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| Why Do Babies Cry So Much At Night |
Babies themselves cannot satisfy these needs. They cannot move, feed themselves, cover or uncover themselves, change their own nappies, open a window or turn off the CD player. So when they need something done they open their lungs and bawl for Britain. See that epiglottis wobble. Hear that noise in the next postal district. Run round the room like a headless chicken wondering what to do next.
Many mothers, who in previous centuries would have been identified as witches and burnt at the stake, claim to be able to tell the difference between all the various cries. Good for them. Sadly, no father I have ever heard of can do this. One or two claim they can, but they are the sort of men who do claim things.
There is no need to listen too closely to anything they say. Witchy mothers, then, can sort out their infant's problem within a few seconds, and go back to their cauldron. The rest of us panic and swear. Crying can erode the parental sanity; it can fracture relationships; it can turn neighbours into lifelong enemies, if your walls are thin enough. And that's the idea. Baby needs your attention. Crying that people notice is doing its job.
Morris's list is useful if incomplete. First, Pain. Babies may have internal pains as a result of the birth process; later on they may have colic or be teething (more of both shortly); later yet, when they start to move, they will start to bump and bash themselves. The pain cry is raw, and may even be aggrieved. Even to a tiny baby, pain can seem magnificently unjust. 'Why me?' the cry says. This is only the first of your child's questions that you won't be able to answer.
Discomfort usually means you have not changed the nappy since the last full moon. Look out for clues, such as a blinding smell of excrement, or nappy rash like second-degree burns. Maybe baby has a little indigestion. Did a breastfeeding mama eat curry last night? Everything goes into the breast milk, and from there into baby (a large glass of red wine often does wonders for a tired and gloomy mother, and for breastfeeding baby two or three hours later).
Hunger is straightforward. Give baby breast or bottle and all the world's problems are solved. To a small baby happiness is a warm nipple. 43 years later I feel the same about pizza: the programming hasn't failed me yet.
Loneliness is an interesting one. Are you reading the paper in the other room when you should be looking after baby? Of course you are. Babies start to feel insecure if left alone too long. They are social animals, who thrive on love and attention. Beware, too, of over-stimulation. This can mean many things: too many people in the room, music too loud, too many sharp and bright images on TV. Babies cannot process sensory information as adults can. (Some experts believe you should not let a child watch TV at all before the age of six months, and only sparingly before two years.)
Under-stimulation and Frustration afflict slightly older babies. After six months or so babies can become bored with terrifying ease, until given a cardboard box to sit in. (Or you can turn on the TV.) Then they will cry with frustration as their desire to do something outstrips their ability to do it. It's tough being a baby.
Curiously Morris does not mention Tiredness, which I would have thought was every bit as important as the others. Very young babies go to sleep at will, but as they spend more of their days awake, they find it harder and harder to drop off. Sometimes a baby moves beyond sleep, into a region familiar to anyone who has found themselves watching Steven Seagal films on TV at 2.30 in the morning. A tired cry can be a pitiful thing to hear, so switch off the television this minute, and go to bed. To find out more, you can check out Why Do Babies Cry So Much At Night.