Caring for a newborn baby is not easy, especially when the parents still have little experience. The most difficult thing is when the baby is crying, and the cause of his disorder is not clear. Parents start to panic and make mistakes. There are several reasons for crying in children, and if you closely monitor your baby, you can decipher its signs.
The main causes of crying in newborns
In the first months of life, it is through crying that the baby tries to communicate with the parents. Thus, he signals that he is hungry, that he is hot or cold, in pain or lonely.
There is no need to be afraid of baby crying, the main thing is to identify and eliminate its cause. Over time, many moms and dads begin to understand what their baby is “talking about”. The most common causes of baby crying are:
- hunger;
- pain, most often it is colic in the abdomen;
- the discomfort;
- tiredness, desire to sleep;
- fear and loneliness.
Newborn nutrition
The most common reason babies cry is when they are hungry. As soon as the baby is hungry, he signals his parents with his cry that it is time for feeding.
Babies have a very small ventricle, so they need to be fed often but little by little. There is an easy way to check if your baby is hungry. Bend your little finger and gently touch the corner of the baby's mouth. If the baby turns his head towards touch and opens his mouth, it means that he is hungry. Listen to crying, the “hungry cry” is louder, longer and more intense.
Usually, after receiving food, the crumb calms down, it can fall asleep. But if the "hungry cry" is repeated too often, you should contact your pediatrician. Perhaps the baby is not getting enough food and needs to be fed more often, or the mother's milk is "empty" and the baby simply does not eat enough. The main problem of children on artificial nutrition is the selection of a suitable mixture for them.
Even with good nutrition, a newborn may experience pain in the abdomen (colic). Their main reason is the not yet debugged work of the baby's digestive system and the accumulation of gases. With colic, the baby turns red when crying, squeezes the legs, and then pulls them out sharply, he has a tense, hard tummy.
Give the child a massage and give medicine, since there are many medicines on sale now that will help relieve a newborn from colic.
Additional problems of poor appetite and crying of the infant: unpleasant taste of mother's milk, inappropriate formula (for artificial children), ear inflammation or a stuffy nose in a newborn.
The discomfort
The baby may cry due to physical discomfort. Unpleasant sensations include: wet diapers, rough seams on clothes, swaddling too tight, uncomfortable posture, or improper room temperature.
If the baby fidgets when crying and tries to change the position to the best of its infant capabilities, most likely it needs to be swaddled, or laid more comfortably.
If the baby cries right after changing clothes, it is worth inspecting his clothes for rough seams.
Another significant cause of discomfort can be the wrong temperature regime in the room. Try to maintain the optimum temperature + 20-23 ° C. Buy a hygrometer and monitor the level of humidity in the house, this is an important indicator on which the well-being and health of all family members depends.
Besides physical, there are psychological discomforts. A baby may cry to attract the attention of a parent if he is scared or lonely. “The call is short, the baby starts crying and immediately calms down as soon as an adult approaches him. Some experts do not advise taking the baby in your arms at the first sounds of crying; it is enough just to talk to him or pet him kindly.
There is also a protest cry, if the baby does not like something, he angrily notifies about it. He may be unhappy when his nails are cut, his nose is cleaned, or other grooming procedures are performed.
Sometimes the baby cries from overexcitement if he is in an unusual environment, or there are a lot of strangers around him. Try to follow the daily routine, stick to the "plan" and the set order of actions. "Regular" children are calmer and more balanced, they feel protected.
Painful cry
Crying babies can signal health problems. Examine the baby carefully: monotonous crying, lethargy, pallor or excessive redness, fever - a reason to see a doctor.
Also, the baby may be capricious and feel bad after vaccination or with skin lesions (chafing, redness, diaper rash).
You should not discount postpartum injuries, if they are present, the crumbs need regular medical supervision.
Toilet matters
Sometimes babies cry during bowel movements and urination. It happens that kids are just scared of the process, but more often this behavior signals health problems:
- infections of the genitourinary system;
- problems with the location of the foreskin, resulting in stagnant and painful phenomena;
- gas and constipation;
- improper nutrition;
- inflammatory bowel disease.
Observe the baby carefully, if crying is repeated with every emptying of the bladder or intestines, and there is mucous or bloody discharge in the feces, contact the pediatrician and take the necessary tests.
Baby crying while swimming
Not all newborns like water procedures, there are crumbs that make real tantrums in the bathroom. There are several reasons that affect baby's bathing behavior:
- fear of water;
- too big a bath;
- uncomfortable water temperature;
- damage or rash on the skin;
- uncomfortable position.
Make sure the bathroom is comfortable before bathing. The optimum water temperature for bathing a newborn is 34-37 ° C. Buy a thermometer and be sure to measure the temperature of the water before swimming.
If the parents decide to temper the baby, the water temperature should be lowered gradually. The main condition is not to overheat the crumb and not to frighten him by immersing him in too cool water.
A kid can cry with fright if, in principle, he is afraid of water, and the bathtub is too big and seems to the little one to be a real sea. An uncomfortable position can be another reason for the child's dissatisfaction. Inexperienced parents are often nervous and hold the baby too tightly in the water, which can cause discomfort.
In addition, even minor skin injuries can cause discomfort while bathing.
Children's cry in the night
If the baby often cries at night, but he has no health problems, you should first examine his "sleeping place". Maybe the baby's mattress is too hard or the blanket is too warm.
Also, the reasons for night crying can be: a bad dream, hunger, the absence of parents nearby, anxiety or nervous exhaustion, the child is too hot or cold.
Dress the baby "according to the weather", do not wrap him up too much. Monitor the temperature and humidity level in the children's room, regularly ventilate the room and do wet cleaning.
You do not need to wait until the child is exhausted and falls asleep, go up to him, pick him up or sit down next to him, stroke and rock. Observe the daily routine, this will reduce the likelihood that the baby will confuse day with night.
If all else fails and the baby cries for hours on end, do not delay and contact your pediatrician. You may need to be tested to determine the cause of the newborn's concern.
