There's a bunch of different conditions that can cause distress in a baby. Here's an incomplete list:
- Too cold
- Too hot
- Hungry
- Tired
- Full Diaper
- Tummy hurts because there's air in it
- Tummy hurts because a fart isn't coming out
- Tummy hurts because poop isn't coming out
- Tummy hurts, in general
- Joints hurt because they're growing
- Sensory overload
- Progressing what happened during the day
However, they only have one way to communicate: They cry.
It's a little bit like trying to debug a program that's not working, but the only output you get is Uncaught Error: Error with no stack trace at all. It's... interesting.
Obviously, this is a shitpost to a degree. But it's also true. While there are nuances that may give you a hint to what's wrong, the only chance you have is trying out things and eliminating possible issues until you find what works1. And the next time, you start over new.
Footnotes
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Also, if you're thinking "just use StackOverflow" let me tell you: You haven't seen a site of toxic know-it-alls until you browsed some parenthood forums. ↩