As a mother of four, I pondered this question a thousand times - but only with my first baby. He was quite fussy and holding him or nursing him soothed him immediately. Many times when I would try to put him down, he would begin to wail. After all, I reasoned, if I was upset, and called out to my husband, his lack of response would upset me further, making me feel unloved.
Babies cry to communicate.
Their cry is unsettling to their parents because it is divinely designed to ensure babies get the care they need. The truth is - holding your baby is as natural as breastfeeding. Colicky babies who cry for hours may be entirely normal. It is the modern habits of parents that are often at fault, contends Dr. Ronald Barr of Montreal Children's Hospital. Colic, he finds, is nearly absent in the world's few remaining hunter-gathering societies, such as the bushmen of Botswana, where mothers typically carry their infants almost constantly.