Causes of constant crying in a newborn. Why does a baby cry: main causes of concern

The birth of a little person is not only a joyful event, but also very exciting. This is especially true for couples who have become parents for the first time. A newborn's crying seems like a huge problem and a cause for panic. In fact, this is the natural behavior of a new family member, who in this way makes clear his discomfort.

Quite quickly, the mother will learn to understand why the baby is crying. But in the first month this may be difficult. Below we will describe the most common reasons why a child cries and how to help him in each case.

The most common causes of baby crying

Of course, each person is individual, and this fully applies to newborns. However, there are common reasons that bother babies in the first months after birth. These include:

• hunger;
• colic;
• discomfort in the intestines;
• wet underwear or full diaper;
• desire to sleep and inability to fall asleep on your own;
• fear;
• boredom;
• health problems.

Often these are the reasons behind the child’s anxiety, and all that is needed is to eliminate the source of the problem. In fact, the most important thing for a baby at this time is a sense of security. What a mother should absolutely not do is be nervous, panic, and especially scream. It is much more important to calm down and convey this feeling to the inconsolably crying baby. And for help to be quick and effective, you need to learn to distinguish between the types of children's crying.

If the baby is hungry

This reason is the most common. However, it would be a mistake to give your baby breast or formula right away. Despite the fact that modern pediatricians have come to the general opinion that infant feeding should be on demand, some gap must still be maintained. This is necessary so that a bottle or breast milk does not become the only means of sedation, so that the baby is attached to it exclusively for food.

So, if a little boy or girl cries loudly and invitingly, it is most likely from hunger. But before you start feeding, you should be sure of your assumption. To do this you can:

• touch the corner of the lips of a screaming baby with a bent finger: if the reason is determined correctly, he will immediately turn his head and open his mouth in response;
• pick him up: as a rule, a hungry baby immediately begins to look for the breast if he is breastfed.

Even if you don’t do these manipulations, you can notice that the baby is hungry if he smacks his lips. It is also important to keep track of the time that has passed since he was last fed.

Spasms and colic

Another common cause of children's tantrums is colic in the stomach. This problem can very rarely be avoided. If your one-month-old baby is not hungry, try to understand if he is bothered by discomfort.

If this is the reason, the baby's crying will be sharp and piercing. He will begin to bend, tense, and his face may turn red. The cry in connection with this problem is difficult to confuse with something else.

There are many ways you can help your baby with colic.

• Massage the tummy - gently massage it clockwise with your hands. It is advisable to do this procedure every evening for preventive purposes.
• Do a little gymnastics: energetically but gently lift the baby’s legs towards the stomach, thereby helping him release gases.
• Place a warm diaper on your tummy.
• Give a special remedy, for example, dill water.
• Install the gas outlet pipe. This method is not recommended to be used too often, because any physical irritation of the intestines can lead to improper functioning in the future. But when you cannot do without it, you should follow some rules: pick up the phone strictly according to age; lubricate the end that is inserted into the anus with baby cream; exercise extreme caution.

It should be remembered that it is the immaturity of the gastrointestinal tract and nervous system that is the most common explanation for why a newborn baby cries. If the cause of the hysteria was discomfort in the abdomen, then after the manipulations you will feel that the baby not only stopped crying, but also sharply relaxed. Most likely, after this he will fall asleep sweetly.

Hypothermia or overheating

Many mothers dress their children incorrectly, causing them to experience discomfort. It is important to consider that children suffer from overheating more severely than from hypothermia. Therefore, when walking with your baby in a stroller, it is better to take a blanket with you than to put another jacket on him.

So, if on the street or at home a child suddenly begins to show signs of tearfulness, check whether he is hot or cold. To do this, touch the back of the child’s head or wrist to see if they are covered with sweat or, conversely, if they are frozen.

If your child cannot fall asleep on his own

This problem usually occurs in two-month-old babies who are too tired and then have difficulties due to the fact that they cannot sleep properly. In this case, mother's care and affection are especially important. You can put your baby to your breast more often; the list of beneficial properties of milk also includes a calming effect. If the child is on artificial nutrition, a bottle can also help. When a baby sucks for a long time, he not only gets full, but also gets tired, so this method is quite effective. However, do not give your baby more formula than his daily requirement.

