To make the baby stop crying, it is important to identify the reason for the crying, as crying is the baby’s main way of alerting the parents to some discomfort, such as having a dirty diaper, feeling cold, hot, hungry, pain or colic. , for example. Furthermore, your baby’s frequent crying may also indicate that he or she is irritable or scared.
So, some ways to calm the baby and stop him from crying are breastfeeding, rocking or having a relaxing massage, which makes the baby feel more protected and cozy.
However, it is important to always consult your pediatrician to assess whether there is a health problem that is causing pain or discomfort in your baby, especially when your baby cries a lot and there is no way to calm him down. Check out the main causes of crying in babies.
Watch the following video for some tips to help your baby stop crying:
Some simple ways to calm the baby and identify the cause of crying are to check if the baby is hungry, offering the breast or formula, confirm if the diaper may be dirty or if the baby has too much or too little clothing, causing discomfort, heat or cold. If the baby continues crying, you can adopt some techniques to calm him down, such as:
1. Wrap the baby in a blanket
Wrapping the baby in a blanket makes him feel more cozy and protected, as if he were still in his mother’s womb. However, it is important to pay attention to the way the baby is swaddled, and the blanket should not be too tight to avoid interfering with blood circulation.
2. Give the baby a massage
Giving a gentle massage to the chest, belly, arms and legs is a great way to calm the baby, as the contact between the parents’ hands and the baby’s skin causes the muscles to relax, leading to a feeling of well-being. . Check out the step-by-step guide to giving your baby a massage.
During the first month of life, massage should be done without oil or lotions. After this period, you can use baby oil or a lotion recommended by your pediatrician.
3. Stroking the baby’s back
Stroking the baby’s back, holding him against the chest or placing the baby on his stomach, lying on his legs, is also an excellent strategy to help calm him.
4. Rock the baby
A good way to calm the baby is to rock the baby gently, using one of the following ways:
- Walk or dance gently with the baby on your lap;
- Go for a drive;
- Place the baby in the stroller and rock the baby for a few minutes, moving the stroller back and forth;
- Place the baby in the sling and walk gently.
This type of back-and-forth movement is identical to what a woman did during pregnancy to sit and stand, for example, helping the baby to calm down.
5. Play white noise
White noise is a constant, soft sound, like a fan or a hairdryer, that drowns out any other sounds that might disturb your baby, such as noises in the house or noises coming from outside, such as conversations, cars on the street, or a dog’s bark. dogs, for example.
This type of noise is especially important for calming the baby as it recreates the same type of sound that the baby used to hear when it was in its mother’s tummy, which makes the baby calmer and safer. Furthermore, a very quiet environment can also scare the baby, activating the cerebral cortex, which can make the baby wake up scared and crying.
It is important that when using the fan or hairdryer, the wind is not directed towards the baby. Other ways to create white noise are to use a vacuum cleaner, buy electronic white noise devices, use applications on your cell phone, play the sound of running water or a CD with the sound of sea waves, for example, as they emit similar sounds.
In addition, you can make the sound “shh shh” close to the baby’s ear because this sound is similar to the sounds the baby heard when it was in its mother’s belly.
6. Laying the baby on its side
To help the baby stop crying, you can lay him on his side on the parents’ lap, 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 generally helps to calm the baby.
What to do if the baby keeps crying
If, after using techniques to try to calm the baby, the crying continues, you can try adding more than one technique at the same time, such as wrapping the baby in a blanket, laying him on his side and rocking him, for example, as can help calm you down more quickly.
However, if the baby still continues crying, it is very possible that there is another cause and, therefore, the ideal is to consult a pediatrician so that they can evaluate and identify the cause of the crying, initiating more appropriate treatment. Check out some causes of crying in babies.
