Identifying different sorts of cry
Your baby cries to communicate messages to you. Attending to your baby straight away when he cries has been proven to increase confidence in children when they are older and it is not recommended to leave your baby crying. Have a look at our video guide on how to soothe your crying baby.
However, learning what your baby's cries mean is an important part of the bonding process between you and your child and rest assured that every new parent feels a little bewildered at first, when faced with a bawling newborn.
Apparently, there are now machines available to buy that claim to be able to decipher what your baby’s cry means. For most parents though, a week or two at home with their new baby will help them to understand what different cries mean.
Although your baby has a myriad of cries that signal he is hungry, tired, bored, anxious or wants a diaper change, the cry that you will recognise when you hear it, is that of the ill child. If your baby is in pain, has a temperature or is unwell in some other way, he will tend to cry in a very high-pitched way, which is generally louder and more demanding than their usual cry.
Likewise, as urgent sounding and high-pitched crying is often a sign that your baby is feeling ill, so it is that grumbling, stop-start crying probably means your baby is hungry or bored. At the end of the day, you will soon pick up the demands being made of you and begin to be able to interpret and identify the different types of cry.
Why not chat to other mums about this, or other topics, by leaving a message on our chat forum. Alternatively, if you want to meet other mums in your area with similar age babies, visit our people section of the site to find out what is happening in your area, or join or start one of our groups.
If you have any unanswered questions, use our questions page to gain wisdom from other mums or our resident experts for all those pregnancy or baby-related niggles. Also, have a look at our Kit section where we list our top-rated baby equipment.
Remember we have a range of galleries into which you can upload photos of your baby; for instance there's Newborn, I love my baby, Funny photos or Monsters!
The information in this feature is intended for educational purposes only. If you have any concerns about your health, the health of your child or the health of someone you know, please consult with a doctor or other healthcare professional.
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