Here at The Early Weeks, we are always talking to parents about their hopes and dreams and anxieties about their children. One topic that comes up fairly often is that of crying. Different questions and apprehensions always seem to surface like “how much crying is too much?”, “Is my baby sad when they cry?”, and “how do I help my baby cry less often?”. Those and many other similar questions always seem to be on the minds of parents. Today, we’re going to go over some fundamental information that every parent should know about crying. If you have any experience or tips for helping a crying baby, please sound out in the comments below! We always love hearing your perspectives.
Why Do Babies Cry? (And, Is It Always A “Bad” Thing?)
Addressing crying can be a sensitive topic to some, but it doesn’t have to be. Here are some of the baseline reasons that your child is crying.
- A child cries because they are communicating. As a baby, especially a newborn, they don’t have the language skills to help indicate their needs or frustrations or wants. They can, however, cry which seems to get mom’s and dad’s attention quickly! Don’t think of every single cry as a good or bad thing. It is often just their little way of telling you they need something like food, or a diaper change, or a warmer onesie.
- A child will cry to relieve stress. Being a parent of a newborn isn’t easy, but neither is actually being a newborn! Sometimes a baby will get stressed or frustrated and they just need to cry it out. Just as crying can help an adult get through something emotionally, so can crying help an infant.
- An infant will cry if they are overstimulated. If the TV gets too loud or there are too many voices talking in a crowded room (holiday party!) then they can get overstimulated and thus start crying. The best thing you can do in this situation is to take them to a calmer, quieter, and perhaps darker room and gently soothe them. They should be good to go in no time! Or, they may just fall asleep which is good too.
- A child will cry if they sense a change in routine. If a parent changes a pattern that a baby has expected for many many months, that child will let the parents know they disapprove of the change and this generally happens via crying. Sometimes for short periods others a bit longer.
Crying Is Part Of Developing
It’s important to note that the goal isn’t to necessarily reduce the amount of crying to zero, but to help understand why your child is crying in any given situation. Crying helps your baby communicate with you and also is good stimulation for their lungs, throat, and vocal cords. There are definitely pluses to crying even though in the moment it seems like all downsides.
In Conclusion
Dealing with the crying of your child is no simple task. We are here to help and want to make the process as easy as possible. We hope these tips have helped you along your journey. If you have any questions about helping your baby to sleep better, finding adequate and professional newborn care help, or about your baby in general, please reach out to us HERE. We are experts in all things baby and sleep and would love to help!
If you have questions about your child, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We would love to help. Please reach out to us here! We always look forward to hearing from you.
