5 tips for understanding baby talk.

If babies could talk they could tell their parents what they need and things would be so much easier, right? Well, maybe, but since a baby comes into this world with relatively few neural pathways and practically no activity in the language center of their brain, chances are that your baby has pretty much no idea what she needs either. For the first few months the pain that your baby feels from gas, hunger or even getting a finger pinched is very similar. They don't have an understanding of the different parts of their body yet, so when they cry at first they will usually just cry louder and higher pitched with more intense pain. There are a few sounds that your baby makes that come from naturally reacting to certain kinds of discomfort though, and becoming familiar with these will help you decipher the general meaning behind basic forms of baby talk.

1. High pitched grunts.
Quite often, just before your little squidling starts crying in earnest he will make a series of grunts that get higher in pitch each time. These will often be accompanied by kicks, turning his head back and forth and arching his back. Sometimes these actions can indicate that your baby has reflux and if they happen after every feed and result in large amounts of spit-up, you might want to have your pediatrician check for it. However, most babies will do this five or more times a day, sometimes even in their sleep, and it is merely an indication of gas. A burp, to be specific. For your baby, a burp bubble that hasn't come up yet can feel like a tightness it their chest and arching their back provides a little relief. Also, if the bubble is moving up their throat it can bring some spit-up with it when your baby turns his head back and forth it can dislodge this bubble from behind the spit up and help the burp come up. As the burp bubble moves up the esophagus pressure on his vocal chords will tighten them, making the grunts of discomfort sound higher and higher in pitch. So generally if your baby is grunting in a high pitch, try burping him.

2. Low pitched grunts.
These grunts can also be an indication of gas, just gas that is headed out of the other end. When your little princess is feeling a bowel movement coming on she will probably lean forward, stretch her legs out straight and grunt like a walrus. It is certainly not the most delicate sound you will hear her make. Quite often, parents who have their baby swaddled will misinterpret this movement and sound to mean that their baby is trying to get out of the swaddle. This is usually not the case, however if your baby shows signs of frustration (fast kicking with bouts of rhythmic crying), you could try another type of swaddle so she can wiggle a bit more. Wiggling, especially from side to side, really can help to get a bowel movement going.

3. Coos and gurgles.
Now there is absolutely nothing wrong when your baby is cooing and gurgling. These sweet little sounds are where some of the payoff for the sleepless nights and stinky diapers comes from. However, these beautiful sounds are not just cute. They are helping your little linguist figure out how his vocal chords work. The best thing you can do with your baby when you hear him chirping and blowing raspberries is to talk to him, imitate him and generally give him face time with positive feedback. Face time is hugely important all throughout your baby's first year so let yourself enjoy it as much as possible.

4. Rhythmic crying.
Rhythmic crying can best be described as "Waa waa waa waa waa waa waa!" and it is the most frustrating sound in the world for a parent to hear. When a baby cries like this parents try everything they can think of to sooth their baby, and yet the baby usually does not respond to most of it. Rhythmic crying is often caused by one of these two issues: pain and frustration. Or it could be the result of a combination of them. Most often, your baby will begin to feel a pain, like gas, hunger, diaper rash, headache or even something more serious like a bug bite or a twisted arm or leg. Then, when the remedy you offer does not relieve the pain, your baby gets frustrated and even angry. Don't worry, this anger is not directed at you, your baby does not have a concept of blame yet. Don't beat yourself up, just very methodically try to rule out any of the more serious issues that could be making your baby cry, and when you think you know what is wrong try to distract you baby from her frustration long enough for her to accept the remedy that you are offering. Good distractions for babies are: noise from a vacuum or hair-dryer, bouncing with you on a bed or exercise ball and a change of scenery, like going outside for a brisk walk around the yard. It is important that you distract your baby before you offer the remedy to their pain because while your little drama queen is in the middle of her frustration she will be too upset to cooperate.

5. High pitched, long screams.
These are rare, and they will chill your blood if you hear them. I've never met a parent yet that didn't know what this kind of cry meant. However it can scare you so bad, that you cannot think of what you should do. This type of cry means your baby is in severe pain. When you hear this kind of cry, the first thing you should do is look at your baby and his surroundings to assess what the source of the pain might be. If you don't see anything immediately that could be the cause of the pain, unwrap and undress your baby. Look for any bite marks or unusual movement . Check the diaper too. If you cannot find any surface reason that your baby is in pain, try to sooth him. If he is somewhat soothed by you but is still crying intermittently, try burping him or giving him a warm baby massage. If you did find a source for the pain when you looked at his body, depending on how serious it looks you might want to call your pediatrician for further direction. Often this kind of crying is the result of muscle cramps. Imagine the growing pains that you had when you were in your early teens, only magnified, and with no rational explanation for what is happening to you. This is why I recommend trying a warm baby massage. Gas can also lodge suddenly and painfully in your baby's abdomen, both baby massage and burping are sometimes effective at helping to relieve this kind of pain. Another thing that many parents are surprised to discover is that their baby, through wiggling and kicking on a fuzzy blanket on a carpeted floor, can get quite a shock from static electricity. To prevent this from happening, try using a humidifier. Static electricity does not build up nearly as badly in a moist atmosphere as in a dry one.

As your baby grows she will learn to tell the difference between the things she needs, and you will start to notice a difference between her various types of cries. The level of non-verbal communication between parents and their babies is really quite amazing to observe from the outside. If you have found these tips helpful, ,please forward them to any new or expecting parents you know. Questions, comments and suggestions are always welcome. Happy parenting!

5 tips for figuring out why your baby is crying.

Babies cry. They cry and cry and cry. Sometimes you know why they are crying, like when they are hungry, tired, lonely and when they have gas, and sometimes there is no obvious reason for all the hollerin'. After you have been a parent for a few months, you will get much better at deciphering your little megaphone's yelps, but there will still be times when the underlying cause remains a mystery. Here are a few lesser-known reasons why your baby might be crying, and some tips on what might help.

