How to interpret why your baby is crying

How to interpret why your baby is crying

You really can’t interpret what a baby is going through. We all want our babies to grow up happy and healthy. When a baby cries, can there be an underlying reason that is causing distress? As a parent, it worries you. Babies start communicating with you from a young age. But baby language is tricky right? Open to interpretations and most often the baby is crying for different reasons

Come to think of it, a baby’s ‘’first cry’’ after delivery is considered to be very important. After the first cry one knows that a baby is able to breathe properly. As they grow up, on close observations, you will find that babies use different sounds and pitch while crying to convey different emotions. It can range from soft cries, wailings to really loud ones.

Discover and decode different types of cries exhibited by babies on different occasion!

• “CRIES OF HUNGER” – These types of cries are low-pitched and repetitive. Babies will also try to reach out for your breast, show sucking movements with tongue and put their thumbs in their mouth as sings of hunger.
• ‘’CRIES OF DISTRESS’’ – These types of cries start out slowly and build their intensity with time. By the end your baby is crying loudly. This might mean that your baby is uncomfortable because they might be hot and stuffed with too much blankets and clothes. This might also mean that they need an immediate diaper change.
• ‘’CRYING TO GET ATTENTION’’- These are full-on on high pitch wails. Sometimes babies might also cry because they want you to be around, play with them and give them your full-attention. They want your touch. In such a case, pick them up in your arms or try engaging them by talking, playing or simply holding them.
• ‘’PAINFUL CRIES INDICATING THAT THEY ARE SICK’’ – These are usually low-pitched whimpers. Look out for additional signs such as fever, vomiting, diarrhea. Immediately visit a doctor if you think they have some underlying health problems.
• ‘’COLIC’’– These cries are usually intense and high pitched and might last for hours! They might also heighten during growth spurts in babies. They usually occur in the afternoon or evening. Colic occurs because the baby might have developed gastric problems. In such a case rub their backs. You can also put them on their backs and bend their knees up to their stomach for about 5-10 seconds to get rid of this gas formed.

We came across this interesting piece and felt like highlighting some observations of Priscilla Dunstan who created the Dunstan Baby Language. According to her there are 5 basic sounds a baby makes just before crying. Let’s look them up and see what they mean.

• NEH- hunger – As we have already read above, babies involuntarily produce sucking movement of their tongue whenever they are hungry. As a result of this, they produce a soft ‘neh’ sound.

• EH- upper wind (burp) – Bubbles of air might accumulate in the chest which can cause your baby to produce an ‘eh’ sound in an attempt to release this confined air in the form of a burp.

• EAIRH- lower wind (gas or colic) – Sometimes, a baby is not able to wheel out the air trapped in their chest in the form of a burp. In such a case, the air travels into their stomach causing the intestinal muscles to tighten in an attempt to release the air bubbles. This causes the baby to release an ‘eairh’ sound as a reflex to indicate that they have an upset stomach. This can also be an indication for the initiation of a bowel movement. So, look up for this sound if you don’t want your baby to soil their clothes.

• HEH- discomfort – This sound is usually produced to indicate that a baby is uncomfortable. It can mean that they need a nappy change or that they feel hot or cold. Sometimes, your baby might develop an itch or infection which can cause them to release this sound as well to show their discomfort.

• OWH- sleepiness – This sound simply means that it’s nap time for your babies to get their beauty sleep.

For your reference, here’s the link to the blog that we would like to share with you-

https://www.petitjourney.com.au/understand-the-different-cries-of-your-baby/

The more time you spend with your baby, you will be able to understand them better. If we can make our babies feel secure with our touch, conversations and gadget free time and can spend quality time with, the baby who does not know how to articulate now and cries at odd hours, will grow up to be a happy and confident child. Trust us, once the baby grows up, you will miss these days when every cry meant something new- a revelation.