How to stop a crying baby
You've fed, burped, changed and rocked your baby, but he's still
crying. And crying. Your nerves are frayed, your sleep is wrecked and you're losing
confidence as a new parent. Now what?
"First, don't blame yourself," says Thomas Sullivan, M.D., of Alexandria, Va., a
spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics. Four out of five babies have extended
crying episodes with no easy explanation.
Some babies cry for long stretches at 3 and 12 weeks of age during steps in development
when their sleep is less settled.
"Colicky" babies - generally, those who cry non-stop for more than three hours a
day, more than three days a week -- are thought to have a built-in tendency to overreact
to any stimulation, be it a bowel movement or slight temperature change. In short,
they don't easily adjust to the world outside the snug womb until age 4 months,
when colic often disappears.
Other babies are just hard-wired to cry more. And the longer a baby cries, the harder
it tends to be to get him to stop.
Once your doctor has ruled out any underlying reason for crying, give these tear-stopping
techniques a try:
• Wrap him like a burrito. Swaddling babies snugly in a soft blanket helps keeps
their arms and legs from flailing and can switch on relaxation.
• Wear your baby. Babies who are carried more cry less, studies show. Skin-to-skin
contact is best (and bathing together is ideal). But wearing baby in a sling for
several hours a day also cuts crying and provides constant sound, temperature and
motion that signal comfort.
• Switch on shushing. A running shower, a whirring fan, a white noise machine or
a recording of the vacuum cleaner (watch the volume) helps block outside stimulation
and may mimic the steady sounds of the womb.
• Get moving. A spin in the car, motion swings or dancing are especially helpful
at the dinner hour, when fussy babies tend to kick it up a notch.
• Drape her. Draping your baby along your forearm with her head in the crook of
your elbow provides warmth and pressure to relax a tense, colicky belly.
• Take a stress break. Have your spouse, family or neighbours take over while you
walk, bathe and calm yourself so you can better handle crying. A colic support group
can help you cope until your baby outgrows crying. (And they all do!)