Crying Baby Tips
Helping Your Baby Cry Less and Smile More
Helping Your Baby Cry Less and Smile More
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Why Babies Cry - Imagine You Could Understand Your Baby
Crying is Baby Talk
Your baby is crying, you get frustrated... why won't she talk? Well, she does. Crying is in fact baby talk and with some listening and practice, you will be able to understand her, no worries and don't get frustrated.
Babies cry. Breathe in, breathe out. Understand it. Babies cry, so don't get angry. Instead, take five minutes for reading this page - Why Babies Cry - it could help you better understand your baby and in time, make both of you happier. Then, my advice is that once a day you take one minute only to read one Crying Baby Tip and try including it in your daily routines (start with Night Crying Tips and then go to Day Crying Tips). It could help as it helped me and other parents. Your baby is worth it, and your happiness is worth it too.
Reasons Babies Cry
After several years of parenting, reading quite a few parenting books, conversing with other parents at the park about crying (besides poo, what else there's to talk about?)... I came up with a list of reasons that babies cry for.
In fact, when you accept the fact that crying is a form of communications, or if you'd like - baby talk - then the following list includes possible interpretations of baby crying sounds. Read it once, I suggest, and then start listening and watching the baby. If you add on that reading one Crying Baby Tip a day, you could end up actually understanding your baby. Now, can you imagine how wonderful would that be?
Baby Wants to Sleep
Babies sleep a lot. From your tired eyes it might seem like they're always up, but in fact they need over 14 hours of sleep. Falling into deep sleep could take up to twenty minutes - here, you read it and now you know it. But your baby doesn't know this, so when she's tired and sleep doesn't take over, she could cry. So, sometimes when your baby cries, she's simply telling you that she's tired.
Baby is Hungry
Last time you got hungry, what did you do? You either told someone that you were hungry or took a bite. Well, a baby can't talk and can't just choose to eat. So, crying is sometimes her way to tell you that she's hungry. Or thirsty. At a young age (and sometimes at an older age too), it's difficult to tell hunger and thirst apart.
Baby Needs a Fresh Diaper
Very straight forward - baby's poo can be cute, funny, smelly, nasty - you name it, but at any case, it's not very convenient when it's stuck on your belongings. Next time your baby cries for a new diaper and you even consider getting angry at her, put some of her poo in your underwear, let it dry and enjoy the ride. Crying can simply be helping your nose understand that there's a diaper that needs to be changed.
Baby is Hot or Cold
Crying is baby talk, right? We already agree on that. So, when your baby is either hot or cold, she will tell you to help her with that. Crying sometimes is like talking about the weather or the air-conditioner. However, this type of crying is in fact saying - I'm not comfortable. It may easily be mistaken with the - I feel some pain. This confusion is because the baby also may find it hard to distinguish. A little pain can be similar to a little too cold or too hot. Most of the times, if there's a severe pain, the crying would be louder, fiercer, so you'll know the difference.
Baby Wants Attention
Hello, are you there? Your baby misses you. Yep, the little one just loves to be with you, and although some alone time is recommended, she would like to be close to you most of the time. And as with grownups, being together is not always just the good company. Sometime we want to talk, play, interact. So does your baby. Sometimes she would tell you that she wants some positive attention from you. Since her vocabulary is still limited, to your old ears it would sound like crying.
Baby has Too Much Attention
Your baby's new senses are still getting used to our big noisy world. In many cases, too much noise, a strong smell, even too many hugs and kisses, will just overwhelm the baby's delicate senses. Your crying baby could be telling you to back off a little, get her some quite time. Don't forget, she's very delicate. Too much attention can be difficult for her and crying is her way of telling you to screen some if it out for her.
Baby is not Feeling Well
Finally, parents often think that when their baby is crying it means she doesn't fell well. As you can read above, there are many other reasons for the baby to cry, most of them are in fact good ways of communications with you. But sometimes it's true. When your baby is crying she could be trying to tell you that she's not feeling well. When that is the case, it's very good that she's crying, so you can look for the source of the problem and help your baby.
Understanding Baby Talk and Crying
There are many reasons for your baby to cry. Your baby could be crying because she wants to sleep, eat or drink, her crying could be an indicator that she needs a fresh diaper or a different set of clothing (colder or hotter), by crying she could be asking for your attention or for some quite time with less attention, and finally - a crying baby could be telling you that she's not feeling well. So, you must be asking yourself, how can I understand my baby? How can I tell why is my baby crying?
If you're reading this, most chances are that you are not a baby yourself anymore. This means you lost the ability to speak babyish. But it doesn't mean that you can't understand it. Yes you can. With time and practice, you will get to better understand your baby and figure out why she is crying.
The first and most important step towards understanding your baby is... listening. When your baby cries, suppress that instinctive urge to pick her up and sooth her, and instead spend a short minute listening. That would be a very good start towards understanding why she cries.
There are several books who try to actually map baby crying in terms of sounds. For example, long whines stand for hunger while short bark like sounds could imply that there's a diaper issue. If you want to go there, I will be happy to recommend a book, but I won't be doing so easily. The delicate nuances between the different types of crying and between different babies could be way too much to master in the short time we have before we become grandparents. Instead, try mapping your own baby's sounds.
So, that would be the second and last step towards understanding your baby's crying. Listen, and then try - really try - to understand her. Then, when you think you got it, try the solution. For instance, if you listened, and you think this is a cry for food, remember the sound and give her a bottle. Next time you think it's the same issue, try a diaper... and so on. This is not obvious. We mostly tend to ignore the communicative aspect of baby cry and just go directly into soothing.
