Helpful tips on baby crying

This is taken from http://hubpages.com/hub/Why_is_my_baby_crying and is based on the work of Priscilla Dunstan. Priscilla appeared on Oprah and was quite convincing. Her study on 1000 babies or so has revealed 5 distinct cries of newborn babies. Hopefully Bridie and Tyler will find it useful!!!

The Secret Language of Babies: The Five Cries of Newborns

Priscilla Dunstan, who was recently featured on the Oprah show, claims she has a photographic memory for sound. She can hear textures, colors and a resonance in a voice. She used these skills with her newborn son and began to see patterns in his cries. She has used this new-found knowledge to research the cries of over 1000 babies and has found five distinct cries that are universal; she found that babies of different races and culture all have the same five cries. She claims this similarity is because all of the cries are based on reflexes, and since we all have the same reflexes the sounds are the same.

The following five cries are similar, but if you listen carefully they can be distinguished. These five cries are only present in babies from 0-3 months old and are most pronounced during a baby's pre-cry.

When you've finished reading about all of the cries, test yourself with the baby cries below.

Cry #1: Neh="I'm hungry"

"Neh" is the "I'm hungry" cry of a newborn. It is based on the sucking reflex. A newborn has a strong sucking reflex, and when they combine this reflex with a cry the result is "neh". When you hear this cry, nurse or give your newborn a bottle.

Cry #2: Owh="I'm Sleepy"

The cry to express tiredness is "owh". The "owh" sound is based on the yawning reflex. The first "ow" sound can be long and pronounced. When you hear this cry help your baby go to sleep. We always found that the more tired our babies became the harder it was for them to go to sleep. Look for other clues of sleepiness: rubbing the eyes and yawning.

Cry #3: Heh="I'm experiencing discomfort"

The cry "heh" is used when a newborn is feeling discomfort. This sound is different than the "I'm hungry" cry because there is a strong "h" sound at the beginning. If you hear this cry in your newborn, they may need their diaper changed or be put in a new position.

Cry #4: Eair="I have lower gas"

When babies have lower gas pain they often pull their legs towards their chest and make the cry sound "eair". We always found that when our newborns had gas they liked a bit of pressure on their tummies. We would either lay them on our legs perpendicularly and rub their backs or hold them in the elbow of our arm with our elbow supporting their head and their legs straddling our arm. (Be sure that your babies head is always held securely.) This can also be a good time for a baby massage with slow circular motions on your baby's tummy. Gas tablets or medicines never worked for our girls.

Cry #5: Eh="I need to burp"

You'll know when your newborn baby needs to burp if you can hear the "eh" in his/her cry. This cry is short and is repeated over and over; "eh, eh, eh." When you hear this sound gently place your baby on your chest with their head over your shoulder and gently pat them on the back.