Why Babies Cry

Here are nine reasons why babies cry and how to soothe them. 

- Stephanie Clarissa

There is no denying that babies are the most adorable and innocent. As parents, there is a tendency to be overprotective and more than affectionate to your newborn babies. At an early stage, parents may cling to a variety of handbooks or pregnancy guides that can share with you the many ways of taking proper care of your baby and what you need to know to avoid when it comes to dealing with your crying baby – especially, the dreadful midnight cries.

But in practical situations, babies cry most of the time. Parents have to be prepared and well informed on reasons why. Dr Vanessa von Auer, clinical psychologist at VA Psychology Center states that crying is a baby’s way for them to ensure a response from their caretaker. It is also important for parents to gradually learn how to communicate with their babies at times like these. When your baby is crying, he is trying to communicate with you the problem, whether hungry or sleepy. It is up to you to decode their cries and this is a challenge some parents face. Alvin, a therapist at Kidz-Pediatric Occupational Therapy Consultants dives deeper and explains to us that some babies cry more incessantly than others and are more challenging to soothe as their innate regulation capacities are compromised. Their responsibilities are to wake-sleep-wake-eat-pee/poo, and have some awake or interaction time, following after which the cycle repeats again. When these basic rhythms are not improving and lengthening, it may be due to underlying sensory processing and regulation inefficiencies. Hence this leads to your baby having a hard time to sleep or stay asleep. He further explains that self-soothing should happen naturally as it is a part of their development, where it gets better with age. If it does not, rocking (movement sense), swaddling and cuddling (joint sense) and suckling (oral sense) should suffice.