It is normal for the baby to cry, refuse to eat food or feed, and sleep too much or too little. Sometimes your baby will also go through frequent illness and often experience fever. These are normal during the development of the baby. But there are certain warning signs that the parents should be aware of since they could indicate some serious illness. Babies cannot verbalize and so they often indicate with certain signs. Read below to know what those signs are.
Continuous crying:
Babies cry for various reasons like hunger, loneliness, sleeplessness, pain, for a diaper change, or when they need something. You might know how long your baby would cry in these situations. So if your baby cries more than that duration with any unusual sounds and doesn’t stop crying no matter what you do then it's alarming. Colic is the most common digestive illness which presents with this symptom. In such a case do look at the baby’s tummy to see if there is any distension. Approach your pediatrician immediately if the baby cries for a longer duration.
Lethargy:
If you feel that your baby is not alert, has little energy, looks drowsy, sleeps for a longer time, or finds it harder to wake up from sleep then do take your baby to a pediatrician since it could indicate low sugar level in the infant's body.
Fever:
Various infections cause fever in your infant. But if this fever lasts longer than 24 to 48 hours despite medication and if it accompanies other symptoms like breathlessness or seizures (commonly known as fits) then seeking immediate treatment is necessary.
Refusing to eat:
When you bring the breast towards the baby and he/she shows no interest to feed, spits up the milk after feeding or loses weight, vomiting it could indicate various digestive problems. Talk with your pediatrician about this and if the baby doesn’t show improvement in 10-15 days then seeking further treatment is necessary since it could indicate serious illness.
Excretion:
If the baby urinates less frequently or cries while urinating or if the urine is concentrated or there is blood in the urine or the diaper, seeking medical help immediately is necessary. Similarly, if the baby hasn’t passed stool for more than 3 to 4 days or finds it difficult to pass or when it is associated with pain in his/her tummy, it is also a concern to be addressed as soon as possible. These signs could even indicate severe conditions such as a block in the baby’s intestine.
Umbilical infection:
If there is redness, pus discharge or any other abnormal discharge, or excessive bleeding from the umbilics of the baby it could indicate infection and has to be treated immediately.
Breathing:
If the baby is breathing faster than 60 times in a minute or if the skin is bluish (face & body) or you could see the ribs pulling in while the baby is breathing or making noises like wheezing, grunting it indicates respiratory distress, and emergency help is required for the baby. Not all these signs are present in all infants. Every baby is different, so it is important for the parents to know what their babies usually do and what is normal and what seems to indicate abnormal or serious signs.