Identifying Kinds of Infant Crying

Young babies cry. It is their first means of communication with us and is therefore an important part of infancy.

They can cry up to two hours a day, sometimes even more.

There are different types of infant cries and things that can be done to help stop them.

1) The hunger cry is usually preceded by an infant’s hands going to the mouth or by lip smacking.
If ignored, the baby will start a short and low-pitched cry. If further ignored, it will escalate into a similar but stronger anger cry.

Feeding the baby will usually stop this. Sometimes, though, the baby may just want to suck for comfort after she is already full.

2) A pain cry consists of a sudden, long, high-pitched shriek followed by a flat wail.
The baby in this case may have a wet or soiled diaper, or be too cold or hot. He may want to be swaddled.

It is possible that there is just too much visual, auditory or movement stimulation going on and he wants it to stop.

A tired baby may also scream like this.

Sometimes a pain cry can indicate that something is hurting the baby. He may be getting sick.

If no ready explanation for a pain cry is apparent, he can be inspected all over and his temperature can be taken.

On rare occasions a hair may be wrapped tightly around a finger or the penis.

3) Prolonged pain crying may start at a few weeks of age and last until at least three months of age – this is colic.

Colic is defined as three or more hours of crying for three or more days a week for three or more weeks.

It is thought to be due to a young infant becoming overwhelmed by sensory input such as sight, sound and movement. She then cries to block out all this input.

Infants with colic may be calmed with white noise such as that from a white noise machine, a fan or even a vacuum cleaner.

Being picked up and walked around or taken for a ride in a stroller or the car may also help.
If everything has been tried and the colicky infant is still crying, it is fine to swaddle her, put her in her crib and walk away for a few minutes.

This is better than accidentally harming her out of panic and frustration.