7 Brilliant Ways to Soothe Your Crying Baby.
By: Erica Kapoor
Tags: Babies Babies Babies, Babies Health, Babies And Young Children, Baby

After you’re done with feeding and other duties, calming your bawling little one often seems like it bites into a huge chunk of the remaining part of your day. While crying is natural and the best way for your newly born child to communicate their needs, figuring out why and then calming your baby can quickly become a very overwhelming task.

To help your baby calm down, let’s take a look at some of the common reasons little ones cry and a few reliable ways to soothe your baby.

Why is Your Baby Crying?

From a quiet, dark womb to suddenly being brought into our world full of light and color and noise, it is a huge adjustment for an infant to get used to being outside the womb. However, over-stimulation isn’t the only reason babies cry. Here are the rest:

Hunger: One of the primary reasons for your baby tearing up, stay on the lookout for signs of hunger such as lip-smacking and placing tiny hands to their mouth to prevent crying and keep your angel well-fed.

Dirty Diaper: On average, babies need their diaper changed six or more times in a day, so check for poop-y pants frequently to lessen your baby’s irritation.

Plain Ol’ Boredom: Babies get bored of sitting in the same place and looking at the same things constantly, no surprise there. Taking a baby on a stroll or just swaying in a glider or rocking chair can greatly help avert boredom and soothe your crying baby.

Weariness: Till they’re about three months old, newborns usually slumber for fifteen to seventeen hours a day in tiny spurts of two to four hours. If your baby’s crying away and hasn’t been asleep in a while, lay them down for a nap.

Colicky Child: Doctors usually follow a rule of three to diagnose colicky infants: totaling at least three hours a day, occurring at least three days a week, and lasting for at least three weeks in a row. If you think your baby’s crying is excessive, the best course of action is to consult your trusted pediatrician.

Sickness: The most dreaded one of all, bawling babies can sometimes indicate that your baby isn’t keeping well. Check with your trusted pediatrician to ease the illness and return your little one to full health.

Reliable Ways to Calm a Crying Baby.

The above pointers can help you lessen your wee one’s tears, but what to do when they’re already crying? The time tested techniques below are natural ways to calm your child and help you both feel better.

Hold and embrace baby with the skin to skin contact: According to Lise Eliot, associate professor of neuroscience at Chicago Medical School, babies crave a close, human touch. This is why skin-to-skin contact is essential and can provide great comfort when your little one is crying. The theory goes that being pressed against the mother, feeling the heartbeat and warmth is akin to the womb and causes little ones to breathe better and alleviates crying. Skin-to-skin cuddles work well with fathers too, so the next time a crying fit occurs, pull your baby close.

Mothers should try to eat the same foods they did while pregnant: If your baby is being breastfed, maintaining the same (or similar) diet to when you were pregnant can help the baby find comfort. This phenomenon is called prenatal flavor learning and states that little ones love the flavors their mother noshed on while pregnant.

In case of no breastfeeding, a vanilla-scented pacifier can do the trick just as well, as your baby develops a sweet tooth just like the mother while in the womb!

Talk, sing and read aloud to the baby: As your baby can hear a muddled version of the mother’s voice while in the womb, talking to your baby plays a huge role in comforting them. Making babies listen to zen sounds such as heartbeats and pleasant, slow songs is also a great way to soothe your baby to sleep.

Take it down a couple of notches: While sounds can provide comfort, it’s important to keep the volume low. Our little cuties are incredibly vulnerable to blaring noises, yells and other loud sounds, so keep the volume of everything around you at a minimum.

Familiar smells: Baby is born covered in a white substance known as the vernix, which smells similar to the womb. Experts suggest not wipe off too much of the vernix in the early stages of a newborn’s birth as it helps calm your baby.

Mother’s scent: When stepping out, mothers can leave their baby with a piece of clothing that has their scent over it. Keeping the clothing close to the baby has proven to be an effective way to soothe your crying baby when you’re not around. We read this on one of the blogs at berrytree.in

Connect with your eyes: In the whirlwind surrounding you and your crying baby, sometimes what you need to do is stop and stare into your little one’s bright, curious eyes. As babies have an innate ability to zoom in on a mother’s face and a mother’s face alone while feeding, connecting with your eyes can calm a crying baby.

Comfortable clothing: We often don’t realize this, but sometimes its the quality of the fabric that’s causing your baby’s skin to itch, or the size is making him uncomfortable. You should always choose ‘organic cotton baby clothes’ that are soft and stretchy.

By implementing some tips from here, we hope stopping the waterworks can get a bit easier and help you both relax. If you’ve tried every trick in the book and nothing seems to work, consulting a trusted pediatrician is the best step to take.