Your baby is crying, and you can’t tell why. Maybe they’re hungry, maybe it’s gas, or maybe they want to be picked up.

If you’ve ever stood there guessing, you’re not alone. Almost every new parent I have ever spoken to has felt that.

I’ve spent more than nine years as a certified pediatric sleep consultant helping families through nights like these, and the two questions I hear most are, “Is this normal?” and “What should I try next?”

My answer usually starts in the same place. Different baby cries and what they mean get much easier to figure out once you stop listening to the sound alone.

Look at your baby’s body as well, and think about when they last ate, slept, or had a diaper change.

Below, you’ll find the five common cry sounds, how pain and colic differ, what night crying means, a cry chart, and when to call your pediatrician.

What Different Baby Cries Are Telling You

A baby’s cry tells you that something needs attention and how urgent it feels, but it rarely tells you the cause by itself.

The most reliable way to read it is to combine the sound with your baby’s body cues and the timing of their last feed, nap, or diaper change.

Research supports that approach. A 2023 study on infant cries in Communication Psychology analyzed 39,201 cries from 24 babies aged 15 days to 3.5 months.

Neither a computer model nor trained adult listeners could reliably tell hunger, discomfort, and isolation cries apart by sound.

The authors noted that parents also use what they see and context, such as the time since a feed.

Pain appears to be the exception. A 2022 study in Current Biology found that parents and professional caregivers could recognize a baby’s pain cry, while adults with no baby care experience could not.

Reading cries is a skill that grows with exposure.

My background in behavioral psychology taught me to understand what drives a behavior before trying to stop it.

If the sheer amount of crying is wearing you down, this guide on why babies cry so much explains how it fits normal development.

The 5 Types of Baby Cries and Their Sounds in Words

Many parents first hear about the 5 types of baby cries through Dunstan Baby Language.

Priscilla Dunstan, an Australian mother with a musical background, released it as a DVD program in 2006.

Her system gives each baby crying sound a word, such as “neh” or “owh,” and links it to a reflex she says is most noticeable from birth to about 3 months.

So what do the 5 baby cries mean? Treat these baby cry sounds as listening cues rather than proven science.

The 2023 study notes that the Dunstan categories were defined without scientific validation.

1. Neh: The Hunger Cry

The “neh” sound is said to come from the sucking reflex as the tongue presses toward the roof of the mouth. It starts low and rhythmic, then builds if a feed doesn’t arrive.

Other hunger cues often appear first: rooting (turning the head side to side with an open mouth), lip-smacking, and hands moving to the mouth.

Crying is a late hunger sign, so answering those earlier cues tends to make feeds calmer.

Newborns usually feed 8 to 12 times in 24 hours, and this guide on a newborn always seeming hungry explains why frequent feeding is often normal.

2. Owh: The Tired Cry

The “owh” sound is shaped by a yawn, so the mouth opens wide and the cry sounds softer and drawn out.

Eye rubbing, staring off, turning away from activity, and slower blinks usually come first. In my work with families, a baby who misses those cues often takes longer to settle.

One of the first things I tell new families is that most sleep problems don’t start at bedtime.

A tired cry at 6 p.m. often traces back to a short nap or a nap transition earlier in the day.

Similar shifts explain some of the extra crying during baby sleep regression stages.

3. Heh: The Discomfort Cry

The “heh” sound is breathy and starts sharply, unlike a hunger cry that builds.

It usually points to a minor problem, such as a wet diaper, a tight waistband, a scratchy tag, or a room that feels too warm or too cool. It tends to ease within minutes once you fix the cause.

4. Eairh: The Gas Cry

The “eairh” sound is lower and strained, and it usually comes a while after a feed. It often comes with grunting, squirming, legs pulled toward the belly, or an arched back.

Children’s Health, a pediatric hospital system in Dallas, suggests moving the legs in a gentle bicycling motion or easing the knees toward the belly, which may help trapped gas pass.

5. Eh: The Burp Cry

The “eh” sound is short and repeated, often during or right after a feed when air is trapped in the upper chest, so try a burp before anything else.

These five sounds cover everyday needs, while two other patterns stand out through intensity and duration.

Pain Cries and Colic: Patterns Beyond the 5 Sounds

1. The Pain Cry

A pain cry starts suddenly at full volume and a higher pitch, and the 2023 study noted that cries grow rougher as distress rises.

Your baby may stiffen, arch, or pause to catch a breath, and the usual comfort doesn’t stop it.

Causes range from an ear infection to an injury. If you can’t find and fix the cause soon, check their temperature and call your pediatrician.

2. Colic

Colic has no sound of its own. Pediatricians often use the “rule of threes,” meaning crying for more than 3 hours a day, more than 3 days a week, for more than 3 weeks in an otherwise healthy, well-fed baby.

