Baby

Crying is your baby’s distress signal — no wonder it can trigger a rush of emotions and an instinctive urge to comfort her. That instinct is a good thing. When you respond quickly, consistently and lovingly to your baby’s cries, you are setting the foundation for secure and healthy development.

Why is she crying?
As a new parent, you’ll spend a fair bit of time pondering this question! Most parents start with a quick check for physical causes: hunger, a burp that needs to come up, a dirty diaper irritating the skin. But babies also cry from emotional distress — boredom, fear, a need for cuddling, tension, overstimulation, fatigue — and these emotional needs are just as real as hunger.

Crying tends to peak at six weeks of age and then taper off, as baby adjusts to her world and learns to communicate in other ways.

How do you soothe a crying baby? Think in terms of “recreating the womb” — providing the rhythmic sounds, movement and closeness that she experienced before birth.

Originally published in Today's Parent Newborn, 2006