Another way to improve your sleep is to create a routine and always strictly adhere to it. So, for example, the child will soon get used to the fact that after bathing there is a long night's sleep.

You can help relieve accumulated fatigue and mental stress by rocking yourself, lullabies and simply affectionate words. The main thing is that the baby stops crying - then, feeling safe next to his mother, he will be able to sleep peacefully.

Crying in a dream

This problem appears in older children. Why does a child cry in his sleep? There can be many explanations for this concern.

After a year, children begin to dream at night, and it takes them time to get used to it. It is highly not recommended to leave a one-year-old baby alone to sleep at night. If he dreams of something that scares him, and when he wakes up, he does not find his parents nearby, this can lead to serious psychological problems. In addition, all daytime impressions can return at night, so on busy days, mother’s support is especially important.

Crying in a dream may appear during the period of weaning from diapers. If a child starts to need to go to the toilet, he may not always wake up. But a wet bed most often leads to negative consequences, so try to wake him up at short intervals and put him on the potty when sleepy. You will have to do this several times, but gradually the baby will learn to sleep all night without the need to get up.

A similar problem appears in almost every child who goes to kindergarten. New people, an environment, establishing relationships in a group - all this can become serious stress for a little person. Against this background, he can even wake up in a wet bed. During the period of adaptation to the garden, be prepared to wake up at night and come to the aid of a crying baby, caressing and calming him.

Other signs that can help determine the cause of crying

In addition to those listed, there are a number of other explanations why a child constantly throws tantrums and cries a lot.

• Wet diapers or full diaper. The baby may wake up and cry suddenly. He will try to get rid of the diaper. If he sleeps in a wet diaper, he will begin to show anxiety. The crying in this case will be a whimper, and constant fidgeting is an additional sign of determining the cause.
• If the baby suddenly began to cry and at the same time turned slightly pale, then most likely he was cold. In this case, the crying will be plaintive, sometimes accompanied by hiccups.
• Also, waking up and restlessness can be associated with overheating. At the same time, the crying is whimpering, the child waves his arms and legs.
• If the baby is capricious when trying to entertain him, and whines, then it looks like he is overtired. The little one will calm down if you pick him up or put him in a cradle and rock him.
• If the baby is afraid of something, the crying will be special: shrill and frightened. He may tremble and even burp unexpectedly. In this case, only motion sickness and a gentle mother's voice will help.
• Another reason is constipation. The crying is sharp and accompanied by slight redness of the face. Constipation often occurs after introducing additional food or feeding at very short intervals. Feeding too early can have a negative impact on children's intestines, so it is important to find out the opinion of your personal pediatrician. It may be worth waiting a while before starting to feed your baby solid foods. And provide your son or daughter with enough water: if with full breastfeeding the need for liquid is covered by milk, then with artificial and mixed nutrition, as well as after the introduction of complementary foods, the child must be given plain water to prevent constipation.

Thus, if a child is sleeping poorly or crying, immediately try to determine what he might want. Then you can quickly help him solve the problem.

Crying is the baby’s most powerful way to attract the attention of others; it tells them that the child is tired, sick, hungry. When we cry, the baby signals that he needs help.

The crying of a baby has many meanings and over time the mother understands why the baby is crying and always comes to the baby’s aid.

The main causes of crying in young children are:

1. hunger;
2. intestinal colic;
3. cold or heat;
4. pain;
5. fatigue;
6. lack of attention and communication;
7. wet diapers, diaper rash.

Sharp crying in a baby

In the first month of life, the baby cries less often, due to the immaturity of the nervous system, and only such strong irritants as hunger, pain or fear can provoke this powerful element of the child’s adaptation to new living conditions.

The main task of parents is to provide their infant with comfortable living conditions. Especially contraindicated for a newborn and baby in the first months of life:

• bright light;
• sharp loud sound (screaming, knocking);
• constantly running TV or other sound-reproducing equipment.

