Crying

 
Infants cry, on average, between one and five hours per day. Crying tends to peak at about six weeks of age and then decreases gradually. Crying is important to the baby - it is his first and only method of communicating in the early stages of life. It is also a valuable way for him to release tension.

It can be difficult for parents to hear their child crying and fussing and they will do whatever they can to calm their child. However, this may be a difficult task when the crying is done as a means of releasing tension. Crying is normal for infants. Sometimes they will cry for extended periods of time. This should not be of concern. If however, crying seems to continue for excessive periods of time and the mother's intuition tells the mother something is wrong, she should not hesitate to seek medical assistance.

Just as it is normal for infants to cry, it is normal for parents to sometimes feel overwhelmed by their child's seemingly endless crying. If the mother is feeling stressed by the baby's crying, a break may be in order - either by finding a babysitter or letting her partner take full responsibility of the baby for a while.

Why is the baby Crying?

Infants cry for a wide variety of reasons. Primarily, crying is a form of communication. Crying is an attempt to portray hunger, pain, loneliness, fatigue, wet diapers, and discomfort. Often, babies have different cries for each of these situations and parents are able to recognize them. Once the source of the crying is alleviated, the crying typically stops. Some recommend letting an infant 'cry it out' - meaning letting them cry until they stop. This approach is questionable at best. Allowing a child to continue crying can actually make the situation much worse; often the child can cry themselves in to a panicked frenzy, and become much harder to calm. Also, attending to a child's cries and needs immediately provides them with a sense of safety, trust, and confidence in their parents. This is a key time to bond, and letting them cry can harm this.

The mother will notice too that there are particular periods during the day in which the baby seems most irritable, fussy, and prone to crying. During these periods the baby will require extra attention and care as he is very tired and having a difficult time relaxing. Typically, this period of increased crying and fuss occurs in the late afternoon or early evening.

As the baby ages, crying will become less frequent because his brain is maturing and the mother is better at recognizing the signs of discomfort and problems, and stopping them before crying can take over.

Although infant crying seems to occur without reason, there are some common reasons for crying. Remembering that crying is the baby's means of communication will help the mother better understand how to make it stop. Among the reasons the baby cries are:

1. Boredom, Fear and Isolation

The baby may cry because he is bored, restless, afraid, and lonely. If he is crying for one of these reasons, a feeding may not be able to settle him. Rather attention and care is the cure. The baby may calm down simply with the sight of the mother or other primary caregivers. Simply hearing the mother's voice, being held, or being touched, may calm the baby. Babies are often afraid of being left alone. If they are left by themselves or awake to find no one around, they can get quite upset.

2. Discomfort

Infants can feel discomfort from a number of sources: soiled diapers, gas or indigestion, uncomfortable temperatures, and painful positions. A sign of discomfort among babies can be sucking. Often when faced with discomfort infants will try to soothe themselves by sucking on something. This sucking will be frantic, and chewy. Feeding will not likely relieve the discomfort. Only when the discomfort is relieved with they settle down.

As with eating style, there are passive, average and active babies in terms of discomfort. The passive baby will express few signs of any real discomfort and will generally not fuss too much. This is directly opposed to the active baby, who is likely to become worked up over the slightest discomfort and demands relief immediately.

3. Hunger

Generally, infants will eat between six and ten times each day and during the first three months will wake for night feedings. If hunger is the cause of crying, the baby will eagerly accept a feeding and stop crying. Again, there are passive, average, and active babies when it comes to hunger. Some babies will show mild signs of hunger and will not fuss all that much when hungry. On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have the active babies, who will fuss and cry at the slightest occurrence of hunger.

4. Fatigue and Over-stimulation

When the mother has exhausted all avenues - feedings, attention, cuddling, diaper changes, etc. - and the baby has still not calmed down, he may simply be fatigued or over-stimulated. In this case, crying is the baby's means of releasing tension and calming down. For some infants, there may be a particular time of day at which they become more irritable and prone to crying. When they are crying because of fatigue or over-stimulation, there is really no way to stop them - crying will cease when they have had enough. The mother can, however, reduce noise, movement and stimulation in the baby's environment to help him relax. 'White noise' - monotonous background sounds - can help the baby relax.

5. Illness

The baby may be sick. If the baby's crying sounds different than usual, this may be a good sign that he is sick. If the baby is showing symptoms that are unusual according to his typical demeanor, a physician should be contacted.

6. Colic

Referred to as three month colic, or evening colic, it is characterized by a period of intense and prolonged crying and screaming during particular times of the day. The colic pattern tends to develop at the age of three weeks and will continue for nine to 11 weeks. Often, crying spells can last as long as three hours.

Crying Assessment Checklist

In assessing why the baby is crying there are a number of questions that the mother can ask to find the source of his consternation:

- Is the baby hungry?

- Does the baby need a diaper change?

- Is the baby too warm or cold?

- Does the baby need to be burped?

- Does the baby just need to be held and cuddled?

- Does the baby need a pacifier or something to suck on?

- Does the baby need to be moved into a more comfortable position?

If the mother has tried to solve the baby's crying by answering these questions and is still unable to help, she should let him rest in a cradle or crib for 10 to 20 minutes to see if he will stop crying on his own. If the baby still has not stopped crying, the mother should repeat the above suggestions. If the baby then continues to cry, and there is cause for concern (i. e. The baby has never continued crying like this before), the mother should then seek medical help.

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