{"id":2938,"date":"2022-06-01T06:57:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-31T20:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onthecoastpublications.com.au\/onthecoastfamilies\/?p=2938"},"modified":"2023-09-08T16:16:22","modified_gmt":"2023-09-08T06:16:22","slug":"central-coast-parents-guide-4th-trimester-newborn-crying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onthecoastpublications.com.au\/onthecoastfamilies\/central-coast-parents-guide-4th-trimester-newborn-crying\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding the 4th Trimester: Decoding Your Newborn’s Crying & How Central Coast Parents Can Cope"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Lynne Campey \u2013 Registered Nurse\/Midwife, and Child & Family Health Nurse<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Becoming a parent is a crash course in skills that there is very little preparation for! Often our exposure to babies prior to jumping into the parenting pool is limited and the newborn period (the first three months) can be very challenging trying to understand our baby\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From womb to world.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is important to acknowledge the significance of all the changes that the baby has gone through from life in the womb to life in the outside world. This transition is the most radical period a human experiences in their entire life. At the moment of birth, babies suddenly need to manage all their own breathing, eating, pooping, temperature regulation, as well as adjust to a rather scary, loud and bright big world!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 4th trimester<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One descriptive term that I find helps to understand the newborn period is to label it \u201cThe 4th Trimester\u201d. Just as we have expectations of our baby\u2019s growth and the physical changes that occur during the pregnancy trimesters, it is helpful to understand that our baby does not arrive to the world fully ready to manage all the changes that come with being born. Typically, it takes around 3 months for the baby to start to settle in to all these system changes which explains why the intense newborn crying period often starts to self\u2013regulate at around 3 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is normal crying?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The newborn crying period is sometimes called \u201ccolic\u201d, which unfortunately can give the false impression that the crying is digestion related. The crying can be intense lasting up to 5 hours a day and can cause a lot of parental anxiety. This crying period typically starts in week 2 and peaks around week 6. Studies show that in most cases this normal developmental stage will pass no matter what treatment is implemented. Although this pattern of crying through the newborn period is quite universal, every baby comes with their own little personality too. Some babies just have a lot more to say and sometimes a very loud way of saying it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Period of PURPLE crying<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A great tool to help understand the normal stage of newborn crying is \u201cThe Period of PURPLE crying\u201d (http:\/\/purplecrying.info\/what-is-the-period-of-purple-crying.php). This website can be helpful to look at the type of behaviour the baby is demonstrating and see if it fits within this framework of normal development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The acronym PURPLE stands for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n