monique-moore

Help! My Baby is Crying

Mon, 10 Mar 2025 21:22:13 GMT

Help! My baby keeps crying!

I remember being a young mom with a colicky baby and reaching my wit's end. There was so much I didn't know about why my baby cried so much! Thankfully, I was living with my mom at the time and she and I could tag team, even driving over to my grandma's at times so she could spell us both. I remember my grandpa calmly walking out to the car to read the paper while the three generations of women worked together to soothe one tiny human!

Our baby's cries can make us feel a range of emotions, and in fact, is designed to do just that. We feel empathy, compassion, and instinctual urge to nurture. We feel a sense of urgency to meet our baby's needs. We may also feel frustrated and frazzled. At times, our baby crying can make us cry!

Babies cry an average of 1-2 hours per day, with some babies crying as much as 3 hours a day. Factoring in feeding, sleeping, diaper changes and bathing, this accounts for a significant portion of your time with your baby.

Decoding the language of crying

Your baby's only way of making his needs heard is crying. Tuning into your baby's cries can help you interpret what your baby is trying to communicate. We tend to think that if baby is crying, he is hungry, but actually crying is a late sign of hunger as he will usually be giving hunger cues before he starts all out crying. He will be rooting, lip smacking and putting his hands to his mouth.

When your baby is crying later in the day (usually right around the time we need to start dinner!), you could be dealing with what is commonly known as "the witching hour." By this time of day, baby may be overstimulated or overly tired. The only way baby can release the pent up tension is by crying. We can review the day and ask ourselves if baby had adequate naps, or were his wake windows possibly too long.

And sometimes crying is just a necessary evil in your baby's life. For example, some babies hate being in a car seat. We don't get anxious when we know that this is for his good and rather than being damaged for life because he is crying, it is for his greater good that we accept this type of crying.

What's a mother to do?

As a mom, you will do a lot of sleuthing over the years, and this is where it all begins. Evaluating your baby's cries will help you best meet his needs.

Ask: when was the last time he ate? This seems obvious, but let's face it, 2-3 hours can fly by and we may not realize how close he really is to his next feeding. I definitely do not advocate for strict scheduled feedings. Your baby is the expert on when he needs to be fed. That being said, if it has been an hour or an hour and half since your baby's last full feeding, consider other factors for why he is crying. Rushing to put a boob or bottle in his mouth may not be getting to the real root of his crying.

Is he too hot? Too cold? Check toes for hair wrapped around them, or tags in his clothes causing irritation.

Next try the 5 S's: Swaddle baby; put him in a Side/Stomach position hold; Shush in baby's ear, while Swinging; and give him a pacifier or breast to Suck.

Try taking a walk. So often a change of scenery, fresh air and a soothing stroller ride is just what the baby ordered!

Wear your baby! The human touch is powerful, soothing, and oxytocin releasing. Baby's love to be close to mommy and daddy, and baby-wearing with a sling or other baby carrier can be doable and pleasurable for both parties.

Another tool is the bath. Baby may be calmed by a warm bath with a couple of drops of lavender essential oil. Follow the bath with a baby massage and you may have a drowsy, serene little sweetie on your hands!

When baby's cries signal trouble

When should you be concerned about your baby's crying? If your baby is lethargic, not eating, has a fever, has blue lips, is projectile vomiting (not spitting up, which can sometimes look similar) or just does not seem right to you, listen to your gut and call your provider, or 911 if appropriate. As my paramedic husband says, often a call for a crying baby is a best case scenario. It's when your baby is too quiet, listless and unresponsive that things are really dangerous.

Become a student of your baby and tune into him. Over time, you will know what cry means what, knowing exactly what your baby is trying to communicate.

And finally, don't be afraid to ask for help and/or walk away for a few minutes. At times, due to sleep deprivation, hormones and the non-stop caregiving nature of parenthood, our baby's cries are frustrating and frazzling to us. This is when we need to take a step away from our baby and the situation, take some deep breaths and let our emotions calm before we can come back to rationally and lovingly care for him. If you are alone, know that leaving your baby for a few minutes safely in his crib crying while you take a breather will do him more good than anything at the moment.

The good news is that the infant stage of crying is over before you know it. And you will be on the other side of it a better parent for having learned to tune into your baby!

Should I See a Chiropractor in Pregnancy?

Mon, 10 Mar 2025 21:22:13 GMT

Pregnancy can be fraught with discomforts! Low back pain, pelvic pain, leg cramps and sleeplessness, to name a few. How can we alleviate some of these less-than-pleasant experiences?

See a chiropractor! Getting a chiropractic adjustment will not resolve every issue but consider the following: By making sure that your pelvis is properly aligned, you will be helping baby be in a more optimal position. This in turn, relieves back pain and pelvis pain.

