As part of my work at Fussy Baby Network Colorado, we offer presentations to private or community agencies that explain our services. At the very beginning of the presentation, we play a recording of a baby crying. We ask the participants to close their eyes and just listen. When the crying stops, we ask the listeners to tell us the duration of the crying they just heard. Most participants guess 2 or even 3 minutes. The actual length of the recording is just under 30 seconds. Hmmm.

All babies cry, some more than others. (Straight from the Fussy Baby Network Colorado brochure) It simply isn’t possible to always know why your baby is crying. Some babies are really vocal, some babies go from calm to hysterical in a matter of seconds, and some babies start screaming and then can’t stop.

I was once in a department store while a baby was screaming in his stroller. Grandpa was sweating and pushing the stroller faster and faster to get the baby to stop crying. (It wasn’t working!) I started sweating myself, and I had to leave the store. I talk to parents everyday about their crying baby, and I absolutely understand how hard it is to listen. Even 30 seconds can seem like an eternity. Seek help and remember, all babies cry, some more than others.