Seven reasons babies cry and how to soothe them Why do babies cry? All babies cry sometimes (Sheridan 2008) . It's perfectly normal. Most small babies cry for between one hour and three hours each day. Your baby can't do anything for herself and relies on you to provide her with the food, warmth and comfort that she needs. Crying is your baby's way of communicating any or all of those needs (Farrell and Sittlington 2009, ICAN 2007) and ensuring a response from you (Farrell and Sittlington 2009) . It's sometimes hard to work out what your baby is telling you . But in time you will learn to recognise what your baby needs (Farrell and Sittlington 2009) . And as your baby grows she'll learn other ways of communicating with you. She'll get better at eye contact , making noises and smiling , all of which reduce her need to cry for attention. Hunger is one of the most common reasons that your newborn baby will cry (PRODIGY 2007) . The younger your baby is, the more likely it is that she's hungry. Your baby's small stomach can't hold very much, so if she cries, try offering her some milk. She may be hungry, even if her last feed doesn't seem very long ago. It's likely that you will be feeding often and regularly in the first day or so to help your breastmilk to come in anyway. If you are formula feeding your baby she may not be