A small child may cry, experience difficulty falling asleep, fatigue, pain, or hunger.

Hunger as a reason for crying

Hunger is considered the most common cause of crying in children under 3 months.
“Hungry” crying differs from other types of crying easily: the baby begins to cry a certain time after feeding, while making sucking movements with his mouth, stretching out his arms and “catching the breast.” Crying is demanding, loud and persistent. Usually, crying from hunger occurs when feeding is untimely or when the mother has a lack of milk (hypogalactia) of various origins.

If the crying is caused by hunger, the baby will calm down after feeding.

Today, the main WHO recommendations for feeding, especially for newborns and children in the first months of life (up to 6 months), is feeding at the child’s request, and not according to the clock. But at the same time, parents should not forget about other reasons for the baby’s crying, offer the breast, but not insist, especially if little time has passed since feeding. Usually, with normal lactation and sufficient time for the baby to be at the breast, he will want to eat no earlier than 1.5-2 hours, and overfeeding leads to regurgitation and an increase in intestinal colic. If your baby often asks for the breast, you need to contact your pediatrician and determine the cause of the “hungry” cry.

Fatigue

Infants up to 3 months sleep from 18 to 20 hours and this is associated with physiological fatigue due to hyperexcitability of the nervous system. The main reaction to fatigue, both physical and psycho-emotional, is crying. The more tired the baby is, the longer and harder the baby will cry. The hallmark of crying from fatigue is that the person first loses interest in the world around him, then begins to whine, move restlessly, and then cry loudly. It is important to know that the baby cannot always calm down and fall asleep on his own. The baby needs to be picked up, calmed and lulled to sleep. Children also quickly calm down in the fresh air. At the first signs of fatigue, you can try to bathe the baby - in most cases, water has a calming effect on the child, the baby quickly calms down and falls asleep. You can add a few drops of valerian tincture to the water, and bathe your baby in herbal decoctions - mint, chamomile, calendula. But if you are too tired, you cannot bathe your child - this will lead to overstimulation of the nervous system.

Lack of communication

Infants urgently need not only care and food, but also communication. The need for communication is an important quality and in its absence, the full development of the child’s emotional sphere and intelligence is impossible, and he does everything to attract the attention of an adult, especially close contact with his mother.
If there is a lack of communication, the baby's crying and screaming is not associated with unpleasant sensations, and as soon as the baby gets the attention of an adult, he immediately calms down.

Hot or cold

Often the child cries, experiencing discomfort from overheating or hypothermia of the baby, due to the immaturity of the thermoregulation system.
If the baby is hot, redness of the skin is noted, the baby begins to whine, rush around in the crib, freeing his arms and legs, and then cry loudly. Crying intensifies with the appearance of red spots on the skin - prickly heat and with an increase in body temperature.

If the baby is cold, his crying, at first, has a sudden and shrill character, the cry gradually turns into a whimper with the addition of hiccups. At the same time, the baby’s arms, legs and nose are cold, and the skin on the back and chest is cool. Parents need to create comfortable conditions for the child and this is the prevention of both colds and overheating, as well as any discomfort of the child.

Crying in a baby's sleep

A baby's anxiety during sleep can be caused by:

• uncomfortable sleeping conditions (uncomfortable posture, prolonged pressure on the skin from folds of clothing or linen, heat or cold);
• intestinal colic;
• wet clothes and diaper rash;
• pain syndrome (ear pain, teething, stomatitis).

In the first month of life, it is important to choose the right clothes and bedding (they should be made from natural materials, without synthetic additives), constantly level the bed, and turn the baby over.

Wet clothes constantly irritate the skin, causing redness, itching, diaper rash and small wounds to appear.

Strong crying in a baby

Intestinal colic is considered the second most common cause of infant crying. They arise due to the immaturity of the enzymatic systems of the baby, the development of allergic reactions, and malnutrition of the nursing mother. At the same time, gases accumulate in the baby’s intestines, which irritate the intestinal walls, causing bloating and pain.

