Symptoms:

What Causes Brain Damage? When the brain is starved of oxygen for a prolonged period of time, brain damage may occur. Brain damage can occur as a result of a wide range of injuries, illnesses, or conditions. Because of high-risk behaviors, males between ages 15 and 24 are most vulnerable.

Common Causes for Brain Injury

• Motor vehicle accidents.
• Falls.
• Violence or gunshot wound.
• Military attack or bomb blast.

In 2014,1 falls were the leading cause of TBI. Falls accounted for almost half (48%) of all TBI-related emergency department visits. Falls disproportionately affect children and older adults: Almost half (49%) of TBI-related ED visits among children 0 to 17 years were caused by falls.

Jaundice and Kernicterus Severe jaundice that goes untreated can cause a type of brain damage in a newborn called kernicterus.

• Rapid heartbeat.
• Breathing difficulties.
• Feeding problems (which result in inadequate weight gain)
• Swelling in the legs, abdomen, or about the eyes.
• Pale grey or bluish skin.

Physical symptoms can include a small head or skull, a large forehead, a malformed spine, stiffness in the neck, unusual or distorted facial features, and abnormal eye movement. Other early symptoms of brain damage can include seizures.

Behavioral and Emotional: Babies with brain injuries may refuse to feed, or have difficulty falling asleep. They may cry excessively and be extremely fussy. High-pitched crying is a sign of problems such as acute bilirubin encephalopathy, an advanced form of jaundice.

Neonatal Neurological Disorder Symptoms

• Fussiness.
• Decreased level of consciousness.
• Abnormal movements.
• Feeding difficulty.
• Changes in body temperature.
• Rapid changes in head size and tense soft spot.
• Changes in muscle tone (either high or low)

Different cries can mean your baby is trying to communicate different things such as hunger, pain or fussiness. Very high-pitched crying that persists, or in some cases very low-pitched crying that persists, can be associated with severe or chronic illness.

Autism Signs By 7 Months She doesn’t laugh or make squealing sounds. She doesn’t reach for objects. She doesn’t smile on her own. She doesn’t try to attract attention through actions.

But my baby is screeching so loudly! If your baby is making loud screechy noises (most babies start to do this between 6 ½ and 8 months), know that this is totally normal.

Infrequent imitation of sounds, smiles, laughter, and facial expressions by 9 months of age can be an early indicator of autism. Is your child making “baby talk” and babbling or cooing?

Watch for these signs of pain

1. Changes in usual behaviour.
2. Crying that can’t be comforted.
3. Crying, grunting, or breath-holding.
4. Facial expressions, such as a furrowed brow, a wrinkled forehead, closed eyes, or an angry appearance.
5. Sleep changes, such as waking often or sleeping more or less than usual.

We have the largest brains of any primate yet our babies rely on us for a long period of time. During this time, babies need to be held and they will often cry as soon as they are put down. This can be stressful for the parents but it’s perfectly normal. The idea that babies can self-soothe is a myth.

Try swaddling him, to mimic the feeling of being held, and then putting him down. Stay with him and rock him, sing, or stroke his face or hand until he settles down. Babies this young simply don’t have the ability to calm themselves yet, so it’s important not to let him “cry it out.”

Putting your baby to bed drowsy but awake

1. Give your baby some time to settle. Avoid picking up your baby up as soon as they grizzle.
2. As your baby gets older, give baby some time to settle if they grizzle when they wake during the night – baby might re-settle without your help.
3. Try the patting settling technique.

Try putting him down onto a play mat, or into a swing or bouncy chair. You can play with him while he’s down, or even use a rattle or mirror to entertain him. Give it a few minutes. If your baby’s on the verge of crying, pick him up and comfort him.

Whether it’s from a family member or a well-meaning neighbor, almost every new mommy has heard the same warning at some point or another: “If you keep picking up your baby every time she cries, you’re going to spoil her.” Or “Watch out — you can spoil a newborn by feeding her whenever she wants.” To those who say you …

Can you spoil a newborn or young baby? The answer to this question is ‘No! ‘ Young babies need lots of attention, and you might worry – or other people might tell you – that if you ‘give in’ too often or give too much attention, it will ‘spoil’ your baby.

There is nothing wrong with your baby snuggling up to you at nap time, of course (just as there is nothing wrong with rocking or nursing your baby to sleep!), but it may eventually begin to wear you out, since you will need to put “work” into helping your baby sleep.

Babies who get constant cuddling tend to sleep better, manage stress more easily and exhibit better autonomic functions, such as heart rate.

The baby can find her mother simply by smelling her. Babies can focus their eyes only about eight to 10 inches, but they can smell from a much further distance. How does this happen? We know that the nasal cavities are developed as early as the second month in the womb.

In short, and as mentioned above, cosleeping (whether on the same surface or not) facilitates positive clinical changes including more infant sleep and seems to make, well, babies happy. In other words, unless practiced dangerously, sleeping next to mother is good for infants.

Why does my baby seem hungrier than usual? As babies gain weight, they should begin to eat more at each feeding and go longer between feedings. Still, there may be times when your little one seems hungrier than usual. Your baby may be going through a period of rapid growth (called a growth spurt).

Your child may be hungry if he or she:

1. Reaches for or points to food.
2. Opens his or her mouth when offered a spoon or food.
3. Gets excited when he or she sees food.
4. Uses hand motions or makes sounds to let you know he or she is still hungry.

Babies start out with small stomachs, and they need to eat frequently because they are only able to take a small amount of milk at each feeding. But by eating frequently, they effectively stimulate the mother’s breasts to build up a good milk supply and to prepare for ongoing milk production.