Nerdy Millennial

Top Menu

  • About
  • Contact
  • Write For Us

Main Menu

  • Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Blogging
      • Social Media
      • SEO and Keyword Research
  • College
  • Arts & Culture
  • Technology
  • Health and Fitness
    • Nutrition
    • Recipes
      • Baked Goods
      • Breakfast
      • Condiments
      • Dessert
      • Fermented Foods
      • Main Dishes
      • Side Dishes
      • Snacks
      • Soup
    • Keto
    • Vegan
  • Relationships
    • Dating
    • Friendship
    • Parenting
    • Pregnancy & Birth
  • About
  • Contact
  • Write For Us

Nerdy Millennial

Nerdy Millennial

  • Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Blogging
      • Social Media
      • SEO and Keyword Research
  • College
  • Arts & Culture
  • Technology
  • Health and Fitness
    • Nutrition
    • Recipes
      • Baked Goods
      • Breakfast
      • Condiments
      • Dessert
      • Fermented Foods
      • Main Dishes
      • Side Dishes
      • Snacks
      • Soup
    • Keto
    • Vegan
  • Relationships
    • Dating
    • Friendship
    • Parenting
    • Pregnancy & Birth
Parenting
Home›Relationships›Parenting›Decoding Baby’s Cries

Decoding Baby’s Cries

By Rita Brhel
December 6, 2011
1238
1

The first few months of my son’s life, I knew what every sound he made meant. I knew when he was hungry, tired, frustrated, bored, needed to burp, gassy, startled, in pain. Now that he’s almost four months old, I’m finding myself often at a loss.

What used to mean “I’m hungry, Mama!” apparently doesn’t mean that anymore. My son slept soundly until about noon today, as usual, only waking to nurse. But since noon, it’s been a confusing process of trial-and-error as I instinctively respond to his noises as I have been the past several months and to have him refuse the gesture.

Just now, he sounded like he wanted to eat, so I put him to my breast. He latches on, then off, then on, then off, and then cries loudly, quite obviously upset. So I hold him up to my chest to soothe him, rubbing his back, thinking maybe it’s a burp. No burp, but he falls asleep. I decide to put him in the wrap since he wants to sleep. I have him in, facing me, but he’s awake and cranes his neck around so far that he looks like an owl. So, I turn him around to face out, and he seems content looking in the mirror while I adjust the wrap. I go to sit down and he starts making little frustrated noises. I get up to walk around and he quiets down, but starts as soon as I sit down again. So, now I’m standing up and typing, waiting for him to fall asleep as I believe that’s perhaps what all this fuss is about.

Ah, yes, he’s now asleep. But do you understand where I’m coming from? This started out with what I was conditioned to know was a hunger cue, not a tired cue.

Every baby’s different, truly. My first baby mostly cried, and almost all of the time, it meant she was hungry. The alternative was that she was about to burp, and since she had acid reflux, it was a high-pitched pain cry. My second baby cried nearly round-the-clock for her first three months and then stopped suddenly and she was the happiest baby I’ve ever seen through her first words. She rarely cried, instead preferring little coos to indicate she was ready to nurse. Now, my son, my third baby, he didn’t cry hardly at all his first three months, using grunts instead. Slowly, as his noises grew to include coos and laughing, he added crying as a means of communication. And sometimes, he will just start crying intensely without any pre-cry noises, and often, he will cry longer than I’m accustomed to before being soothed. Looks like I have to relearn what he means when he cries.

Research shows that whimpering and moaning typically means hunger, sudden crying means pain, and loud, intense crying means anger. To get more specific, one of the most popular baby cry decoders available is the Dunstan Method, which claims that different sounds means different needs for all babies, that this is universal for the first six months of a baby’s life until he or she begins to pick up on the dialect of a particular society, culture, or ethnicity. For example, vocalizations that begin with the “n” sound, such as “neh” or “nah,” are supposed to mean hunger; “owh” means tired; “eh” means burping is needed; and “eairh,” sometimes coming out as “erh” or “air,” means gassy. Still, there is a caveat that every baby is different and each baby will have his or her own sounds or variations of the above sounds.

Basically, it gets back to getting to know your individual baby and what he or she does to communicate a specific need to you – and you know what? When my son awoke, he passed some gas and was suddenly ready to latch on again, no fussing around. So maybe it was a hunger cue all along.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Rita Brhel
Rita Brhel
Rita Brhel is a stay-at-home mother to three children. She is also a WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselor for the Community Action Partnership of Mid-Nebraska, the Publications Coordinator for Attachment Parenting International, the managing editor of the Attached Family magazine, an API Support Group Leader, PSI Postpartum Support Coordinator, Sidelines High-Risk Pregnancy Peer Counselor.
Rita Brhel
Latest posts by Rita Brhel (see all)
  • When Your Baby Is Clingy - March 2, 2013
  • Crying as Sport? - July 10, 2012
  • Attachment Parenting Isn’t Asking Too Much of Parents – Our Society Is - May 26, 2012
TagsbabycryingdecodingDunstan

1 comment

  1. Anonymous6 December, 2011 at 20:21 Reply

    Boy do I know that all babies are different! My first was very colicky and could not be comforted in the beginning, in the evenings mostly, except for a walk in his stroller outside. It was heartbreaking! My second was such a quite, content baby. Half of the time, you would never know he was around.

