As a parent, you will discover that your baby cries for different reasons. While some babies cry very little, others cry a lot. The thing to remember is that crying is done for a reason. Learning to identify the various reasons for the crying can make life much easier for the baby and for you. Sometimes, a baby will cry because he or she is in pain while other times, the crying is simply to say “hold me”.
Interestingly, it will not take long for you to know exactly the problem, like some kind of built-in radar parents have. The sooner you learn the different cries, the sooner you will have things under control. Let us start with hunger cries. Typically, a baby will not just break out into a hard cry when hungry. Instead, you would notice fussing and irritability. However, after picking the baby up and checking the diaper, it could be hunger. Remember, newborns will feed about every three hours around the clock so while it might seem like the last feeding was hours and hours ago, to a small baby it is always time to eat.
Babies also cry when they have a wet or dirty diaper. Now, when my daughter was little, she hated a dirty diaper but did not seem to mind a wet diaper. As a result, we struggled with diaper rash. However, most babies will let you know when a diaper changing is due. If you have a baby like my daughter, just get into the habit of checking once an hour to stay on top of things. For a diaper change, you would usually notice a fussy baby, one that squirms around. In fact, an older baby may tug at the diaper and even try to take it off.
Babies also like to be comfortable, just as adults do. While you want to keep your baby warm, being too warm or cold can lead to crying. The best way to check this is by feeling the skin. If the baby’s skin is warm, remove a layer of clothing but if cold, add a layer. Additionally, most babies love to be held. Cuddling provides them with a sense of security and love, something all babies need. Babies will quickly identify mom and dad from other people by vision, voice, and smell. Many times, simply picking your baby up is enough to stop the crying but keep in mind that while beautiful, babies are also manipulative so slowly teaching your child independence is a good thing.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, you will also find that babies cry when they have too much touching or stimulation. Think of a newborn. The skin is very tender and sensitive. With everyone wanting to hold and touch, the baby can actually become sore. Therefore, you need to monitor the amount of “passing the baby around” that goes on, politely saying “no”. Finally, babies cry when sick. Most often, this type of crying is a constant fussing or whimpering. Start by holding the child and then check his or her temperature. With or without a fever, if the baby continues to cry, call your pediatrician for advice.