When a baby is hungry, in discomfort, or in need of care, he or she will cry. It’s how they communicate until they’re able to talk. The sounds of a newborn’s screams are often identical, leaving new parents perplexed as to why the infant is screaming.
To assist new parents comprehend their baby’s screams, Priscilla Dunstan collaborated with a number of research groups to use a discrete wavelet transform approach to decode various infant sounds.
She created the Dunstan Infant Language, which resulted in the discovery of five distinct baby sounds, each with its own meaning.
Read this article to learn about the many sorts of infant cries, the causes for each, and how to deal with their crying episodes.
Different Types Of Baby’s Cries
To properly calm a screaming infant, parents must first understand why the baby is crying. Although all newborns’ screams appear to be the same, each one is unique and indicates a special need.
Here are eight various infant cries, as well as the nature and causes for them. Let’s start with the five distinct infant sounds identified by the Dunstan Baby Language.
- ‘Neh’- I am hungry.
If your baby’s cry begins with the sound ‘neh,’ it’s possible that he or she is hungry. Additional indications include sucking hands, stroking the palate of the mouth with the tongue, and putting hands into the mouth.
What to do: You can soothe these cries by feeding the baby.
- ‘Heh’- I am tired or uncomfortable.
If your baby begins to cry with a ‘heh’ sound, it may be because he or she is uncomfortable or weary. If your baby is weary, they will wipe their eyes and nose in addition to screaming.
What to do: Examine the baby’s diaper and see whether he or she is itchy or chilly. Check the temperature of the room, lower the lights, tuck the baby in, and rock them to sleep.
- ‘Eh’- I need burping.
Burping after a meal is necessary to get rid of any extra air that may have been ingested while drinking milk. If the infant isn’t burped, he or she may get irritable, spit up, and scream with a “eh” sound.
What to do: Lift the baby and help them burp.
- ‘Eairh’- I have lower abdomen gas.
When your infant is in ᴘᴀɪɴ due to gas in the lower abdomen or flatulence, he or she may produce the sound ‘Eairh.’ It might also be a sign of indigestion. Pulling knees up and pushing out with their legs are further symptoms of ᴀʙᴅᴏᴍɪɴᴀʟ ᴘᴀɪɴ.
What to do: The best way to soothe this type of cry is by:
Applying gentle pressure and massaging your child’s belly
Identifying which foods have caused the gas and avoiding them
Helping the baby burp
Once the gas is released, the discomfort goes away, and your baby would stop crying.
- ‘Owh’- I am sleepy.
It’s possible that your baby’s loud cries with a ‘owh’ sound indicate that he or she is sleepy. This time, the wail will be louder and accompanied by yawning. In addition, the infant would massage his or her eyes with their hands.
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What to do: Put the baby in their comfortable spot, and gently rock them to sleep.
