Parenting

Why do babies cry

Babies cry
Babies cry

Many parents experience a lot of stress when babies cry. However, it’s a situation to be handled instead of feeling anxious. Crying is the natural way for a baby to interact with its parents. It is not essential that babies cry out of frustration. It may seem strange, but crying babies do serve a good purpose. It means that babies who cry can verbally communicate their distress. Though it seems exhausting for parents, at least it allows parents to tackle the situation.
On the other hand, calm and quiet babies provide much comfort and parents think they have no issues. However, it may cause a problem because babies who don’t cry or don’t show any emotion are considered unresponsive. They are unable to convey their feelings of pain, and at this point, a child’s specialist should be consulted immediately.
Since crying is the only way for them to express their feelings, their crying manners and habits have different implications. Hence, parents must be vigilant in understanding their children’s crying patterns. This way, parents would be able to address their babies’ problems right away. It is also effective if parents can keep a track of the time and behavior of their baby’s crying. It can help them to be prepared in advance.
So, instead of fretting, take a deep breath and leap towards recognizing some of the basic reasons why babies cry:

Call For Parents’ Loving Touch

Indeed, cribs, cots, and swing chairs are considered essential in taking care of the baby, but babies at times cry because they crave physical contact with their parents the most. Scientific studies have shown that skin-to-skin contact between babies and parents is proven to increase a healthy bond between them. Babies feel secure and safe when arms are wrapped around them. They can respond to the touch, smell, and warmth of your body and feel satisfied.

Unclean Diaper

Babies frequently dirty their diapers, and then they cry. This makes them feel uneasy, and they don’t like their skin being scratchy. However, after some time, they develop a routine of dirtying their diapers at a certain time. Parents need to carefully monitor and when babies cry at that particular time, they’ll definitely know that the babies need a nappy change.

Empty Stomach

Obviously, if a baby requires recurrent diaper changes, then he/she would be hungry most of the time. Babies cry the most when they need to be fed. Their stomachs are small and they can’t contain much in them. However, they empty it often, and hence they want it at regular intervals. Even if the last feed was a few minutes ago, parents should not think that the baby must have been crying for a different reason. In the early months, babies need to be fed every 2-4 hours. As mothers feed them, they get to have the idea of when babies are fully satisfied and will stop crying.

Exhaustion

Babies get weary too. They feel tired, whether it’s from playing in the crib or kicking their legs in a paddling motion. Sometimes the babies are over-stimulated by loud noises or the numerous activities around them. Babies are not able to use all their sensory abilities all at once. Therefore, they become cranky at little things and have difficulty sleeping when it gets crowded around them. The situation is irritable, and they cry to express their annoyance. Parents need to take them to a quiet room and help them to sleep peacefully without any hindrance.

Colic Issues

Colic is one of the many basic reasons why babies cry. A colicky baby cries continuously for hours and hours. It makes the parents really terrified. However, colic issues need to be addressed because they might be happening due to some allergies or acid reflux in a few cases. These allergies arise due to babies’ reacting to breast milk. In cases of reflux, they spit up their milk feedings. The babies become deeply frustrated and turn red with excessive crying.

Gas Problems

Babies who face gas problems are extremely uncomfortable and in deep pain. Furthermore, if the baby is colicky, it may cause them to inhale more air and hence make them gassy. Babies experiencing gas issues cry a lot and are persistently fussy for hours. They refuse to sleep or eat and merely cry. Mothers need to make sure that they burp after their feeds or lie down on their stomachs to relieve them of their pain.

Fear of Strangers

Babies consider a stranger’s touch as hostile. When somebody who isn’t familiar with them picks them up, they show their discomfort by crying. They don’t feel at ease or secure with an unfamiliar touch or smell. The ideal way to introduce someone to your baby is to simply spend some time together with them while you are holding the baby. Start a conversation and sit nearby. One of the parents must carry the baby through this process. This way, the baby will become acquainted with an unfamiliar face in the comfort of his parents. After a while, realizing a friendly face, the baby will be willing to be held by the stranger and won’t cry.

Though they may all seem like crying sounds, with time, babies develop a specific and different crying pitch or call for each one of them. Parents are asked to maintain their calm during these early years when babies only communicate through crying. It may seem infuriating, but it’s the only way they express themselves. Be patient and tune yourself according to their needs and crying habits. This will only make the parents share a close bond with their babies and understand them more.

Conclusion

Understanding the baby in the early years may seem difficult, but with time, parents and close ones tend to understand and address the infant’s concerns in an efficient manner. It is not possible to nourish a baby without making any mistakes. Each baby is different and requires different treatment in various situations. Therefore, you cannot judge everything just by other people’s experiences. The early years are a golden time of bonding between baby and parents. Hence, it is also a time for learning new things and experimenting with the different behavioral patterns of your baby. Eventually, both parents and the baby start making communication that may have no language but is solely based on love and care.

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