by Tanja Cilia

Created on: March 24, 2007   Last Updated: April 25, 2007

We have all seen them; with titles like Jasmine in red Rose; David on Pink Peony Buds; Madison; Liam; and Anthony as a Butterfly, all the babies in the Anne Geddes Gallery are picture-perfect, cute cherubs in sound slumber!

That is not quite the way ordinary babies behave, as many will parents attest.

However help is at hand. There may actually be ways and means to recognise that a baby is about to set off on a mammoth bawling spree.

After all, a baby cannot communicate its needs except by doing what it does best crying. A toothless grin will get him nowhere if there is nobody around to see him; wailing will immediately attract attention.

Babies cry for several reasons. A loud noise, a bright light, coming into contact with bathwater, the face of a stranger all these may set him off. Sometimes, moreover, a baby cries for no apparent reason.

Studies have shown that babies tend to reveal different needs through different cries that are different in pitch, volume and tone something that mothers have known instinctively for millennia.

Hunger or Thirst

The first reason that comes to mind is hunger. Babies that are fed on demand know this.

Hunger could well be the cause of crying soon after the removal of a very soiled diaper, or if four hours or more have passed since the last feed. It could well be hunger that actually causes a baby to wake up and start crying almost immediately.

Body language will also indicate the need for food; a baby will suck his fingers or hands; he will appear restless, and make as if to grasp the breast when lifted. Some babies will carry on crying even after feeding has started, but once the feeling of satiety has kicked in, they are likely to stop.

It may seem obvious to say this but babies are human, and that is why hunger pangs do not strike at regular intervals. Even if you think a baby appears to indicate that he has had enough', he will still cry at the end of his feed.

Thirst may be the reason a baby is crying; offering some cooled, boiled water may solve his problem.

Boredom

Picture the scene; someone has buttonholed you at a party and starts ranting about his latest holiday and his marital problems and his colleagues at work and you get the picture. It is all you can do to keep from yawing in his face.

It's the same with babies. If they are bored, they have nothing g else to do except cry and cry they will. A baby who is imprisoned in his cot, tied down in his buggy, or has been placed in a playpen alone in a quiet room, will be literally bored

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