In this case, the child’s crying is paroxysmal, intermittent. The baby screams and starts crying, calming down for short periods of time. When crying, the baby pulls its legs towards its stomach. Feeding does not eliminate it, it only makes the crying worse; sometimes the child begins to cry out immediately after feeding.

In modern pediatrics, step-by-step therapy for intestinal colic in infants is used, which represents a set of measures for background correction and measures to eliminate a pain attack.

Background correction methods include:

1. Proper feeding;

2. The use of herbal and other preparations (Plantex, fennel decoction, Espumisan, Bobotik, Baby Calm, Babynos);

If colic occurs, you must:

• take the baby in your arms, pressing his tummy to your body;
• put a warm dry compress, a heating pad, or a warm diaper on the baby’s stomach;
• bathe the baby in a warm bath with herbal decoctions and valerian;
• massage the baby's tummy clockwise with a warm palm;
• use a gas outlet tube;
• After feeding, it is necessary to hold the baby in an upright position.

Proper nutrition for a nursing mother is important to prevent the development of intestinal colic.

Other causes of pain

Infant crying is often caused by a pain syndrome that can occur with stomatitis (thrush), ear inflammation (otitis media), with the onset of a viral infection or the first signs of a cold due to a sore throat, inflammation of the laryngeal ligaments, and nasal congestion.

Thrush (stomatitis) manifests itself in the form of a white film, inflammation of the mucous membranes and the appearance of ulcers, so the baby experiences anxiety and pain, especially when feeding, due to soreness when sucking and irritation of the mucous membranes. The baby cries and refuses to breastfeed.

With otitis media, sharp pain occurs when swallowing and pain in the ears at night. The baby's cry becomes strong, shrill and inconsolable.

If any severe cough occurs in an infant, parents should immediately seek medical help to determine the cause and prescribe timely and adequate treatment.

A child appeared in the house: cute, smiling and so small! You can’t help but want to protect him and save him from everything in the world, but sometimes it’s difficult for a mother to help her baby, and it’s especially difficult to figure out why an infant is crying. Some grandmothers say: “Let him scream - he develops his lungs!” But this approach is by no means correct. It is imperative to understand the reason for children's crying and find a solution.

Children's cry as communication

A child's cry broke the silence - a new person was born. All expectant mothers look forward to the first cry and rejoice when they hear it. The absence of a cry, on the contrary, makes you anxious and wonder if everything is okay. Screaming means everything is fine: this logic only works when a baby is born. Healthy young children whose needs are fully met do not cry without reason.

Small children cannot speak, and screaming is often the only way to express their needs. But how can we understand what exactly the child wanted to “say” by crying? An interesting way to understand why an infant cries was proposed by Spanish scientists. They advise looking into the baby's eyes. If they are open, it means the child is angry or scared, and if the eyes are closed, then he is in pain.

Experts also advise taking a closer look at the baby’s facial expressions and the nature of crying. An angry child cries loudly and sobbingly, gradually calming down. In case of illness, crying can drag on for several hours. The child will not only not calm down over time, but will start screaming more and more.

Objective reasons for children's crying

A baby may cry for various reasons. Some of them are easy to “calculate”, others you need to guess. But every mother should know what a child’s crying can mean. Here is a list of the most objective reasons for baby crying:

