hand sucking a sign of problem?

my 3week old has been having major stomach problems....rushed her to the pedi today b/c she was crying so hard she was choking...her stomach was so tight you could bounce a quater off of it.....have tried everything.....pedi said it might be reflux,but she isnt spitting up...isnt that the main symptom of reflux?....now she is chewing her hands like crazy....shes been fed......i know her stomach is hurting so bad...she has slept maybe 3 hours since 9 this morning.....the only way to console her is by holding her tight against you and bouncing....keeping pressure on her....anybody have ANY idea what is going on....any suggestions....ill take anything at this point

Hand sucking is a natural reflex in babies. Newborns usually suck on their fists as a hunger cue.

That early in age...hand sucking is usually a que for hunger. When they get a bit older they just like to suck on anything...and hands are usually pretty easy to get to haha.


Sounds like a colic problem possibly? It usually develops at about 2-4 weeks of age. Lots and lots of screaming and very little sleeping is a pretty good sign.



Try the 5 S's to calm her as well. It works charms on Hannah even to this day if she gets really fussy. Doing them all at once really does the trick!


* Swaddling - Tight swaddling provides the continuous touching and support the fetus experienced while still in Mom's womb.

* Side/stomach position - You place your baby, while holding her, either on her left side to assist in digestion, or on her stomach to provide reassuring support. Once your baby is happily asleep, you can safely put her in her crib, on her back.

* Shushing Sounds - These sounds imitate the continual whooshing sound made by the blood flowing through arteries near the womb. This white noise can be in the form of a vacuum cleaner, a hair dryer, a fan and so on. The good news is that you can easily save the motors on your household appliances and get a white noise CD which can be played over and over again with no worries.

* Swinging - Newborns are used to the swinging motions that were present when they were still in Mom's womb. Every step mom took, every movement caused a swinging motion for your baby. After your baby is born, this calming motion, which was so comforting and familiar, is abrubtly taken away. Your baby misses the motion and has a difficult time getting used to it not being there. "It's disorienting and unnatural," says Karp. Rocking, car rides, and other swinging movements all can help.

* Sucking - "Sucking has its effects deep within the nervous system," notes Karp, "and triggers the calming reflex and releases natural chemicals within the brain." This "S" can be accomplished with bottle, breast, pacifier or even a finger.

Sounds like gas to me, gas can be really painful!! As for the sucking, Megan has always been a fan of her hands. Does your baby use a pacifier? You can try switching the hands for the sucky.. Im thinking it's probably just a calming thing.. babies love to suck.

bumping.

C.

How is she poopn? When my son was about that age we had a few nights were had me up for longer than usual because he wanted to poop but couldn't figure out how to do it quickly enough and would get so frustrated he would get fussy about it. At this age babies are still learning to go by will. Most of the time they go by reflex, so to go by themselves could be a little difficult and frustrating for them. My lo is now a month and a half and we still have to help him sometimes but we no longer have fussy episodes. When he would be really fussy like that I would usually soothe him and once he relaxed some I would massage his belly, get him naked and lay him on a waterproof pad. Then I would get some warm/hot water (be careful though, but it definetly needs to be warmer than what you would normally bathe her with) and some little burp clothes, soak them and lay them on his little belly and them touch them to his little anus applying minor pressure. That usually did the trick but it does take some patience. You can also grab her little legs and pushing the knees together fold her legs and push then in towards her stomach. That also get them pushing and sometimes does the trick. After he did go he would be so relaxed..   Also, try laying or carrying her on so that she's on her left side. If it is gas that helps get it out. What helps too is motion but not too much. Like if you burp them when they are sitting up but leaning down and then pause and burp then in your shoulder.

Good luck!

stevie sucks on his hand, but because he is trying to find his thumb, i dont think i would worry too much. he also gets a hard tummy when he is constipated, so that could possibly be it also! if she is constipated, i know this may sound gross, my doctor told me this, and i actually did it last night to my baby, and it worked GREAT! take a q-tip and put vasaline all over it, and put it up her hiney a few times, and hold her legs up, and it just comes out. haha. hopefully i helped you a little! Good luck!

katiebaby wrote: stevie sucks on his hand, but because he is trying to find his thumb, i dont think i would worry too much. he also gets a hard tummy when he is constipated, so that could possibly be it also! if she is constipated, i know this may sound gross, my doctor told me this, and i actually did it last night to my baby, and it worked GREAT! take a q-tip and put vasaline all over it, and put it up her hiney a few times, and hold her legs up, and it just comes out. haha. hopefully i helped you a little! Good luck!

I had to do that a few times, and it does work fantastically!    


As for hand sucking, Emma did that whenever she was hungry when she was that little...now she chews on her fingers for teething relief