I have a 10 days-old baby and I've learned a lot about their communication lately.
It is true that there are many other cues, like opening their mouth, trying to suck or lick anything around. My son gets agitated in his sleep quite some time before he actually starts to scream.
Interestingly, in many languages it is very common (or even normal) to say that a baby is "crying". But babies are not actually crying. There is no tear or sadness involved. It's a primitive form of communication, aimed at signaling a need and creating a sense of urgency to caregivers, but it's different from crying.
I'm still very new to this, but there are also different nuances and pitches within their communication. "I am hungry" and "I am too cold and that makes me feel in danger" are notably different and achieves to communicate a very different sense of urgency.
It is true that there are many other cues, like opening their mouth, trying to suck or lick anything around. My son gets agitated in his sleep quite some time before he actually starts to scream.
Interestingly, in many languages it is very common (or even normal) to say that a baby is "crying". But babies are not actually crying. There is no tear or sadness involved. It's a primitive form of communication, aimed at signaling a need and creating a sense of urgency to caregivers, but it's different from crying.
I'm still very new to this, but there are also different nuances and pitches within their communication. "I am hungry" and "I am too cold and that makes me feel in danger" are notably different and achieves to communicate a very different sense of urgency.