Your baby’s language – 4 cues to help you know what your baby needs
There is a point all parents reach during those sleepless, newborn nights: The baby is crying and the parent is on the verge of frustrated, desperate tears as well.
At this moment, most parents make a silent (or maybe out loud) plea to the baby (and possibly the universe as a whole): “Please for goodness sake, just tell me what you need. I want you to be happy and healthy, but I have no idea what you're trying to tell me with all these tears.”
And of course, that sweet little newborn just continues to cry.
“When you are a new mother and you are thinking things like ‘What is wrong with my baby’ or ‘Why can’t I get my baby to calm down’ it can be very overwhelming and very frustrating,” Laura Hodges said. Hodges is a registered nurse and owner of Needs for New Moms, a company that has helped over 100 families over the last 12 years through its night nursing service.
One way to learn what your baby is trying to tell you is to learn baby cues. These are cries and physical movements that can tell you whether your baby is hungry, tired, uncomfortable or needs attention.
“It can be really difficult to understand your baby’s cues as a new parent,” Hodges said. “I tell my clients to google ‘baby cues’ and ‘calming my baby’ so they can watch videos and actually see what these cues look like. It is so helpful to actually see the body language of a baby and realize ‘Oh ok, that’s what they are trying to tell me.’”
Here are Hodges’ main baby cues to learn:
Hunger cues
“A hungry cry tends to be a little more shrill and aggressive,” Hodges said.
A hungry baby will try to “root” or suck everything near their mouth including their own fists.
The opposite is true for a full baby. When a baby has had enough to eat, they will stop sucking and pull off the breast or bottle to tell you they are done.
Tired and overtired cues
Tired babies tend to rub their eyes a lot and you will notice their eyes are heavy-looking.
“If a baby is overtired, you might not be able to get them to calm down easily because they are very frustrated and overstimulated,” Hodges said.
Hodges suggests using shushing or white noise, swaddling and a dark, quiet room to decrease stimulation and get the baby to sleep or at least rest.
Uncomfortable cues (gassy or reflux)
“A gassy baby is going to be squirming, pulling their legs up and grunting a lot,” Hodges said. “Their belly is hurting and they don’t know how to expel the gas.”
This is the time to bicycle the baby’s legs and massage the belly to help relieve the gas.
“Reflux cues are more hiccups, spitting up and arching the back because the acid is coming up in their throat,” Hodges explained. “Reflux can be very irritating for a baby. When you get these cues, you need to keep the baby elevated [especially after eating].”
Attention-seeking cues
After all the fussy cues, here is one fun one: “If a baby is giving you lots of eye contact, they want your attention,” Hodges said. “Babies are very curious and love when you interact with them, so snuggle and play with them!”
Of course, Hodges said: “Your own baby’s cues might be different, but they will cue you if you pay attention. You will learn the depth of their cries, their pitches and their little movements once you have been around them long enough.”
If you are feeling discouraged, Hodges encourages you to find a support group.
“It can be an online group, a local group or just a group of mom friends,” she said. “When you talk with other mothers, you begin to realize there is nothing wrong with you or your baby and that other moms have dealt with and overcome the same challenges.”
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Your baby’s language – 4 cues to help you know what your baby needs