Because the center of gravity changes during pregnancy, making sure that the spine is properly aligned can help alleviate headaches, upper back pain, and pubic bone pain.

Chiropractic adjustments can help improve your sleep and increase your energy, as well. We all know how sleep and energy can be in short supply during pregnancy!

Benefits for labor

How does a shorter labor sound? When baby is in an optimal position (in the birth world we refer to this as OA, occiput anterior), you spend less time in labor trying to reposition baby through various positions and maneuvers. By properly aligning the sacrum and the pelvis, baby can find that optimal position.

Webster Technique

It is important to ask your Chiropractor if they use the Webster Technique. This technique is specifically for pregnancy. The sacrum is attached to the round ligaments from which your uterus is suspended. When one of these ligaments gets tight it can cause torsion to the uterus, interfering with the nervous system, and baby's passage through the pelvis during labor. By making adjustments, your chiropractor can relieve tightness in the piriformis and the psoas and alleviate pressure on the pubic bone. Doesn't this all sound so lovely to your pregnant body?

Love your Chiropractor

Your chiropractor is a vital part of your pregnancy support team! Make sure that you are comfortable with their set-up, their philosophy and their technique. Starting chiropractic care early in your pregnancy maximizes the benefits, and can help you stay on top of some the common discomforts. If you find the right chiropractor, you will look forward to these visits

Here in Colorado Springs, we have a wonderful chiropractor who specializes in prenatal and pediatric care. uses the Webster Technique, and has a passion for perinatal and pediatric care, among other services. This is the model of care for pregnant women in chiropractic. By doing your research, you can add an invaluable asset to your pregnancy health, wellness and comfort.

Tuning Out the Parenting Chatter and Trusting Your Instincts

Mon, 10 Mar 2025 21:22:13 GMT

Parenting Messages

When I became a mother there was no social media, which means there were no mommy Facebook groups, no Instagram, no Tik-Tok. Nonetheless, through parenting magazines, commercials and talk shows, we heard the messages about what it meant to be a "good parent". Gone were the days when mom or Grandma passed on the practical wisdom of the ages. One book might extol the virtues of scheduling your baby's sleep, while another book praised nursing on demand and co-sleeping. And so, the chatter was there, but it wasn't as loud and confusing as it is today.

For me, a desire to go back a generation and breastfeeding led me to more resources along the natural parenting lines. I co-slept some, put the babies in their crib some, breastfed here, bottle-fed there. Although mom-guilt has probably been around since the dawn of time, and I definitely had some, I didn't beat myself up or over-analyze every decision. I didn't view crying as child abuse. I didn't ask 300 women what baby carrier they used or how many times a night they got up with their baby. I'd read a book if I thought it would help and moved on. Parenting was stressful enough in its own right; I'm thankful I didn't have the additional pressure of other people's judgments.

With the babies I have had as an older mom, the chatter is so much louder, the voices more opinionated, the parenting styles more polarized. You are either a crunchy mom or a silky mom , an attachment parent or you sleep train. You are either pro-vax or anti-vax. You birthed in a hospital or in a tub. You wear your baby or keep them in their Dock-a-Tot. One side cries, 'psychological damage’ to the other side. Mothers are fraught with indecision and insecurity. Will the moms in my Facebook group vilify me for placing my baby in the crib and letting them fuss a bit before going to sleep, or will they roast me for co-sleeping?

Wisdom of the Ages

As I observe this, I wonder what our grandmothers and great-grandmothers did. Were they frozen with the fear of ruining their child for life with the next decision? Did they worry that their child would have attachment issues because they had to let them cry while they made dinner? Did they scorn the other mothers in their circle for doing things differently than they did? Did they scour the research to see the absolute best way for their baby to sleep?

I am here to tell you that they did not. They parented from intuition, from wisdom of the ages, from pragmatism and common sense. They were not overthinking this mothering gig. The mothers of great men and women throughout history probably couldn't tell you what their feeding "method", their sleeping "method", their discipline "method" was because although they were parenting from the heart, they were also parenting from intuition. Not "what would other people think of this," but what just feels right and makes the most sense. They most likely did what their mothers had done and her mother before that. And that is the missing piece right now, wisdom from the ages.

You know what I recommend? Find someone, or maybe a couple of someone's, and listen to them. Look at the outcome of the way they do things, and model that. Tune out the chatter of a hundred contradictory voices and just listen to a couple. The model throughout time has been the older women teaching the younger women. After a while of tuning into mothering wisdom, your mothering intuition will grow, and as you trust it, you will feel free of the condemnation, the indecision and the anxiety. Mom-guilt may still occasionally plague you. You may still worry about your children now and then. But you will know this journey of motherhood is one of growth, not perfection. And your children will know you loved them enough to be intentional as well as confident.

And one more thing. Be kind to the other mom. She's probably doing the best she can, too.