For more information please visit Reasons for a crying baby.

Some crying is not due to a specific need of the infant. Neither hunger, wetness, nor pain is responsible. The infant is merely fussy. Holding and rocking does not always relieve this type of crying, but parents don't need to be concerned with this fussiness

Nearly 40 years ago, a study was made of healthy infants that revealed that 2 to 3 hours of fussiness per day in the 1st few months of life was to be expected. Some infants were fussy for as much as 4 hours a day

Fussy crying increased gradually, becoming most prolonged by 6 weeks of age, and declined thereafter. By 3 to 4 months, most infants were fussy less than 1½ hours daily. Most of the crying seemed to occur between the hours of 6:00pm and 10:00pm

Unfortunately, this crying occurs at a time of day when parents are tired and becoming more irritable themselves. Crying may also occur as a result of the child's being frightened by a loud noise or a sudden movement

As an infant grows older, crying becomes less frequent. Children can delay their need for gratification longer and longer. Older infants, however, begin to miss their parents and will cry when they are lonely.

By 6 months of age, a child has come to recognize their parents and recognize their absence. Some people recommend holding an infant if he or she is crying because of loneliness. Others warn that cuddling children after crying will spoil them

A few whimpers when a child wakes up at nigh and is lonely don't need to be attended for. Frequently, playthings in the crib will serve to comfort the child. If the whimpering persists, often the voice of the parent is enough to quiet the child

If crying becomes intense and prolonged, hold and comfort your child. Beyond 1 year of age, crying is often a product of the child's frustration at not being able to control their surroundings. This is a healthy sign of personality development. You can tolerate this crying better if you understand it

As children become older, crying can be triggered by emotions. It's helpful for parents to teach a child to say that he or she is angry or frustrated rather than to demonstrate these feelings by crying. Sadness and separation are also frequently accompanied by crying

Crying can be a sign of pain, especially in a young child who can't verbalize the presence of a head, stomach, ear ache or sore throat. If illness is causing the pain, other symptoms will usually be present as well.

Alvaro Castillo has been writing health articles for five years. One of his specializations has been on parenting and pregnancy. If you would like to get the best out of parenting, then visit his website at http://www.myhomeparent.com/ or visit his blog at http://myhomeparent.blogspot.com/ to share your opinion.

A baby only has one way of communicating - crying. Everything is incredibly new to them, every feeling, every experience. Sometimes, for a new parent, it can be very difficult to work out exactly what your baby is crying about. However there are some basics that you can check if your baby cries. It may be one or a number of them are making the baby cry.

The best place to start is the diaper. If it's wet or soiled, then the baby will be uncomfortable and start crying. If the diaper needs changing, then change it. More often than not, that will solve the problem. Some babies don't like having their diaper changed, and will often cry even more. Mostly it's because they don't like the sensation of being uncovered. So change the diaper as quickly and smoothly as you can, to minimize distress. Then cover the baby with a blanket or clothing, so that the baby feels comfortable again.

Babies also like being warm. However it's also possible to overdress a baby, so be sensible about it. When checking the baby, look for very red skin, and see if the baby is sweating. Either of these signs suggest the baby is almost certainly too hot. A good rule of thumb with dressing your baby is one layer more than you're wearing. If the baby is too hot or cold, then adjust clothing or covers to suit the temperature.

Next, is your baby hungry? Is it a while since the last feed? Did the baby maybe feed a little less than normal at the last feed, and so perhaps is hungry quicker this time around? Try nursing or offering a bottle. Babies do need to eat frequently, because they are growing so quickly. Often the action of sucking helps to soothe the baby, even if they're not very hungry. Babies are very good at knowing when they've had enough, and will stop. So don't worry too much about overfeeding. The baby will stop crying once he's not hungry any more.

After feeding, many babies develop gas. The baby's digestive system is only just developing, and eating is a very new experience. Sometimes crying means the baby has some gas rumbling around in the tummy, and needs to be burped. Put a cloth on your shoulder, and hold the baby against your shoulder so that his stomach is against the front of your shoulder. Make sure the head is well forward, or support the head if you can. Rub his back firmly, in a circular motion. This helps to put pressure on the digestive system both front and back, and often produces the required burping. Some gentle patting may also help, but be very careful if you decide to do this - babies are very delicate.

