Why Does She Cry?

How does little Emilia go from her calm, "I surrender" pose...

To this...

It really makes you want to understand why she's crying (the possessed crying seen in the video normally happens in the wee hours of the morning, of course). We've watched the "Happiest Baby on the Block" DVD, and practiced the 5S's. We've also watched the Dunston Baby Language DVD that helps you to understand what the baby's sounds mean. Well, our baby Em has become somewhat desensitized to the 5S's, and she's only made one sound that correlates to the Dunston language (Heh which is suppose to mean "uncomfortable").

So here's what Connie and I have learned so far:

1. She does not cry due to a dirty diaper.
2. She doesn't seem to cry for no reason (although you sometimes wonder).
3. She will cry when she's hungry.
4. She will cry when she's not comfortable (Heh from the Dunston language). This could mean a lot of things so you have to experiment until you find the off position for the crying switch. 
5. She's really sensitive to body position.  She prefers to lie on her sides rather than her back.  But she has to sleep on her back since that poses the least risk for SIDS.
6. She will cry due to gas or digestion issues. But you can generally tell from the usual signs - burping, farting, or squirming like her stomach is bothering her.
7. She will cry when she wants to be held.  Connie feels more strongly about this than I do.  I still think it's a comfort issue, and that holding her is a way of making her more comfortable.  You still have to find the right position to hold her otherwise she'll continue to cry.
   
8. She loves motion: big, swinging motions, bouncing motions, burping motions (patting her back). These will usually stop her crying, but it can be just temporary if there's an underlying discomfort (position?).
9. If you can't do anything to get her to stop crying, she's usually hungry. In other words, if all else fails, feed her :^)

So I guess the bottom line for us so far is to know when her last feeding was, make sure she doesn't have gas, try a variety of positions and motions, and don't put her to bed until you've coaxed her into a deep sleep.  Bottom line #2 is that we're still learning about her.