How to calm your baby

Sometimes it is extremely frustrating being a parent. Babies no nothing about what is going on, they don’t understand what you are saying and they have no idea how to stop themselves from feeling so stressed.

In order to calm your baby down you need to understand the way they look at the world. Babies see the world completely differently to you and I. They have literally no understanding of the world. They see it but they have no understanding of what they are seeing.

Unfortunately for you as a parent this lack of understanding means that sometimes it seems almost impossible to console them, calm them down and stop the screaming.

A few common reasons that babies cry uncontrollably

There are many reasons why a baby might cry but here are  a few of the more commin reasons:

1. Tired. You hear it all the time, hes tired, hes cranky etc. A tired human is a miserable human, even us fully grown people get cranky when we don’t get enough sleep but adults know what to do about it, we go to sleep. Unfortunately babies don’t have the ability or realization that they are tired and that a snooze would make them feel better. It is a vicious cycle, baby gets tired and starts crying, the crying stops them from getting some shut eye so they cry some more and so still can’t get to sleep…Its a cycle that means they are in a bad mood.

2. Dirty nappy. It sounds obvious but sitting in their own mess isn’t the most comfortable place to be so they sort it out the only way they can, by screaming the house down.

3. Hunger. Babies have very little in the way of communication, in fact the only way they can communicate is to scream and cry. If baby is hungry they will scream.

4. Wind. If you have ever had trapped wind then you will know how painful it can be. Imagine a baby going through that pain. They have no idea what is going on or what to do about it. Wind can be a major cause of stress for young babies, they don’t know how to burp and eating everything whilst horizontal causes a lot of wind.

5. Reflux. Reflux is when the babies milk comes back up and gets stuck in the food pipe. Its not nice and causes stress for the baby for obvious reasons.

How to calm a crying baby

Although there are no strict rules and sometimes it seems impossible, luckily there are a few things that you can do to try and help the situation when things get a little loud and stressful.

1. Put baby in a sling and close to you. The warmth of the parents body is a calming feeling for baby and a great way to do this is with a sling. Holding in your arms is just as good but your arms will ache after a while. The closeness will make baby feel more secure and the warmth may send them into a snooze, which is always good for both parties!

2. Bath time. Your baby probably loves bath times and babies dont have a massive attention span. Anything you can do to take your babies mind away from the thing that upset them is great news. A bath is a great way to take both your minds away from the stress. Its fun for you and its a distraction for baby.

3. A dummy. A lot of people dont like dummies but the fact is that most babies love them. originally people used corn on the cob but these days the rubber types are usually given. You might not want to give your child a dummy but really, how much damage can it do?? A dummy is a great comfort to baby and it gives them something to do and if they are teething it helps  sooth the pain.

4. Play some music. It doesnt even have to be music, just any noise will do. Anything to distract and take the mind away to another place. Babies are easily stimulated and music is a great way to calm the mood and stimulate babies mind, it calms the baby down.

5. Go for a wander around. A walk round the block or a stroll the the corner shop. More distractions, things to look at and different sounds can calm and sooth baby.

6. Have patience. I know sometimes it is difficult to have patience but this isnt going to last forever. The crying will stop and your baby will soon become a toddler and will soon become a school child and soon become an adult. Even if these times seem stressful they are still to be enjoyed because life is short and time passes far too quickly. Try to calm down and enjoy every moment.