There are several reasons why babies cry.  They cry when they are hungry, they cry when they are tired, they cry when they are hot or cold, they cry when they are sick and sometimes they just cry for the sake of crying.  Babies can’t talk so they do the best they can to get our attention.  Crying also helps the baby to develop their lungs.  To know what to do to comfort a crying baby, you first must identify what it is that’s making them cry, if anything.  Then you can do what’s necessary to alleviate the problem and get baby calmed down.
One of the most common causes of a crying baby is hunger.  Crying is the quickest way to get your attention and get a little milk.  If the baby hasn’t eaten for a while, this should be your first guess and can be tested by offering baby a little milk.  If the crying stops, you have identified the problem.

The next most common reason for a crying baby is a dirty diaper.  Soiled diapers are as unpleasant for the baby as they are for us.  If you sometimes want to cry when changing the baby, imagine what she is thinking and feeling.
When a baby gets tired, he often becomes grumpy and needs a little help to get to sleep.  Think how grumpy you are when it gets late and you just can’t get to sleep.  By singing a little song or rocking the baby, you can usually quickly put an end to this type of crying.

Often, babies just need to know they are not alone.  Often when a baby awakes from a nap and doesn’t detect anyone’s presence, he begins to cry.  If this is the problem, a few simple words or picking the baby up will calm the crying.

The type of crying we all fear the most is that which is caused by an illness.  If you’ve tried to solve the other common causes of crying and are unsuccessful, you should look for signs of a problem.  It could be something as simple as an upset stomach or something more serious like a fever.  If nothing else seems to help a crying baby, it may indicate that the baby is sick and a visit to the doctor is in order.