According to the Merck Manual, colic usually appears within the first month, peaks around 6 weeks, and ends by 3 to 4 months of age.

The crying often clusters in the evening, and it isn’t caused by anything a parent did. A short log of when crying starts and stops gives your pediatrician the clearest picture.

Different Baby Cries and What They Mean at Night

At night, most cries in young babies point to hunger, a brief stir between sleep cycles, or discomfort such as a wet diaper or gas.

Newborns still feed around the clock, so night hunger cries are expected in the early months. Short whimpers during light sleep often settle without help.

According to Banner Health, babies spend a large share of sleep in active sleep. In this lighter stage, they twitch, grunt, and whimper while moving between sleep cycles.

Listening for a moment helps: a whimper that fades usually means your baby is still asleep, while a cry that builds into a steady rhythm signals a need to meet.

When families come to me about frequent night wakings, we usually look at the day first, including nap length, feeding rhythm, and how busy the hour before bed was.

At night, keep lights dim and voices low so your baby stays in sleep mode.

When you settle your baby back down, follow the AAP’s 2022 safe sleep guidance.

Place them on their back on a firm, flat surface in their own crib or bassinet, ideally in your room for at least the first 6 months, with no pillows, bumpers, or loose blankets.

Swaddle only for back sleeping, and stop once your baby looks like they are trying to roll.

Baby Cry Meaning Chart

This baby cry meaning chart puts each baby crying sound in words beside its body cues and timing.

How to Soothe a Baby Once You’ve Identified the Cry

Soothing works best when it’s matched to the actual need. The right response depends entirely on what the cry is telling you.

Here’s what to do for each cry type:

• Feed first if hunger is the cause. Swaddling and rocking won’t help if the baby is hungry. If the last feed was three or more hours ago, start there before anything else.
• Use the 5 Ss for overtired or overstimulated babies. Swaddle the baby, hold in a side or stomach position, shush steadily, sway gently, and offer a pacifier. These replicate womb conditions and settle the nervous system.
• Remove the cause of discomfort cries. Check the diaper, adjust tight clothing, and move to a quieter or more comfortable space. The crying usually stops once the irritant is gone.
• Try leg cycling for gas. Bring the knees slowly toward the belly in a circular motion. This helps move trapped air through the digestive system.
• Watch for symptoms if it’s a pain cry. Technique alone won’t relieve a pain cry. If nothing is working and no cause is obvious, focus on what else you’re observing.
• Step away if you’re overwhelmed. Place the baby safely in the crib and take a few minutes. You’ll respond better when you return. Never shake a baby, regardless of how long the crying has lasted.

Matching the response to the cry cuts the guesswork and gets the baby settled faster.

These responses cover the full range of normal crying. When none of them make a difference, and no cause is visible, the cry is pointing to something a soothing technique cannot fix.

When a Baby’s Cry Needs Medical Attention

Most crying is normal communication, but a cry that sounds different from your baby’s usual pattern deserves attention.

Each baby’s cry carries its own acoustic signature, so researchers have suggested that a change from that familiar sound may signal a problem.

The AAP advises calling your pediatrician right away if a baby younger than 3 months has a temperature of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher, as its guide on when to call about fever explains.

Also call promptly if crying comes with:

• Vomiting, refusing feeds, or fewer wet diapers than usual
• A weak, moaning, or unusually high-pitched cry, or a baby who seems floppy or unusually sleepy
• A fall or bump to the head, especially with vomiting more than once
• Colic-like crying with blood in the stool, poor weight gain, or crying that continues past 4 months

Call 911 if your baby has trouble breathing, has blue or gray lips or skin, has a seizure, or is hard to wake.

Reading Your Baby’s Cries Gets Easier With Practice

Learning different baby cries and what they mean is less about memorizing sounds and more about noticing patterns.

The five Dunstan sounds give you words for what you hear, while timing and body language confirm the need.

Pain and colic stand apart through intensity and duration. Night cries often settle once you know whether your baby is hungry or only stirring between sleep cycles.

Any cry that sounds unlike your baby is worth a call to your pediatrician.

For the next week, try jotting down when crying starts, what you tried, and what helped.

That log often answers “What should I try next?” more clearly than guessing at 3 a.m.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Do Babies Go “Eh Eh Eh”?

Beyond the burp cue, a rhythmic “eh, eh, eh” is often low-level fussing. Researchers describe cries as a graded distress signal, so responding to these early sounds may head off a full wail.

What Is the 5-3-3 Rule for Babies?

It’s an informal sleep-schedule idea shared among parents, not a pediatric guideline, and versions differ. Most describe it for babies around 4 to 6 months, so check with your pediatrician first.

Do Autistic Babies Have a Different Cry?

A small 2012 study found that 6-month-olds at higher autism risk had higher-pitched pain cries, but a cry cannot diagnose autism. The AAP recommends autism screening at 18 and 24 months.