Usage of “bald … bald”

Question

This is mainly found in formal writing. Bald is immediately followed by the verb in both clauses:

Bald weinte das Baby, bald lachte es.

Is there another way to say bald … bald?

Answer 1

You could use (manch)mal for instance:

M(anchm)al weinte das Baby, (manch)mal lachte es

Answer 2

marsze already pointed out in the other answer that you can replace it with mal. So the technical meaning of it is

At times ... at other times...

However, there is a reason for using this bald instead of mal because it makes the changes feel quicker, more sudden.

Manchmal weinte das Baby, manchmal lachte es.

This is really just a description of the reality of babies.

Mal lachte es, mal weinte es.

This already sounds a little bit like a moody baby. It could be an answer to the question:

How did the baby react when you gave him his toy pony.

And then finally:

Bald lachte es, bald weinte es.

This is even more moody since it sounds a bit like there isn't really a specific reason anymore. You're in the room, it laughs, 10 minutes later it cries.