You may have expected it, even looked forward to hearing it. But now that Baby is here, the months of wondering what her cries will sound like and how you'll respond to them are over. As you pat her back, rock her, even drive her around the block, you're wondering if she'll ever stop crying. What's behind that wail? Is Baby really trying to tell you something?

"Crying is always a distress signal," says Dr. Dan Levy, a Baltimore, Md.-based pediatrician who teaches at the University of Maryland. "Babies have very few ways of getting attention, and crying is essential to obtaining basic needs."

Jean Gardner Cole, an infant development specialist, agrees. "An infant cries for emotional release and to signal his need for caregiving," she says.

But knowing their baby is trying to communicate a need doesn't always help frazzled parents figure out what that need might be. You may have to go through a list of possible comforts and causes before you find the key. Is Baby hungry? How long has it been since his diaper was changed? Does he need a nap?

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