Recognizing a Baby's Cries

In Tracy Hogg's book, Secrets of the Baby Whisper, she teaches parents to listen to their baby's cry.  Babies do NOT only cry when hungry! Often a lot of inexperienced parents (and many attachment-style parents) treat crying as a hunger issue.  Of course it could be hunger, and obviously you would feed in that situation.  But there are a lot of other reasons babies cry.  Tracy describes the various "sounds" of the different baby cries and what it means.  Some parents can distinguish the cries very quickly, other parents have a much harder time distinguishing the cries.  From personal experience, it took a bit of time for me to learn the cries, and I found the observation of body language to be very helpful along with the cries.

** From the Babywhisper Website

From Secrets of the Baby Whisperer p.86-88

Tired or overtired
Listen
Starts as cranky irregular frequency fussing but if not stopped quickly escalates to an overtired cry: first 3 short wails followed by a hard cry, then 2 short breaths and a longer, even louder cry. Usually they cry and cry and if left alone will fall asleep.
Observe
Blinks, yawns. If not put to bed, physical signs can include back arching, legs kicking and arms flailing, may grab own ears or cheeks and scratch face (a reflex); if you are holding him, squirms and tries to turn into your body. If he continues to cry his face will become bright red.
Of all the cries the most often misinterpreted for hunger. Therefore pay close attention to when it occurs. It may come after playtime or after someone has been cooing at baby. Squirming is often mistaken for colic.

Overstimulated
Listen
Long hard cry. Similar to overtired.
Observe
Arms and legs flail; turns head away from light; will turn away from anyone trying to play with him.
Usually comes when baby has had enough playing an adult keeps trying to amuse him.

Needs a change of scene
Listen
Cranky fussing that starts with noises of annoyance rather than outright cries.
Observe
Turns away from object placed before her; plays with fingers
If it gets worse when you change position then she might be tired and needs a nap.

Pain/Wind
Listen
Unmistakable shrill high-pitched scream that comes without warning; may hold breaths between wails and start again.
Observe
Whole body tenses and become rigid, which perpetuates the cycle, because the air can’t pass; pulls knees upward to chest, face is scrunched in an expression of pain, tongue wiggles upward, like a little lizard.
All newborns swallow air, which can cause wind. Throughout the day you’ll hear a tiny, squeaky wincing sound in the back of the throat – that’s air swallowing. Wind can also be caused by irregular feeding patterns.

Hunger
Listen
Slight cough like sound in the back of the throat; then out comes the first cry. It short to begin with then more steady: waa, waa, waa rhythm.
Observe
Baby starts to subtly lick her lips and then ‘root’ – tongue starts coming out and turns head to side; pulls fist toward mouth.
The best way to discern hunger is look at when baby last ate. If she’s on EASY it removes some the guesswork.

Too cold
Listen
Full-out crying with bottom lip quivering.
Observe
Tiny goose bumps on skin; may shiver; cold extremities; skin can sometimes have a bluish tinge.
Can happen with a newborn after a bath or when you’re changing and dressing her.

Too hot
Listen
Fussy whine that sounds more like panting, low at first, about five minutes; if left alone will eventually launch into a cry.
Observe
Feels hot and sweaty; flushed; pants instead of breathing regularly; may see red blotchiness on baby’s face and upper torso.
Different from fever in that cry is similar to a pain cry; skin is dry, not clammy. (Take temperature to be sure)

Where’d you go? I need a cuddle
Listen
Cooing sounds suddenly turns into short waas that sound like a kitten; crying disappears the minute baby is picked up.
Observe
Looks around, trying to find you.
If you catch this straight away you may not need to pick baby up (pat on back, soft words of reassurance).

Overfeeding
Listen
Fussing, even crying after a meal.
Observe
Spits up frequently
This often occurs when sleepiness and overstimulation are mistaken for hunger.

Bowel movement
Listen
Grunts or cries when feeding
Observe
Squirms and bears down; stops nursing; has bowel movement.
May be mistaken for hunger. Mum often thinks she’s ‘doing something wrong’.