The baby won’t stop crying and it’s driving you crazy? You’re not alone. Here are some recommendations for calming a crying baby, from recommended positions and massages to dancing and making surprising sounds. And also: important tips to calm exhausted parents.
Why do babies cry? To communicate with us and to signal us about hardships, for example hunger, heat, cold, a full diaper.
How can you calm them down? By using touch, movements and sounds. What not to do?
Is it hard to deal with crying in general? Get help from friends and family, try to rest and eat right, do sports.
Crying in the first months of a baby’s life can challenge even the most experienced parent. Babies cry to communicate and signal to us that they need us. The most common reason for crying is hunger , but heat, cold, a full diaper or uncomfortable clothing can also make a healthy baby restless. But even if we solve all these problems, the baby will not necessarily stop crying.
So how can you still calm a crying baby? The three best ways are touch, movement and sounds.
The power of touch for Crying Baby
why is it important?
Every baby likes touch and different positions, and parents learn very quickly what helps their baby.
What positions can be suitable?
• Holding the baby high on the shoulder: hold him in such a way that his belly is under your shoulder. This is how the baby both sees the world and feels and hears your heartbeat, a sound he is used to since he was a fetus.
• Skin-to-skin contact on the chest: this position releases oxytocin in the parent and in the baby – the love hormone that is powerfully released during childbirth, during breastfeeding and during sexual intercourse. This hormone calms both the parent and the baby who hears and feels the parent’s heartbeat.
By the way, there is nothing to worry about the baby getting cold – your chest area is warm, and you can always wrap the baby in a blanket around it.
• The tiger position on a tree: the baby’s belly is placed on your forearm, the part of the hand bounded by the elbow and the wrist. This position focuses the touch on the stomach area – a touch that is pleasant to most babies. It is easy to combine movement with this pose.
• Swaddling in a carrier: this is a more fetal position that allows contact with the baby’s entire body, just as it was in the womb. This position gives the baby a sense of security, and it is easy to combine it with movement or a walk outside.
Sucking – sucking on a breast, a pacifier or a clean finger of the parent is soothing using the touch sensors in the mouth area.
The importance of movement
why is it important?
Movement calms the baby and is also important for brain development, knowing the position of the body in space and motor development.
What can be done with the crying baby?
- Dance together , swing and jump gently on a physio(Gym) ball.
- Babies like to watch moving objects such as mobiles or leaves moving in the wind, and this can also be during a walk in a carrier or stroller or when they are sitting in a light basket in the car.
Voices of all kinds
why is it important?
Babies respond to a variety of sounds of all kinds.
Is it important to play music for babies?
There is no obligation to adapt certain music to the baby. You can try any style you like and see how the baby reacts.
What about speaking?
Soft, slightly monotonous speech, accompanied by a focused look at the baby’s face, calms many babies. Sometimes you can see how the crying baby imitates your facial expressions, raises eyebrows, makes lip movements or sticks out his tongue.
What about background noise?
Background noise may be soothing. For example, the noise of “snow” on the TV, of a vacuum cleaner or of a clothes dryer may calm your baby.
What not to do?
- Do not put the baby to sleep on his stomach. Apparently, many babies sleep deeper and longer on their stomachs, but it was found that sleeping on their stomachs significantly increases the risk of crib death .
- Do not shake the baby: shaking babies can cause brain damage and even death.
Crying baby: Is it difficult for you?
Many parents find it difficult to cope with the care of the soft baby. If you also feel overwhelmed and emotionally stressed, you better do the following to take care of yourself:
- Help: one parent can rest while the other parent is with the baby. You can also get help from family members and friends.
- Eat regularly: hunger causes irritability even in adults. Try light and high-energy foods such as granola, eggs, cheeses, nuts , fruits and vegetables .
- Be sure to exercise: running in place, jumping or dancing , and if there is time – a trip outside.
- Don’t forget to breathe: practice deep breathing when you place the baby in a safe place. You can also lay down a crying baby for a few minutes, sit in a comfortable place, close your eyes and take a few deep breaths.
- Seek professional help: If you need additional help, contact your pediatrician or your lactation nurse.
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