Bona Vista's Child Care Solutions

As you flip through prenatal books and baby store catalogs you are bombarded with pictures of babies serenely sleeping, giggling, or curiously gazing at the camera. For many these pictures become a rarity in the early days of parenting. What we see instead is a face red and puckered from crying. So what is all the crying about?

When babies cry it can become frustrating. It is normal to feel discouraged, helpless, and even embarrassed at not being able to soothe your baby. Crying is a baby’s major form of communication. It is establishing what the cry means that can be challenging. A problem solving approach can often be best. So, consider sorting through the following to see if your little one has an unmet need:

• Hunger-Not all babies eat at regular intervals. It is not unusually for some babies to eat much more one day than another. A hungry baby will often cry intensely before a feeding or after. If you are not sure if your little one is hungry then try feeding a small amount of milk. If the milk is only taken a little before your baby turns away hunger is probably not the main cause of the crying.
• Boredom/ Feeling Overwhelmed- a baby who is not tired will not sleep and will cry out of boredom. Try singing songs or placing your baby on his/her tummy while you play together for tummy time. A baby will also cry if too much is going on in the environment. When a baby is overwhelmed some other signs are often excessive drooling, averting eyes, and hiccups. To calm an over-stimulated baby use soft tones and remove as many of the stimuli as possible.
• Needing Comfort- as adults when we become upset we calm ourselves down with deep breaths, taking a walk, meditating, etc. babies are not capable of self soothing. To help a baby calm down a few tricks can work wonders. Sucking is a natural calming response that babies actual display prenatally. Sucking on a pacifier, finger, or thumb can sometimes help calm a fussy baby. Holding a baby while you rock to create a gentle swinging motion helps recreate womb like comforts and can also help ease crying. Soothing sounds such as a lullaby or shh sound can also help but remember your singing has to be louder than the crying for the baby to be able to hear it.
  
• Hurt-do a head to toe look over your little one. Especially sensitive babies could cry because a sock is too tight, or a piece or hair is caught around a finger. Doing a check to make sure that your little one does not have any sore spots is always a good idea
• Too hot or too cold- We tend to overdress babies and being too hot is no fun. The ideal room temperature for an infant is about 68 degrees, a baby should not be sweaty, or shivering.
• Wet or dirty diaper- not all babies are as intensely bothered by soiled diapers as others, but changing diapers frequently can help prevent diaper rash which can be extremely painful.
• Tiredness-babies can become very tired quickly, but they will often struggle to fall asleep. A little background noise can often help a baby fall to sleep, remember the womb was full of the noises of mom’s heartbeat and more so babies are not accustomed to extreme quiet. Try turning a radio to a static station, running a vacuum cleaner, or using a noise maker to create white noise.

If you are still struggling with working through crying do not be afraid to ask for help. Talk to your child’s pediatrician, share your struggles at a new mommy or new dad’s group, or call your resource and referral agency and ask for the infant and toddler specialist.