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This lends more weight to the hunger assumption but newborns will always look to suck and
often hard, when they feel uncomfortable in their digestive system.
A couple of burps after the feed and possibly a few spills later, parents try to settle their
baby to sleep, sometimes being successful. Often, parents who are sleep deprived take their
baby to bed with them. This can happen several times a night, especially when Digestive
Overload is at its height. Morning comes, baby is fed again. Parents are exhausted, especially
if Mum is breastfeeding and Dad is working or other siblings are involved. A few burps are
released and the newborn is put back to bed still feeling overloaded.
During the day, overloading continues with the newborn feeding beyond capacity and in
an unbalanced manner, not swallowing enough enzymes and/or not burping to optimum
levels. Daytime sleep becomes elusive, erratic or is achieved for only brief periods. As
evening approaches, the newborn’s digestion reaches a heightened level of overload and they
are again very unsettled; grizzling, crying and screaming in discomfort. Sadly, everyone
begins the unpleasant night cycle once more, with some newborns reversing night and day
sleep habits.
Note: The common cycle described can have a newborn communicating abormal
levels of stress during the day instead of the evening since this depends on the cycle of
overloading. Newborns can be experiencing one of the digestive imbalances — colic,
reflux, lactose or dairy overload — while others feel two or all of them simultaneously.
This results in varying levels of behaviours and communication which can happen at
varying times.
Common cycle | 31
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