Babies are helpless tiny human beings who need a lot of hugs and kisses from mom and dad, aunts and uncles, friends, and grandparents too. Crying is the only way newborn and infants or young tots can communicate with mommy and daddy. Parents can usually determine whether their baby’s cry is a cary of pain or cry of uneasiness but it usually is hard to tell at once.

There are many reasons why babies cry. Sometimes it gets so stressful for moms, dads, and other people nearby baby when they hear him/ her cry and it stresses them to figure  out what’s wrong or what needs to be done.

Here are some of the things I check when the baby cries and it’s always because of one of these. The list below is in the order of how I check them. I didn’t realize this until our second baby but it kinds makes sense..And really guys, it’s not all about hunger every time they cry 😉

1. Position. This is first one I usually check if baby’s comfortable in his position whether lying down or sitting. It’s the first you will notice anyway. The arm or leg might be in between something or something is restraining his/ her movements. You don’t need to change baby’s position. Simply check if everything is in place and baby’s comfortable.
2. Location. Check is baby’s in a very dark or bright location that he/she hates it. Baby might be in a noisy environment or in a very quiet one that he/she thinks there’s no one with him/her.
3. Temperature. The room or area where baby is might be too cold or too hot for his/ her clothes. Change baby’s clothes or change the environment’s temperature.
4. Surprised. Did the baby suddenly cry? Perhaps a loud bang or noise? Something fell on him/ her? Something of out the ordinary happened?
5. Hunger. This is the usual cause of baby’s cry if he/she is a newborn. For newborns, hunger happens often (less than 2 hours) but for formula-fed babies, maybe 2-3 hours.
6. Dirty Diaper. Check for full diaper, dislodged diaper, or with poop. You might want to check diaper rash too-these can be really irritating and itchy for babies.
7. Sleepy. Put baby to sleep in a relaxed and calm environment, sing or hum a lullaby or a song to him/her. Give lots of hugs and kisses.
8. Want to be carried around. Give lots of sweet cuddles, hugs, and kisses too. Walk around with the baby too in a relaxing position for you and for baby. He/She might end up sleeping.
9. Scared. Sudden loud noises and new elements around baby may scare him/her. Make sure you’re near baby for any change in environment to comfort baby when he/she sees and feels mom or dad.
10. Colic. When this happens, baby’s tummy is harder than usual, baby’s uneasy too. Make baby lie on his/her tummy for a few minutes or carry baby in upright position with his/her tummy leaning on your upper chest/shoulders area. Baby will burp the air out or fart them out. The relief is instant sometimes. But usually it takes a little longer to comfort baby if he’s colicky. Some people in the Philippines put Acete de manzanilla (available in drug stores) to warm baby’s tummy, give gripe water (available in Healthy Options or here), or this interesting gadget I found here. You may also ask your doctor but usually most doctors don’t believe in Acete de Manzanilla 😉
11. Teething. Teething happens from 4 to 5 months onwards. 4 months is early though but it can happen. Give baby a teether or put teething gel on his/her gums for relief. If you know it’s really teething, give a very fussy baby paracetamol (confirm with your doctor for the right dosage for your child if you’re not sure).
12. Not feeling well. Check baby’s temperature just to be sure. Check for wounds too or scratches that he/she could’ve accidentally don’t to himself/herself.
13. A Wonder Week.  When I was a new mom I read this book THE WONDER WEEKS. It’s interesting to know every week and stage of my baby. I got to understand baby’s more and their behavior. You may get the App version also of this book. Click here to know more about it. Here, you’ll know more about developmental stages, wonder weeks where babies get fussy because of new skills coming up, etc. A really good book and app! There’s an audio book for your busy hands too. Wonder Week consists of crying, crankiness, and clinginess so you have to find ways to soothe your baby if all of the above are not the reasons for crying. Here’s their website to know more about it: https://www.thewonderweeks.com

Hope these reasons will help know more about babies more. They need all the adults’ help for now. They are 100% dependent. In time, they can talk and tell you what they feel and it gets a little more complicated as they grow up 😉 Enjoy every baby moment!

Babies just need extra love, extra care, extra help, and extra hugs. I’m not saying we don’t need it as we grow up, of course we still do and sometimes still lots of it. We just shouldn’t be 100% be dependent anymore to our parents or other people or else- it’s a whole different story 😉 – Tina T.