Crying
Crying is one way babies communicate.
Parents usually become attuned to the slight differences in their infant’s cries and can usually differentiate between a hungry cry and a tired cry.
Some babies are less well regulated and will escalate to an intense cry almost straight away. These babies are harder to “read” and may need more reassurance and cuddles.
However, there are many other ways that babies communicate stress. The infant stress behaviours handout outlines the physiological, motor self regulatory and state cues which may indicate that the infant is challenged or distressed. In isolation a sign such as skin mottling may not be significant. However a consistent cluster of stress responses to a particular stimulus may represent stress.
Key Point
The infant does not see itself as being separate from the parent/mother until approximately 6-7 months of age and therefore it is impossible to “spoil” the baby by picking him/her up.
