Oh, good lord, at 8 weeks, I don't even think the babies know what they're crying about yet, let alone the parents. Kids do have different cries, but not until like... 4 months old? At 8 weeks, I think I recognised baby's 'in-pain' cry which was forceful and distressed, but other than that it was just an 'everything else' cry, and that was pure roulette as to what it could be.
Thank you. It definitely seems like she doesn't know what she wants half the time. Sometimes she cries - stops for a second, smiles and almost laughs and then starts crying again!? I'll try and give myself more grace. I think during her crying episodes, my anxiety spikes, I jump into fight or flight and all my logical thinking goes out the window and i work myself into more of tizz than she does.
I read earlier about a baby that cried for ages until they sneezed and then they were happy as Larry again. 8 weeks is still so weeny and every new thing is so devastating in contrast to the happy environment that you provided for 9months haha.
You're doing good š
It's totally normal.
I found tracking the times much easier than reading cues. Her cues changed over time and around 6-7 months she just started sucking her thumb when hungry or tired. There are apps that can help guess when they need to nap or feed. I also found putting her on a routine worked much better for us as it took out the guess work, but lots of people don't like them.
All that stuff about being able to tell from the different cries what they want has been completely disproved.
You're completely meeting her needs if you're feeding, keeping her clean, putting her down for naps, giving her tummy time etc etc. Please don't worry about it, I know it's hard when you hear her crying and your system gets a shot of adrenaline. I hate that feeling. You are not a baby mind reader, no one is! Even babies are so little they've only just adjusted to life outside the womb.
Around 3-4 months they completely change again! I hope you feel better soon
Honestly at 8w if in doubt stick a boob/bottle in them.
Even now at 6m weāre still feeding somewhere between every 2-3hrs.
Next option is then nap.
I think at 8w they have no clue what they want so if you can try, food, nap, clean bum youāre meeting the key needs and usually solves the problem.
Haha, unfortunately, i don't breastfeed so i don't have that option! My babe just never liked my boob š„²
Also, I've been told twice now by doctors (at the hospital, not our GP) that I'm overfeeding her based on the amount she is eating for her size š. However my health visitor said I'm not and to continue to feed on demand. I'm just mentally exhausted lol
Continue to feed on demand lovey ā¤ļø
My second was exclusively formula fed and I ignored the GP and HV who told me not too! Trust your instincts xxxx
How many ML is she taking in one feed? And is she finishing her bottles? Xx
We are coming up to 8w this week and Iāve found tracking really helpful. āOh itās been two hours since her last feed, sheās probably hungryā. At the moment she has been very clingy but I think that itās mostly down to the fact sheās overstimulated by the world atm.
Mine is 4 months and I donāt really know her different cries, I still just go through the list (hungry/poopy/wet/hot/cold/generally bored/mildly uncomfortable/needing a hug/needs me to sing bohemian rhapsody with all the different voices) until she stops š
Iām only just getting an idea of what my LO wants and heās 15 weeks old. I still donāt fully know but am starting to tell his different cries. To get us through we went for: Does he need changing? Does he need feeding? Is he tired? Now I have to add in ādoes he need more stimulation?ā. The feeding one was guess work by looking at the time!
We're at six months and his cries all still sound exactly the same to me. I have a better sense of what he needs now, but also sometimes he's just cross. So I go through all the options and if none of them work, we go for a walk around the block. Some days are like that. He's happy and healthy. You're not a terrible parent, this is totally normal.
Iām a second time mum and have struggled more this time reading baby cues! We are 3 months in and I feel like Iām slowly getting the hang of him (before it all changes again š¤Ŗ). Babies are hard - you are in no way a bad parent!!
Before having my bubba I was really good with babies, had a lot of experience through family members having them as I grew up.
Then my wee one came 8 weeks ago and again, I was quite a dab hand. But weirdly enough when people like my mum and sister would visit they'd say "ooo that sounds like he's got a sore tummy", and they'd manoeuvre him to ease it. And I dunno, it's so odd but I'd be like well thank god they're here cos I didn't realise. So it has definitely helped having relatives around me who know what they're doing.
