Baby Sleep >> How Babies Communicate

How Babies Communicate

Understanding Your Baby’s Cries

How loud is the cry, does it get louder or softer, how long does it last? Most babies need to wind down to sleep and sometimes this involves crying. Sometimes a sleep deprived Mum feels bad hearing any form of crying and picks up her baby just before they would have fallen asleep. Instead of falling asleep the baby becomes more stimulated and irritable and will take longer to fall asleep.

It is a shame babies are so adorable. We love ‘playing’ with them and yet when very young they can get ‘over-stimulated’ and find sleep very difficult. Mums can feel bewildered not understanding what their baby could possibly need, after exhausting the options of food, dry nappy etc.

If you actively listen to your baby’s cries, your elusive little creature should become more predicable. Importantly this will also give you confidence in knowing what your baby needs, especially when it comes to sleep.

It seems there are 2 schools of thought on sleep, one involves never crying, and the other has been coined ‘controlled crying’. Mothers need to work with their instincts and do what they feel is best. When we know that babies cry because of pain, hunger, discomfort but also to communicate (particularly a grumbly wind down before sleep) then perhaps a grizzle cry is just that. As you listen to your baby you will adopt a settling technique that suits you, be it rocking and patting to sleep, feeding to sleep or placing your baby in its bed awake. Watch and listen, together you will work it out.