“Writing a book is like rearing children – willpower has very little to do with it. If you have a little baby crying in the middle of the night, and if you depend only on willpower to get you out of bed to feed the baby, that baby will starve. You do it out of love.” – Annie Dillard

When an woman delivers her baby, it is not only the baby who is newborn; its the mother’s second birth also. It becomes very difficult to understand the reason when baby starts crying. Here’s are some facts about types of crying of a baby:

• Some babies cry more than others.
• All babies fuss and cry most in the late afternoon or early evening.
• All babies cry more in the first three months of life than later in development.
• Many studies have shown that during the first three months of life, the crying of babies follows a developmental pattern. This pattern is called the crying curve. Crying begins to increase at two or three weeks of age, peaks at around six to eight weeks of age, and gradually declines to the age of 12 weeks. Some other studies have shown different peaks of crying, but all studies agree that maximum crying occurs in the first three months of life.
• Much crying in the first three months is unexplained, in the sense that it starts and ends without warning and may not respond to comforting or feeding.

Different cries have different meanings:

There is emerging consensus that babies’ cries are a graded signal, with increased pitch or intensity indicating greater distress, but not the precise cause.

Nevertheless, you will find that you are usually able to correctly guess your baby’s needs based on the sound of their cry. At about 3 months of age, crying becomes much more interactive, and the baby will use different cries to mean different things. This change coincides with the baby’s growing social competence. Here are some general guidelines about types of crying.

Hunger

The baby’s hunger cry can begin quietly and slowly, but it builds in volume, becoming loud and rhythmic. Unless you have fed your baby recently and are certain they had enough to eat, try feeding your baby.

Pain

The typical pain cry is high-pitched, tense, harsh, non-melodious, sharp, short, and loud.

Fussiness

The baby may cry in a mild, intermittent way when they are upset. Most babies have a “fussy time,” usually in the late afternoon or early evening. The sound of fussy crying differs from a hunger cry, but like the hunger cry, it can grow in volume. Some of the reasons for this type of crying can include:

• Baby wants to be held. This is often an effective technique to quiet your baby. Newborn babies have just emerged from a confined space and may find the wide open spaces of a crib frightening.
• A wet or soiled diaper is causing discomfort to the baby.
• Baby is tired. Sometimes babies become frustrated when they cannot fall asleep.
• When baby is over- or under-stimulated. Use the context to decide whether to reduce or increase interaction or environmental sources of stimulation such as music or light.

According to Dunstan, there are five basic sounds your baby makes just before crying:

Neh  – hunger

Eh – upper wind (burp)

Eairh – lower wind (gas)

Heh – discomfort (hot, cold, wet)

Owh – sleepiness

Let’s have a look into how we can interpret each different sound a baby makes:

Neh – hunger

A baby uses the sound reflex ‘Neh’ to let you know they are hungry. The sound is produced when the sucking reflex is triggered and the tongue is pushed up on the roof of the mouth.

General observation: Babies may also try to gnaw or suck at their hand or reach towards your breast (or in that general area). If your baby begins to cry, it’s rhythmic and intense. As with all cries, the sooner you can give your baby attention, the quicker they will be to soothe and settle.

Eh – upper wind (burp)

The sound reflex ‘Eh’ means a baby needs to be burped. The distress is caused by a large bubble of air trapped in the chest. The baby responds to this with an ‘Eh’ sound in an attempt to release the trapped air through their mouth.

General observation: A pained facial expression, squirming, kicking feet, shaking arms and moving hips are all indications that your baby needs to burp. Your baby may also turn away when you offer the other breast or some more bottle. It makes sense that they wouldn’t want more of what’s making them feel discomfort.

Eairh – lower wind (gas)

If a baby has flatulence or an upset tummy, they will use the sound reflex ‘Eairh’ to pass along that information. The sound comes when trapped air from a burp is unable to be released and travels to the stomach. Here the muscles of the intestines tighten to force the air bubble out. This sound may also mean that a bowel movement is in progress.

General observation: If you miss the early sounds and your baby begins to cry, the crying will be very loud, intense and rhythmic. It will last until the wind has passed. Your baby may raise their legs to their tummy, arch their back and be generally fidgety. If a bowel movement is in progress, you child will bend their knees and bring their legs towards their torso to help the process along.

Heh – discomfort (hot, cold, wet)

Babies have the sound reflex ‘Heh’ when they’re experiencing stress, discomfort or when they need a nappy change. This sound is triggered as a response to a skin reflex, such as a sweaty or itchy feeling.

General observation: When a baby feels discomfort, their crying is usually mild and intermittent. The crying may increase in volume if you ignore it, so be sure you soothe your baby and quickly determine the cause of their discomfort.

Owh – sleepiness

Babies have the sound reflex ‘Owh’ to let you know they are feeling tired. It sounds similar to a yawn.

General observation: If it’s time for a nap, your baby may start rubbing their eyes. Their cry may start out slow and low and gradually build in tone and intensity. If your baby is exhausted, their cry can resemble the hunger cry.  If you can catch the sounds before they cry, you will be able to tell the difference.

Summary:

As Priscilla Dunstan says, “Stop. Open your ears. Listen. Your baby will love you for it.”