Do you think babies just need to cry sometimes?

I know my baby just needs to freak out sometimes. She is 4 months old and for no reason she cries. I also found out that babies get stressed out just like adults and the only way they have to get rid of it is by crying. i actually thought something was terribly wrong with her because she cried like i was hurting her and i knew i wasnt. but she is slowly but surely coming out of it.

I don't really agree with letting a baby cry it out because they don't really understand much and they need us to be the ones to help them out and figure things out for them. If your baby is still crying after you fed him, burped him and even a diaper change, maybe he is just cranky and needs you to rock him to sleep? Or I would look into some gas drops, he might have gas and that can make a baby cry for no reason out of the blue. I always had gas drops on hand just in case. If you think something might be wrong after trying all this, I would maybe talk with the babies doctor about it. Just don't let him cry it out because I'm sure he is crying for a reason, and it seems like gas problems to me if he screams even when being held. Look into. Good luck!

hi i too have a baby who has jus completed 6 months now. but i dont understand what u mean clearly. do u mean that he cries sometimes after something is done to him ( like cleaning him, fedding..)??? well my son hates me wasing his face , or changing his dress , he also hates if i feed him more or if he gets boared of taking milk. basically babies cry for most of the things....after all it is their only language to communitate with us. so dont worry ..u need to worry in case he cries when passing motion, urinating, or has some infection ( like my son cried a lot when he was infected with cold , i had a tough time ..he had cough all through the night and cried a lot ). have a wonderful time with ur baby . good luck!!!

My daughter is 6 months too and she has started crawling around, but when she gets tired she gets stuck on her belly. But I think a lot of this has something to do with frustration, because I think their brains are moving faster than their bodies, and they want to get around and do things, and cant so they get frustrated and cry. I think it makes sense. Or they could just be overly tired.

It's good that you console him. I don't like to let my 5 month old just cry. Sometimes it's hard to tell what is wrong. You check everything and they still cry. I read an article back when my 2 year old was a baby that basically said that sometimes babies cry to release extra energy. They can't run around yet so they cry. If your baby is crawling then maybe he is frustrated that he's unable to do something. It could also be just his personality. My 2 yr old cried a lot when she was a baby. Now she needs a lot of attention and is a very spirited child.

I've heard both sides of it, i'd just monitor him to make sure he's ok. If it could be his teeth get some of that baby orajel stuff and see if that helps. He could just be over tired though, i know i get cranky when i'm tired!

I have heard some babies really cry a lot. I think it's normal for some babies. And I've read there is a condition in babies, called colic, where babies experience stomach pain that's why they cry a lot. But it is nothing to worry about since it just goes away by itself.However, I am lucky enough not to experience that with my first-born son. He cries only when hungry, when wet, and when he does not feel well. The worst time I had to deal with his cries was when he had a cold and maybe he was experiencing a headache then. He cried the whole day and I didn't know what to do to alleviate what he felt. I felt like crying myself. Even when he was hospitalized, he didn't cry much; cried only when I leave his side.

I think there could be something else wrong, maybe he has a tummy ache, maybe he's teething, there's lots of things. I've posted this before, but I think it's a great article, I've armed myself with this when the evil in laws told my husband to tell me to let my son just cry. Oddly enough, my husband has adhd! Not saying that if you do, your kid will have adhd, just food for thought. http://www.askdrsears.com/html/10/handout2.asp Science Says: Excessive Crying Could Be Harmful to Babies Science tells us that when babies cry alone and unattended, they experience panic and anxiety. Their bodies and brains are flooded with adrenaline and cortisol stress hormones. Science has also found that when developing brain tissue is exposed to these hormones for prolonged periods these nerves won’t form connections to other nerves and will degenerate. Is it therefore possible that infants who endure many nights or weeks of crying-it-out alone are actually suffering harmful neurologic effects that may have permanent implications on the development of sections of their brain? Here is how science answers this alarming question: Chemical and hormonal imbalances in the brain Research has shown that infants who are routinely separated from parents in a stressful way have abnormally high levels of the stress hormone cortisol, as well as lower growth hormone levels. These imbalances inhibit the development of nerve tissue in the brain, suppress growth, and depress the immune system. 5, 9, 11, 16 Researchers at Yale University and Harvard Medical School found that intense stress early in life can alter the brain’s neurotransmitter systems and cause structural and functional changes in regions of the brain similar to those seen in adults with depression. 17 One study showed infants who experienced persistent crying episodes were 10 times more likely to have ADHD as a child, along with poor school performance and antisocial behavior. The researchers concluded these findings may be due to the lack of responsive attitude of the parents toward their babies. 14. Dr. Bruce Perry’s research at Baylor University may explain this finding. He found when chronic stress over-stimulates an infant’s brain stem (the part of the brain that controls adrenaline release), and the portions of the brain that thrive on physical and emotional input are neglected (such as when a baby is repeatedly left to cry alone), the child will grow up with an over-active adrenaline system. Such a child will display increased aggression, impulsivity, and violence later in life because the brainstem floods the body with adrenaline and other stress hormones at inappropriate and frequent times. 6 Dr. Allan Schore of the UCLA School of Medicine has demonstrated that the stress hormone cortisol (which floods the brain during intense crying and other stressful events) actually destroys nerve connections in critical portions of an infant’s developing brain. In addition, when the portions of the brain responsible for attachment and emotional control are not stimulated during infancy (as may occur when a baby is repeatedly neglected) these sections of the brain will not develop. The result – a violent, impulsive, emotionally unattached child. He concludes that the sensitivity and responsiveness of a parent stimulates and shapes the nerve connections in key sections of the brain responsible for attachment and emotional well-being. 7, 8 Decreased intellectual, emotional, and social development Infant developmental specialist Dr. Michael Lewis presented research findings at an American Academy of Pediatrics meeting, concluding that “the single most important influence of a child’s intellectual development is the responsiveness of the mother to the cues of her baby.” Researchers have found babies whose cries are usually ignored will not develop healthy intellectual and social skills. 19 Dr. Rao and colleagues at the National Institutes of Health showed that infants with prolonged crying (but not due to colic) in the first 3 months of life had an average IQ 9 points lower at 5 years of age. They also showed poor fine motor development. (2) Researchers at Pennsylvania State and Arizona State Universities found that infants with excessive crying during the early months showed more difficulty controlling their emotions and became even fussier when parents tried to consol them at 10 months. 15 Other research has shown that these babies have a more annoying quality to their cry, are more clingy during the day, and take longer to become independent as children 1. Harmful physiologic changes Animal and human research has shown when separated from parents, infants and children show unstable temperatures, heart arrhythmias, and decreased REM sleep (the stage of sleep that promotes brain development). 10 12, 13 Dr. Brazy at Duke University and Ludington-Hoe and colleagues at Case Western University showed in 2 separate studies how prolonged crying in infants causes increased blood pressure in the brain, elevates stress hormones, obstructs blood from draining out of the brain, and decreases oxygenation to the brain. They concluded that caregivers should answer cries swiftly, consistently, and comprehensively. (3) and (4)