1. Cramping.
Your little china doll's insides are delicate. Every time gas or solids move through her bowels during the first few months it is quite a workout. Gas stretches tissue, solids require her abdominal muscles to continually contract and release, to move things along. The discomfort that your baby experiences feels something like a cross between how you feel after doing 50 crunches, and how a woman feels while having her period each month. Some babies are more sensitive to this type of pain than others, but if your sweet little cherry blossom is crying and you are not sure why this could be the reason. Now don't go rushing off for the Ibuprofen just yet, medicating your baby is tricky, and should only be done under the direction of a pediatrician. Instead try some homeopathic remedies first, like a warm towel, gentle clockwise abdominal baby massage and lavender or rosemary aromatherapy oils (just a drop or two on a favorite blanket will be sufficient), though be sure these oils are aromatherapy grade and do not contain any chemicals such as turpentine.

2. Motion sickness.
Just as your little snugglicious huggy monster is getting used to the world as a solid object, something happens that turns everything on it's head. Whether that is a bumpy stroller ride, a weaving car ride, or even being tossed into the air by a fun-loving daddy, sudden motion can sometimes trigger a panicked screaming fit from your baby that you have never experienced before. This type of crying can be very hard to soothe, but the solution is really quite simple. Bouncing. Yes, motion sickness can be cured by more motion. I am not entirely sure of the reasons this works (a pediatrician once talked to me about small "pebbles" in your baby's ear canal, that are not secured yet because they are so young, which somehow become dislodged from time to time and which can be relocated to their position of origin by bouncing your baby up and down while holding him upright against your chest) but the fact remains that a baby who is screaming for no reason can sometimes be greatly soothed by being held close to you while you jump straight up and down, or sit on an exercise ball and bounce. The calming should be obvious within a minute or two of bouncing if this is the reason your baby is crying.

3. Over-stimulation.
People talk a lot about over-stimulation when it comes to babies, but what does it mean, and what can you do if this is causing your baby to cry? First of all it should be remembered that stimulation is great. It is how your baby learns about the world around her. Everything around your baby is stimulating in the beginning, from the feel of her blanket, to the sound of the clock ticking, to the subtle currents of air that circulate over her sensitive skin. Your baby files the information she gathers from stimulation away while she is sleeping, and as she processes different types of stimuli, she files them away in her mind for future reference. This makes the most common types of stimulation not as demanding of her attention as she gets older. Often large amounts of stimulation will lead to a very sleepy baby who dozes off in order to process it all. However, when so much stimulation is coming in that it disrupts your baby's ability to relax and go to sleep, there can be a build-up of stimulation that still needs to be processed. This build-up is basically what over-stimulation is. At this point if you try to bounce your baby, sing to your baby, or take your baby on a walk, chances are that it will only make her more unhappy. Strangely enough the counter intuitive solution for over stimulation is noise. Not just any noise, a loud and unvaried noise that can block out all others just long enough for your baby to relax and go to sleep. I recommend a hair-dryer, a vacuum cleaner or best of all, a loud fan. Combined with a dark room and familiar scents, this form of soothing can really save a baby (and her parents) a lot of grief.

4. Fear.
In the beginning everything in this world is unfamiliar to your little wide-eyed blankie bug. But as time goes by, there are certain sights, sounds and smells that your baby learns to associate with safety. For some babies some of these things are more important than others. If as soon as your baby's great aunt who prefers a very pungent type of perfume picks him up he starts to scream like someone is pulling his hair out, it is most likely a case of unfamiliarity. This type of fear can be triggered by many things. Sometimes it is a new sound (remember that your baby's hearing is much better than yours. Since he is sensitive enough to perceive very high frequencies even turning on and off of a light bulb is something he can hear.), unfamiliar facial features, an uncomfortable texture of a new blanket or the absence of a familiar smell which could happen simply from changing your bathroom hand soap. Don't worry though, as soon as your baby is surrounded by familiar smells, motions and imagery he will calm down. Try not to be discouraged, give your baby a second or third try at the cause of his distress after a nap or two. Chances are that after one or two exposures he will overcome his fears and go to his great aunt without a fuss.

5. Charley-horse.
A charley-horse or a small muscle spasm, can cause your baby a sudden rush of pain, which could last anywhere from a few seconds to 20 minutes. To figure out if your baby is crying because of a charley-horse, gently squeeze her legs feeling for tight balled-up muscle bunches. You should also check your baby's arms and neck, because some times charley-horses can happen there as well. If you find the tightly knotted muscle, place a warm towel over the muscle and massage the area around it softly with your finger tips. Then very gently try to stretch the muscle as if your baby was preparing for a run. Charley horses can be caused by several things, too much exercise (was your baby in the jumper too long today?), injury (sometimes your baby's body can interpret things like getting a shot at the pediatrician's as an injury), dehydration (was it too hot out today?) and a low supply of calcium or potassium (have you been taking your multi-vitamin if you are breastfeeding?). Most of the time charley-horses are isolated incidents, however, if you find that your baby is having these muscle spasms on a regular basis, or more than once every couple of months, be sure to bring it up with your pediatrician.

The sun shines, rain falls and babies cry. Try as we might, we parents will never be able to eliminate all of the reasons our babies cry, but it doesn't hurt to know a few more things to look for and a couple more ways to make it better. Add these possible causes for crying to your list, and you will be just that much better prepared the next time your baby cries and you don't know why. If you have found these tips helpful please pass them on to any new or expecting parents you might know. Questions, comments and suggestions are always welcome. Happy parenting!

By: Naomi Tripi
http://tripibabytips.blogspot.com