How to Read Your Baby’s Body Messages

Your baby has a variety of states that she slips into and out of when she’s asleep or awake. Knowing how to discern her states can help you respond more sensitively to her needs. Here’s how to do it:

STATE	ACTIVITY LEVEL	EYE AND FACE MOVEMENTS	BREATHING	SENSITIVITY	PARENTING SKILL
SLEEP
Quiet sleep	Very still except for occasional twitching.	Eyes are still under closed eyelids. Baby may make periodic sucking movements with her lips and tongue.	Breathing is smooth and regular.	Hard to arouse and unresponsive. Even if awakened, she may fall right back to sleep again.	Your baby needs the rest, and it’s best to let her sleep undisturbed. No need to awaken her for nursing or diapering, unless your pediatrician is concerned your baby is sleeping too much or not getting enough to eat.
Active sleep	A few body movements.	Rapid eye movement (REM) with eyes periodically fluttering beneath closed eyelids.	Breathing will be irregular, and your baby may make brief crying or fussy sounds, or even smile as though having a pleasant dream.	Can be awakened by patting, moving, or loud noises. She may then quickly fall back into active sleep or into deep sleep, or be drowsy.	This is the sleep state your baby stays in the most, and it usually happens before waking up. Sometimes parents rush in when the baby cries or fusses during her sleep transition.
AWAKE
Drowsy	Body will be still or make movements, and your baby may startle at being moved, getting cold, or hearing noises.	Eyes will open and close, but eyelids will seem heavy and droopy. Eyes will have a dull, glazed appearance. Face will seem expressionless.	Breathing will be irregular.	Your baby will seem sluggish and slow to respond, but she may become more alert when touched or moved.	Your baby’s state could go one of two ways: She could fall back asleep or wake up more often. Offering to nurse the baby or speaking to her may help to arouse her.
Quiet alert	Your baby will stay still.	Your baby will have an alert expression. Her eyes will be bright and wide open, and she will appear to be concentrating on you or other things	Breathing will be regular.	Your baby will gaze pensively at you or a bright object you move slowly in front of her face. Eyes may have a deeply wise look to them.	This state often happens in the first hour after birth before your baby heads for deep sleep. Let your baby nurse and talk to her.
Active alert	Very still except for occasional twitching.	Her eyes will be open, but not as bright and shining as with quiet alert. Her face will show a variety of expressions, but will not seem as bright as during her quiet alert phase.	Her breathing may be irregular. She may cough, sneeze, yawn or hiccup, especially when feeling uncomfortable.	She may seem grumpy or irritable, and also more sensitive to hunger, tiredness, noise, or overstimulation.	If your baby appears unhappy, you may want to swaddle her to make her feel more secure, raise her to your shoulder, or rock her while gently patting her rhythmically on her back.
Crying	Your baby’s hands and legs may jerk in and out, and her face and body may turn red.	Her eyes may be tightly closed or creased and partially open. Her brow will be furrowed, and she may have a crease above her nose.	Breathing is irregular.	A heightened sensitivity to pain.	Crying is your baby’s way of saying that her limits have been reached. In newborns, it often signals hunger. Some babies have the ability to soothe themselves to stop crying by sucking on a fist, but others need help to stop the crying cycle.