Parents are very caring for their children and if they are newly born and especially if it’s their first child, they just don’t want to take any kind of chance and even a sneeze of the child is enough to make them worry.  Every new born takes some time to adjust to the new world he is in and sometimes may have some trouble in doing that. You can’t see the child in pain and you might feel a little panicky. Don’t panicky, try to collect symptoms your baby might be showing. Here are some common symptoms that would give you some idea as to what might be causing distress to your baby.

VOMITING
Vomit may happen due to over feeding which may happen around feeding hours. An odd vomit, with no further distress would mean that he simply had a bit of an upset tummy and maybe indigestion. However, if the vomiting is often and at odd times especially at other times than immediately after feeding or if vomiting is followed by loose stools or is accompanied by fever, irritability, stomach convulsions or if it is yellowish or greenish in color, you need to get in touch with your pediatrician immediately as your baby could have acquired a stomach infection.

COLOUR OF STOOLS
A slight change in the color, frequency and consistency in your baby’s stools is normal which a sign of mild indigestion is, but if the stools color is green, looser and smell foul. These changes are due to an intestinal infection and would need medical attention. If your baby’s stool turns black, red or chalk white, you need to get in touch with your pediatrician immediately.

DIARRHOEA
Infants who are exclusively breastfed normally pass several soft or semi-solid stools each day. Therefore, for them it is practical to define diarrhea as an increase in stool frequency and liquidity so the stools should contain more water than solid. The most important aspect in an infant having diarrhea is to make sure that the infant is not dehydrated. If the fluid intake is less than the loss, then the infant may get dehydrated and that is the most important thing to prevent. The signs and symptoms of dehydration are:
1. Baby becomes restless, irritable and later lethargic.

2. He is excessively sleepy.

3. His tongue and mouth becomes dry.

4. There is loss of elasticity of the skin - when the skin of the abdomen is pinched, does it go back quickly, slowly, or very slowly (longer than 2 seconds). In a well-hydrated infant the skin should go back immediately after it is pinched.

5. There is less urine output.

If there signs of some dehydration, you will have to take your baby to a doctor immediately. Your baby may need to be kept at the clinic for a few hours and you will be encouraged to breastfeed him as the treatment is administered. And if the child has signs and symptoms of severe dehydration, he will need extra fluids. In such a case, he will have to be admitted in a hospital and intravenous fluids will be given. The best way to prevent diarrhea is to give exclusive breast feeds for the first six months. Avoid bottle-feeds. If you do choose the bottle, start cup feeds by six months.