What to Do When Your Baby Is Crying

Crying is normal; it’s one of the ways a newborn communicates. As you and your newborn get to know each other better you will be able to identify what each cry means. (Moms often figure this out before dads.) At first, however, crying can make new parents feel either anxious or utterly miserable. It helps to be prepared; a good way to do that is to have a list of the possible reasons for crying. In this way, you have a better chance of managing the crying and staying calm.

The list in order of importance might be something like this:

• Is the baby hungry?
• Is the diaper wet or full?
• Does the baby have gas and need additional burping
for relief?
• Could the clothing or diaper be too tight?
• Is the baby too hot or cold?
• Is the baby tired?
• Is the baby’s temperature elevated?

Babies also respond to stressed parents and care-givers with their own stress, expressed as crying. Take a few deep breaths and calm yourself first before trying to calm your baby. Sometimes, however, you run through your entire list twice and the baby is still crying. If you have done everything you can think of and nothing has worked, the baby might just need to cry. Some babies cry for exercise. Think of it as baby jogging, leave him or her in a safe place like a crib or play pen, and take a time-out yourself.