• Hunger. The cry of a hungry baby is accompanied by special movements and grimaces: he pulls his arms towards his mother, smacks his lips and turns his head from side to side, looking for the breast.
• The child wants to sleep. relatively little. Mostly he sleeps - this is necessary for the development and processing of received information. If the baby's mood suddenly changed and he began to cry without responding to attempts to distract and cheer him up, you should put the child to bed.
• Wet diaper. Even disposable diapers sometimes cause a lot of anxiety in children when they become wet, not to mention reusable gauze diapers. Crying because of a wet diaper is accompanied by movements of the legs, so the baby is trying to get rid of it (wagging his legs).
• Overwork. If your child starts crying for seemingly no apparent reason, he may have received too much information and become overtired. By crying, he signals a desire to rest. This often happens after guests arrive.
• The child is sweating or cold. If your baby is crying, check if the ambient temperature is comfortable. If the nose and hands are cold, the baby is frozen. And if he turns red and has a heat rash, it means he has overheated. This discomfort can also cause the baby to cry.
• Colic. Colic is caused by gas accumulated in the intestines. A characteristic feature of crying due to colic is the pulling of the legs towards the tummy. Also, as a rule, colic occurs at the same time. Then the child begins to cry.
• Teeth are being cut. Teeth begin to erupt at the age of 6 months. For some children, this unpleasant process is painless, while for others, on the contrary, it is accompanied by severe pain. In this case, the child becomes restless, cries constantly, puts everything in his mouth and loses his appetite.
• Uncomfortable clothes. The baby's crying may be due to a narrow elastic band on the sliders, convex buttons, hard seams, or a zipper that can pinch the baby's delicate skin. It is necessary to check whether all things are comfortable and whether they cause discomfort to the child.
• Change of weather. Young children are susceptible to weather anomalies: magnetic storms, sudden changes in temperature and pressure, and others.
• Lack of attention. Sometimes children just want to feel like their mother is nearby. Their cry is a kind of call. Crying due to lack of attention goes away as soon as the mother takes the child in her arms. Attempts to put him in his crib are accompanied by more crying.
• Pain. A child's crying caused by pain is the most dangerous. A sick baby cries constantly. Because of the pain, the child often wakes up at night, shuddering sharply, and crying loudly. It is advisable to contact a pediatrician, especially if the parents can know the reason why the child got sick (hypothermia, fell, poisoning).
• Inflammation in the urinary tract. In this case, the baby cries before peeing. An increase in temperature may also be an indicator.
• Irritation of the anus. In this case, the child will cry during bowel movements. The reasons for this may be improper or insufficient hygiene, careless insertion of a gas tube or suppositories into the anus.

Why does a baby cry while feeding?

Separately, I would like to consider the baby’s crying during feeding. As a rule, this behavior of a newborn often frightens the mother. She fears that he will give up breastfeeding altogether. Moreover, the smoothness of the breastfeeding process is extremely important both for the health of the baby and for the health of the mother.

Let's consider the reasons for a baby's crying during feeding:

• Pain in the mouth. It occurs due to stomatitis (thrush) or pharyngitis. Thrush can be identified by the white film that appears in the baby's mouth. With pharyngitis, the baby has difficulty swallowing due to a sore throat and cries.
• Otitis. This disease is accompanied by pain in the ears when swallowing. Therefore, a hungry little child literally attacks the chest, but at the first sips he bursts into tears.
• Bitter milk. For this reason, the child may take the breast, then throw it away, cry, take it again, throw it away... Milk becomes unpleasant in taste if the mother has eaten onions, garlic or spicy food.
• "Rapid" milk. When milk fills the breast, its flow becomes too strong. The baby chokes and cries for this reason.
• Lack of milk. If there is little milk, the baby sucks hard at the breast, but does not get enough. This makes him angry and he cries.
• Neurological disorders. One of them is hydrocephalic syndrome. In this case, the child experiences headaches when swallowing. You should consult a doctor immediately.

In order for the child to calm down, you need to find out the reason for his crying - that is, what he is asking for - and eliminate it. It is clear that if the baby is hungry, he needs to be fed; if the child cries before bed or is overtired, he needs to be put to bed. A wet diaper should be replaced with a dry one, and the baby should be washed and the bottom should be lubricated with cream. A frozen child will fall asleep as soon as he warms up: change his clothes or lie down together under a blanket and warm the baby with the warmth of your own body. If your child is sweating, wipe him or her with a damp swab and change into lighter clothing.

To rid your child of colic, several measures should be taken to prevent colic and prevent its occurrence:

• Adjust ;
• It is correct to breastfeed your baby;
• After feeding, hold the baby in an upright position: “gopher” or “column”;
• Help your child cope with pain. To do this, you can apply a warm diaper to his tummy, put the baby's tummy on your chest, or massage the tummy clockwise.

