Why Babies Do That (fussy newborns)

I recently went to a conference at which one of the speakers discussed a project done at UC Davis and used by the California WIC program.  Some of the things she discussed would be very useful for any parent of a newborn.   The speaker and her blog are:

Jane Heinig, PhD, IBCLC – UC Davis;   www.secretsofbabybehavior.com

My main take-home points: 

•  Babies don’t sleep like adults.  Their sleep cycles are shorter than an adult’s, and have a higher proportion of active (dreaming) sleep.  A dreaming baby is easy to awaken, and often looks almost like he/she is awake.  Babies will awaken after each cycle – they are not able (developmentally ready) to sleep through 2 cycles back-to-back until almost 2 months old.  At first, there may be only one of these longer stretches per night.  It’s true that newborns spend over half their time asleep; it’s only the “imagined baby” who sleeps longer than an hour or so at a time.   No wonder new parents always feel tired!
•  New parents often have unrealistic expectations and perceptions of baby behavior, “the imagined baby.”  My own response to this is that many of them are exposed to newborns less than previous generations had been.  When they do see babies, it’s not in the middle of the night or during the “witching hour.”   This is reinforced by Dr. Heinig’s comments about “good” babies shown in TV programs, and that behavior being seen as the norm.  This expectation leads to parents who are frustrated, often with the outcome of misunderstanding baby’s hunger cues or other signals.
•  Babies cannot filter out distractions the way an adult would.  This  means it is easy for a baby to become over-stimulated.  A baby also can’t tell if the stimulation is outside (such as too much noise) or inside (such as a bowel about to empty).  When the baby has had enough, certain signals are given.  If they are ignored, the baby becomes fussy, then very upset.  If the signals are recognized and responded to, the baby gradually calms down, and eventually takes longer to become upset in future instances of over-stimulation.  The signals can be obvious like turning away, pushing as if trying to move the distracting item/event, and arching the back.  The signals can also be subtle, like looking away, yawning, faster breathing, glazed eyes.   The response is to react calmly – an upset parent or caregiver is not soothing!  Handle the baby gently with something repetitive (e g., rocking motions) and block some of the excess stimuli (e g. moving to a quieter room).
•  The “witching hour” is her term for babies who act colicky in the early evening.  There are a lot of additional stimuli in the average home at this time:  the sounds and smells of dinner being prepared; chatting among family members who haven’t seen each other during the day; older children in the household playing or clamoring for a parent’s attention; TV being turned on or volume increasing; etc.  Baby gets overwhelmed.  
•  At other times, the baby needs interaction.  The signals for this can be obvious: smiling, looking intently at a face; or subtle: relaxed face muscles, raising head, following voices with the eyes, etc.
•  It is easy to mistake distress for hunger.  A baby can’t cry and swallow at the same time; plus, sucking motions are familiar and repetitive.  Worse, if the baby is bottle fed, he/she can’t get away from it because the person holding the bottle can move it and continue to put it in the baby’s face.  And the milk inside (whether mom’s or formula) drips out continuously, so baby has no choice but to swallow or to choke.  The result is a baby who may be over-fed; and who could be more fussy in the future because some basic need (comforting) isn't being met.  Anxious parents may also see this as "my/mom's breast milk isn't rich enough (or plentiful enough), so the baby has to be put on formula."  This change in feeding takes away another way to soothe the baby. (Not to mention all the other advantages of breastfeeding!)

Incidentally, the initials IBCLC after a care provider's name indicates that the person is board-certified and has had extra training in supporting breastfeeding families and a lot of experience in helping with breastfeeding issues.