Colic And Massage
Your baby is 7 weeks old today! Can you believe he is almost two months old? Many of the developments you are seeing this week are the same gains he has already made, but more a fine-tuning or strengthening that skill. For example, you are beginning to differentiate between his cries – whether he is hungry, tired or needs a diaper change. If your baby is crying all the time, let your pediatrician know as he may be colic and there a number of things to give him some relief although, time is what will make the biggest difference. I remember at this age I knew something was going on with my son when he cried a lot! So I took a few trips to the doctor and he was found to be colic. His poor tummy was hard as a rock because of all the gas trapped in it! I tried everything from limiting intake of dairy foods (and other foods that cause gas) from my diet to gripe water and massaging his tummy every day and night, but he ultimately grew out of it. So if your baby is colic, hang in there, it will get better I promise!
Socially, your baby has been interested in looking at your face for weeks now, but he should hold his gaze longer while looking at you so keep talking to him because this is how he is learning to interact. If you have other children, let them lay down on the floor with baby and talk to him or sing to him. That is always a great way to let the older children get involved. Also, allow his older sibling to read a book to baby.
In terms of motor skills, your baby is continuing to strengthen his neck and gain more head control. And if he is spending an increased amount of time on his tummy, you’ll notice that his neck has become significantly stronger. Both of my children did not like tummy time. My daughter didn’t like it because she had reflux and my son didn’t like it because he had so much gas in his tummy, which made it very uncomfortable for him to be on his tummy. Thus, with my daughter, I’d feed her then keep her upright for at least thirty minutes then give her as much tummy time as she liked. With my son, I’d give him tummy time between massages – some days he had more time on his tummy than others. All babies are different so get a feel for what your baby likes and dislikes.
