Child Stages: Crying - Child Development | Wondertime

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Crying

Newborn to 1 month
The fact is, babies cry. As a parent, the trick is to figure out why. Sometimes, a baby will cry because he is hungry. At other times, his cries may be due to overstimulation, pain, a dirty diaper, or fatigue. And sometimes you just won't be able to figure out exactly why, but rocking, swaddling, singing, rubbing his back, or simply offering a pacifier will stop the crying.

Inconsolable crying that seems to occur at the same time each day, most commonly in the late afternoon or evening, is called colic. About 20 percent of all babies develop colic, generally between the ages of 2 and 4 weeks. While we do not have a good explanation for why colic occurs (and therefore, no clear answer as to what to do about it), the good news is that it generally goes away on its own around 3 to 4 months of age and does not seem to result in any harm to the baby.

Before deciding a baby is colicky, it is important that she be checked by her doctor to rule out any medical cause for the crying.

1 to 3 months
Parents may notice a change in their baby's crying habits at this age. While many parents worry that their baby's increased crying is indicative of colic, this disconcerting but otherwise relatively harmless condition tends to already have made itself known in the first month of life.

For babies who just seem to cry more than they did as newborns, it is entirely normal and actually expected that a baby will increase the amount of time she cries each day by a full hour or two by the time she reaches 6 weeks of age. After that, the time usually decreases to about an hour a day by 3 months of age.

And even for babies who do have colic, the condition usually resolves itself by 3 or 4 months of age — often disappearing as quickly as it started.

Return to Ages and Stages main page

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