A Fussy 1 Month-Old Grandson

     A recent 3-day visit from a 1 month-old grandson gave me a good reminder about reasons for infant fussiness.

     Infants in the first 2 months of life don’t need a reason to be fussy. Nothing feels normal for them. They hate it here and want to be put back into the uterus. They get hungry, tired and cold. Things are too loud and too bright. One other new thing they have to deal with is pooping. The sensation is new to them (infants don’t stool in the uterus). When an infant’s colon contracts to push the stool out, the infant can often tighten up and actually hold the stool in. The stool can get large and firm and cause even more discomfort the next time the colon contracts. That happens often because, every time we eat, our stomachs send a message to our colons to contract to make room for more food.

     In general, a fussy infant is either hungry, wet or tired.  Whether he “just ate” 15 minutes ago or “just woke up” or was “just changed”, always go through this list before doing anything else. If he has a clean diaper and he pushes out on the nipple and doesn’t latch on, then hold him for a bit and see if he starts to nod off. If so, he needs to sleep.

     My grandson was dropped off with the message that he had been “very fussy” lately. He had been given a new formula thinking he might be “sensitive” but it didn’t help. He would be falling asleep or happily awake and suddenly get red in the face, strain, pass gas and cry for less than a minute and then settle down again. He was otherwise eating and acting normally.  Through the 3 days he had only one large, very watery stool (common in constipation). After considering allergy, reflux and “gas” (although I’ve never known exactly what “gas” is), grandma and I decided that the problem was constipation. A half of a baby glycerin suppository produced a large, firm stool and a much happier grandson. He will stay on the suppositories about twice a week until he’s back to stooling normally.