Baby mythology busted

Arching the back, screaming and pulling on and off nipple are signs of trapped wind and needing to burp or pass gas and not supply issues.

Engorgement is a result of unregulated use of feeding which causes the body to create more milk than could ever be required for just one baby. If you stick to a schedule the body produces exactly the amount of milk needed at the time that it is needed.

Babies do not know how to regulate intake. They can suck for hours together especially if you feed them lying down. They enjoy sucking. The milk is just a small part of the motivation to suck.

Babies do not need to feed more than once every three hours. Demand feeding more often is just a way of forcing them to feed when they are crying from gas troubles and need to suck to release wind or burp.

45 min naps during the day for a baby are totally normal. Sometimes babies wake up needing to burp or because they are unable to pass gas due to a blockage. People are trying to solve problems that don't exist.

Babies with no gas will not "demand" more and more milk after being full and having been fed in the last two to three hours. Cluster feeding and growth spurts are mythological terms. Would you constantly keep eating the entire day? It is sad that you can force a baby to keep eating every few hours the entire day and night simply because they are unable to communicate their real needs. Sucking helps them feel comforted and helps them release gas. It does not indicate that they are hungry.

Tired babies just go to sleep. They don't cry (unless they now they are 6 months old and just want to be with you and play). And they know what is night and can sleep 8 hours nonstop at 4 months without a feed provided they don't have gas and have been burped well after each feed during the day.

And they know how to put themselves back to sleep. 45 min is the part in their digestive cycle when they have gas from the digestion. It is not a "sleep cycle".

Babies have a natural schedule and you can follow it or impose an unregulated schedule on them, thinking that every cry means hunger, when really, every cry is, nearly 99% of the times, because of gas or a burp waiting in the stomach. At other times it is because of a dirty diaper, feeling too hot or cold, from the cloth tugging at their toes when they are worn in a carrier, or when they sick or need to sleep but somehow cannot.

Babies HATE tummy time only when they haven't burped or passed enough gas. Compressing the tummy hurts them because it is bloated.

Fennel tea and other digestive aids are important for newborn babies. They need help with tummy troubles sometimes, whether that is constipation - which causes gas to become difficult to pass - or gas or indigestion (one type of colic) or acidity. 10, 20 and 30 ml of digestive tea per day if not per feed is important for babies in their first two, next two, and then the next two months. This will prevent gas build up which causes purple crying at night.

Colic calm and tummy calm work because they provide the baby with relief for indigestion.

The tea that worked for my baby is:
Fennel (30%), caraway (30%), cinnamon stick, ginger powder, peppermint, chamomile, vidanga, and a little haritaki.

I feed my baby cow's milk (low fat turned out to be better than whole milk). I sweeten the milk with honey or jaggery. These are all safe and fine for a baby to have, regardless of its age.