The truth about baby’s crying-new born help

 

 

When I am working with parents and teaching them about their baby’s behaviours, needs etc , the number one thing that really gets to them is wanting to hear the truth about their baby's crying. How much babies cry is individual.  Some experts say up to 3 hours a day for a newborn is average.This can be hard to get your head around. And even harder to deal with when you are in it.

 

I don’t mean little whingey cries that are easily stopped with a nappy change or feed or cuddle.  The cry that says where are you? are you there/ are you coming? Or the cry that says just cuddle me, give me a burp and I will be dandy.
I am talking about the big distressed cry when parents think OMG, there must be something really wrong with my baby. The big cry that has you rushing to the emergency department because your little one has never done this before and there must be something wrong.
It is very distressing to be in this scenario. Be reassured, we, meaning doctors, midwives, health care professionals etc would rather you went to seek help and there was nothing wrong than to wait and think , “If there is nothing wrong, they will think we are stupid”. That will never happen.  Any time a parent is being a parent is good no matter what. It is better to err on the side of caution.
Anyway back to the crying.  Babies cry. For those parents whose newborn has not cried hardly at all, it comes as a huge shock to one day have their quiet, calm precious newborn, suddenly let out this huge cry or scream that seems far too big for their tiny body. And this big crying/screaming session can last for what seems like hours. Your natural instinct is to think that something is wrong.
For those parents whose little one has cried from day one for no apparent reason, it is also difficult for them to comprehend too.  I f nothing is wrong , then why does my baby cry all the time?  Sometimes it is really difficult to find out the cause of the crying when it is constant. This is perhaps more distressing because of the constant crying.  Usually as babies get older and more mature, the cause can be identified or justified.  Some parents have reported ” As soon as he could move himself around the floor he was happy.  He just wanted to be able to move.” Sometimes we do know what the cause is however we are doing our best to make them as comfortable as possible. The truth is, sometimes we just never understand why, they just seem to outgrow it at some stage. Most often between the ages of 3-6 months, sometimes longer.
In the adult, cognitively, thinking world, very generally, crying implies something is wrong.  How many times , when you are crying, possibly for happy reasons, does someone come up to you and say”what’s wrong?” .  There may be nothing wrong, you just feel like a cry because you are tired or  you just a watched a Lassie episode( that was me), or happy and not necessarily sad.
What I am trying to get to is that babies cry.  Our job is to think about why it may be and try to address what we think it is.  Remember babies can’t speak.  Sometimes if we think of it as my baby is talking to me, it can alleviate some pressure.  When you have gone through the usual checklist of what it possibly could be, our job is to be with them while they work their way through  what ever it is they are feeling.
Giving them that message of I am here to help you calmly is the best way to help them cope with whatever it is they are dealing with.  Crying reduces as your baby matures and they learn that you are there to help.

 

Warm regards

Leisa

 

Here’s to Sensational Baby Sleep !!

Ready to take the stress out of your baby’s sleep?

Grab your free 7 tips to sensational sleep in 7 days here  http://insyncwithinfants.com

To find out about working with Leisa 1 on 1 call 1800 880 993 or go to http://insyncwithinfants.com/contact/