When teething, pain can be reduced with the help of teethers or special gels. To prevent a month-old baby from worrying about uncomfortable clothes, choose seamless options or with seams facing out. The elastic bands should not be tight. It is better to replace buttons with rivets, and not use zippers at all. Slips are very convenient, combining a blouse, panties, socks and “scratchies”.

If your child does not have enough attention, put everything aside and caress him. The same should be done when the weather changes. Rock the child, sing him a calm song, tell him rhymes or nursery rhymes. If crying is caused by unknown reasons, you should consult a doctor and immediately begin the prescribed treatment. In the meantime, show your child how much you love him and how dear he is to you.

Many baby care manuals talk about crying. It accompanies life so naturally baby that it is simply impossible to forget about him. However, few places mention how a mother feels when her baby bursts into tears. Let's figure out why a newborn often cries, whether it is necessary to take a crying child in your arms, how to cope with and react to crying in older children.

Everywhere you can read that “gradually the mother learns to distinguish the sounds made by her child.” With experience, you really begin to see the difference between the cry of a hungry wolf and the whimpering of a sick baby. But no one mentions that any kind of crying is ultimately very draining.

Of course, the mother has enough intelligence and empathy to understand that the baby has no other ways of expressing himself. He screams not at all to annoy his mother, but only to ask her for help.

Of course you know all this. However, for a split second you have the urge to shout: “Will you ever shut up, little monster!”

Depending on the age of the child, crying is perceived differently, and several stages can be distinguished in the perception of children's crying by parents.

• : the parents do not understand very well the reason for his crying, they feel powerless, frantically trying to find at least some solution, asking themselves whether they are good parents (feeling of guilt - 5 points on a five-point scale).
• A few weeks later: parents know why their baby is crying, and without hesitation they find a solution (which they came to through sleepless nights and hundreds of dirty diapers).
• After a few months: has perfectly mastered how to make his parents react, and begins to use all his powers of persuasion. The parents are already quite seasoned and know how to avoid the traps set by the little sly one.

Favorite time and place of a screaming baby

• In the middle of the night at the hotel.
• In the supermarket, under the evil gaze of women in curlers.
• On an airplane (especially during a long flight).
• When mom is on the phone and needs to write down important information about an upcoming meeting.
• In the car as you try to find your meeting place.
• During any ceremony, meeting to which you were forced to take it.

A newborn baby does not cry the most, but it is the one who is the most difficult to understand. You must always assume that he will not throw a tantrum just like that, and you must establish the reason by conducting a little investigation. Don’t worry, you will very quickly become a real Sherlock Holmes: it has been scientifically proven that ten days after the birth of a child, a mother can recognize from 3 to 6 types of his crying.

Should I pick him up right away?

How to choose between the instinctive desire to comfort your child and what the remnants of neurons that survived in the mother’s brain suggest (“no, no, no, we need to wait a little”)?

By answering your child's call, you let him know that you are here and ready to comfort him and help him. If a baby understands that there is someone nearby who can be trusted, he will grow up calm and confident.

Nevertheless, the baby will make great progress in his development if he learns to console himself, finding the strength to calm down. A restrained and compassionate presence is the right attitude for the ideal mother, isn’t it?

When nothing helps

He is crying. As a rule, this happens in the late afternoon. You tried to solve this problem: you changed the baby’s clothes and fed him. You rock him, caress him. Nothing helps. These are classic colic, resulting from the child’s need to get rid of the stress accumulated during the day, from the tension experienced (excitement, fatigue, joy, etc.). Haven’t you ever wanted to release yourself from an excess of emotions?

In such situations, the child’s stress and discomfort become contagious: the mother feels powerless, begins to get nervous, and tension increases. Give your baby time to calm down by leaving him in his room, only coming in occasionally to check if everything is okay. If he continues to cry, you can walk with him from room to room, provided that you yourself remain calm while doing so...

It will also be necessary to come to terms with these passing crises, they are inevitable, and try to experience them with dignity, without aggravating the situation.

