Conference moira::parenting_v3

    We always gave Danielle a bottle with a little water in it. She drank
    it for a few minuets and her hiccips were gone almost immediately!
    
    
    Sandy

>>                       -< Baby hiccoughs will not stop >-

What do you mean they won't stop?  Does she hiccup for hours on end?  Is
she unable to sleep because of the hiccups?  If your answers to these
questions are no, then I wouldn't worry about it.  ALL babies hiccup. 
Even before they are born.  I could always feel when my unborn baby had
the hiccups.  After he was born he got the hiccups alot for the first few
months.  They always went away on their own.  They are harmless...I think
parents are bothered by them more than the babies are.  He is 6 mos. old
now and he RARELY gets the hiccups.

� �ori �

    I had the same feeling when my son was young. Every time he ate, he
    would get the hiccups. I had asked the doctor about it, and was told
    that it bothers me more than the child. It doesn't hurt the child,
    and the don't even really know it.
    
    I wouldn't worry, if they go away after a little while. Chris outgrew
    it. Don't worry.
    
    Sheila
    

    I agree with both notes. They are nothing to worry about, as long as
    the baby doesn't seem bothered. My daughter had hiccups alot. At first
    they bothered me more than her. As she got older, she got very upset 
    when she couldn't stop hiccupping. Usually a swallow of a little more
    liquid helped make them go away (best as soon as you notice them...they
    seemed harder to stop once they really got going...for some reason!).

    
    Anna also got the hiccups whenever she was feeding when she was little.
    I would just wait it out cause she wouldn't/couldn't latch on to my
    breast when she had them. Usually she got rid of them cause she would
    get pissed and start screaming and sure enough they would go away and
    she would be able to continue nursing.
    
    Patty

    I believe hiccups are nothing more than a spasm (in the esophogus?)
    That's why they can seem so hard to stop.  (Ever try to stop a
    twitching eyelid?)     
    
    Baby's are prone to them, but I forget why.  It's kind of like
    the inner-ear infections.  Because of the way a baby's ear canal
    is shaped, they get ear infections regularly until a certain age
    when their ear changes.
    
    Ask your pedi if your really concerned and have him/her explain it.
    
    Kristen
    

                     <<< Note 1194.6 by USAT02::HERNDONK >>>
>                         -< just a spasm, don't worry >-

>    I believe hiccups are nothing more than a spasm (in the esophogus?)
>    That's why they can seem so hard to stop.  (Ever try to stop a
>    twitching eyelid?)     
    
They are a spasm but of the diaphragm, not the esopagus.  Very often 
they're caused by an impingement on the Phrenic Nerve which is the nerve 
that controls the diaphragm.

Ron

    Re: -1
    
    What do you mean by "impingement"? 

    Somebody told me that babies can't cry and hiccup at the same time...
    My daughter's hiccups frequently coincided with our dinner, this may
    sound awful, but its a lot easier to eat while listening to hiccups
    than while listening to or comforting a crying  baby..
    
    /jmo

First of all, congrats on your new addition...

Our son Max was one month old Wednesday, and like you we were worried about the
frequent hiccoughs.  Max was getting them after almost every feeding, and he
didn't seem able to go to sleep until they went away.

Being overly cautious, sleep deprived, new parents, we called the nursery where
we delivered, and got a little advice:

As someone already mentioned, sucking helps, even if it's just a pacifier, and
the other recommendation was to prop the baby up at a 30 degree angle.

Max seems to be doing better, but whether it's related to the above, or just
getting older, I don't know.  Good luck.

Andy

    Here's a great trick my pedi taught me....
    
    Hold the baby on your lap, and let his head drop back (gently!).  Then 
    give him a bottle (I used water) to suck on.  Something about the sucking 
    motion plus the backward tilt of the head stops the hiccups like a charm.
    
    My first-born gave this trick a *lot* of use....
    
    

    Thanks all for the advise. We will be trying all of them. I will report
    what works later today. 
    
    Thanks again
    (one worried day)
    Ken

<< Note 1194.8 by TENVAX::MIDTTUN "Lisa Midttun,285-3450,NIO/N4,Pole H14-15" >>

>    What do you mean by "impingement"? 


Through the course of normal movement, the vertebrae in you spine shift 
from being properly aligned one on top of the other to being misaligned.  
The technical term for this is subluxation.  When a subluxation occurs, 
there is a pinching of, or impingement upon, the major nerves which branch 
off the spinal cord.  Each of these major branch nerves controls specific 
organs and/or functions in your body.  The phrenic nerve is the nerve 
which controls breathing by causing the diaphragm to act as a bellows 
drawing air into and pushing it out of your lungs.  It (the phrenic nerve) 
branches off the spinal cord between the 3rd and 4th Cervical Vertebrae (in 
your upper neck).  When these vertebrae sublux they can put pressure on the 
phrenic nerve which often causes the diapragm to contract in short, sudden 
spasms--aka hiccups.

Ron