By 2-3 weeks of life, infants start to develop a new type of fussy crying, especially in the evening. This behavior is a typical newborn fussy spell. Most babies have a fussy spell between 6-10 p.m., and it usually worsens as the evening goes on. You may try all sorts of measures to stop the crying: feeding, walking, rocking, putting him in his swing or infant seat, singing, etc.

Be assured that the fussy spell will end, and when it does your baby will have his best feeding of the day and then go off to sleep for his longest sleep.

Twenty-five years ago, T. Berry Brazelton, M.D., studied crying patterns in normal newborns and found that the normal newborn cries 2 1/4 hours-per-day for the first 7 weeks of life. The crying reaches a peak at 6 weeks of life, when crying approaches almost three hours per day. Crying decreases steadily and the fussy period is usually gone by 12 weeks. The "least" fussy babies cry at least 1 1/4 hours per day. The "fussiest" cry for upwards of four hours until 6 or 8 weeks, when the amount of fussing and crying starts to diminish.

All babies cry and have these fussy spells; this behavior doesn't mean you are doing anything wrong. Try, during these fussy spells, to meet your baby's needs, but do not let these periods upset you. As your child gets older he will start interacting with his environment. As he sucks his fingers or pacifier and begins to play with objects around him (usually about 3 months of age), these crying and fussy spells will cease.