worth noting that breastfeeding experts do not recommend the use of any medications at all. After all, nature itself offers us an ideal remedy to cope with the problems of colic and restless behavior of a child - mother's milk. This is magic milk If you are breastfeeding your baby, digestive problems will bother him much less often. However, many women do not understand the temporary cause of colic, complaining about the poor quality of their milk, and end this most important way for a small creature to communicate with its mother, without waiting for the cherished three months. As a result, with the switch to formula, tummy problems only get worse and recovery is delayed. So try to be reasonable! Try feeding your baby as soon as he starts to worry. While sucking on the mother's breast, the baby is in a state of bliss and complete relaxation, gases leave the calmed tummy, bowel movements occur, and the little martyr feels better. Yes, if it’s cool outside, you won’t be able to breastfeed your baby while walking. But you can leave home with a well-fed and happy baby, who can sleep for several hours until the next feeding. Fresh air and movement of the stroller will help you. And if something goes wrong, don’t write it off home. Try rocking your baby in your arms and then putting him back in the stroller. Back to mom Another popular way to help raise a calm, healthy child is to use a special sling: a sling. A baby sleeping sweetly in a sling is in ideal condition, close to the condition before birth. He, as before, hears the beating of his mother’s heart, recognizes her voice, smells the smell of milk, so reminiscent of the smell of intrauterine fluids. The baby does not feel hungry, since the breast is always nearby, he moves in the same rhythm with his mother, just like during the most carefree period in his life. The sling is especially useful for colicky children and is also indispensable for babies with congenital pathologies. Sling babies develop faster and gain weight better. And it wouldn’t hurt for mom to free her hands and do the necessary household chores. Your baby doesn't want to stop screaming - try carrying him in a sling! Just keep in mind that the process of getting used to this simple method of carrying is quite painstaking for a beginner, and the help of a consultant may be required.
If the emphasis among biology researchers is crowding out work on prevention, environmental causes, and alternative forms of therapy, a similar pattern is seen among physicians. The most striking consequence of an unusually distractible or impulsive child suffering from an illness is the tendency to turn into a cure for the problem.
“Assumptions of organicity have often been used in practice as a justification for prescribing drugs,” Jacobwitz and Sruf wrote. Indeed, about four out of five children diagnosed with hyperactivity are put on stimulants at some point, making drug therapy far and away an option in the United States.
Analyze the time when your baby behaves restlessly and try to find the conditions accompanying this time and change them. I wish you and your baby good luck and health!