Discussing Kids Health Issues

Q1. My 1-year-old is always rocking - in her highchair or just sitting on the floor. Is there something wrong with her? Or is she just doing this to have fun?

Lots of children love to rock back and forth. Most often this is just normal behavior; however, occasionally it can be associated with specific problems, such as autism. To distinguish between normal rocking and abnormal behavior, you can look at the rocking specifically and your child's behavior in general. Is your daughter's rocking playful, or is it machine-like, with your child almost going into a trance-like state? Playful rocking is expected behavior in 1-year-old children. Children will make eye contact with you at times during the rocking, and they usually appear happy or engaged.

General behavioral patterns to look for include your child's language and social skills. Does she have some language, such as the words "dada" and "mama"? Does your daughter communicate her wants? Does she desire your attention? These are all normal social and language skills for a 1-year-old. If you are uncertain about how to describe the rocking or how to interpret your daughter's behavior, I suggest you take a video of your daughter rocking and playing to show her pediatrician. Always express any concerns you have about your child's behavior and development to her pediatrician.

Q2. My daughter is 10 months old and still has a big lump on her right breast. I know that baby girls are born with extra breast tissue at birth, but I am concerned because her breast lump is extremely large and you can easily notice a difference in size between her left and right sides. Please let me know of any tests that I could have her undergo to find out if this lump is just breast tissue or something else.

— Elinol, Massachusetts

You are correct — girls, and sometimes even boys, may be born with extra breast tissue. Some babies may even produce a small amount of milk from their breasts. This comes from the mother's hormones, which the baby is exposed to while in the womb. After a baby is born and he/she is no longer exposed to high doses of hormones, breast tissue will usually shrink with time, though it can take up to a year. Additionally, one breast may decrease in size faster than the other, which may be what has occurred with your daughter. Breastfed babies may continue to receive hormones from the mother's milk, which stimulates the breast tissue. Occasionally an infant may have a cyst in the breast that causes enlargement. An infection is another possible cause of swelling in the breast, however the skin would likely appear red, feel warm, and be tender to the touch, which is not what you describe.

I recommend that if you are concerned that the lump may be a cyst and not just breast tissue, you should take your daughter to the pediatrician. The doctor may be able to make a diagnosis just by examining your daughter. If the diagnosis is still unclear, your doctor may recommend she have an ultrasound. Ultrasound does not involve any radiation and is a very safe test that should give you a diagnosis.

Q3. I have a 6-month-old son and there are times during his bottle feeding when he will shake. Do you think this could be a seizure or a neurological problem?

Esther, it is very common for neonates to shake and be "jittery." As an infant gets older, the shaking usually resolves. Many people worry that the repetitive movements their children make are seizures, however, most are not. There are several features about shaking that are associated with seizures. If the child seems unresponsive during the episodes, there is more concern for a possible seizure. If you are unable to stop the repetitive shaking movement by applying pressure to the shaking limbs, that is also more consistent with a seizure. If your son is happily drinking from his bottle and just has a little shake to his arms, most likely he is just getting used to holding his own bottle and has yet to fully master the skill. Watch closely the next time it happens. I recommend that parents use videotape to record behaviors that concern them and show it to their pediatrician.

Q4. My 18-month-old is always hungry. He eats healthy meals and has two snacks a day. Once he starts eating he doesn't want to stop; he gets mad and throws a fit when he cleans his plate, wanting more. I give him reasonable helpings of everything. Is this unusual? He only weighs 22 pounds, so he isn't overweight for his age!

— Nikki, Mississippi

Nikki, this is incredibly common. Children get into all types of food battles. Some refuse food, some continuously want food. As long as your child is growing well and thriving, all of this is likely behavioral.

In general, pediatricians recommend that you try to avoid food battles, but that is more easily said than done. Since your son is not overweight you do not need to be as strict with feeding as some parents. Try to find healthy low-calorie snacks like peas, green beans, or heated chopped vegetables. Children often enjoy feeding themselves these foods and can practice their fine-motor skills and colors at the same time. You might also want to have your son drink some water before meal times and allow liberal drinking of water during meals to help him feel full.

If your son still throws a temper tantrum after what you think is a filling meal, it might be best to just walk away and not respond to his fits for at least a minute. As he quiets down, you can return and give him attention. This is like a little time-out.

The period in which toddlers start asserting their independence can be incredibly difficult for parents. Tantrums are common even at 18 months. Try to give your son less attention when he is having a tantrum so he gets negative reinforcement for the behavior, and provide lots of attention and praise when he transitions well from meal times to other activities.

Good luck!

Q5. My son is now 1 year old, and my breasts are still leaking milk. Why is that, and what can I do about it?

— Laura, Georgia

Milk leakage, called galactorrhea, can have several causes. It quite normally occurs after pregnancy and breastfeeding.

But occasionally, leaking breasts can be a sign of increased secretion of the hormone prolactin from the pituitary gland in the brain, or sometimes the prolactin is even secreted from a small tumor called a microadenoma.

Breast leakage can be a side effect of medication too, such as SSRIs (antidepressant medications), though this rarely increases prolactin levels.

It's very important for you to distinguish whether your breast leakage is just the normal, post-pregnancy type or whether it's related to increased prolactin levels.

So see your doctor for an evaluation and to get the appropriate blood tests. If you do have normal, post-pregnancy leakage, there's unfortunately not much you can do but wait it out.

There is a hormone injection that works for three months at a time and can stop the leakage, but this injection also causes a mini menopause, so it's really not worth the trouble.

Learn more in the Everyday Health Kids' Health Center.

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