You'll get there! I still have days I've not a scooby what's wrong with him and it'll sometimes just be he's overtired and needs aggressively rocked haha.
Oh my goodness I also thought Iād cracked it by about 3-4 months with my first then I went to stay with my parents (it had been lockdown so weād not spent any time till then) and she justā¦knew what was up. Right 80% of the time. Made me realise weāre not meant to do this alone - thereās a collective knowledge thatās needed!
Oh yeah 100%. Like I forgot about gripe water until my mum mentioned it as well. And then when wed use it, I was unsure if it was even doing anything. So when I asked my mum she confirmed she'd always get a big burp from us after, so when my baby wasn't doing anything, I knew he didn't need it and it was something else that was wrong.
Second the comment about tracking but at 8 weeks my baby cried SO MUCH. I couldnāt figure out what he wanted. Heād been changed, fed, offered sleep. In my area they promote ICON a lot which is the increased infant crying so itās so common for babies to just cry a lot. They never sounded different to me and when I thought I had it down, Iād end up totally wrong lol. Youāre not a bad parent, itās so normal for babies to be like this - everything is a phase and whilst it feels eternal right now in a few weeks you may barely remember how this phase felt!
There is an app called Nanni AI, it listens to baby cries and tells you why it thinks baby is crying. Iāve found it pretty good tbh. It then lists some things you can try with baby to see if it helps.
Another thing, I tick off the three main things.
Nappy
Hunger
Tired
If itās none of them then we will go look outside/go outside or go for a bath.
The happy song is a lifesaver as well.
Oh, good lord, at 8 weeks, I don't even think the babies know what they're crying about yet, let alone the parents. Kids do have different cries, but not until like... 4 months old? At 8 weeks, I think I recognised baby's 'in-pain' cry which was forceful and distressed, but other than that it was just an 'everything else' cry, and that was pure roulette as to what it could be.
Thank you. It definitely seems like she doesn't know what she wants half the time. Sometimes she cries - stops for a second, smiles and almost laughs and then starts crying again!? I'll try and give myself more grace. I think during her crying episodes, my anxiety spikes, I jump into fight or flight and all my logical thinking goes out the window and i work myself into more of tizz than she does.
I read earlier about a baby that cried for ages until they sneezed and then they were happy as Larry again. 8 weeks is still so weeny and every new thing is so devastating in contrast to the happy environment that you provided for 9months haha. You're doing good š
Thank you š„¹
It's totally normal. I found tracking the times much easier than reading cues. Her cues changed over time and around 6-7 months she just started sucking her thumb when hungry or tired. There are apps that can help guess when they need to nap or feed. I also found putting her on a routine worked much better for us as it took out the guess work, but lots of people don't like them. All that stuff about being able to tell from the different cries what they want has been completely disproved.
Thank you for replying. I do track her feeds on huckleberry but she's all over the place at the minute it's impossible to even try and predict :(
You're completely meeting her needs if you're feeding, keeping her clean, putting her down for naps, giving her tummy time etc etc. Please don't worry about it, I know it's hard when you hear her crying and your system gets a shot of adrenaline. I hate that feeling. You are not a baby mind reader, no one is! Even babies are so little they've only just adjusted to life outside the womb. Around 3-4 months they completely change again! I hope you feel better soon
Honestly at 8w if in doubt stick a boob/bottle in them. Even now at 6m weāre still feeding somewhere between every 2-3hrs. Next option is then nap. I think at 8w they have no clue what they want so if you can try, food, nap, clean bum youāre meeting the key needs and usually solves the problem.
My newborns 6 weeks and every cry I answer with shoving a boob in his mouth. Seems to work lol!
