17 Important Signs That Can Help You Understand What Your Baby Wants

Managing an infant isn’t an easy task. What makes most parents nervous at times is the inability to read the signs of what a baby could be wanting or needing.  Parents are always worried about the health of a baby and this is a cause of huge tension when you can pinpoint what is causing a baby’s discomfort. They may be pulling up their knees and crying which could indicate a condition or they could be crying in a different tone, how do you find out what exactly is your baby crying for or what could be wrong. How do you understand the behavior of a baby as an indication of health condition or just wanting something? Fortunately, there are several baby experts out there and they say there are three main things that people can pick up as communication from their baby. Here is how you interpret your baby’s behavior to distinguish their needs.

1A calling cry

In the first 4 months of its life, a baby’s cry is the main way it expresses its needs but how does a parent decipher if this is because of hunger, pain, irritation or something else?  When a baby has spent time alone for a considerable length of time, they will soon want their mother and this need is interpreted through a continuous cry for 5-6 seconds. They will then pause for 20 seconds to wait for a response and if there isn’t one from the parent, they will again repeat the same style of crying a number of times till it becomes continuous when there is no response at all.

2The hunger cry

The hunger cry starts with a calling cry but if a baby isn’t picked up and fed, the cry becomes continuous and soon hysterical. The baby may also start rotating their head and will be seen making smacking sounds with their mouth as if to say “see I’m hungry”

3The cry of pain

A baby in pain will start crying in a monotonous loud and constant way. There also may be periodical outbursts of hysterical crying when the pain increases. If the baby is ill, this is indicated by a monotonous dull and quiet or feeble crying simply because they lack the strength and energy to cry or make a loud noise.

4Psychological cry

There are many things that can discomfort a child such as gas, urination, or defecation. The baby then cries in a typical way that resembles a whining and squeaking noise simply because it is experiencing discomfort from the wetness.