Most newborns begin to drool when they are three or four months old, and the skin around their mouths, necks, and chests is soaked with saliva and even has some red rashes.
Many mothers think that the baby's drooling is no big deal, and buying a few saliva towels can solve it. In fact, most parents are in a state of half-understanding of the fact that their babies are drooling, even "Why does the baby drool?" "What role the saliva does and how it is cared for" is not clear.
First, let's take a look at why babies drool.
Drooling is a normal process of baby development that every baby goes through. For babies as young as 3 or 4 months old, the nutrition of milk begins to fail to meet their needs, and they will soon need to eat complementary foods. In order to adapt to solid food, the development of salivary glands has tended to mature, saliva secretion has begun to increase, but the mouth does not have the ability to swallow, coupled with the shallow mouth, saliva is easy to flow out of the corner of the mouth.
Baby drooling is a process that doesn't come suddenly, and doesn't suddenly disappear
For babies, drooling is a process that lasts 2 years. The amount of water in the mouth will not increase all at once, and naturally it will not suddenly stop flowing. Its emergence and disappearance are regular. Newborn newborns secrete very little saliva, only 50 to 80 milliliters a day, just enough to moisten the mouth. When you are three or four months old, the baby's saliva secretion begins to increase with the needs of physiological development, and the amount of secretion throughout the day is about 220 ml. From the fifth month, saliva secretion begins to soar.
Babies up to 3 months old
Babies aged 0 to 3 months eat breast milk and formula, and the demand for saliva is not high. In addition, the salivary glands are not yet mature, and the amount of saliva secretion is very small.
4 to 6 months
For non-breastfed and faster-growing babies, it's time to start trying complementary foods this month. In order to digest food, it is necessary to secrete a large amount of saliva to assist in chewing and digestion. But their swallowing reflex is not well developed, the mouth is shallow, and they cannot swallow the saliva they secrete in time, so they begin to have the problem of drooling.
7 to 18 months
This month, the baby begins to enter the period of teeth molarity, and the growth of deciduous teeth will make the gums itch and swell, which in turn stimulates the trigeminal nerve and leads to an increase in saliva secretion. Babies drool more often and in larger amounts this month.
18 to 24 months
Babies around the age of 2 have passed the teething period, the oral muscles are beginning to mature, and they are proficient in swallowing. At this time, the baby's saliva problem slowly disappears.
In addition to the saliva rash, small saliva also has a big effect
When it comes to babies drooling, many mothers will complain that their babies have a sore again, and they can't take care of themselves. Is saliva really only bad, not good? Of course not. As the saying goes, "existence is reasonable". Babies drooling this month show that their bodies need so much saliva.
1, saliva contains a variety of enzymes, can help the baby adapt to solid food faster.
2, saliva has a good bactericidal effect, for cleaning the baby's mouth, preventing tooth decay is very helpful.
3. Because the baby's swallowing ability is insufficient, a large amount of saliva can take away food residue and maintain the cleanliness of the mouth and teeth.
4. When the baby eats complementary food, the saliva can lubricate the food and facilitate chewing, after all, the baby's bite ability is not perfect.
5. Increased saliva helps to enhance the baby's taste buds and make the baby more interested in complementary foods.
6. Increased saliva will make the baby's lip and tongue movement more, which will help the baby learn to speak.
Although saliva is good for your baby's health and development, the more the better
It's normal for babies to drool and generally don't have any problems. However, the saliva contains corrosive digestive enzymes, coupled with the baby's tender and thin skin, once the saliva flows to the corners of the mouth, chin, chest position can easily cause bacterial infection and saliva rash.
It should be noted that for children from 3 to 18 months old, saliva is normal, and saliva is not normal, which is likely to be a sign of illness, dehydration and fever.
Babies drool, and moms can't just use bibs
It is normal for babies to drool, but mothers still have to do a good job of nursing, not just use saliva towels. We also need to clean your baby's saliva in time, especially on the face, neck and chest.
1. Saliva towel
When choosing a saliva towel, mom must choose a pure cotton material with soft texture, strong water absorption, easy to wash and dry. Don't rub your baby too hard, and gently dip it to avoid scratching your baby's skin.
2. Scarf
When the baby is usually active, the mother can put a bib on the outside of the baby, so that it can be washed and changed frequently to avoid saliva sticking to the clothes and breeding bacteria.
3. Timely cleaning
We must not only clean the saliva on the baby's face, neck and chest in time, but also clean up the saliva on the clothes and pillow towels in time to avoid the breeding of bacteria.
4. Skin care
The skin care products that your baby applies to some oil after each wash and bath can moisturize the skin well and avoid infection.
5. Don't pinch your face
In addition, mothers and other family members should not pinch the baby's face at will. Although it is cute, it will stimulate the salivary glands to secrete more saliva and aggravate the problem of drooling.
How the mother can do it can reduce the baby's drooling
It is normal for babies to salivate, but the mother does not want the baby's saliva to flow out. Not only is it confusing yourself, but the baby is also uncomfortable. In fact, we can improve the baby's bite force and swallowing ability through some training, so that there is less saliva.
1. Add food supplements
Adding complementary foods at the right time is a good way to improve your baby's ability to swallow and bite. After the baby grows teeth, we can let him eat some solid foods such as porridge and rice cakes to exercise the oral muscles and improve the baby's chewing ability.
2. Suitable tableware
In addition to working eating, a suitable set of tableware is also very necessary. Before the age of 1, the mother can use a spoon to feed the meal, and after the age of one, you can try to use the learning cup and straw to let the baby drink water, which is a good training method.
3. Mini games
Of course, we can also improve your baby's bite force by practicing blowing. For example, let the baby blow paper chips and blow bubbles. Of course, they can also apply some food they like to the mouth, as long as the baby wants to eat food, they have to keep doing lip movements. Moms might as well give it a try.