Babies are the best communicators

Many first-time parents will complain that they just don't get what their baby wants.

Baby: Wahhhhhhhh
Concerned parent: Okok, babee, I check diaper okay?
Baby: WaHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Concerned parent: (getting a bit desparate) Your diaper is clean, what. Why? You hungry is it? But you just ate 10 minutes ago.
Baby: WAHhahAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Cocerned parent: !!!!!!

And it goes on until the parent finds out that the baby needs burping or when the baby decides to fall asleep on his/her own.

Based these experiences, the parent will just shrug and say, "I dunno what she wants la. Very random."

I disagree. Even if what I just described to you is what my wife and I have been going through the past 3 weeks.

See, its not the baby at fault. It's us.

The baby knows exactly what she wants. For sure. If it's a wet diaper, it's a wet diaper. It's really up to us to find out what she wants. And it's really quite easy.

I have come up with the most scientific way of deducing exactly what the baby wants.

When asleep, she

1) Starts making small noises and moves her hands and feet around: Could be wet diaper or it could be hunger
1a) Check the time, has it been two hours since the last feed or 10 mins?
1ai) If it has been two hours, watch for movements like putting her hand in her mouth and her tounge sticking out.
1aii) If it has been 10 mins, check diaper without disturbing her sleep. If wet, change. If dry, ask yourself, have you burped her properly?

2) Suddenly wakes up and lets out a huge cry: You've obviously been sleeping through step 1. You lose and will have to spend 30 mins calming her down and attending to her needs.

So the moral of the story is always been attuned to your baby's needs from the start. Keep an eye of the clock and when she starts making noises, go to her and observe.

Another oft-cited complaint by parents is why does the baby keep waking up at night and not sleep through it like the rest of us normal human beings?

I too asked myself that question, even though I knew the answer. (Shes's got a dman small stomach, doofus. Obviously, she gets hungry quickly after drinking milk)

Besides that seemingly obvious answer, another simple reason I read up is this: If you are a baby and your parent is busy during the day, what better time to call for attention when you know your parent is in? Night la, then?

Also, always wondered why babies need to be cuddled and carried before they fall asleep? It's instinct. Babies are weak and vulnerable (this will be hotly contested. My baby can seriously kick and punch some) so they need their parent to hold them so that they feel secure before the nod off.

Before flats and brick and mortar houses, humans lived in caves where sabretooth tigers and man-eating baboons used to lurk around. Parents, who wielded spears and swords, were the only protectors around for their children. So children, by evolution and instinct, depend on parents for their security and therefore cuddling and carrying ensures the baby that their sword-wielding parent is around to protect them. That's my theory anyway.