Older baby crying

A growing baby may develop new types of crying. As a person develops, his anxieties become more sophisticated. Having dealt with primitive problems (hunger, thirst, sleep, wet diapers), the child moves into the wonderful world of metaphysical concerns: I want to attract your attention, I need love...

"Hey, I'm bored!" As soon as a child stops sleeping all day long, he is overcome by a thirst for discovery. Don't leave him in the crib, take advantage of the fact that he is still still and take a lounge chair with him. He will be happy to watch his mother wash the dishes, prepare food, and clean.

Inexpensive and very entertaining toys

• A small plastic bottle with a few paper clips, pebbles or dry beans (note: the cap must be screwed on very tightly).
• Cardboard tube made from foil.
• A well-closed box of cotton swabs.
• Plastic bracelets.
• A variety of boxes that can be opened and closed.
• Cardboard food packaging (usually decorated with bright, beautiful pictures).

“You don’t allow me to touch what I want - I’ll throw such a tantrum for you now!” Frustration is perhaps one of the most painful feelings that children experience. Parents set boundaries and prohibit them from touching outlets, light bulbs, fragile trinkets, etc. The baby needs to learn to cope with this feeling.

“No, mom, don’t leave me!” Quite quickly, the baby learns the feeling of sadness when seeing you leave. It is generally accepted that by 8 months he discovers “separation anxiety”, in other words, the fear that you will not return again. Of course, everything is individual for each child: some cry as soon as their mother goes into the next room, while others don’t remember her even two days later. In both cases there is no cause for alarm, all this will pass.

A baby’s crying is always associated with key stimuli and needs, so among the main reasons for crying are the following:

• hunger;
• thirst;
• desire to attract attention;
• pain;
• discomfort;
• fear;
• overwork;
• hypothermia;
• overheat.

At the first stages, the mother is not yet able to determine by the nature of the crying what exactly the little child needs. However, during the process of habituation, different types of crying become recognizable, since the intonation, volume and duration in each case differ from each other.

Video - How to calm your baby

Most often, a child cries because he is hungry, in pain, or afraid. In such situations, the newborn cries most loudly, invitingly and heartbreakingly. Characteristic signs will help you recognize which of the listed reasons is bothering your baby at a given moment.

1. Hunger crying is often very loud, prolonged and intense. Over time, the little one begins to seem to choke. In such a situation, the child will begin to intuitively search for the breast immediately after he finds himself in his mother’s arms.
2. Crying caused by pain is very pitiful and somewhat desperate. However, if the child feels sharp and sudden pain, then the screams will be loud and the crying will be loud.
3. Crying from fear, as a rule, has notes of hysteria. It starts abruptly and ends abruptly. In such a situation, it is very important to quickly calm the child down and not wait until he calms down on his own. This helps create additional trust between the baby and mommy.

Often the baby cries when it is cold or overheated. In this case, it is very simple to determine the cause, since the skin is either very hot or supercooled. Mom can easily determine this by touch.

Sometimes the baby cries from fatigue and then you should not try to entertain him with rattles and funny faces. The baby just wants to sleep.

Reasons for crying in your sleep

Sometimes a child starts crying out of the blue in his sleep. Experts are sure that this is always due to one of the following reasons:

• hunger;
• horrible dream;
• uncomfortable posture;
• pain;
• desire for mother's attention.

Basic ways to calm a crying baby

Regardless of the nature of the crying and its causes, there are several universal ways that will help a young mother calm her baby.

Method 1

One of the most common methods is swaddling. You should not confuse diapers with straitjackets, because, unlike this “form of clothing,” diapers warm the baby and allow him to take a comfortable position. In addition, wrapped in diapers, the baby again remembers his mother’s womb, where he spent so much time. The most important question to be resolved in such a situation is how tightly to swaddle the toddler. Experts recommend tightening the diapers quite tightly, but the child should not be completely constrained in his movements.

Method 2

Another option is to place the baby on your lap along your legs. Most often, the baby settles comfortably in a warm and comfortable cavity.

Method 3

One of the most powerful instincts in infants is the instinct to suck. Knowing this fact allows you to quickly calm your baby. As soon as your baby starts crying, give him a pacifier. In a matter of minutes, the baby should calm down. Experts conducted a study, the results of which showed: a pacifier can protect against sudden infant death syndrome, which horrifies all mothers without exception.

