Understanding Your Baby's Cry
What different cries mean and how to respond
Crying Is Communication
Crying is the only way a newborn can tell you something is wrong. It is not manipulation, not a test, and not a reflection of your parenting. Babies cry because they need something: food, comfort, warmth, sleep, or relief from discomfort. Learning to recognize different cries takes time and practice. You will get better at it. Until then, working through a checklist of needs is the most effective approach.
The Cry Check: What Does the Baby Need?
When the baby cries, run through this checklist in order. Do not skip ahead. Hunger is the most common cause, but it is not always the answer.
Common Cry Patterns
While every baby is different, research has identified some general patterns in newborn cries. These are not exact, think of them as starting points rather than guarantees.
What to Do When Nothing Works
If the baby has been fed, changed, burped, swaddled, rocked, and shushed and is still crying, try these next steps: take the baby to a different room, go outside for fresh air, put the baby in a carrier and walk around, offer a warm bath (if the cord stump has fallen off), or hand the baby to your partner or another trusted person and take a break. Some babies need to cry to release tension before they can settle. This is normal and does not mean you are doing something wrong.
The Period of PURPLE Crying
The Period of PURPLE Crying is a normal developmental phase that begins around 2 weeks, peaks around 6 to 8 weeks, and usually resolves by 3 to 4 months. PURPLE stands for: Peak of crying (the baby cries more each week, peaking at 2 months), Unexpected (crying comes and goes for no apparent reason), Resists soothing (the baby may not stop crying despite your best efforts), Pain-like face (the baby looks like they are in pain even when they are not), Long episodes (crying can last 30 to 40 minutes or longer), Evening clustering (the crying tends to happen more in the late afternoon and evening). Understanding PURPLE crying can prevent parents from blaming themselves or thinking something is wrong with the baby. It is a phase. It will pass.
Never Shake a Baby
If you feel yourself reaching a breaking point, if the crying makes you angry, frustrated, or desperate, put the baby down in a safe place (like the crib) and walk away. Go to another room. Set a timer for 5 minutes. Take deep breaths. Call someone to talk. It is safe to let a baby cry in a safe place while you collect yourself. What is not safe is shaking a baby. Shaking causes shaken baby syndrome, which can cause permanent brain damage, blindness, or death. It is never okay to shake a baby, no matter how frustrated you are.
Resources
The American Academy of Pediatrics provides guidance on crying and soothing at HealthyChildren.org. The National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome offers resources at DontShake.org. The Period of PURPLE Crying program has information at PURPLECrying.info.