As a parent, few things are more stressful than when your baby won’t stop crying, and you have no idea why. Crying is a baby’s primary way of communicating, but decoding their message can feel impossible—especially when you’ve checked all the usual boxes.
Why Is My Baby Crying: 5 Common Reasons and What to Do
So, why is your baby crying? Here are five of the most common reasons babies cry and what you can do to help.
Tiredness & Overtiredness
One of the biggest culprits behind a crying baby is exhaustion. When babies stay awake too long, their bodies release stress hormones, making it even harder for them to settle. This leads to fussiness, crankiness, and full-on meltdowns.
Cortisol
If your baby – young newborns excepted – is waking 20-40 minutes after being placed in their crib or bassinet and initially sleeping peacefully, it might be overtiredness. Same when your baby wakes between 4:30 and 5:30am. This happens because of a hormone called cortisol. This stress hormone builds while we are awake. When we reach a critical load of cortisol, we often feel drowsy and ready for sleep. For adults, this might happen in the late afternoon or around 8:00 or 9:00pm.
Babies are the same. They start to exhibit signs of tiredness and if we place them in the right sleeping environment, they’ll often drifting off to sleep easily. If we miss those signals, or we assume that making the baby more tired will make them fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer, we’re going to get a nasty surprise. Baby will wake shortly after falling asleep and have a lot of trouble getting back to sleep. When there is too much cortisol, a baby will sleep long enough for some of the cortisol to get flushed out of their brain and then wake up, but still be tired. Or they will wake hours earlier than we hope they will, and remain awake and cranky.
To help, watch for early sleep cues like rubbing eyes, yawning, or zoning out. One of the cutest early signal that your baby is tired is when their eyebrows go bright red! If your baby is already overtired, a calming bedtime routine – like dim lighting, gentle rocking, or white noise – applied consistently can help them wind down and learn to sleep better over time.
Hunger: Feed Me Now, Please!
A hungry baby is an unhappy baby. Because their tiny stomachs empty quickly, newborns need to eat frequently – sometimes as often as every 1.5 to 3 hours. Even 3, 4 and 5 month old babies need to eat fairly frequently, around every 3 hours.
Look for early hunger cues like rooting (turning their head towards your touch), sucking on their hands, or smacking their lips. Waiting until they’re crying often means they’re already frustrated, so try to feed them before hunger turns into full-blown distress.
Overstimulation or Understimulation: The Sensory Balance
Babies experience the world very differently than adults. Too much noise, bright lights, or commotion can overwhelm them, leading to tears. On the flip side, too little stimulation—especially a lack of movement or skin contact—can make some babies restless and fussy.
If your baby is overstimulated, try taking them to a quiet, dimly lit room and offering gentle rocking or swaddling. If they seem bored or restless, try wearing them in a carrier, offering tummy time, or providing textured toys to engage their senses.
An Overloaded Nervous System
Newborns are brand new to the world, and their nervous systems are still developing. Unlike adults, who can regulate their stress responses more easily, babies are constantly processing an overwhelming amount of new sensations—light, sound, touch, and even their own digestion. This can easily lead to an overstimulated, overloaded nervous system, triggering fussiness and inconsolable crying.
Helping your baby shift into their parasympathetic nervous system—the “rest and digest” state—can make a huge difference. Skin-to-skin contact, rhythmic rocking, gentle swaddling, and dimming the lights can all help soothe their system. White noise mimicking the sounds of the womb and slow, deep breathing while holding your baby can also help regulate their heart rate and breathing, bringing a sense of calm. Over time, these techniques can help your baby feel more settled and cry less often.
Reflux or Silent Reflux
If your baby cries frequently after feedings and seems uncomfortable when lying flat, reflux might be to blame. This happens when stomach acid flows back into the esophagus, causing discomfort. Silent reflux is trickier to spot since babies don’t always spit up, but symptoms can include frequent swallowing, arching their back during feeds, or excessive hiccups.
If you suspect reflux, try keeping your baby upright after meals and offering smaller, more frequent feedings. But it’s usually not as simple as that. Reflux can have many primary causes and require some specialized strategies and treatments to manage. The standard recommendation is to talk to your pediatrician if symptoms persist. But, I would be doing you a disservice if I just referred you to your doctor and didn’t warn you first. You might get dismissed completely and told it’s normal and that your baby will eventually grow out of it. Or, you might be offered medications that will do nothing to fix the underlying causes and only relieve a few of the symptoms for as long as the meds are taken.
Can you imagine if you threw up after every single meal and had pain in your chest so intense it caused you to wake up screaming? You don’t grow out of that. And it can cause long term damage to your baby’s gut. If you think reflux is the reason your baby won’t stop crying, consider having a postpartum consult with a reflex specialist to get to the bottom of the problem and receive a step-by-step plan to conquer the problem once and for all.
Food Allergy or Sensitivity
Sometimes, the problem isn’t just hunger – it’s what’s in the milk or formula that explains why your baby won’t stop crying. If your baby cries excessively after feeding, has excessive gas, diarrhea, or eczema, a food allergy or intolerance could be the culprit. Common triggers include cow’s milk, soy, eggs, and wheat.
Be on the lookout for frequent shorter feeds, especially overnight. Other signs are physical agitation, especially starting an hour or two after the last feed. Diaper contents may also point you in the direction of a food allergy or sensitivity. You may see diarrhea in the diaper. In a breastfed baby this could be bright green frothy stool. In babies who combo feed or exclusive drink formula, it may be watery stools with a very foul odour. There might be mucus in the stool, or evidence of blood being present.
Food allergies are a common primary reason for reflux. If you think food allergies might be at play, consult your pediatrician to discuss possible dietary changes and allergy testing. If you’re breastfeeding, you may need to adjust your own diet to see if symptoms improve. But, if you find that your doctor is not being as helpful as they should, we’re here to provide clear guidance on how to get to the bottom of the problem so won’t be wondering “why is my baby crying” all night and day.
When You Still Don’t Know Why Your Baby Won’t Stop Crying
If none of the usual suspects seem to fit, don’t panic. This doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, don’t hesitate to ask for help. An overnight or daytime postpartum doula, pediatrician, or family doctor can provide guidance and reassurance. And remember: it’s okay to step away for a few minutes to take a breather if you need one.
Parenting is a learning curve, and you’re doing better than you think.