To make the baby stop crying parents should try to understand the reason for the baby's crying so that they can give an adequate response to their needs.
Generally, crying is the baby's primary way of alerting the parents to some discomfort, such as dirty diapers, cold, hunger, pain or colic, but in most cases the baby cries because he is angry or scared.
Thus, you should start by feeding the baby or changing the diaper, for example, and if these techniques do not work, you can follow the 6 steps below:
1. Wrap the baby in a blanket
Wrapping the baby in a blanket, as the figure shows, makes him feel more cozy and protected as if he were still in his mother's womb.
2. Massage the baby
Massage with almond oil on the chest, belly, arms and legs is a great way to calm the baby as contact between the parents' hands and the baby's skin causes the muscles to relax, leading to a sense of well- be.
Here's how to massage the baby in: Massage for Baby: step by step.
3. Pack the baby
A good way to calm your baby is to pack it gently using one of the following ways:
- Walk or dance gently with the baby on your lap;
- To go by car;
- Put the baby in the cart and stay cradling the baby for a few minutes;
- Put the baby in the sling and walk gently.
This kind of back-and-forth movement is identical to what the woman did in pregnancy to sit and stand up, for example, helping the baby to calm down.
4. Suck the finger or the pacifier
The movement of sucking the finger or the pacifier, in addition to distracting the baby, leads to a sense of well-being, which can be a good way for the baby to stop crying and fall asleep.
5. Make the noise "shhh"
The "shh shh" sound next to the baby's ear, louder than crying, can be a way to calm him down, because this sound is similar to the sounds the baby heard when he was in the mother's belly.
The vacuum cleaner, fan or extractor, running water or a CD with sound of sea waves can be effective alternatives, as they emit similar sounds.
6. Lay the baby aside
To help the baby stop crying, one can lay him or her on his or her lap by holding the baby's head or lying on the bed, never leaving him alone. This position, called the fetal position, is similar to the position the baby had in the mother's womb and usually helps to calm it down.
If after using these techniques the baby continues to cry, one can try to put together more than one way, such as wrapping the baby in the blanket, throwing it aside and swaying it to help soothe it more quickly.
Sometimes very young babies cry late in the afternoon without an apparent cause and so in these cases, these techniques may not work every time. See: Causes of baby crying.
It is important not to leave the baby crying too long because prolonged crying can cause brain damage in babies because when the baby cries exhaustively his body produces large amounts of cortisol, a substance linked to stress that over time can cause some brain damage in the baby .
Watch our video and learn how to eliminate one of the causes of baby crying:
See too:
- Home Remedy for Baby Cramps
- How to Make Your Baby Sleep Through the Night
- Understand Why You Should not Shake Your Baby
