Everyone know, it is just a fact of life that babies are going to cry. This can be especially true for newborn babies. Crying is the only way that a baby has to communicate his or her needs. In addition, crying is a sign that your baby is healthy and normal. Yet, especially for many first time parents, you may not know what to do when your newborn cries.
The first thing to do when your newborn cries is to try to figure out why it is that your newborn is crying. Crying almost always represents a need of some sort. Knowing what sorts of things that your newborn may need can help you work through what it is that you should do when your newborn cries. By working your way through the list of common causes for crying, you should eventually be able to know what your newborn’s need is, and to meet that need.
Being hungry is the first reason that your newborn might cry. He or she is telling you that it’s time to eat. Offering a breast or a bottle is often the first thing that you can do when your newborn cries. The next reason that your newborn might cry is that he or she is uncomfortable. This may be due to having a soiled diaper, or it can be that he or she is just too hot or too cold. Being uncomfortable is, perhaps, after being hungry, the main reason that a newborn will cry. Another possible reason that your newborn cries is because he or she wants to be held. Babies require a lot of tender love, care, and holding. Babies like to see faces, feel skin, and even listen to a parent’s heartbeat. Your newborn might cry because he or she is overstimulated, as well. Sometimes, it isn’t time to pick your baby up, it is time to put your baby down for a while, in a non-stimulating environment. Finally, your baby might cry because he or she just doesn’t feel good. She may have a cold, a stuffy nose, or a fever. It may even be something much less obvious, such as having a hair wrapped tightly around a toe.
If you can’t seem to determine why your newborn is crying, and if he or she is crying for an extended period of time, it may be time to visit your health care provider. While it is possible that your baby has colic, a condition in which a baby cries for three or more hours at a time three days a week, it may be that there is some other problem.