Haha, unfortunately, i don't breastfeed so i don't have that option! My babe just never liked my boob š„² Also, I've been told twice now by doctors (at the hospital, not our GP) that I'm overfeeding her based on the amount she is eating for her size š. However my health visitor said I'm not and to continue to feed on demand. I'm just mentally exhausted lol
A dummy could help if youāve gone through the normal hungry,tired,change stuff? Sometimes they just need a soothing, and if youāre formula feeding you donāt feed on demand however ALWAYS feed on demand with breastmilk!!!! Itās very dangerous advice to not feed on demand and will 100% ruin your breastfeeding journey as your body wont be told to produce enough milk etc Why do they think youāre overfeeding? Unless baby went from 1 percentile to 99th theyāre being silly surelyš©
Continue to feed on demand lovey ā¤ļø My second was exclusively formula fed and I ignored the GP and HV who told me not too! Trust your instincts xxxx How many ML is she taking in one feed? And is she finishing her bottles? Xx
Generally, between 100-150ml per feed at the min, but she's started draining most of the 150ml bottles, so considering upping it again!
We are coming up to 8w this week and Iāve found tracking really helpful. āOh itās been two hours since her last feed, sheās probably hungryā. At the moment she has been very clingy but I think that itās mostly down to the fact sheās overstimulated by the world atm.
Mine is 4 months and I donāt really know her different cries, I still just go through the list (hungry/poopy/wet/hot/cold/generally bored/mildly uncomfortable/needing a hug/needs me to sing bohemian rhapsody with all the different voices) until she stops š
Iām only just getting an idea of what my LO wants and heās 15 weeks old. I still donāt fully know but am starting to tell his different cries. To get us through we went for: Does he need changing? Does he need feeding? Is he tired? Now I have to add in ādoes he need more stimulation?ā. The feeding one was guess work by looking at the time!
We're at six months and his cries all still sound exactly the same to me. I have a better sense of what he needs now, but also sometimes he's just cross. So I go through all the options and if none of them work, we go for a walk around the block. Some days are like that. He's happy and healthy. You're not a terrible parent, this is totally normal.
6-9 weeks are the WORST. Babies are just waking up to the world and it's really overwhelming so they just cry at existing. Don't beat yourself up!
Iām a second time mum and have struggled more this time reading baby cues! We are 3 months in and I feel like Iām slowly getting the hang of him (before it all changes again š¤Ŗ). Babies are hard - you are in no way a bad parent!!
Before having my bubba I was really good with babies, had a lot of experience through family members having them as I grew up. Then my wee one came 8 weeks ago and again, I was quite a dab hand. But weirdly enough when people like my mum and sister would visit they'd say "ooo that sounds like he's got a sore tummy", and they'd manoeuvre him to ease it. And I dunno, it's so odd but I'd be like well thank god they're here cos I didn't realise. So it has definitely helped having relatives around me who know what they're doing. You'll get there! I still have days I've not a scooby what's wrong with him and it'll sometimes just be he's overtired and needs aggressively rocked haha.
Oh my goodness I also thought Iād cracked it by about 3-4 months with my first then I went to stay with my parents (it had been lockdown so weād not spent any time till then) and she justā¦knew what was up. Right 80% of the time. Made me realise weāre not meant to do this alone - thereās a collective knowledge thatās needed!
Oh yeah 100%. Like I forgot about gripe water until my mum mentioned it as well. And then when wed use it, I was unsure if it was even doing anything. So when I asked my mum she confirmed she'd always get a big burp from us after, so when my baby wasn't doing anything, I knew he didn't need it and it was something else that was wrong.
Second the comment about tracking but at 8 weeks my baby cried SO MUCH. I couldnāt figure out what he wanted. Heād been changed, fed, offered sleep. In my area they promote ICON a lot which is the increased infant crying so itās so common for babies to just cry a lot. They never sounded different to me and when I thought I had it down, Iād end up totally wrong lol. Youāre not a bad parent, itās so normal for babies to be like this - everything is a phase and whilst it feels eternal right now in a few weeks you may barely remember how this phase felt!
There is an app called Nanni AI, it listens to baby cries and tells you why it thinks baby is crying. Iāve found it pretty good tbh. It then lists some things you can try with baby to see if it helps. Another thing, I tick off the three main things. Nappy Hunger Tired If itās none of them then we will go look outside/go outside or go for a bath. The happy song is a lifesaver as well.