Identifying a Baby’s Cries and What They Mean
One of the toughest and most frustrating aspects of being a parent to a newborn baby is the issue of trying to figure out why they’re crying. Newborns will cry a lot and for so many different reasons, so getting a better understanding of what’s causing it will help you immensely. These are some ways you can identify your child’s cry and interpret what they need from you as a parent:
Hunger
Hunger cries have been described as fairly unrelenting and almost desperate. Other signs that your child may be hungry is if it’s been a few hours since the last nursing/bottle session, or you can notice clear movement or wiggles of the mouth of your baby. Luckily, this is an obvious and simple solution of feeding your child. Also, you should be able to quickly decipher whether or not your child is actually hungry by how receptive he/she is to the attempts at feeding.
Restless
If your child is getting tired and restless, they’ll usually show it with less intense, intermittent crying. Also, if you notice your baby’s eyes closing and opening, or glassy, puffy, and/or red eyes, it’s possible they’re ready for a nap. The use of a swaddle on newborns will help your baby stay cozy, warm, and bundled in order to become relaxed enough to fall asleep. For older babies, the Zipadee-Zip is the perfect sleep garment for children who are transitioning from the swaddle.
Pain
When your child is feeling any type of pain, you will most likely be able to tell the difference in their crying. Other signs of pain include arching of the back, thrashing, and for gas pains, you may notice your child bring their knees to their chest. For non-urgent pain like gas, a pacifier can help to calm and soothe your child with its sucking reflex. If you fear that the pain is something for severe, act with your best judgment to find a solution or contact a professional for help.
No Reason At All
Sometimes, your baby will cry for no specific reason at all and you’ll have to try soothing them as best you can. Newborns have an extremely limited number of ways to express how they feel and crying is one of them. As a parent, you have to understand that some crying is inevitable and inconsolable. Every baby is unique and you’ll have to do your best to try comforting him/her when there’s no real solution to the crying.
Also read: Is Your Baby Overstimulated?
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written by Stephanie Parker from Sleepingbaby.com, inventor of the Zipadee-Zip
The motto for Sleeping Baby, makers of the Zipadee-Zip, is: "Inspiring Dreams One Night at A time," and that, in a nutshell, is how it all started…with one little dream that has since become the Parker family's reality. When Brett and Stephanie Parker's daughter, Charlotte, was born, the feeling that welled up inside of them was indescribable; they never realized until first looking into those baby blues of hers that they were even capable of that kind of love.
When it was time to transition baby from swaddling, the Parkers tried every sleep sack on the market and every swaddle weaning trick they could find for nearly two weeks and nothing worked to get baby Charlotte to fall and stay asleep.
Stephanie became determined to restore sleep and sanity to their household and set out to find a solution that would soothe Charlotte's startle reflex and provide her the cozy womb-like environment she loved so much but still give her the freedom to roll over and wiggle around in her crib safely. Out of sheer desperation and exhaustion, the Zipadee-Zip was born. The first Zipadee-Zip(R) Stephanie put together on her little sewing machine worked like magic!
To date tens of thousands of Zipadee-Zips have been sold and all from word-of-mouth marketing. It is so rewarding for the Parkers to see other parents and babies getting the sleep they both need and deserve!
For more information, visit sleepingbaby.com.
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