Wouldn't it be much nicer if you could understand why your baby is crying? It would and it's possible. Listen to your baby and give a real effort into understanding. With a little time and practice, you will be amazed, guaranteed.
Your baby is crying, you get frustrated... why won't she talk? Well, she does. Crying is in fact baby talk and with some listening and practice, you will be able to understand her, no worries and don't get frustrated.
Babies cry. Breathe in, breathe out. Understand it. Babies cry, so don't get angry. Instead, take five minutes for reading this page - Why Babies Cry - it could help you better understand your baby and in time, make both of you happier. Then, my advice is that once a day you take one minute only to read one Crying Baby Tip and try including it in your daily routines (start with Night Crying Tips and then go to Day Crying Tips). It could help as it helped me and other parents. Your baby is worth it, and your happiness is worth it too.
Reasons Babies Cry
After several years of parenting, reading quite a few parenting books, conversing with other parents at the park about crying (besides poo, what else there's to talk about?)... I came up with a list of reasons that babies cry for.
In fact, when you accept the fact that crying is a form of communications, or if you'd like - baby talk - then the following list includes possible interpretations of baby crying sounds. Read it once, I suggest, and then start listening and watching the baby. If you add on that reading one Crying Baby Tip a day, you could end up actually understanding your baby. Now, can you imagine how wonderful would that be?
Baby Wants to Sleep
Babies sleep a lot. From your tired eyes it might seem like they're always up, but in fact they need over 14 hours of sleep. Falling into deep sleep could take up to twenty minutes - here, you read it and now you know it. But your baby doesn't know this, so when she's tired and sleep doesn't take over, she could cry. So, sometimes when your baby cries, she's simply telling you that she's tired.
Baby is Hungry
Last time you got hungry, what did you do? You either told someone that you were hungry or took a bite. Well, a baby can't talk and can't just choose to eat. So, crying is sometimes her way to tell you that she's hungry. Or thirsty. At a young age (and sometimes at an older age too), it's difficult to tell hunger and thirst apart.
Baby Needs a Fresh Diaper
Very straight forward - baby's poo can be cute, funny, smelly, nasty - you name it, but at any case, it's not very convenient when it's stuck on your belongings. Next time your baby cries for a new diaper and you even consider getting angry at her, put some of her poo in your underwear, let it dry and enjoy the ride. Crying can simply be helping your nose understand that there's a diaper that needs to be changed.
Baby is Hot or Cold
Crying is baby talk, right? We already agree on that. So, when your baby is either hot or cold, she will tell you to help her with that. Crying sometimes is like talking about the weather or the air-conditioner. However, this type of crying is in fact saying - I'm not comfortable. It may easily be mistaken with the - I feel some pain. This confusion is because the baby also may find it hard to distinguish. A little pain can be similar to a little too cold or too hot. Most of the times, if there's a severe pain, the crying would be louder, fiercer, so you'll know the difference.
Baby Wants Attention
Hello, are you there? Your baby misses you. Yep, the little one just loves to be with you, and although some alone time is recommended, she would like to be close to you most of the time. And as with grownups, being together is not always just the good company. Sometime we want to talk, play, interact. So does your baby. Sometimes she would tell you that she wants some positive attention from you. Since her vocabulary is still limited, to your old ears it would sound like crying.
Baby has Too Much Attention
Your baby's new senses are still getting used to our big noisy world. In many cases, too much noise, a strong smell, even too many hugs and kisses, will just overwhelm the baby's delicate senses. Your crying baby could be telling you to back off a little, get her some quite time. Don't forget, she's very delicate. Too much attention can be difficult for her and crying is her way of telling you to screen some if it out for her.
Baby is not Feeling Well
Finally, parents often think that when their baby is crying it means she doesn't fell well. As you can read above, there are many other reasons for the baby to cry, most of them are in fact good ways of communications with you. But sometimes it's true. When your baby is crying she could be trying to tell you that she's not feeling well. When that is the case, it's very good that she's crying, so you can look for the source of the problem and help your baby.
Understanding Baby Talk and Crying
There are many reasons for your baby to cry. Your baby could be crying because she wants to sleep, eat or drink, her crying could be an indicator that she needs a fresh diaper or a different set of clothing (colder or hotter), by crying she could be asking for your attention or for some quite time with less attention, and finally - a crying baby could be telling you that she's not feeling well. So, you must be asking yourself, how can I understand my baby? How can I tell why is my baby crying?
If you're reading this, most chances are that you are not a baby yourself anymore. This means you lost the ability to speak babyish. But it doesn't mean that you can't understand it. Yes you can. With time and practice, you will get to better understand your baby and figure out why she is crying.
The first and most important step towards understanding your baby is... listening. When your baby cries, suppress that instinctive urge to pick her up and sooth her, and instead spend a short minute listening. That would be a very good start towards understanding why she cries.
There are several books who try to actually map baby crying in terms of sounds. For example, long whines stand for hunger while short bark like sounds could imply that there's a diaper issue. If you want to go there, I will be happy to recommend a book, but I won't be doing so easily. The delicate nuances between the different types of crying and between different babies could be way too much to master in the short time we have before we become grandparents. Instead, try mapping your own baby's sounds.
So, that would be the second and last step towards understanding your baby's crying. Listen, and then try - really try - to understand her. Then, when you think you got it, try the solution. For instance, if you listened, and you think this is a cry for food, remember the sound and give her a bottle. Next time you think it's the same issue, try a diaper... and so on. This is not obvious. We mostly tend to ignore the communicative aspect of baby cry and just go directly into soothing.
Wouldn't it be much nicer if you could understand why your baby is crying? It would and it's possible. Listen to your baby and give a real effort into understanding. With a little time and practice, you will be amazed, guaranteed.