Method 4

This method is associated with sounds, since some babies very often need unobtrusive noise. The fact is that, being in the mother’s tummy, the baby is accustomed to hearing different sounds: from the physiological processes occurring in the woman’s body to the noise that surrounded her in real life. If you create a similar atmosphere for your toddler, he will feel like he is in a familiar environment and will quickly calm down.

You can turn on pleasant, calm music or TV - this is not of key importance. The main thing is to adjust the volume correctly so that the baby is comfortable. You can remember what you watched or listened to while you were pregnant to recreate those times as much as possible for your baby.

Method 5

This is one of the simplest and most popular methods that has been helping young mothers for many years. Taking a crying child in your arms, you need to quietly and soulfully pronounce the sound “shhhh”. Gentle intonation and soothing noise will help the child calm down. According to the pediatrician, you need to “shush” loudly enough. Otherwise, the baby simply will not hear you because of his crying.

Method 6

You can calm your child down with a simple conversation. If the baby is worried and crying, then start saying some nice words to him, looking into his eyes. In this way, you can let your baby know that you are nearby and can protect him from any troubles. The toddler should feel supported and cared for, so it is better to accompany any action with a conversation.

Method 7

It is very important to provide the baby with movement. The fact is that while in the mother’s womb, the child gets used to constantly moving, because there the baby swims or jumps along with the mother’s movements. You can try to recreate the same environment, as it helps the baby calm down and fall asleep faster.

You can try rocking the baby in your arms or using auxiliary objects, such as a lounge chair or cradle. If they are not there, then the chair with the baby can be placed on any vibrating surface. But it is very important not to leave the child unattended, as this can be dangerous.

Method 8

With her own hands, a mother can relieve any pain. Infants especially need parental touch. To calm your child, you can give him a light massage:

• undress the toddler and place him on his back;
• stroke the baby’s legs and arms with slow movements, linger on the tummy;
• turn the baby over on his stomach and massage his back with circular movements;
• don’t forget to say kind words or sing your favorite melody quietly.

Such actions will distract the baby and quickly calm him down.

Method 9

In most cases, babies cry due to colic in the tummy. They are caused by bottle feeding, since in the process the baby inadvertently swallows air, which puts pressure on the baby’s stomach. In order to avoid such unpleasant situations, it is recommended to purchase an anti-colic bottle, which was invented specifically for these purposes. The creators of the anti-colic bottle made sure that a vacuum did not form in it. As a result, the baby may not tear himself away from the container.

Let's return to the issue of colic. Because a small child cries, he swallows even more air, which aggravates the pain. Consequently, there will be more gas, which means more crying. It is necessary, if not to prevent air from entering, then at least to help get rid of it. Most often this is done through regurgitation. To do this you need to do the following:

• gently slap the back;
• hold it in a “column” at the shoulder.

Method 12

However, the reason for crying may be external discomfort, not internal. The first step is to check the baby's diaper, and then see if the baby is overheated (or overcooled). To do this, you should feel the baby's arms, legs, neck and nose. If everything is in order, then you should give the baby water - maybe he is just thirsty.

It makes sense to put different clothes on the little one or change the lighting in the room. One of these actions will help eliminate the baby's dissatisfaction.

Method 13

The main thing is to distract the child from crying. To do this, you can use absolutely any methods - rustle, call, sing, shake rattles, turn on melodies on your mobile phone. The baby should notice something that will attract his attention.

Method 14

Towards evening, the likelihood of colic in a baby increases, especially in those who are breastfed. The reason for this is the constant change in the composition of milk: in the evening the concentration of fats and hormones changes. There is an old grandfather's method - dill water, which is given to the baby during meals. You can also purchase a special product in pharmacies.

It is necessary to understand that in a situation where none of the above methods help, there is nothing left but contacting a pediatrician. The doctor must make sure that the baby’s health is not in danger.

Be healthy!

Video - How to calm a crying baby