You may even find that just going for a walk with the baby on your shoulder helps. Babies seem to like movement, probably because they're used to being bounced around in the womb. But also, being held close to a parent is very soothing for a baby. Babies love to be held and cuddled - despite some suggestions to the contrary, you can't hold your baby too much.

Some babies also find it very soothing to be swaddled in a small blanket. Swaddling involves wrapping the blanket around the baby's body fairly tightly. The arms are held close to the baby. In some ways this feels a lot like the womb to a baby, because they were tightly enclosed in there too. Sometimes the sudden experience of being able to move around can distress a baby. Your health professional should be able to teach you how to swaddle the baby effectively. It's important to make sure, though, that the head and neck remain uncovered.

Once you've gone through the list above - check the diaper, check the baby's temperature, try a feed or a burp, and swaddle the baby - and the baby's still crying, then trying holding the baby close and making a rhythmic "shhhh" sound near the baby's ear. If it sounds a little bit like a wave on the beach, great. That's the sort of sound the baby heard in the womb, and is often very reassuring and soothing. Some babies are very sensitive to noise, and an average home produces a lot of noise! You can even try a radio tuned off station, so all you can hear is "white noise".

Over time, you'll find that you begin to recognise the difference between your baby's cries, and so probably won't need to go right through the checklist every time baby cries. However if at any time you suspect your baby may be sick or in pain, or if he's still crying even after checking all of the above things, it's always best to visit your health care professional, just to make sure everything is okay.

Check out the author's book about babies at Baby's First Year For lot more great baby information, check out Info About Baby You can also sign up for a FREE Baby Tips newsletter at Baby Tips Newsletter.

When babies cry for hours on end, their parents (especially first-time parents) can be driven to distraction. It is quite clear that something is bothering the baby. What is not obvious is how to relieve the baby's pain. The result is that someone walks with the crying, fretful baby for hours on end hoping to calm him or her, so that the house can be peaceful and that everyone has a hope of getting a decent night's sleep. The parents are exhausted. The baby is exhausted. Each day blends into the one before, with fussiness and crying as the grand finale to really long days.

There is hope. There is a reason why the baby is fussy. Many times, the reason for the fussiness at night is that a breastfeeding baby is reacting quite negatively to what his or her mother is eating. During the first months of life, a newborn's digestive system is quite porous, which allows larger particles of foods through the lining of the digestive system into the blood stream. Little bits of food particles normally found in a breastfeeding mom's breast milk can actually irritate the baby's digestive system, and can cause pain. Also, the food bits that cross the lining of the digestive system can create slight allergic responses that become either frank food allergies, or food intolerances. Both can result in the baby experiencing gas, pain and/or discomfort.

By eliminating certain foods on a short term basis, many breastfeeding mothers find that their babies' crying time decreases dramatically. The diet modification process is relatively short, but effective. Many mothers notice that if they cheat and eat the foods of concern, their babies cry and fuss throughout the evening. When they follow the breastfeeding elimination diet, their babies hardly cry at all! By about the fourth month, the lining of the baby's digestive system matures and many of the foods can be eaten with no ill-effects.

Here is one of the delicious breastfeeding-friendly recipes found in The Calm Baby Cookbook. It is delicious way to use up any leftovers that you may have:

Waldorf Turkey Sandwiches

½ cup sunflower seeds

½ cup chopped walnuts

1 cup diced turkey

½ cup diced apple

1 celery stalk, finely chopped

¼ cup raisins

½ cup Lite Miracle Whip or mayonnaise

1 tsp. grated lemon peel

Sea salt and pepper to taste

Lettuce leaves

Whole wheat rolls

Preheat a non-stick frying pan to medium-low and add the sunflower seeds and walnuts. Stir often until they are toasted evenly. Remove from the burner and let cool.

In a bowl, combine the Lite Miracle Whip or mayonnaise, lemon peel, sea salt and pepper. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to coat. Spoon onto fresh rolls and top with fresh lettuce.

Enjoy!

For more information about the foods that cause a baby's discomfort, please visit www.drmelaniebee.org.

Dr. Melanie Beingessner is a chiropractor, a breastfeeding counsellor, a certified infant massage instructor and the mother of three fabulous kids. She is the author of The Calm Baby Cookbook, written to help breastfeeding moms calm their fussy babies by changing their diets.

Dr. Melanie's website provides information about pregnancy, breastfeeding, ADD/ADHD, chiropractic, health and wellness at http://www.drmelaniebee.org/