On Sun, 14 Nov 2004 16:49:55 +0100, Rachel Myr <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I hope someone out there can help me on this one.  A new 'free' book for
> distribution to mothers has appeared on my ward, courtesy of my very own
> professional association (midwives).  In this book it states that a normal
> newborn spends approximately one and a half hours of each day crying.  I
> find this incredible, having apparently had abnormal children myself.  Even
> if it is common for babies to spend 90 minutes of their waking hours
> expressing strong frustration, rage or despair, I have trouble accepting it
> as normal.  What is different about babies?  Would anyone call it normal for
> a 10 year old, or a 16 year old, or a 25 or 50 year old to cry for an hour
> and a half every day?  (Perhaps it would be more normal for the adults, who
> really ought to feel the terrible weight of the world's troubles on their
> shoulders, but surely not for newborn BABIES?)

for the record, Rachel,  I've read this in various other "mainstream"
type books and magazines, but have never seen a reference.   does
WebMD talk about it?   What does the American Academy of Family
practitioners say about "normal crying"?   ( and yes, of course I know
you aren't in the US.  :-P )

I had those same sort of abnormal children- but if someone believes
you need to wait until the baby cries before you tend her, that would
equal just under 5 minutes of crying 20/day- for those of us who don't
let our babies cry, that is a long time.   For parents who believe
that a child has to cry a certain length of time to see if "she really
means it"- 4.5 minutes might not be long.     I, personally, would
have been drenched in sweat and flooded with epinephrine by that time.

does your little book say at what age crying decreases?
--
Kate, http://systems.cs.colorado.edu/~kolina/advantages-of-formula.html
  Mom to Ursula (9.9), Sage (7), Benno (3.7)   "Halloween is a big
holiday for older people. Somehow we got the idea it's healthier if
good people impersonate evil instead of evil people impersonating
goodness."  Garrison Keillor

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