Baby chat 35
My daughter seems so angry
I have a 4 month old daughter who gets so angry whenever she doesn’t get what she wants. She constantly grabs for toys and when she can’t reach them, she almost growls and refuses to smile with anyone. She also has serious stranger anxiety and will not go anywhere with anyone else except for me, my husband and the house help. Despite continually interacting with her father everyday, she still doesn’t like him. Is this normal or should I be worried?
Your daughter is normal and you need not worry as she is learning how to gain control over her muscles. You have a very determined and frustrated daughter, so lower her levels of disappointed by helping her along. Offer her things to grab to improve her grasping skills, so when she reaches out for stuff she can happily grab them. Move things closer to her so that she can feel less frustration. Give her different shapes of toys so that she can get the muscle coordination to do what she wants.
The stranger anxiety is normal and she hasn’t realized that she is a separate person from you. As for your husband, continue encouraging him to spend more time with the two of you especially during play and feeding time. It maybe that she is not used to how different he is from you—he is bigger, smells different, voice may be gruffer, among others.
My baby shakes his head
I have noticed that my 9 month old baby shakes his head from side to side whenever he seems sleepy. As a mum, I can’t help but worry that there could be more to his head-shake. What should I do?
Many babies start doing a head shaking thing as part of learning to get control of their body. It may be that they are imitating you, or they may have discovered that they get more attention from you whenever they do this.
However, it may also indicate an ear infection if your baby caught a cold. Babies also sometimes shake their head when the inner ear is blocked, as they try to get more comfortable. Some may shake their head if they are tired or when they want to sleep.
To be safe, have a doctor examine him, just to make sure that you have no cause for concern.
Send your questions to:
babylove@integral-advisory.co.ke
Answers are provided jointly by our team of doctors
Our Team Of Experts
Dr. Blasio Omuga
Lecturer, School of Nursing Sciences, University of Nairobi
Consultant Obstetrician/Gynaecologist
Based at Doctors’ Plaza, Clinic No. 18, Kenyatta National Hospital
Dr. Njoki Fernandes
Consultant Obstetrician/Gynaecologist
Based at Nairobi Women’s Hospital
My baby is too fussy
My 5 month old daughter has suddenly become overly sensitive to new sounds and people. She screams as if in pain and does not settle down. To top it off, every time a baby cries at daycare, she yells at the top of her lungs. She also hates being held by anyone other than me— including my parents and my husband, who she is used to. She can cry continuously for 15-20 min. I feel bad letting her cry herself to sleep. But my family thinks that I am just the overprotective first time mum. What should I do?
Your child only sounds a bit more sensitive than the average baby. While most babies might not be emotionally developed to experience separation and stranger anxiety until they are about 7 month old, some get into this phase of their lives earlier than others. So it is possible that your child is early in reaching her milestones. Doing everything you can to help her feel secure will make her pass through this stage faster. No matter how good the intentions of your family members are, your daughter needs you now or whoever else she feels secure around. At the daycare, explain to her caretakers what stage she is in and that she may need more time being soothed and cuddled. You can also play new games that explore different sounds, clapping hands or beating a drum to help her realize that new sounds can be fun and not frightening.
My left-handed son has trouble writing
My 5 year old son is left handed and he looks very awkward and uncomfortable when he tries to write. His writing is pretty illegible as well and he has trouble writing letters correctly. Is there anything that I can do to make writing easier for him?
Writing from left to right, as we do in English, allows a right handed person to look at his writing as it progresses. A left-handed person however, has a hard time visually monitoring handwriting since his hand covers his writing. To make your son more comfortable when he is writing, position the paper on the desk completely left of his midline. Never in the writing process should a left-handed child cross over the midline.
You can also angle the paper so that it lies parallel to the child’s forearm. This is likely to be close to a 45 degree angle. Encourage your son to learn how to position the paper themselves. To ensure correct positioning, fix tape to the desk to provide an outline of the position.
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