How To Respond to Your Crying Baby

Learn your baby's cries and what they mean.

By Willow Editorial Team | Reviewed by Dr. Manisha Panchal

Go through this list whenever your newborn is crying. You may end up combining multiple steps or going through all the tactics more than once before something works. As with most things related to parenting, there’s no single right way to respond to your baby’s crie

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ARE THEY TIRED?

On average, newborns sleep anywhere from 14 to 19 hours a day, often waking only to feed before drifting off again. 4 If your baby is crying for this reason, they’re likely already overtired, which can make calming them much more difficult and time-consuming. Try loosely swaddling them, moving to a darker and quieter place, offering them a pacifier, and rocking or patting them.

ARE THEY UNCOMFORTABLE?

Your newborn will pee as often as every 1 to 3 hours,5 and can poop up to 10 times a day.6 A soiled, soggy diaper can trigger crying very quickly, so it helps to check and change your baby’s diaper every 2 to 3 hours, if not more. Make sure you’re changing the diaper correctly too: one that’s too tight, loose, or poorly positioned can also cause your baby discomfort.

ARE THEY SICK?

If you’ve tried several tactics without luck, check your baby for the most common symptoms of illness. These include:

Abnormally high or low temperature
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Rash
Coughing

Certain symptoms are more serious than others. Here’s when you should call your doctor.

IS A STRAY HAIR TO BLAME?

As unusual as it sounds, this condition happens often enough with newborns that it has a name: hair tourniquet. Hair tourniquets only affect very young babies, when their appendages are small enough that a stray hair or fabric thread can wrap around them, causing pain and cutting off circulation.

Hair tourniquets can become serious if left untreated for too long, and may even require medical intervention to treat. If your baby is inconsolable, check to see if a hair or thread is wrapped around one of their fingers, toes, or their penis.

Be Confident In Your New Role as a Parent with Willow

Babies are so fragile and the only way they know how to tell you things is by letting out a walloping sob. As a new parent, it can break your heart, especially if you don't know what's going on with them. We here at Willow want to help boost your confidence as a parent - check out our blog for handy tips and our thoughts!