My first frustrating night with Karston home wasn't all that frustrating and I'm sure every parent in the world has gone through the same type of situation.

Last night Karston was "bright-eyed and bushy-tailed." It was great to see him awake so much and BOTH of his eyes open at the same time (usually he prefers the Popeye look). However when it came to trying to get him to go to sleep around midnight he would have none of it!

I tried to console and rock him so that Valerie could get some sleep but he was having a tough time. He kept giving me mixed signals.

I have seen on various sights and have heard from various people that babies have different cries to tell you how they are feeling and what they need.

The Baby Corner has a great reference on infant communication. It lists the following as common types of infant cries:

• Basic - A rhythmic pattern formed by a cry, then a brief silence, then a short whistle higher in pitch than the main cry, then another quick rest before the next cry.


• Anger - A variation of the basic cry with more air forced through the vocal chords.


• Hunger - A low pitched cry that rises and falls with a rhythm. The baby will usually root, suck on his or her hands and can't be calmed down.


• Fatigue - A soft, rhythmic cry as the baby tries to pacify and go to sleep.


• Boredom - A fake cry that stops when picked up.


• Discomfort - A whiny sound like the fake cry, but doesn't stop when picked up. Baby usually needs a diaper change or is too hot or cold.


• Pain - Differs from the other types of cries, and it stimulated by high-intensity stimuli. It is characterized by both a sudden loud cry without moaning, and a long initial cry followed by a breathing period.

Last night Karston was making cries that told me he had to burp but it turned out that he was hungry.

It isn't an exact science but it's nice to know typical sounds an infant makes so that you can narrow down what he or she needs.

Labels: baby, family, Karston