Everyone loves babies because they are the cutest souls in the world. But they can become a nightmare if they get cranky. Babies tend to get happy and annoyed pretty quickly. Due to this reason, they are very unpredictable because you never know what’s coming next. Parenting is probably the hardest job in the world. To provide you with some help, here are proven ways on how you can soothe your baby.
New parents face the hardest time to cope up with mood swings of their baby. The key is not to panic when the baby starts crying; otherwise, it will make things worse. If you know the right approach of handling a baby, you can deal with any kind of situation. This blog will help you figure out different tricks that can be useful in soothing a baby.
Wrap the Baby:
Swaddling is one of the oldest techniques to comfort babies and is still effective until now. Babies get scared easily. It is important that you make them feel secure and cozy. Wrapping helps them to sleep faster and longer.
There are different ways to swaddle a baby. The recommended one is to wrap the baby with a big blanket or towel by leaving their hands out. This way, the baby can move their arms freely while sleeping.
Use a Pacifier:
The use of a pacifier is a proven technique to soothe irritated babies. A pacifier can be a distraction for a crying baby that can get him in a good mood. Also, babies like to suck on things which helps to lower the heart rate and calm their nerves. Giving your baby a pacifier will prevent them from sucking onto other things that might contain germs.
Entertain:
Babies don’t always get cranky because they aren’t feeling well; sometimes, they’re just bored. So, keeping babies entertained is vital to avoid them getting fussy. From silly noises and gestures to imitating, there are many ways to entertain babies.
Another useful technique to entertain a baby is by using gadgets. Putting on video rhymes on your phone or tablet can get your baby in a pleasant mood quickly. It’s a good idea to use a tablet or iPad holder for bed. This will allow you to do your routine household chores while your baby enjoys himself.
Stroke the Baby:
Modern research has proven that the gentle stroking of parents reduces baby’s brain activity related to painful experience. Touching also provides stress relief for babies and helps develop a strong bond with their parents. However, it is essential to stroke the baby with a certain speed; otherwise, you will get him irritated. Researchers say that the ideal speed for stroking a baby is 1 inch per second.
Sing Lullabies:
Babies love lullabies as they help calm them down. Singing lullabies is an excellent way to put your baby to sleep. Lullabies are not only great for soothing a baby, but they are also a learning experience for little ones. They feed new experiences into the mind of a baby subconsciously helping them to develop imaginative skills. Lullabies also help to develop better communication between parents and baby.
Use White Noise:
Babies are very receptive of all types of sounds, and rhythmic sounds appeal to them the most. White noise is a very pleasant sound for babies as it reminds them of the womb. There are many ways to generate white noise. Like turning on a hair dryer, vacuum cleaner or fan can produce a soothing background sound. Many white sound machines are also available in the market. Making shushing sound is another thing that can be comforting for a baby.
Rock the Baby:
Babies observe movements keenly and enjoy them. Whether you throw a ball in the air or play peekaboo, they love it. Rocking your baby is a proven soothing technique for centuries now. Rhythmic motions activate the movement detectors in the nervous system resulting in a calming influence on the baby. Make sure that you don’t rock the baby too hard as it can cause dizziness.
Use Colors:
Showing multiple colors to a crying baby can help them calm down. Even though babies don’t recognize colors, they get intrigued by them. For the first three months, babies can only see shades of white, black and grey. As the baby grows, they can see more colors, and their brain starts perceiving them. In addition to soothing, colors also stimulate baby’s brain helping them in learning new things.
Massage:
Not only adults crave soothing massages, but babies also love them. They find massage therapeutic and relaxing because touch is the most developed sense in babies. There are many optimal body positions for massage including feet, head, back and chest. Massage facilitates muscle development in babies and can help put them to sleep quickly. It also triggers sensory nerves in the skin and stimulates better blood circulation.
There are a few things to consider while massaging a baby. Like you should gently rub their body to have a calming impact on them. Also, don’t put too much oil or lotion on their body as it will irritate him.
Go Outdoors:
Sometimes changing the location is all that you need to do to calm down a cranky baby. You can go outside to let the baby have some fresh air, which will do wonders for their mood. It is scientifically proven that nature has a positive impact on a person’s state of mind. Watching sunlight, birds, and trees can divert the attention of the baby from the reason for crying.
Conclusion:
Crying babies can be annoying, but the key to handle them is to remain calm. As a parent, it is your job to take care of your baby, and you should embrace that. You should assess the situation quickly and improvise accordingly. All the guidelines mentioned above will help you handle your fussy baby better.