HICCUPS, GRUNTING, AND SNEEZES, OH MY!

Newborn babies make a lot of noise.

Newborn babies make a lot of noise. Plain and simple.

Thankfully, most of it is completely normal. But for a new or first-time parent, every little sound can be worrisome when you're not used to it.  And mothers worry.  That's what they do.

HICCUPS.
Rest assured, hiccups are almost invariably normal. They can be annoying, for sure - especially when they are making it hard for your baby to eat or sleep or you have a concerned family member. But this too shall pass… In a few minutes. Hiccups happen when the diaphragm - a big muscle that separates your chest from your abdomen - gets stimulated and contracts. It can happen completely randomly, or sometimes it can be triggered by certain things, one being having a full tummy or eating quickly. You probably felt your baby hiccuping when you were pregnant, too, and were told that it was normal by your medical care team.  There's nothing to do except wait when you're dealing with hiccups. You can't have them drink upside down or hold their breath like we try when we're older. Just snuggle and wait. And wait. And wait.

GRUNTING.

Baby humans grunt. Plain and simple. They grunt when they feel like they have to have a poop. They grunt when they are waking up and falling asleep. And they even grunt when they are in the middle of sleep. Sure, newborns can also grunt when they are in pain or having trouble breathing, but the vast majority of grunting is normal baby stuff. After years of professional and personal observation, I believe that that middle-of-the-night grunting while babies are seemingly asleep (though we are wide awake listening to the grunting!) is a developmental stage where grunting is just “what they do” when they are in the stage of “active sleep.” This is a lighter stage of sleep, but it's still sleep, and much of the time if you don't disturb them, they will fall back into a deeper, quiet stage of sleep. It's easy to interpret grunting as pain (particularly tummy pain), but it's usually not. If everything else is going well with your baby - they are eating well, not super fussy when awake, gaining weight, no blood in their poops - then this is likely another thing you and your family simply need to wait out. If it's frequent, you may want to bring it up with your pediatrician or baby care team so they can make sure there are no red flags for an actual problem, but most likely this too shall pass (it usually gets better by 2-4 months of life).

It's especially important to remember that even though you may find that your baby grunts less when they are lying on their tummy or doing tummy time, it is imperative to put your baby on their back to keep your baby safe.  Check out this video I made about grunting - you can hear my daughter doing it and see if it sounds the same as what your baby is doing:

SNEEZES.
Again, normal. Sneezes occur when there is a tickle in the nose or when a little one need to get something out of their nose. Though it may occur more frequently when you have a sick child, like a baby with a cold, it can happen anytime, even when you have a perfectly well little one. Tiny humans have tiny nostrils, so anything stuck in there - like a big dry booger - will sound very loud when a baby breathes. Sneezes are there to help get those boogers out, as well as other smaller bits of any irritant that might be sitting in there. I wish I could say that sneezing will eventually pass, but sneezes will continue throughout the duration of your child's life. Sneezes just simply ARE, and may be a bit more common in a baby after birth than adults because of their tiny nostrils and immature neurologic system.

So try to think of these noises as part of the process of your child's development. It's never wrong to run it by your pediatrician or newborn care provider if you're worried or think they need medical care. But babies make an incredible amount of noise for such tiny little beings.

It's better than whining, right?