Les Jones: Random Baby Stuff

November 04, 2004

Home Life > Random Baby Stuff

A new study finds that breastfeeding lowers mom's risk of rheumatoid arthritis. Very cool.

So I always thought that babies were sensitive to noise. Then the instructor in our parenting class said that babies in the womb are surrounded by noise all the time, and my mom agreed. Now I believe it. If Katie's crying (and isn't hungry or in need of burping or changing), a lot of time she'll stop if I talk to her continuously. Today Melissa bought a Bissell Vac to clean the couches. Katie hasn't cried at all while the Bissell Vac was running.

Our pediatrician recommened Mylicon drops for gas and upset stomach. They work great, and they apparently taste good, too, judging by Katie's reaction. I've noticed that if Katie is gassy and crying, giving her Mylicon drops quietens her immediately, even before the drops can reach her stomach. I think this is classic Pavlovian conditioning - she associates the taste of Mylicon with relief from gas.

PS to people who have never had kids: babies fart a lot. Now there's something you don't learn by watching TV.

PPS Lisa in comments reminds me of something. The popular ideal of the womb is something like a placid baby hottub. Then you see live ultrasounds and the baby is being thrown hither and yon by the mother's hearbeat, breathing, and uterine movement. And that's while mom is lying still on the exam table. Truth is, babies in the womb are flipping all over the place early on, and in the final weeks are pressed up tight against mom's internal organs, hence all the peeing and heartburn.

Posted by lesjones

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http://www.happiestbaby.com/

I saw Dr. Karp on the morning news talking about how noisy and tight the womb is in the final weeks. Babies are born out of that environment and we lay them down flat, arms and legs splayed out, and then keep the room quiet. They are used to just the opposite. He showed how making a loud sshhhhing sound in a newborns ear would quiet them right down. Weird but not so much so if you think about it.

Posted by: Lisa at November 04, 2004

Are you to the point where you just put the mylicon drops in the bottle now?

After about 2 months, we stopped using the drops. I guess their stomachs get better about that time.

Posted by: SayUncle at November 04, 2004

Uncle: We haven't tried putting the drops in her bottle. Katie's six weeks old today. I'd be thrilled if her stomach settled down in the next few weeks.

Posted by: Les Jones at November 04, 2004

Yep, the Karp plan works better than anything I've seen. Swaddle the boy up, crank up the "noise" CD (we bought a CD with a vacuum cleaner track, car noise track, etc)., hold him lying on his side, and swing him back and forth. He's quiet in less than 30 seconds.

I noticed the same thing you did, Les, about the Mylicon; he would stop fussing as soon as he tasted it. My wife, who spends more time with him, insists that the drops don't really do anything.

Posted by: Thibodeaux at November 05, 2004

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