    And my third, my sweet homebirth baby, whom IS the happiest in water, is very hard to decipher. He teeths horribly, and is very clinging and unsure of what he wants when he’s sick. We’ve had a tough first year (with his sickness, my sickness, teething, etc.) I guess the one thing that I can say has gotten us through it is our bond. Even though he’s needy, we are incredibly bonded, and that’s a comfort. So, I know that even though we’ve had a tough time and he’s been unhappy a lot, he’s had his momma, and he knows I’ll always be there for him and try to give him what he needs.

Leave a reply Cancel reply

Recipe Rating




Send Me Blog Updates!

You Might Also Like...

  • Why Women Pull Away: What She's Really Trying to Communicate
    DatingFeatured

    Why Women Pull Away: What She’s Really Trying to Communicate

  • 4 Enticing Reasons to be Single
    DatingFeatured

    4 Enticing Reasons to be Single

  • How Lack of Boundaries and Dishonored Feelings Affect Your Mental and Physical Health
    Health and FitnessFeaturedMental HealthWellness

    How Lack of Boundaries and Dishonored Feelings Affect Your Mental and Physical Health

  • 5 Empowering Tips to Ignore Everybody and Live Your Best Life
    CareerCollegeEntrepreneurshipFeatured

    5 Empowering Tips to Ignore Everybody and Live Your Best Life

About Nerdy Millennial

Hello, I'm Vanessa

Creator and curator of Nerdy Millennial.

This blog all about millennials sharing their passion, ideas, and expertise about blogging, healthy living, self-improvement, education, parenting, and more!

Interested in contributing? Contact us to pitch your idea or submit an article.

Featured

Frugal LivingFeaturedFinancesParenting

The 7 Money-Saving Strategies Every Parent Needs to Know

No matter how “ready” you feel to become a parent, once it happens, you realize there is no amount of preparation to adequately brace you for the total life transformation ...
  • Becoming an Online Counselor: The Pros and Credentials Needed

    Becoming an Online Counselor: The Pros and Credentials Needed

    By Vanessa Pruitt
    August 13, 2020
  • 4 Steps to Finding the Best Counselor for You

    4 Steps to Finding the Best Counselor for You

    By Vanessa Pruitt
    August 13, 2020
  • Pros and Cons of Online Counseling

    The Pros and Cons of Online Counseling

    By Vanessa Pruitt
    August 13, 2020
  • What is the Difference between Full-Spectrum, Broad-Spectrum, and Isolate CBD

    By Contributing Author
    August 11, 2020
  • How Lack of Boundaries and Dishonored Feelings Affect Your Mental and Physical Health

    How Lack of Boundaries and Dishonored Feelings Affect Your Mental and Physical Health

    By Vanessa Pruitt
    July 24, 2020
  • The Importance of Practicing Gratefulness During Times of Uncertainty

    The Importance of Practicing Gratefulness During Times of Uncertainty

    By Vanessa Pruitt
    July 16, 2020
  • 6 Ways to Naturally Freshen Your Home

    6 Ways to Naturally Freshen Your Home

    By Vanessa Pruitt
    July 14, 2020
  • Ways to Filter Your Facebook Feed and Posts

    Ways to Filter Your Facebook Feed and Posts

    By Vanessa Pruitt
    July 13, 2020
  • Why visit Rome in December

    6 Reasons to Go to Rome in December

    By Vanessa Pruitt
    July 6, 2020

    Join Us on Facebook

    Latest Comments

    • Turn Your Love of Fitness Into a Career
      on
      November 26, 2020
      […] you might want to consider getting into some sport professionally, or even just on a ...

      9 Ways to Turn Your Fitness Into A Career

    • https://apnews.com/article/7799dc8a7083f61bb1c9f1f3dba8c30a
      on
      November 25, 2020
      Trackback [...]https://apnews.com/article/7799dc8a7083f61bb1c9f1f3dba8c30a

      Are Pre and Post Workout Supplements Worth It? 3 Questions to Ask Yourself

    • Dr. Oz Answers
      on
      July 23, 2020
      Trackback [...]Dr. Oz Answers

      Are Pre and Post Workout Supplements Worth It? 3 Questions to Ask Yourself

    • Some Careers That Challenge You Each Day - CareerAlley
      on
      June 9, 2020
      […] development might not be about saving lives but it’s certainly a career that challenges you ...

      How To Build On Your Career

    • 4 Surprising Benefits of Using Instagram for Your Business - Atelier Magazine
      on
      June 3, 2020
      […] More brands are combining Instagram approaches into their marketing strategies, and it leads to business ...

      A Guide to Creating Your Instagram Strategy

    Flickr

      • Home
      • About
      • Contact Us
      • Write For Us
      • Comment Policy
      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms of Use
      We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
      Cookie settingsACCEPT
      Manage consent

      Privacy Overview

      This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
      Necessary
      Always Enabled

      Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

      Non-necessary

      Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

      SAVE & ACCEPT