6 different baby cries and what they mean
It can be unnerving to hear an infant cry. As your baby’s caretaker, it’s normal to feel responsible and even inadequate when your baby is crying and you don’t understand why.
However, until your baby learns to talk, crying is his or her first (and one of the only) means of communication. For infants, crying can mean a range of many and equally important feelings. Here’s a guide to baby cries and what they mean:
1. Hungry. Your baby will try to gnaw at his or her hand or peck at mom’s breast. This type of cry is rhythmic and can sound intense—and it should be addressed right away. Waiting for your baby to cry as a sign of hunger can result in a baby who is more difficult to soothe.
2. Tired. The crying tends to be accompanied by rubbing of the eyes; the cry can start out slowly and low and build in intensity and tone. When your baby is exhausted, he or she may be more difficult to soothe and put to sleep. This cry can be misread as hunger cry.
3. Overstimulated. Your baby may look away from the object or person he or she was looking at and start with a fussy cry. Babies need to be taken to a less stimulating environment with dimmed lights and less noise to help calm down.
4. Scared. This cry tends to have a screechy sound and your baby’s face looks startled. Try rocking, holding, and soothing your baby to calm him or her down.
5. Gassy/Colic. This cry is characterized by high intensity, rhythmic patterns, with a high volume and will last until the gas is passed. Body movements include raising of legs to the tummy, arching of the back, and fidgeting.
6. Cuddle. This cry may be softer than those mentioned above, but still with some intensity. Usually, your baby will calm down once held.
Attending and tuning in to your baby’s needs will foster a strong bond and deep sense of comfort between parent and baby. For newborns, parents go through a lot of guesswork until they learn to decipher the meaning of the baby’s cry. A high-pitched, consistent cry can make many parents feel like they need to make it stop immediately.
Though infants should be attended to on demand, both they and the parent will benefit more from taking the time to figure out what the source of the cry is rather than jumping to conclusions.
Is your newborn’s constant crying leaving you distraught? Here are some tips to discover the causes and calm him down.
https://www.parentcircle.com/article/different-baby-cries-and-what-they-mean/
Thanks my dear, my 5 weeks old daughter cries a lot during night, most of the time I do not understand why she’s crying and become very upset about it, after getting this info I have got some tips!
It would be helpful to include audio/visual examples of these different cries. Also, for an even more specific breakdown of the different crying sounds, check out Dunstan baby language. It helped me out immensely with my second child!
Great idea! I agree, Dunstan baby language is amazing. She has an amazing ear for the different cries and deciphering what they mean.
It’s funny how as a mother the scared cry is so alarming. It literally stirs something within you and you can’t ignore it.
Yes! We are definitely hard-wired to react immediately to this one, aren’t we??
The colic cry is terrible! It literally lasted for 2 months with my second daughter. My husband and I basically went into survival mode during that time. Luckily, those colicky days will eventually pass.