Do You Know Why Babies Cry At Night?

[marval]

There is a theory why babies cry at night. Are they really that clever?

http://news.sky.com/story/1240322/babies-cry-at-night-to-delay-siblings-birth

[jno]

no evidence at all, I see, apart from the coincidence of babies crying at six moths and mothers becoming fertile at the same time.

[marval]

I agree jno

[joggerjayne]

Sounds like a good theory to me.

[pixie373]

No, breastfeeding does that anyway. They just have small stomachs, milk is absorbed very quickly and they need feeding often.

[joggerjayne]

My answer to why babies cry at night would've been ... because they are, genetically, annoying little balls of poo and puke who are programmed to mess up your bank balance, your winkle, and your sleep. Maybe that's not what they were looking for.

[jno]

sounds like a lot of babies have been crying all nigth around you, jj?

And it's worked!

[joggerjayne]

No, jno ... they haven't.

And they ain't gonna!

[jno]

well at least they could cry enough to drown out the ticking of your biological clock

[joggerjayne]

It can tick all it likes, jno. I'm not pushing one of those things out through my front bum.

[tonyav]

Ah, to posh to push, jj ;-)

[joggerjayne]

Anyway, back to the thread ...

[anneasquith]

breast feeding is not a form of contraception.

[Old_Geezer]

They cry at night because they've already used up all the daylight crying.

[Mamyalynne]

My two were good sleepers (both breastfed) it's a wonder I don't have a houseful then really.

[ummmm]

Wow, Anne, I didn't know that....

[Mamyalynne]

Never too old to learn Ummmm ;-)

[tonyav]

anneasquith
breast feeding is not a form of contraception.


anne, I can assure you that it can be, when the baby is latched on !.

[Mamyalynne]

LOL

[Old_Geezer]

They don't need to be clever. Evolution takes care of all that. If those who had a tendency to cry at night just so happened to have better odds of surviving, because there was no sibling coming along soon after to divide the resources and parental attention, then that trait will build up in subsequent generations. If there is anything in the theory at all, the baby doesn't do it to achieve that effect, they do it and it happens to achieve it instead. Intent doesn't come into it.

[Old_Geezer]

You should teach it to share, Tony.