Learn baby's body language

Baby Body Language: The Basics

By Ann Douglas

Babies don’t come with an owner’s manual of course, but their body language can tell you plenty. Some of those baby signals are hard-wired—more instinctual than intentional—but as babies grow, they use body language to communicate a whole lot more. Here’s a quick guide to baby body language.

“One moment my one-month-old will be almost asleep. Then suddenly, for no reason at all, she’ll fling her arms and legs out and start wailing.”

Your baby is startled in response to a noise or a movement. Try blocking out some of the background noise (a white noise machine works amazingly well) and swaddling your baby in a light-weight blanket so she’ll be less likely to startle herself awake. By the time your baby is five or six months old, she will have outgrown this particular reflex and should sleep more soundly.

“If my newborn’s face rubs against my shoulder while I’m carrying him across the room, he starts bobbing his head up and down.”

Your baby is bound and determined to find a breast. (He’s just a little off when it comes to basic geography.) It’s a strategy that’s served babies since the beginning of time… When babies feel something rubbing the corner of their mouths, they open up wide and “root” in the direction of the stroking, in hopes that a nipple will magically present itself. And often it does!

“Sometimes my baby and I will be playing with a toy—then she’ll start fussing and look away.”

That’s her way of saying that, “Hey, it’s been fun, but I’ve had enough.” Respect your baby’s need for a break. See if you can get her down for a nap or— at the very least— put away that too-cool educational toy and ease into a quieter, more soothing activity.

“Sometimes my seven-month-old cries because I can’t get the food to her mouth quickly enough. Other times, I can’t even get her to open her mouth. She’ll turn her face away and ignore me completely.”

Your baby’s appetite varies from one feeding to the next, and—like all babies—she knows how to make it perfectly clear when dinner is over. Learn to read and respect your baby’s fullness cues. She’s the best judge of how much food she needs.

“Yesterday, my eight-month-old started acting sleepy during lunch. By the time she finished her lunch, she was completely hysterical. Then she wouldn’t take her nap!”

In the world of babies, there’s tired and then there’s overtired. The secret to getting babies to settle down to sleep is to spot the signs of tiredness before your baby enters the no man’s land of overtiredness: quiet calm rather than fussiness or frantic crying.

About the Author
Ann Douglas is the mother of four children, ages 10 through 19, and the author of numerous books about pregnancy and parenting, including The Mother of All Baby Books, Sleep Solutions for Your Baby, Toddler, and Preschooler and Mealtime Solutions for Your Baby, Toddler, and Preschooler. Visit Ann on the web: www.having-a-baby.com